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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Romans in chapter 8, In other words, we, in this life, will never be all that we could have been for the Lord. There are three things found in the book of Romans chapter 8. You find a word mentioned three times. And the word is groaning. The groaning. Roning and travailing. Yet it’s talking to us about having victory. Seemed like a paradox, a contradiction. Now, once you look there in verse 19 of Romans chapter eight. For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Now, there’s two things here. The one, the word creature is referring to the creation of the world itself. This world is waiting for something. You see, in the very beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, there was nothing wrong with the environment. There was nothing wrong with the earth. There was nothing wrong with the trees and the grass and the birds and the flowers and the animals and all that. Everything was right. There was nothing wrong with any of the creation of God.

There would have been no death. Wouldn’t I had to worry about that? But because man had sinned, well then, because we sinned, And God had put us in charge of the earth to have dominion over it. Well, because of the sin of man, the fall of man, God cursed the earth. So the earth has been cursed. Now in the book of 2 Corinthians in chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 or 17 says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, a new creation.

old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. Should there be a change in a Christian’s life? I believe that there is a change automatic but it’s not revealed until the man yields to the Lord. In other words every person who trusts Christ is Savior, something has happened to him. He has been given a new birth. He is born again and he does have the indwelling Holy Spirit. That is a difference. That is a change, but it’s not a visible change until the man is able by this new birth to control the old one.

And if he doesn’t control the old birth, then you will not see a change in a person’s life. But should a Christian have a change in his life? Well, yes, that’s what this whole thing is about. Change, something happening. And there’s many people who trust Christ as Savior and there’s never visibly a change in their life that shows you that their new birth is alive and will. We know the old nature is alive and well. But I go back to Romans in chapter 8.

And it says in verse 24, the creation was made subject to vanity not willingly, but by reason of Him who had subjected the same in hope. In other words, because we were subjected to bondage in this world and the slavery of the old sinful nature and the lust of the the flesh and the eyes and so forth. God also subjected the environment. So it also is waiting and hoping. See it also has, as the Bible says, it’s almost like the world has a mind and the world can think and the world can reason the world wants something better.

But the Lord says the creation of the world is waiting for something to happen. And then you’ll notice it makes a statement there in verse 21. Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. So we know that the creation of the world groans. And then it makes the statement about in verse 23 that we, the sons of God, also grown.

And it says in verse 22, well we know it’s going to be verse 23. And not only they, but our sales also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting. So the world groans and waits. You and I groan and wait. And then it says there in chapter eight of the book of Romans in verse 26, talking about the Holy Spirit likewise, likewise, like the creation of the world and like the sons of God, those who’ve trusted Christ as Savior.

And verse 26, likewise the Spirit also, help with our infirmity before we know that what we should pray, not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makeeth the intercession for us with what? Grownings, which cannot be uttered. So here we have the creation groans, you and I, the sons of God, groan, and the Holy Spirit groans. What is interesting about the Holy Spirit groaning? I can understand you and I groaning, if you look there in verse 18, where it says, and I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, but that time isn’t yet.

But there is a time of suffering. We are groaning. Now one day of this world is is going to be delivered. And it uses the word grown and travail. Growning has the idea of looking backwards. Travail has the idea of looking forward. We grown because of what has taken place. You’ve gone through something, some heartache, some loss. And you’ve grown because of the suffering that you’re now going through. Okay. But travail talks about and shall travail with pain is a reference to a woman having a child.

And a woman having a child, she has a time that she goes through of a lot of a suffering and the hurt and the pain. And as time goes on, those pains increase. And she’s laboring and in travail and in pain until the child is delivered. Well, now one looks back and one looks forward. Well, when it cooks about the creation, grown it and travails and it says that. So the world itself is groaning because of a curse that was put upon it, but that’s not the way God intended.

You see, God created a good world. There was no sin. There was no problems and everything was fruitful and it would have been so nice, so wonderful. But there is coming a time where we’re going to have that changed. It’s not going to be like that forever. You see, it was good and it came bad. It’s not going to stay like this. God says that the Creation is in travail like waiting to be delivered like a new birth, a new creation, something new is going to take place.

Now we could have had everything upon the earth take place, the Lord to come back, take us to be with Him, and then you start the new heavens and the new earth. But it would not have solved the problem. What happened to this earth that God made and bringing forth this righteousness upon the earth and everything being wonderful without that thousand years that God’s going to have. The thousand years is like a must because it’s part of the overall plan.

Don’t want to leave that out. Wouldn’t you like to have lived in the Garden of Eden? You will. Because the whole earth is going to be like the Garden of Eden for a thousand years. We will be here. But the earth is waiting to be delivered into something wonderful, but it has to wait. It’s waiting for the sons of God to get things right. So that’s why he makes the statement here in verse 19. For the earnest expectation, the joyful anticipation of the creation waited for the manifestation of the sons of God.

So it’s waiting on us. So we get to go first. See, the earth was right and man messed it up. So man has to get right before the creation of the world can be made right again. See, God is so organized. He’s so disciplined. And he has everything in order. Everything has to be right. And when you study the Bible, it just blows your mind when you start seeing some of these things. But notice what he says. He says they’re in verse 20, for the creation was made subject to vanity.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, it talks about you and I, and that everything is vanity and vexation of spirit. And we’re like, if there was no God, what’s the purpose of life? Without God, what’s the purpose of the world? What’s the purpose of anything? the earth would have no purpose. The trees, there really no purpose because it would be all just an accident without God. There’s no purpose for animals. They just happen to exist. And maybe we came from some one cell, the Meebuh, maybe some common ancestor, you know, like a monkey.

Well, I don’t believe I came from an ape. I don’t believe you did either. I said before, my ancestors may have hung by the neck, but they didn’t hang by the tails. The world is going to to be changed, but it’s waiting on something. It’s waiting upon the sons of God to be changed. Now, get what he says here in verse 21, because the creation itself also shall be delivered. And the reason we shall be delivered and the creation will be is because look there in verse 24 of chapter 7.

When he looked at himself, saw the way that he was with his old sinful nature, old wretched man that I am, not that I’m going to be, this is the way I am. Who shall what? Those two words deliver me. Who’s going to deliver me from this going forth from this? So the way I am is not the way it’s going to be, it’s not the way that I want it. And is it possible in this life I could be Toni, the way that I should be, can I accomplish really what all I want to accomplish the way God knows, because of that sinful nature that you and I have.

We will battle it all the days of our lives. Now notice what he says here in verse 21, because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption. So we’re talking about being delivered from something, the bondage of corruption that’s in this world. one day it will not be corrupted anymore. Now you know that if this is what it is concerning in creation of the world, it might also mean the same thing when it talks about you and not being delivered.

Being delivered from this wretched body that we live in and being delivered from this world and as you look upon the world scene and you notice what’s happening over there in the Middle East, it looks like the world is sitting on a powder cage. Do you realize how easy it could be for the Battle of Armageddon to take place and where’s it supposed to take place in the plains of Jezreel right there in Armageddon. Right where they are in the north part of Israel, that’s where I’ve been several times, five times I’ve been there.

And I’m talking about in this great big old plains and we sit there one day up on Mount McGinno and we looked out there and the guy told me, he said, now watch right down there because he saw some and the opened up right out of the ground and on F-16, Bion took off from under that thing under the ground. They got them all over there. They’re not going to have peace in the Middle East without the Prince of Peace and he ain’t come yet.

Jerusalem put to be the city of peace and this is going to be a city of pieces because remember in the future yet Jerusalem will fall and the Jews they’re going to try to annihilate them and it says one third will be killed one third will be taken in the captivity in one third, a remnant will be left in the land. And Jesus will come back. So the whole creation is waiting until that time. Now look there in verse 22, but we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Then he says, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit. Now the first fruits of the that it means that when you trusted Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit is the seal that you’re in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the down payment. He’s the earnest payment that you’re gonna get the rest of it later. So you have the Holy Spirit living within you. That’s your security. That is your guarantee. You’re a child of God that can never be changed.

In this slide, you and I We’ll never have all that we’re supposed to have or be all that we’re supposed to be because we’re limited and we have a sinful nature. We won’t always do and obey and yield like we’re supposed to 100%. He makes a statement here in verse 23 and not only then, but we’re waiting for some even we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption that we’re waiting for something. We’re waiting to be delivered from this body to another body and If you and I see when God saved you he washed your soul white as snow, but he never touched your body You still have your sinful nature is in the body.

That’s why Christ came into the world Oh, he was perfect, but he had a human body, but he had to have a body where no man physical man had anything to put into the body. Though the wallen could be called the sinful nature is not passed on by the wallen but by the man. And so by not having a man’s seed he did not have a sinful nature in his body. Therefore he didn’t have to worry about that. You and I do.

So the day will come will be delivered from the curse of this body. And we’re waiting to be delivered from that. But until then, we got to suffer and we’ve grown. And the longer we stay in this body, the more groaning we’re going to do. Anybody been groaning lately? Anybody have any aches and pains lately? Well, just hang in there, you will, guaranteed. But like the world is waiting, and you and I that live in this body, we’re joyfully anticipating this moment.

It may be by rapture, my choice, Or it may be by death, but remember this. He says they’re in the book of Philippians in chapter one. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. So the best in this world is not as good as what we’re gonna have. That is far better. When he makes the statement in the book of 1 Peter in chapter one and verse four, and when he says we have an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, that fate, if not away, reserved in heaven for us.

But the thing is, we’re not there yet, knowing that I have an inheritance. It’s undefiled because everything down here is. And it’s incorruptible, but everything down here is. And fate, if not away, while everything down here does still doesn’t tell me what it is. I still have within me a little desire. Well, what is my inheritance? The Bible tells us even in the book of Revelation, that there’ll be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears, but it isn’t what I’m going to get.

He says, I have not seen ear, hath not heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the thing which God has prepared for them that he hasn’t told us that. He just says what’s not going to be there, but he didn’t even know what’s going to be there. You know what I got to mind? I want to know what is. He doesn’t say everything. He just tells us enough to dangle us along and he says, wait, hope. It’ll be worth it.

And so faith is believing that what God said is true and that nothing in this world can be compared to it. You know, heaven must be something. It’s another world. When you notice there in verse 18 when he says, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, but it doesn’t say what glory will be revealed, does it? He just says, what you’re going to have when you get to heaven, there’s nothing in this world that you can compare it to.

You can say it was going to be like this, no it’s not. There isn’t anything. The mind of man will not be able to comprehend this new world. What heaven is really like. So we’re waiting until then. But God says, serve me now. Believe in all of this, one day you’ll be there and I’m going to reward you with things that you would never dream. That would make everything you went through down here. It’ll all be worth it. And so we’re waiting for this moment.

We’ve grown in this body. Waiting as a woman is going to have a child and to be a new life. Remember the Bible tells us this in the book of Romans in chapter 6, that when Christ was buried, you were buried. And as He came back from the dead, even we also should walk in newness of light. We’re a live, as though I’ve already got the new life. I just haven’t seen my inheritance yet. I don’t know what it all is.

I haven’t. Got a good clue. I just know that it’s going to be worth it. And you and I are supposed to live our lives believing that and to serve the Lord now with all we have. And if you really believe what God says, then you’ll patiently wait for it. See the last part of verse 25? You’ll patiently wait for this moment. Now look there in verse 26. What do you think it means when he’s talking here about the Holy Spirit groaning?

Well, if the Holy Spirit is not here, then you’re not here. Holy Spirit is groaning. He’s not groaning for himself, but God Bible does tell us that the Holy Spirit grieves. You can grieve God. You can grieve the Holy Spirit. And it makes a statement in Ephesians 4 and verse 13, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you’re sealed until the day of redemption. So you and I are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit of God that lives within us is not able to totally possess all of us.

Now he possesses you, but he don’t have all of you. See, you have all of the Holy Spirit. When you trust the Lord, you’ve got all of him you’ll ever get. But he don’t have all of you that he can get. Because you see, him using us effectively in this life is you and I yield in our lives to him, but nobody does it perfectly. We already have restraints, we’ve got problems, we have drawbacks, we have fear, we don’t totally do what God says do.

There is a groaning in him because you and I have not yet came forth, produced the way we should. He says that in the Philippians in chapter 1 and verse 6, it makes the statement that he that hath begun a good work in you will perform unto the day of Christ. So He is within us for the purpose of performing. That means if He is performing a work in us, there is a change taking place in us. If you have no changes in your life, it’s because the Holy Spirit doesn’t have the freedom to work in your life.

That grieves God. Because you and I are not totally limited now to our physical body and our old sinful nature, we have the power of God himself living within us. And when he makes the statement there in verse 26, in the middle part of the verse is for the spirit himself, make it the intercession for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered to be conformed to the image of Christ. The purpose of the Holy Spirit within you and within me is to conform us to the image of Christ.

That’s why he says in 2 Corinthians in chapter 3, it makes a statement about where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, or where the spirit is the Lord of your life, then you have liberty from glory to glory, from the glory of the law to the glory of the Spirit. And the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our life is to change us. Have you ever met people who have trusted Christ as Savior and you see no change in their life?

Now that doesn’t mean you should doubt their salvation but you’ll doubt their love for the Lord, you’ll doubt a change taking place in the Lord, you’ll doubt maturity in their life because of the way they live. See the Holy Spirit is in me to deliver me from the power of the sinful nature so that I can produce something in my life, but it’s not over yet. There’s so much more. Look in verse 28. How many people have said, this is my favorite verse in the Bible.

And I doubt if they really understand what the verse means. And they just probably stand back and just try to separate the good things and the bad things, the good things and the bad things, the good things and the things they like and the bad things and the things they don’t like. That isn’t the Bible. He says, for we know that all things work together for good. This is why the Holy Spirit groans. You see, the Holy Spirit is to take all the things that happens in our life and make them work together to conform you and me to His image, because that’s what His job is.

And whenever we don’t yield and we fight against the things that happens in our life and we get bad attitudes and we get ugly toward God, it’s because the Holy Spirit doesn’t have the freedom to work in our lives. He’s not conforming us and that’s his job. That’s what he wants He wants to bring us forth from the way we are in our in maturity as a child of God into an adult A mature man or a mature woman of God Every woman in here would you consider yourself a gracious Godly Christian woman?

Whatever man consider yourself to be a Christian gentleman a God-fearing man Because every one of us should be allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to change us. Because God doesn’t want you to stay the way he wants to bring you for to deliver you from the power of sin and the slide from the old sinful nature from the things of the world from the power of the devil and make you a strong Christian. And he’s greed when you don’t yield.

Now, you’ll notice when he makes a statement here in verse 28, for we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose. and what is his purpose after we trust the Christ of Seagly? He says in verse 29, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be, and you ought to underline these words, conform to the image of his son. Conform is change. Any way you cut it.

When he says in Romans in chapter 12, be not conformed to this world, it means don’t let the world make you like the world. But what he says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, it means let the word of God change you into something else. Yes or no? Yes, that’s what the book says. So should there be changes in a Christian’s life? Yes, there should be changes in a Christian’s life. That is the only evidence that you can have that the Holy Spirit is working in your life that you are growing in the Lord.

and that you have revealed something in your life that maybe wasn’t there before. You are conforming to the image of Christ. In other words, you become more and more like the Lord. And yet in this life, you and I will never totally conform to the image of Christ. times, not until the day that we leave this body will be changed in a moment with that word changed in a moment, the twinkling of an eye and cut up to meet the Lord.

That’s when our total change will take place. And then you’ll have and be all that God wants you to be. You see, you don’t change your life to be saved because that would be works for salvation. You don’t change your life. You don’t promise God you’re going to change. You don’t have to stop anything. Join anything. All you do is just simply as you best you can. I’m a sinner and I believe Christ died, paid for my son. I’ll trust him as my savior.

And once you do that, then you are God’s child. You have eternal life. You’re going to heaven whenever you die. And that’s good news. Born into his family. But the work’s not over. The Lord is just beginning a good work. Now, get what he says here. In verse 20, I’m whom he did for. I know that’s the foreknowledge of God. That’s an attribute. He also did predestinate. That’s an act of God. That’s what he does. And so he says that these things that come into our lives in this life and all these sufferings that we go through are the very tools that the Holy Spirit uses to conform you.

Now, what is the attitude that you have toward the things that goes against your grain? How do you handle it? How you do it? Remember, it’s a battle right up here in the mine. This is where you either win or lose. If you understand this, you’ll know that God is behind this and God can use this to make me a better, stronger person than I watch before. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.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, 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 prayer prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can and reaches toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you’ll 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.

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 version. 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 defile 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, but 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. Maybe they’re only five or six years old or eight or ten years old. I talked to a wind kid who came from a broken home. He said, yeah, I broke it. But you need to understand that there are some things that can cause depression that you were not the cause of it.

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. And the thing, I’m sorry, 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 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. 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, nv 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 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 want to 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 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 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? a wannick and 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 he got it down by, he 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 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. 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 in we harbor ill feelings and our emotions are all run away.

But this is so important. Look at this statement. Children who blame 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? And 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 was 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 mama, them? She’s I thought it was the team. Me go home. Said you want to go home? And she just started to ball and.

And when I brought her back home, let’s see mom and she’s in heaven now. Mom was 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. 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 you didn’t know that.

And there might have even been time when Jesus was discouraged are depressed. Read how he thought and felt in the garden and how that his soul was sorrowful even unto 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 being 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’re 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. But 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 and 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 materialize, 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 death of my visions to give me a better vision, to help me to see something I would have never seen, know all the 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 sobbed by first seeking and overall to please the Lord. Galatians chapter 1 and verse 10, you’ve got to see this verse. You’ve 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 a cursed. And as I said before, even so say, I now again. 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, or 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 the please people. It’s the 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 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 fussy 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 could 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. I said, hello, may I help you? I was in a 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 says, 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 ya. I said, I know I have eternal life and I know that I’m going to heaven when I 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 gonna go in your dias? I said, well, 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, it’s 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 and I get to heaven.

She says, I’ll see you in heaven. I was like, 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 the, see my little messages or whatever I’ve got and a little gospel presentation and all that.

So Betty walks in 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 Many of them were up there and then it has so many, a hundred and something clicked on this one and ninety on to this one and sixty on this one and fifty on this one.

And all these people that have been in 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. 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 that knocked me for a loop. I had no clue. And here I am preaching the gospel to 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 how far it’s going to go, but I just get excited about the things of the Lord.

God has sure been 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. 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 of them on the cross, and came back from the dead. And God said that if you and I, if we would be lead, 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 they leave 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 shavian. Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’re here 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. And tonight I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior.

And when God said that if you would trust him, he would save you and give you 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, or in the Lord, Jehovah’s everlasting that will keep him in perfect peace with mine, is stayed upon thee.

Thank you Lord for your word, and all you’ve done for us 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.

If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

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. 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 through the Bible line website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Look 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 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 just see a couple verses there. Look in the book 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 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 four, 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 he hath 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, 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 you let you die. So, well, I don’t want to die. Then work. Find a way to meet your needs. So God has designed life and given When you were a body, gave you a mind, and God says, work is a gift from God.

Now take your Bible to 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 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 we had a big old club and beat the woman over the head and drag her by the head and drag her 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. 3 verse 17, you know they had sinned, so they had to be placed under curse. In verse 17, and under Adam he said, because thou hast hearken unto the voice of thy wife, and hath eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, 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, work, a 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.

want you to do, but glared upon with the spisest slothfulness and laziness. Those are not too honorable traits that go back here to book of Ecclesiastes chapter UNCLASSIFIED. 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 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. 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, didn’t want to work, smoke, rust, 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 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 at in verse 22, verse 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 be vital in the word of truth. And so whatever thy hands findeth to do 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 law giver. There’s no right and wrong. Everything’s a dirty grave. 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 is a religion where there are only hope of going to heaven.

If 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 a 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-cenful 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 discouraged, what wrong had these Hebrew children done? They didn’t ask to go down in the 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 so 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 these situations, 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. 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 a 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 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 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 Nat and Lizzie, 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 will happen. 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. Oh, the wife leaves the husband.

See 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 version, you need to know where it is, and that it’s in the Bible. 1 John 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 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 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 are 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.

And the thing I say, I’m sorry, 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 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 error 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 relativists real close, and while 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 upon yourself that’s not the result of a sin that you’d committed, but because of stressful decisions, sometimes you have to make. 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 it was 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 want to do something and I didn’t think it was a wise thing to do and I would say, 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 and 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, 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 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.

about just what there’s their Sunday school that can produce stress. I want to can produce stress Saturday night and have stress. We can be under a lot of time. 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 path. 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 want to put a gas line into a house or water line, they usually test a 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. 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. 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. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, Go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, CalvaryofTampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

So live today and every day, believing that the Lord as 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. 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

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 David’s end, 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. But 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? 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 in 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 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 new tree. Joab said unto the man that told him, and behold thou saws him, why this 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 Atayah, He said, saying, be where that none touch 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’re on the line this part in your Bible would God I had died for thee oh 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 looked. 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. 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 done and so discouraging, 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.

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 into 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 little notes that I’ve already done. And then I wrote some of the rest of them. And 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, that’s good, that’s helpful. And some things help me.

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, mean, at 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 says, 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 says, I just want to learn this, but just I can’t. 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 in 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. the kind of reveals what you’re trusting in for sure. And because we’re so easily deceived. So God allows us to be tested in so many ways to reveal to us that 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. Can 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. I 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 where you can’t eat and you can’t sleep. And then sleep all the time or just eat all the time. I’m going to, 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? 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 in the anger, the bitterness, and 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, maintenance, you know, 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 towards 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. Look at the first statement, guilt is solved by forgiveness. Materialism, 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 more happier 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, happy. Well, it doesn’t because they got to go out to the next week and buy some more and some more and they’re never satisfied. It’s never enough. And so if you can learn to be content, then you can be satisfied. And you don’t have to worry about the guilt of materialism because you can become so depressed. 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 happening.

going on. So they 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 is causing the problem. Look at number three, anger is solved by entrusting yourself to the Lord.

Because if you can trust the Lord with whatever it is, it’s supposed to make 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 Christian. 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 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 and he hung in. Number four, hatred is solved 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’d 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 wouldn’t you 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 saw 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 saw 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 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 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 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, inverse four, 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 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 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. 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. Look, 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 to 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 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, that came walking out of that cave, you know, and with a big old club and beat the woman over the head and drag her by the head and drag her 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 and verse 17, you know they had sinned so they had to be placed under a curse. And 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, 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, a 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 were blessed by today’s message.

If you’re a commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can read the line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free 1-800-800-8 576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Spinning Globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us.

Best 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 going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

But one thing that will get between you and the Lord is envy and jealousy. A sin will separate you from your heavenly father in.[1]. 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. 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. 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 that 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 in order on the line of behaved himself more wisely.

See every time it gets better and better and better. He disciplined himself more and more. And so the Now look there in 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 second Samuel in chapter 13. 17, 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 it looked there chapter 12 very quickly. Just look up here in verse 6. Because a little story was told to David, and as 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. And he had a lot of sheep, but he took the neighbor’s 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… 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 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 he 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 said 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 will it be caused 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, uninnocent little child. Have I done anything to nobody just born then 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 into the same hole that somebody else fell into. too. 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 Anum, 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 John and Abba was a very subtle man.

And see in verse four, and he said unto him, why art thou? the king’s son lean from day to day. Will thou not tell me? And said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother, Absalom’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 there. And you want her to bring you some food to aid. And when she gets close to the bed, all you just 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.

Hobbiot, 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 wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. Do you think it can change that quick? It can change. This is what happens a lot of time 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 and 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? 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 irate his sister. So when they got him all together, he had already told John the dad. He had told him, he 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 married with wine and when I say unto you, smite Adam, 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 to come back to David, all of his sons had been killed. 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 says, you will not die.

But it’s going to come four times in it, but it did it. Come start coming. And he says, it will not leave your house. The wickedness had come. The damage was being done. And so you look down there in verse 32. Jonah, the son of Shimiah, David’s brother answered and said, Let not my Lord suppose that they have slain all the young men 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 as 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 gonna 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 hand There’s a price to pay and you’re not gonna like the price you’ll have to pay You’ll notice there in verse 37, but Absalom fled and went to Talmea and he says, in the last part of verse there, David mourned for his son how often?

Every day, David mourned. Now this is several years after what he had to go through the other 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, um, uh, lead 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, in verse 38, an Absalom fled. So now his another son is running. One is dead, Tamar has been raped, and now Absalyn 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 Absalyn, for he was comforted concerning Adam, seeing 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, enjoy Abtana, talk him into 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 dwot two, four years in Jerusalem and saw not the king’s face. Five years now has passed. Five years now. Well, Absalom finally said to 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 it and they got together and they hugged and kissed and smoosed 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 not 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 mannered that Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment He would catch him in the gate and he’d talk to him 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 else 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 that.

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 gotta 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 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 gold he 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 nuke tree. Joab said unto the man that told him and behold thou saw us him, 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 my 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 Atiah, he said, say, and beware that none touched the young man’s epsilon. Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against my own life, for there is no matter hid from the king, and I’ll vice This 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 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 Absalyn, my son, my son Absalyn, and you ought to underline 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 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 you 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. And 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. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

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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 administrate for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

The title of today’s message. I call it the devil’s spin. I’m sure you heard enough on the news, especially doing political times, where someone makes a statement and then you have to have the commentators come on afterwards and tell you what he said, because you weren’t smart enough to get it. So they have to tell you what he really meant and they put a spin on it. Well, believe it or not, I believe the master spinner is the devil himself.

He’s always trying to put a spin on what God says. You see, when God told Adam and Eve in the garden the truth, he put a spin on it, says, I shall not surely die, making you believe something else. That casting questions and doubts about the truth. And he hasn’t stopped. I believe every Christian would serve a Lord if the devil wouldn’t put a spin on what God promised. There’s no one that wants you and me to be happier, to have more pleasure in life than the Lord.

He created life and he wants us to be happy, wants us to be filled with joy. Many things you write in his word that you may be, that your joy may be full and talks about the joy of salvation. But if the devil would just leave us alone, you see, you’re now born with a sinful nature and we have a temptation to believe everything he says. That’s why we’re filled with questions and doubts and despair because the old devil is alive and well.

And he’s putting a spin on everything that God says. When it comes to salvation, remember the devil’s putting a spin saying that you have to earn your way to heaven. Oh, he might even agree that you’re saved by grace, but he’s going to add a little bit of works to it just to help just in case. You know, in case God really didn’t mean what he said, he just better be good just in case. So he puts a spin on it.

But that little spin that he puts on it, that one little work that he gets you to trust in is a way of damning your soul for eternity. You see, it’s a great thing to believe the truth. It’s a very dangerous thing to believe a lie. Not to believe many people understand just how critical our lives are and the things that happens to us that cause us either to believe or not to believe. Even like Peter says, Lord I believe this helped my unbelief.

Then after you trust the Lord, know you have eternal life, know that you’re going to heaven when you die. Now Satan puts another spin on it. Look, now he doesn’t want you to do any good deeds. See before you’re saved, he don’t mind if you do good deeds to save yourself because he knows it’s a lie. Well after you’re saved, well sometimes saved by grace, I don’t have to do anything. All my sins are paid. I’m going to heaven whenever I die.

I can live like I please. But he doesn’t tell you the whole thing. Even whenever he was trying to tempt Christ in Matthew chapter 4, he didn’t quote everything. He didn’t tell the whole truth. See, the Bible says, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, but he was doing it. He was trying to tempt the Lord thy God. But he don’t quote everything. He takes part of things and twist it, puts a spin on it. And so now that you know Christ is your Savior, he’s going to do everything he possibly can to put of spin on why you should not serve the Lord and why you should not be faithful, why you shouldn’t give the way you should, why you shouldn’t witness.

You see, you would do all those things naturally if the devil would just leave things alone, but he won’t. He has his ministers out there, he has his preachers of false messages, and they put a spin on everything that God says, whatever is truth, there’s a lie out there telling you that it ain’t And you and I would be wise to listen to what God says. I want everyone to serve a Lord. And some people serve the Lord because they just feel fun guilty.

Guilty if they don’t. And I have a little bit of that. Because I don’t want to serve a Lord out of guilt, but some people just feel like, you know, I have failed and failed and failed and I feel so guilty that they just hardened themselves, become calloused, and they don’t bother them anymore. At one time it used to really bother them whenever they wouldn’t read the Bible and it really bothered them when they wouldn’t witness And it really bothered them when they wouldn’t go to church It really bothered them when they you know said things they shouldn’t say and went to places They shouldn’t go but you know after a while it doesn’t bother them anymore.

They become callous to it Well, we shouldn’t serve the Lord out of guilt, but there’s a little guilt by not being obedient and And some people serve the Lord out of fear, just plain afraid. Pray that if I don’t, God’s gonna beat that Torah on me. Well, I don’t want to serve the Lord for that reason. Though it is a reason. It’s a reason why some people do what they do. But they go to church because they’re afraid if they don’t, God’s gonna break their neck and throw them in the hospital.

I guess you could use that as a great motivating force. I trusted the Lord for the main reason that I didn’t want to go to hell. That’s the wrong reason. That was a pretty good reason for me at that time. I didn’t want to go to hell. So I believe a man has to know the consequences of what his sins produce. So because you and I are sinners and if we’re lost then we know that we’re going to hell and that fear works pretty good.

And that’s why a lot of people trust the Lord. But after you trusted Christ as your Savior, should you and I be motivated by the fear? Now the Bible talks about there is the fear of the Lord and we should fear God. I believe it’s talking about having a holy, reverential respect for the Lord, knowing the awesomeness, the power that God has and what He can do in our individual lives. So it can be a healthy thing, but to go through life, being afraid all the time, it’s not a good thing.

There’s always a limit. And the devil will always take and put a spin on everything. You know, if you’re gonna mess up and you know you’re gonna mess up, you might be just mess up big. And now that you’re not ruining your testimony, there’s no hope for you. God can’t use you. So you might just go all the way. And some people just get in the mud and they stay there all the days of the life because they listen to a lie.

Somebody took the truth and put a spin on it and they become disheartened and dejected. It felt like it’s not worth it anymore. We got a big old Bible here. It’s a big old Bible. It’s got a lot of things in it. And yes, it’s got the law in there. It’s got a There’s a lot of rules and regulations, a lot of ceremonial laws, civil laws, and all this, all kind of laws. Even all the way through to New Testament, there’s a lot of do’s and don’ts.

But what you and I need to see and understand is that behind all of these laws and rules and regulations, there’s a person. This person is gone. This person is the person Jesus Christ and says that the law is to lead us to Christ. It leads us to it. So the law isn’t bad, it’s just that it leads you to somebody, it’s not the end in itself. The rules and regulations that sometimes the parents lay down upon the child is, that’s not the end in itself.

It’s just the kind of like guidelines to hold you in to and to constrain that old central nature that they have. And believe me, they do have one. You don’t remove the rules and regulations, you’ve just got to try to point them in a right directions say, look, focus upon mommy and daddy. You always tell them, we love you. Mommy loves you. Daddy loves you. And you’re trying to see them, but love you back. And you try to do right to the child and you want the child to do right because you love them.

But you don’t move the rules and regulations. They’re there for a reason. Some parents believe that it’s good just to compromise and remove them all. But the child is doing whatever the child wants to do. Because Because if we lay down any rules and regulations, they’ll just rebal. If they do, they have already rebal in their heart. And this is why as time goes on, it’s easier sometimes to raise kids. Just give them the free reign, let them do whatever they want.

They’ll go wherever they want, dress the way you want, and remove all the restraints. You say they’ll be happier. No, they won’t be. Because it’s to keep them from trouble. And it’s to help them. Same thing in the Bible when you find the rules and regulations. you and I are to understand that behind all of us, we don’t study the Bible so we can fall in love with the rules. We don’t fall in love with all the law. We fall in love with the person.

When you fall in love with the person that’s behind it all, then you don’t even see the rules and that don’t bother you anymore because you’re in love with the person. And that love is what will challenge and motivate you and is the greatest thing for you. Now, take your Bible and turn to to 2 Corinthians in chapter 5. 2 Corinthians in chapter 5. Everybody knows it. Everybody wants to be loved, and we need a little tender love and care.

Kind of like the man that… Well, he was getting very, very sick. So he went to the doctor to find out what was wrong with him. And he just didn’t have any will to live. So after he talked to the doctor, the doctor says, I need to talk to your wife. So the wife came in and he says, your husband is in very, very bad shape. And for some reason or other, his well-being, depends upon him receiving a lot of tender loving care.

And if you’ll give him a lot of tender loving care that he might make it. Now one begin to think, all they’ve been doing for all their married life is arguing and hiding, arguing and fighting, never getting along. And he told her he says, look, if y’all just don’t have any more arguments, no fighting, and you just give them all the tender loving care that that he can get and fix his favorite meals and do all these wonderful things.

He could live a long time. But she said, what if I don’t? What if he’ll die? So when they left and got in the car and started down the road, he says, honey, what did the doctor tell you? She kind of looked sad. And he says, the doctor says you’re gonna die. I want you to look there in chapter five, second Corinthians in chapter five, I’m looking for a 14. He says, for the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judged that if one died for all, then we’re all dead.

That he died for all that they which lived should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Now in verse 14, there’s a good way of looking at this word. And I have always looked at it as the love of Christ. And as though it always referred to Christ’s love for me because he says, because we thus judge, we judge this way. that he died for us. And I and you are the judge that if he died for one, he died for all and those who believe, well, it should live for the one who died for them.

And I believe it’s good in his accurate. When two truths are parallel, equally true, then maybe God means that both of them were right. When it says here in verse 14, for the love of Christ, Is that His love for me or the love of Christ my love for Him? Or which one would be right? Is it the love that Christ has for me that motivates me to serve the Lord? Or is it my love for Him that motivates me to serve the Lord?

Which one would be false? Or maybe both of them are true? I should serve the Lord because He loves me. Look what He did for me. But because of what he did for me, my love for the Lord, my love of Christ, the love of God, the love of Christ should motivate me than to serve him. Now see it’s not a spin on truth. It’s an amplification or magnification of a truth. Seeking to understand as much as you possibly can and understand it all that we will never do.

But Joel chapter 3 is talking about a time when God’s going to gather all the nations of the world against Israel and bring them to the valley of Jehoshapah. And here’s all these people that came there. And of course, I believe this is the Battle of Armageddon, a time that’s coming. And he says, in verse 2, I will gather all nations and we’ll bring them down into the the Valley Jaha’a. But here’s all this multitude of people. The Lord talks about how that he’s going to take these grape vines from all over the world.

And he’s going to pull all these grapes into his big bowl. And then he’s going to take his feet and he’s going to stomp the feet on these grapes because they’re ripe on the harvest. And he’s going to let the grape juice flow out about 200 miles down toward the Kidron Valley by the walls of Jerusalem. And put in the sickle, the harvest is right. Come get you down for the presses full, the fats overflow for their wickedness is great.

So we know that this is talking about wickedness and God’s judgment upon the world. And he says here in verse 14, multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. when this time happened, it says, the sun and the moon shall be darkened, the stars shall withdraw their shining. This is the time that’s coming. But what about people that are living today? all over the world, multitude, multitudes in a valley of decision.

We often talk about the time that we live upon this earth. Time you’re born, time you die. It’s one big valley. And, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we live from the time we’re born to the time we die, we live in a valley that produces the fear of death. And, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear. No, we will. You and I don’t have to fear because we’ve already made a decision.

But there’s multitudes in this valley of the shadow of death that never made the right decision. They believed the spin that the devil gave to them upon the truth. You’re not going to die. It’s always way out there. It’s always way out there. And you’re not going to die now and you got time. You can always get ready later. And the road to hell is paid with good intentions, always intended to get right. I’m going to trust the Lord one of these days.

I’m going to go to church one of these days. If I serve the Lord, then things are going to really happen bad to me. And God’s going to make me poor all my life. I’ve done seeing too many poor missionaries and poor preachers, and I just don’t want to be poor all my life and do about the luxuries of life. I am accustomed to a higher standard of living. I’ll bless you a little peeping heart. Who cares? God’s not interested in all that stuff.

It’s whatever you’re willing to do or to give to be for the Lord. Here’s churches all across America, around the world, where people will set in churches of their choice. Each week take your voice to the church of your choice and sing all the hymn with respect. We’ll be glad to get you and your offering to be a cash money order or check. our doctrines are clear, just be good and sincere. If you’re tired of your sin, we will welcome you in if you show up at least once a year.

And so there’s people all over the world going to churches of their choice that have nothing to do with how to go to heaven. But they made decisions. The wrong decision because somebody put a spin upon truth. I believe that we should know the Bible, believe the Bible, and let it totally control our lives. Take a Bible and look in the book of Joshua, the book of Joshua, chapter 24. This is a great chapter. Got some good stuff in it.

Joshua’s going to die. He’s at the end of his life. Kind of like Paul was when he said, I have fought a good fight. I’ve kept the faith. And therefore there’s laid up for me a crown of righteousness, but not to me only, but to all them that love is appearing. Here in the Old Testament of Okejosha, chapter 24, he says to the children in verse 14, Now therefore fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity, you ought to underline this, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt serve you the Lord because you can’t serve both.

Every man has the same amount of time and every day 24 hours and you can worship God or not worship God. It’s your choice. You’re in a valley of decisions. You’re always making decisions as you go through this little valley from birth until death. And what are going to do with it. God wants us to be happy. I’ve lived long enough to see a lot of people who believe what God said and God used them and blessed them in a great way.

Now look what He said in verse 15, and if and you ought to underline these words, it seems evil. It seems evil and the only way it can seem evil is that the devil put a spin on it and you believe it. Do you think it’s evil to serve God. It’s wrong to do right. Is it wrong to be faithful to God’s people and the church that God established? And that’s what God wants us to do. Evidently, some people don’t believe that.

That’s why I tell people, look, if you’re not going to serve the Lord, it doesn’t matter what you do. Do you really worship the true and living God? Remember the first commandment in the word? love of the Lord thy God with all thy hard mind, body, soul, and strength. Make no graven images of any kind to anything. You worship only the Lord. The last part of that verse says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Isn’t it wonderful that God created such a wonderful world for us to live in? Did you know whenever he made all the animals, he made them for us? When he created the the earth itself, he did it for us. He didn’t need it. God didn’t need the animal. He didn’t need the trees. He didn’t need the pretty flowers. He made all that for us. He said, well, why? He could bring us pleasure so that we could enjoy it. God says He has given to us all things to freely enjoy.

Nobody wants you to have more enjoyment of life than God Himself. It’s the devil that tells you just the opposite, that God’s way won’t work. Yes, His way will. Have you ever noticed that this body that God gave us to live in this world, we often call it the senses of the body, you know, like the tongue and the taste? Did you know that to sustain the body you can eat food, but you wouldn’t have to have taste buds, tea food.

You can eat food without taste buds. But what does taste buds do for the food? You can enjoy the taste of the food. It’s not just to feed the body because you could just swallow it whole without chewing and their tasting it and now they can even feed it through the veins and you didn’t get to taste it at all. Oh God, God could have fed us that away without any taste at all. Aren’t you glad that God allowed, oh why did God give us taste buds?

For pleasure to enjoy the taste of food. Anybody like ice cream? Want to taste good? Or strawberries with chocolate on it? Do you want it to taste good? And all kinds of wonderful things that you can eat and enjoy because it just tastes good. What’s that God did that because God wants you to enjoy. He didn’t have to do that. But that’s because God wants us to have pleasure to enjoy something. You take the eye. You know, we could see in black and white.

In my remember a long time ago that all the televisions came out in black and white. There was no color. I remember when there was no color on TV. Anybody else remember that? But why do we like it in color? It enhances it. But look at this world that we have. You see, if God didn’t give us not just vision to see, but the color to see a beautiful sunset, God doesn’t need to see a beautiful sunset for pleasure so that we can enjoy.

Because we love the different colors. God didn’t have to do that. But because he designed us and life to please us. That’s what he did. He wants us to be happy. It’s the devil that put the spin on everything. And so we got eyes that get color. We didn’t have to have that. And we got a tongue that can taste. Have you ever heard beautiful music? And have you ever heard it in stereo? Why couldn’t God just give you one ear right there?

All you need was one ear if it’s just a ear. But the hearing stereo sounds coming from everywhere. Beautiful. And then on top of that, isn’t it wonderful to have all the different kinds of instruments? The different notes and then be able to put them together and hear some beautiful orchestration that just really blows your mind or to have a good concert where it sounds so great and you sit there and you are pleased with what you hear. It’s pleasant to the ears.

It produces pleasure. You enjoy it. Is there something wrong with it? God did that. See, there’s things that we can enjoy all the way through life. But all these things that I’m mentioning to you are the things of the body. This is the body that connects us with the world in which we live. I want you to take your Bible look in Genesis chapter 18, hearing the book of Genesis in chapter 18, look there in verse 11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well-stricken, I like the way that’s word.

He didn’t call her an old lady, well-stricken in age, and it cease to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself saying, after I am waxed old, shall I have, what’s that, you ought to underline that word? Shall I have pleasure? Did you know that with the physical body, one of the greatest pleasures in life is between a man and a woman, are together in intimacy. Who created that? God did. who created sex, God did.

And it was for pleasure and to create children. But you know what? If it wasn’t for the pleasure, I believe the human race would have been extinct long time ago. And it’s a wonderful thing that God has given to us to enjoy in marriage, but that’s something God did. But notice all of these things deals with the body. I believe one of the greatest pleasures of life has nothing to do with the physical body. The greatest pleasure is that inter-belief that you are pleasing God.

And when I please God, by my obedience, brings the greatest pleasure, more than anything that I’ve mentioned as the time goes on. There’s great pleasure that you’ll find in those people that you want the Christ. See there’s spiritual pleasures that will bring you greater joy and happiness than all of things that you can get from your body. And you might see a nice house, but it’s temporary. And the pleasure of a new car, but it’s temporary. Even sexual intimacy, that’s temporary.

The taste buds is temporary. What you hear, it’s temporary. What you see, it’s temporary. But the things done by the pleasure of the Holy Spirit living within you is eternal in nature. It’s pleasure forevermore, joy unspeakable. And one of these days you and I are going to be in heaven. And the pleasure, the joy that we’ll have when we stand at the Judgement City of Christ, like Paul says, ye are my joy at the Judgement City of Christ. And that’s joy, that pleasure forever.

When Christ rewards you for what you’ve done for Him, that is pleasure and rewards and joy that nothing in this world can compare to. There’s nothing here that can prayer to the pleasure that you can have in the Lord. The joy of singing songs to the Lord, the joy of witnessing, the joy of studying God’s words, the joy of being with God’s people, the joy of all these wonderful things that God has given to us. There’s a spiritual pleasure that many people never enter into.

They robbed themselves of it because the devil put a spin on the truth of God. Before salvation, the old devil says, do good. Then after you’re saved, do nothing. That’s what makes most Christians, but we’re not. 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.

771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. friend one day it will happen the trumpet will sound we will be changed caught up to meet the Lord in the air so live today and every day believe in that the Lord is coming soon just keep looking up

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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

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? 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 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 accept, but a perfect will for my life, that you may know it is that 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 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 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 issu to they need.

I hate sometimes things not working out the way I want it to. And I really despise getting behindnostic slow driver on the highway. Especially $$)=( Especially when they653 know I’ve got things to do and places to go and it seemed like they’re)]. , no hurry at all. And one of these days I just feel like just laying on the horn as I passed by and looking at him real me I know it’s gonna be it goes mr. Paulson You know or they go Steve there goes Steve you know You know, because I’m going to be in a hurry and I’m going to see somebody else think, 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, nothing679 just getting mad once in a row. Well, she won’t hardly ever get mad at anything. I guess we can all just want to have that offers as a commitment to some, and that’s what that could mean. You want it to be commited. OK, can you welcome his brother, you’re going to figure out what’s going to happen.

<!– 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 a 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 do that. But anyway, there’s a 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 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, you know, the positive things.

And David Kivagalaya, dangahs, dangah, dangah, the lions, dah, the three Hebrew children, you good stories that always is positive and on the up and the up. But very seldom do 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. 1 Samuel and chapter 16.

1 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 that 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, 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 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 what we talked about Moses. And Moses says, Lord, I do not want to see my wickedness. No, but I don’t want to see how bad I really am. Because Moses was a perfectionist. He won everything right. And you couldn’t do everything right. And because he couldn’t, he just loses 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, it makes a statement here that Saul was beginning to drift away from the Lord. God told Saul, I have reached down and got a to hold you and I made you the king. I chose you.” And he says, when thou executely and thine own eyes, I exalted you. But now he’s gotten to the place where he no longer wants to listen to God. And 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 theailable 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 Pelicans 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 canandise you. They can’t take anymore. When you’re all troubled, that’s when ================================================================= is a littleSegment. the devil really likes to go fishing because he’s going to catch you. It’s so easy for him toQuotes. letico andoğanesomeGROUP and then he can lead youassium because you work in the world.

Because you workUrlof emotions Wengersome of whatefined stabilizes a Christian is whenever he is moved and guided by facts that don’t move. Things that don’t that doesn’t move, the word that is solid. Hold fasthin’ onto these things, and you will be as stable as that which you hold onto. And if you hang on to the things of the world, you’re not gonna be veryttp wrong, and you can’t last long. So anyway, says here in verse 16, let our Lord now command thy servants, which are before proble 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, isodes of the evil spirit from God Recommends 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 that tense up and it can really affect you physically. And something was wrong with him mentally because he had lost He lost his trust in the Lord. And because he796 would go in and pressventory.

And you and I know that sometimes when we get all the tight that you can play some nice soothing music andRequires how it can relax you because it affects the mind. And when it affects- it affects the mind it can affect the body it can affect the body and relax you like setting a nice big old tough on a nice hot water. Oh man. 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 twenty minutes when it’s just nice and hot. All 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, a king certs. And did you know I mean, the family of Jessi and the Bible says that heNormally was a little bit too. I mean, the Bible says that he was a little bit too. I mean, the Bible says that he was a little bit too.

He’s out there tending the sheep and the Bible says he was cunning, skilled. You see, it doesn’t matter whatever it is, what hands find it to do. do 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 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 And anyway, God brought him in and ******************************** was able to use him in a great, great way. You see there in verse 17 and Saul said unto his servant, provide me now a man disembodied man thatCooldown and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants and said, Be, I have seen a son of Jesse that bled him. I that gauging in play in a valiant man, man of war, prudent in matters and a comely person and theclose is with him.

You see that little phrase, the Lord isQuantity. People could tell this kid walked with God. Something about this young individual. And so anyway, heVICE he plays and Saul is greatly comfortedgifiphate because of that. And he says there in verse 23, and he came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul that David took a haroples and played with his hands. So Saul was was well and was well and was well. 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 use 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 sinned and brought him in. And 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 Lord970 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 SaulONDON, God can also take it away from him. God may give you things today 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’re reading 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 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 with the soever Saul sent him, behaved himself wisely. Saul set him over the men of war and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul 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 and as they played and said, Saul have slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.

See anything wrong there? If you was Saul and especially when it’s the women, remember at one time Saul was a young man and Saul was hidden 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 eight, look in verse eight. It’s important to see the attitude because this is what causes depressions. It’s your perspective how you see things. Saul knows he’s not gonna live forever, but he also sees a young man coming on the scene and what’s scottin’ 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 to day. 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, 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 all not have that many. I 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, 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 they 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 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. 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, therefore 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 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 him 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 as 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. And he had a lot of sheep, but he took the neighbor’s 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, 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 he 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 had 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 will it be caused 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, 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 for a fold. 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 hole 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 were 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again We’d like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program.

Go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord coming soon and just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they are 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Esther knew that she would have to go to see the king, 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 a Jew.

And Haman’s 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 Metapoxy? 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. 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 worshiped God. Mordecai wouldn’t bow to anybody.

So somebody was upset because 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 zerush his wife. “‘And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, “‘and the multitude of his children and then all the things wherein the king had promoted him.

And how he had advanced him above the princes and then servants of the king. Bull was he one proud man. I mean, he was riding high. He was somebody. Well, but he’s had a problem. In verse 12, Haman 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 unto her and also with the king.

Yet all this availith mean nothing as long as I see Mordecai, the Jew sitting at the king’s gate. He said, I can’t stand that man. I hate that man. Now this man, and it calls 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 sitting at the gate doesn’t honor him. And what does he want to do? Not just to this one Jew, to all of them.

He wanted 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, then so far that you think they should? And you’d be surprised how you can fit with hatred so easily, 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, then 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 part of the reason why. So he says in verse 14, then says, your rest of 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 hasn’t even got permission 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, because of how you’re thinking. So is 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 happen to not be able to sleep this night?

The night before Haman and Krenestor was going to come into a little banquet. And so here’s the king, and he said, no, he can’t sleep. So what does As you 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 rich, two of the king’s chamberlands, the keepers of the door who sought us 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. 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 4, 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 sent 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? 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 the king ride upon him.

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 the light of 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 the light of 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 crawl fish? He hates this guy and he had opened his 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 a one person that you touch You know it’s just kind of like that man where Peter and John and you know they was 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 give out thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now wait a minute, that man had been there for 38 years. Why hadn’t he been healed by Jesus, Jesus had to come that way a lot of times. Well, 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 end, 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 on the light of the world. This is you’re not the light of the world, you bear record of yourself and your record 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, 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 in 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 five of, in the book of Colossians in chapter three, there’s sins of the mind that causes great depression. And when you get depressed, you’d be surprised what it’s gonna 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, 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 did so. Nobody’s wrong, this man. Who did something wrong to Haman? Did Mordecai do anything wrong to this guy? 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 Moheel. How do you make a mountain out of a Moheel? More dirt. Just more dirt. And some people just add more dirt, more dirt, more dirt. But 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 life. 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 hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Oh boy, now he gets to go to the banquet. He’s been this die in the 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. The Nestor 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, I would have held my tongue. Although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage. Then King Ahasaras answered and said unto 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? Yes, who’s standing there? And Esther says the adversary, and enemy is this wicked Haman.

Then 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 Hervona, one of the chamber lanes, said before the king, behold also the gallows fifty cubit’s high, which Haman had 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 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 pulls all the rubs after Monday.

Even He turned off all the light 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 cleanse us 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 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 what, 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 potted 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, this is your guilty. And Christ made the payment for your sins. And so you accepted God, the judge for 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 on. 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’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 you 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 at it in verse 1. 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 that’s 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 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 at verse three. There is no soundness in my flesh because of dying anger. Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my what? And you are underlining 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 output 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 four, 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 discomforter when you’re disobedient. Understand the difference? 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 1-800-576-37. 771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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, dear God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time, dear God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

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, exhorting 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? Has 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 causes 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 views 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 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 man in the Bible was a man named Jeremiah. You ever heard of Jeremiah? The weeping prophet. 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 on appendicitis. Or you have headaches, and it could be because you have a tumor.

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 knee 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 want to 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. Some of these things I’ve mentioned to you before, but I wanna 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 gonna kill us like you did the Egyptian yesterday? He couldn’t handle it. Cause 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. To run, 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 Egypt. He went away, 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 it 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 upon your wrath. Be angry in sin not because most anger leads to sin.

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. Do 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 gonna get him 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 begotten them that thou should have say unto me, “‘carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father, “‘beareth the second child, unto the land which thou swears unto 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 upset 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 all 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 sometime, but 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? Are the restraints up on 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 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 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 you 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 would change their mind and get right and God wouldn’t zap him. And what did he want? He wanted God to get him. But Jonah hated the Gentiles. Well, a man by the name of Haman hated the Jews and 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 you 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, but she was the Jew. And Haman’s 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? I’m not feeling very well. 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, see, he was… he thought that everything was going great for him. So he says down here in verse 7, then answered Esther and said, my petition in my request is, if I have found favor in the sight 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 had said.

Then when Haman foreth 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 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 zerish 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 was one proud man. I mean, he was riding high.

He was somebody. Well, but he’s had a problem. In verse 12, Haman said, moreover, 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 unto her and also with the King. Yet all this availeth 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 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 who 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. You 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 you’re not hamin 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 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 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 part of the reason why. So he says in verse 14, then says, you’re as 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 thou 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 building the gallows. He hasn’t even got permission 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 is 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 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 does he do? He gets out 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 Bingdankah. He says, and to the king’s chamberlands, the keepers of the door who sought this lay hands on King Herhazarus. 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 4, 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 gonna 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 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 delighteth 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 delighteth 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 Mordecai the Jew that saideth at the king’s gate, let nothing fail of all that thou hath spoken.” Wasn’t he excited about this? You’re 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 said, 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 will read about them for all these years. Who would have ever thunk it? 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 3-3-6-3-4. 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 going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of Acts chapter 11, the book of Acts EDITION chapter 11. There are two extremes where God tells us to do something and you can say, I will, that’s an extreme. I won’t. That’s an extreme. I am called an extremist because I believe that what God says is right and I want to do it. whatever it is God wants me to do. Does that make me a fanatic? Well, it might. There’s people that do not like independent fundamental Bible-given missionary-minded Christians.

But that’s what I am. And probably that’s what you are. Now, you know in the book of Romans and chapters 6, it talks about the newnessEMP of life. It talks about yielding yourselves unto the Lord. And that we should not serve sin and we shall live with him.” And he liveeth unto God. And so there’s some good statements in these six chapters. We call that the identification truths because when Christ came back from the dead, we’re supposed to identify with what he did.

I was with him when he was crucified. I was with him when he was buried and came back from the dead. And I’m supposed to have been with him when he rose and when he proceeded into heaven these. That’s how secure we are because we are in Christ and that’s where he is. Now here I want you to look at this verse in the book of Acts chapter 11 and notice there in verse 26 when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people.

And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Now from what I have been told, the word Christian was not something that they put upon themselves. It was a people that were on the outside that put the name Christian upon those that were living, walking, talking like Christ. So it was the name they gave to them. And it might have been as a slur, a slander, what’s the, to be a disciple means a follower, a learner. And so there were those who followed the teachings of Christ and so the others call them Christians.

And it was mainly because they were the ones of the Christ’s way, the way of Christ. And he says, and they were first called Christians and anti-Yuck. At least they were called Christians. Now, I just had a little question about a few things that I wrote down. What is the sign of an unfed Christian? Well, that’s somebody who won’t eat. They starve themselves. Jeremiah chapter 15 verse 16 talks about the word of God. And he says, and I did eat them.

So a Christian, a believer is supposed to feed upon the word of God so that he can become a strong Christian. Otherwise, you will be like somebody who just doesn’t eat, and if you don’t eat, you’re going to get weak and you’re not going to be strong, but you won’t know why you’re not strong spiritually. You just lose your desire for spiritual things. When you lose your desire for spiritual things, after a while I say you just don’t have the desire to read the Bible.

You don’t have the desire to meet with other Christians. You don’t have the desire to witness. You don’t have a desire to study God’s Word or go to church. You lose the desire. Feeding upon the Word of God so he feeds the desire. And the desire can become stronger. And then when they become stronger, you can do a lot of things because of the desire to do something. When there’s no desire there, it’s, you’re kind of weak. So therefore you and I are supposed to serve the Lord because we feed upon the Word of God.

I don’t want you to get tired of hearing the Word of God. When you get tired of hearing the Word of God, the Bible talks about in the book of Hebrews in chapter 5. It talks about they become dull of hearing. For when the time they ought to be teachers, they have one need that someone teach them again, which would be the first principles of the oracles of God. And they cannot eat meat. They have to be fed milk because they’re unskillful in the word of righteousness.

But you see, you and I are supposed to get stronger in the Lord. And the way you know that you’re getting stronger in the Lord is because you’re able to discern right from wrong. the exercise of the senses to discern and you lose your discernment when you don’t eat right. So there’s Christians who just don’t eat right and they don’t eat regular. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Matthew chapter 21. Matthew and chapter 21.

I want you to think think about this as though Christ was talking to you. I want you to ask yourself, which one of these sons represents me? Which of these am I? See what he says in verse 28, but what thing ye? A certain man had two sons. He came to the first and he said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. Have you ever seen lazy people? People did just plain lazy. want to do anything. They’re just lazy.

Now, when you read the book of Psalms and also has it in Proverbs, but God hates laziness and there’s a lot of lazy people. Or can you be a Christian and spiritually be lazy? Oh, you’re saved. You’re going to heaven but you’re just a lazy Christian. You don’t want to do anything. You don’t want to get involved. You don’t want to help. You just stand on the sideline and criticize everybody else and what they’re doing. You can tell everything that everybody else is doing wrong, but you never get in the fight yourself.

You see, if somebody works with the music, you might be able to find fall, but at least there’s somebody in the choir to be criticized. You can find fault with the preacher. I don’t know how, but you could. You can find fault all the time with everybody doing anything, but what do you do? But if you’re not doing anything, don’t do the devil’s work. If you’re not gonna do the Lord’s work, but there’s some people that are spiritually lazy.

They never get involved. They don’t wanna make nobody mad. It means they don’t wanna get hurt. They don’t want anybody to say anything or correct them because they might not be able to do it perfectly. So if I can’t do it perfectly, I’m not gonna do it at all. Nobody is perfect. You have to be perfect to do perfect things. Nobody here like that. We’re a bunch of sinners. And hopefully we love the Lord and we wanna do something when it takes work.

But there’s some time people don’t wanna work. What do you do when people like you don’t wanna work? Let them alone. You work with those who want to work. The ones that don’t work don’t work. The ones that do do. and you just go ahead with all those that want to do something, and those that don’t let them alone, they’re not ready yet. When they’re ready, we’re ready. But if they’re not ready, the last thing you wanna do is try to make somebody do something they don’t want to do.

Think about it, true? Because then you just like pulling teeth, and that’s what wears you out. This is what causes people in the Lord’s work to get worn out and burn out because they’re trying to make people do things and they don’t want to do it. I stopped that long time ago. I work with those who want to work. And those that don’t work, I let them go. I let them do whatever they want to do. I don’t have time to argue or fight with anybody.

Now, people say, well, that’s not a good attitude to have. It most certainly is. It keeps my sanity. It keeps me working. And that way I don’t quit because I don’t get burnout. and I can keep doing the things that God wants me to do. So you don’t look and focus on all those that don’t, you focus upon those that do. Look what he says here. He says in verse 29, he answered and says, I will not, but afterwards he repented.

He changed his mind. He went. He came to the second and he said, likewise. And he answered and he says, I go, sir, and you went not. Which of the two did the will of his father? Well, the one that went. Now here you are, here I am. God has asked us to serve him. So my desire to serve him is going to be because I have fed upon the Word of God and I know what his will is.

So you should know what the will of God is and the desire to fulfill the will of God because you want to please the Lord, and then you have to make a decision. Will I, won’t I? And they’re both extreme positions. The one that does, that’s an extreme position. The one that won’t, that is an extreme position, but it’s a decision everybody has to make for themselves. No one can make it for you. I knew years ago that if I determined I will serve the Lord, I knew God would use me.

You should believe that if you dedicate yourself to the Lord, God will use you. Do you believe that? Do you want God to use you? If you do, then you’ll have to make up your mind. You can’t be a lazy Christian because God calls it the Lord’s work. And He told him, says, son, go work today, am I vineyard? We should always be striving to whether it’s so winning or challenging others to serve the Lord by whatever you do, go and work in the Lord’s vineyard.

Take your Bible and turn to 2 Corinthians in chapter 6, 2 Corinthians and chapter 6. What is the sign of a worldly Christian? Can a Christian be a worldly Christian? Where he is worldly minded, freshly minded, Carnally minded a Christian who minds the things of the flesh, a Christian who minds the things of the world. He saved but he minds the wrong things and the reason is because he just will not separate himself from the world. Think for a moment.

Do you believe God wants you to look at, talk, think like a lost man? to live like the world would live? Or do you believe that perhaps God wants something different from you? Remember when he says, my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts, because his ways and his thoughts are higher than ours? The reason you and I study the word of God is to know the thoughts that are higher than man’s, so that we can live on ways that are higher than man’s so that you and I live on a different level a different plane.

Look what he says here in verse 14 and remember as a child of God if you want to serve the Lord and do the Lord’s work you have to separate yourself from those who won’t do the Lord’s work. You see if you have friends that are not right with the Lord what are six its own level you don’t pull them up chances are they will pull you down to where they are. I never had to worry about losing any of my friends when I served the Lord.

Because I decided I’m gonna serve the Lord and they they gave me up. I didn’t have to give them up. They gave me up. I had a couple good friends. I didn’t have a lot of them but I had a few and it wasn’t long before. Hello. They left me. Because every time I got around them I I preached to them and they didn’t want to be preached to. See there in verse 14, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? How do they get along? Can light and darkness get along? Hello, darkness. Well, hello, light. How are you doing? I’m doing fine. They expel each other. God says the same thing. The unbeliever, well, he doesn’t think like you. He doesn’t have the Holy Spirit. He’s not going to love the things that you love. So therefore you have to separate yourself, but a lot of God’s people, they just don’t do it.

And because they don’t, then the world makes you like them. That’s why he made the statement, see in the book of Romans in chapter 12, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, be not conformed to this. World. God does not want his children conforming to the world. That means he wants you to be different from the world, to think different from the world, live different from the world.

Because I have a body and the lost man has a body. There’s a lot of similarities of things that we have to have. We both have to work. We’ve got to clothe our body. We’ve got to feed our body and all these things. But I’m to live for something different than what he lives for. There’s things that I don’t want to do because I know that it’s not acceptable to God. I may say, I can do it. It won’t hurt me.

Yeah, but does God accept it? Or is it not the best thing for my testimony? So because of your care about others, you may not do something but a loss. But he don’t care about that. Or a carnal Christian. He don’t care about that. He just does what he wants to do, lives any way he wants to. too because you don’t care about anybody else. That’s a fleshly minded carnal Christian, worldly Christian. And it says here in verse 16, what agreement hath the temple of God with idols for you are the temple of the living God?

As God had said, I will dwell in them, walk in them, I will be there, God they shall be my people. Wherefore he says in verse 17, come out from among them and be ye separate. Now sometimes there’s people who trust Christ as Savior and they go to a Catholic Church, Jehovah’s Witness, or Mormons, or whatever. They said, well I’m gonna stay there and change them. That’s not what the Word of God tells. The Word of God says, come out from among them, mark them which teach doctors, contrary to what you have learned and avoid them, because you won’t get strong.

And you do not want to use your power of influence to get other people underneath the sounds of a false doctrine. You don’t put live chickens under a dead hen. In verse 17, be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, I will receive you. Be separate. Don’t be a finstradler. Don’t be a compromiser. Make up your mind. And God says, hey, me and you can get along like a father and a son. We can walk together, talk together.

He said, I want you to walk with me. I want you to talk with me. I want us to have communion. I want us to have fellowship together. But he says, if you love the world, then you’re an enemy of God. And you can’t have it both ways. Let’s look at the first verse of the seventh chapter. Having, therefore, these promises, dare to be loved. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

So this is what God wants us to do. Now you may not do it, but it’s still the will of God that we do so. Now John chapter 11, look in John chapter 11. You know the story about Lazarus, how that he was dead four days, and the Bible talks about how that But Mary and Martha had met Him and He talked to them. And He says, I am the resurrection and the life. And she said, yeah, we know that.

You know, in the resurrection, we know that. He said, you don’t understand. I am the resurrection. I can do it now, that’s what He’s saying. So He says, up here in verse 25, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. If he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whose forever liveth in me shall never die. And you ought to underline these word, big believers, thou this. In other words, he said, do you believe this?

This is what you have to believe. You must know and believe that if you believe on him, you will live forever. You will have everlasting life. even though you may die physically, you will live forever.” She says in verse 27, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. Well, it goes down to here and she weeps, down to verse 33, and when Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

So, have you laid him? I actually believe. He knew where he was. He knew he was dead. He knew this. But where did you lay him? Well, he’s been dead for four days. He stinks he’s in the cave. I mean, he’s all been wrapped up in him, Bob. I mean, he’s put away. And they said, come and see, in verse 35, Jesus wept. Now there’s always theological discussions about why did he weep? Why did Jesus weep? Well because, you know, he loved Lazarus and Lazarus is dead and he’s not ever going to see him again.

You don’t think that’s why he wept? No. Maybe he was crying because of their unbelief. I wonder if it could be because he knew that they did not believe. that he could do it now. He says in verse 37, and some of them said, could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died. If he is who he claims to be and he can do what he claims he can do, why did he let his friend die?

If you had been here, this would not have happened. It all happened because you were not here. He’s talking about mixed emotions. He says, take away the stone. In verse 39, Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinks, for he hath been dead four days. Jesus said unto her, say it, I not unto thee, that if thou would have. Now you think this might be why Jesus went because he said, I said to you, Didn’t you believe me?

Don’t you believe me? I think it dealt more with the fact of their unbelief. I think unbelief breaks his heart more than anything else. But he says, said I not in the day that if thou would it believe thou should have seen the glory of God. I’m gonna show you something. Then they took away the stone from the place the dead man was laid, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I think thee that thou has heard me.

And I knew that thou hears me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hath sent me. See, they didn’t believe. What he said, and what he was doing was because he knew they did not believe certain things. And then he says in in verse 43, and when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. Now, if he hadn’t have said, Lazarus, and he just said, come forth, probably everybody in the graves would have come out.

So he had to be specific and just Lazarus come forth. And then he says in verse 44, and he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. He was bound. His feet were bound. He had to hop. Here it comes. He’s hopping out of the tomb. Now, Jesus did what Jesus can do, but He let the people do what they can do, and He said this to them. He says, loosen and let Him go. Now, you know, there’s a lot of God’s children that have trusted Christ as Savior.

They’ve been given eternal life. They are alive, but still wearing their grave clothes. They’re still bound, head and foot, with the things of this world and they’re trapped, and they don’t have the freedom to serve the Lord like they should. And so once you trust Christ as Savior, you’ve got to get rid of the grave clothes. The things from the old man put off the old man, put on the new man and live like a free man. Learn the word of God, love the word of God and do what God’s word says and you’ll be surprised that you can live, believe it or not, a separated life.

But you have to keep yourself free from the things that will entangle you. The other thing I wanted to mention to you is there’s many of God’s children that are just plain, timid Christians. The book of Joshua and the book of Ephesians go hand in hand because it’s talking about the victory that you and I ought to have in the Lord. And it says, as I was with Moses, so shall I be with you. Be strong and very courageous.

And he says, and meditate in God’s word day and night that thou may have observed to do all that I have spoken unto you. Only be thou strong and very courageous. But there’s so many of God’s people that are not strong, they’re not courageous, they’re afraid they live in fear. And when they get to heaven, they’re going to find out what they could have done if they only had believed God and just trusted Him. a lot of people, they’re timid and they’re shy.

There’s others of God’s people that live a totally defeated Christian life. And so they just will not trust the Lord. Now remember in the book of Isaiah chapter 26 verse 3 and 4, where it says, Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. It’s a tremendous verse that I learned when I was in Bible college. And just over and over again, trust in the Lord Jehovah. For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength Because see the verse that’s right before that made the statement Now will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon thee So a Christian that feeds upon the word of God works for the Lord has a right to a peace of mind And if you don’t do that you’re not going to have a peace of mind You’re going to be troubled all the time trouble because you’re going to be weak and

tended. You’re anemic. You don’t have strength and therefore fear will grip you and you’re going to find yourself in so much despair and disappointment and just down and discouraged all the time. And God’s people don’t have to do that. And then the last thing just to make you understand And a lot of Christians don’t have victory, but you can. That’s why Paul says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Do you believe it? You see, after you trust Christ as Savior, your whole Christian life is based upon one word, really.

Belief. That’s how you got saved. You believed. You live the same way. As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. How did you receive him by faith? How do you live by faith? Taking God at his word. So not to believe the Lord is going to cost you, and you’re not going to be strong. So you feed upon the word of God, you become a strong Christian, and you’ll work for the Lord, and you learn how to yield.

You learn how to separate. You have to learn how to discipline your own Christian life. Nobody else can do it for you. You will be as strong of a Christian. You choose to be. You understand what I’m saying? You will be as strong as you want to be. You will be as weak as you choose to be. It’s all in your hands. It’s the decision. I will, I won’t. A lot of difference between I will and I won’t. God says, will you do this for me?

I will. I won’t. But it’s your decision. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now we’ll close your thoughts from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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… and the Internet, your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. and reaches toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftappa.org. We pray that you’ll 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.

I remember one time I first went to Florida, Baba College, done it. It was on Sunday morning, and everybody stood around and look for you. They had a bigger for you than we have here. And it wasn’t wrong for this new person to come up and start to come in on the sidewalk. And Dr. Seymour says, here comes somebody new. I’m going to get him. I’m going to get him. And so there was, I don’t know, 5, 6, 7 guys in there.

And so as soon as he got inside the door, Dr. Seymour started toward him and Hank Lindstrom went over there. Well, welcome. A guy to have you and welcome right away and held on his to his hand, took him right to the side and said, and it led him to the Lord. He was the one who was the instructor of the Florida Bible College, too. I remember the first time I said in Dr. Hank Lindstrom’s Sunday school class, down to the old grove.

And so I had to decide what class I’m going to go to. And so I just thought, I’ll go in here and I’ll sit down. So I’m sitting there and it wasn’t long before Hank was teaching or something. I don’t know what he was teaching on. And it wasn’t long before another person came in and sat down and I didn’t know them. And all of a sudden Hank Lindstrom said, now let me show you this. I thought, what in the words he’d do?

That has nothing to do with what we were talking about. I mean, it had nothing to do with what we’re coming. It’s just like, you know, click. Everything else is off. And he started giving the gospel. He gave you a invitation. First and foremost. But see, that’s where his main focus was on. And everything else, it didn’t matter. But I remember that. That’s something, a certain image of what I can remember. And that was in 1964, by the way.

So my memory isn’t totally gone yet. but I remember a few good things. When you find out that a person is unsaved, remember you have asked him if he knew if he would go to heaven when he died. Then you can begin sharing the gospel by sharing your personal testimony. You’d be surprised how many people that I’ve opened up a door to their understanding by giving my own personal testimony. And I used to tell all the teenagers and the college kids and it camps.

I always remember these three things. So they’re right there. What I thought, what I found out, what I did. What I thought, what I found out, what I did. So when you’re given a test, that’s what you’re doing. What I thought, what I found out, what I did. So number one there, what I thought I had to do to get to heaven. What do you think you have to do to go to heaven? Well, I thought I had to be good.

I really did. I thought I had to be good to go to heaven. But of course, I never knew how good. Nobody ever told me that. So that would have been nice to known, am I good enough? So most people think that you have to be good to go to heaven. Of course, then they have to wait till they die to find out they’re good enough. So since you don’t know the future, you don’t know if you’re gonna be good or bad.

So then of course you’ll have to wait. So then how can you say you know you’re going to heaven now? If it depends upon how good I gotta be? Well, that’s why most people don’t know where they’re going when they die. But you and I know that you can know it before because it doesn’t depend on how good you are or how bad you are. See, that’s the misconception that most people have. If you believe that you have to earn your way to heaven, then you’ll have to wait if you made it.

But if you think it’s free, well, you can have it now and you can know you’re going. And that’s what the Bible says. So I always told him what I thought. I thought I had to live a good life, join a church, be water baptized, believe in Jesus and do this and stop that and join this and all that. And so there’s always something somebody thought, What do you think you have to do to go to heaven? On the little heaven track, that’s one of the questions.

What must I do to go to heaven? What do I have to do? And we list a few things in there. And of course, if you know the truth of it, if they check. All of them accept the last one. They failed. Because there’s only one thing you have to do to go to heaven. The second point is, what did I find out? What did I find out? Well, I had a man one day sit down with me with the Bible and he explained to me how to have eternal life.

See, you can work out your own testimony. You can make it long. You can make it short and sweet. You can tell it in two minutes and you can tell it in an hour. But it should have certain basic things to it. What I thought. I thought you had to be good to go to heaven. What you found out, you know, I was 18 years old, sitting in a little living room, and my father will explain to me how that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paid for all of my sins.

And all I had to do is accept the payment he made for me, and he would give me as a free gift of a lasting life. Well, that was the best news I ever heard. Well, what did you do? Well, that’s the next thing. What I did, I trusted Christ as my Savior. Because if you didn’t do that, it doesn’t matter what you thought, Or what you heard. You didn’t do anything about it. So when I heard that all I had to do was believe.

Well, I can believe that. That’s on the level anybody can have it. So it’s not a matter of you performing something, living good enough to get it. You know that it’s free. See there, that statement? I placed my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as the one that died for all of my sins and rose again. He gave me His righteousness in exchange for my sins sin so that I could receive the gift of eternal life in heaven.

So he took my sins and when I believe it he gives me his righteousness. Well that’s good. And you know what? He took the initiative. He did his part and paid for my sins on the cross 2,000 years ago. And what was mine? Just believe he did it for me. And believe it is not a work. God’s Word says so. So I have down here my testimony Now you’ll notice that whenever you give the seven steps that I’ve given to you before and explaining the gospel you can take each one of those points and make it part of your testimony.

You see the wages in his death but the first one is I am a sinner. We have all sinned. So I can start off with the testimony of I’m a sinner. That’s what I am. I do things wrong. I am not as good as I’d like to be. And I found out that the Bible says the wages in his death. And then I heard that you had to be perfect to go to heaven. See that’s point number three. And then I realized that I couldn’t earn my way to heaven.

That’s point number four. It’s not a works. Number five, Christ died. I heard Christ died on the cross and paid for my sin. And number six is just believe. And all I had to do was believe it and He would give me as a free gift everlasting life. And number seven is I know I’m going to heaven. to heaven. See, I can give my testimony to you. One of the biggest things you’ll ever do is learn the seven steps in order and it’ll help you when you do the little wallet illustration.

It’ll help you when you give a testimony. It will really help you in a lot of ways in your life because you’re trying to make the gospel clear to the person that you’re talking to Because a lot of people do not know where they’re going to go when they die. And you do. So you got to make it simple for them to understand. Well, that means that you need to make it simple in your mind to follow. And this is what this is for.

So just look at it very quickly. Number one, I used to think I had to earn my way to heaven by being good. Number two, I knew that I had sin and that my sin was result in death, which was separation from God and hell. Number three, in order to go to heaven, I would have to be perfect as God because heaven is a perfect place. So in number four, I believe Christ died for me by taking all my sins on Himself because you couldn’t earn it yourself.

And as you go down to every one of these years, you can follow the seven steps. Look down at the bottom. Quote or show at least two verses of salvation when given your testimony. I always like to use the John 3 16, Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, 1 John 5, 13. Those are baits, you know, like trying to catch a fish, because a lot of people, they don’t even know that those verses are in the Bible. They don’t know that the Bible says you can know you have eternal life.

Because most people think you have to wait till you die to find out if you’re gonna make it or not. That’s a little late. And so learn these verses. When I’m witnessing to somebody, I never try to show them a whole lot of verses. it just clouds their mind. It’s better to get on one verse like Evasion 2.89, explain it. Our first John 5th, they’re to Inexplain it. Or John 3.16, and explain it. Don’t try to take cover so many verses, because you know 100 verses, you wanna show them all, 99 of them, maybe leave one out.

You wanna show them everything that you know. That’s not good. All you do is confuse. Take three or four verses and explain those verses and make it simple and clear for a person to understand. Every week I can’t wait until Friday night, I get a phone call. Somebody always calls me on Friday night. Let’s we know how they went on. So winning. Because they’ve been not talking to people and getting kicked out of malls or something like that of threats.

But it’s always interesting to hear some of the testimonies and some of the things that happen. And so I guess they went Friday night and they had, how many did they have trust the Lord the other night? About 30 people. But see, if they didn’t go, well some people said, well they’d have been saved anyway. No they wouldn’t have. No, the one that’s the devil of the lie. That’s a lie of the devil. The devil told a lie. No, it wouldn’t have happened.

So there’s people who shouldn’t trust Christ as Savior if the gospel is made clear, if it’s made simple. And so this is why it’s so important. So anyway, look at page two. Here’s a few ideas. And that’s all they are. It’s just ideas that can help you to present the gospel to somebody. Now listen to me. This church because of Dr. Hank Lindstrom, y’all have a testimony around the country of, and because everybody knew Hank. Hank was well known.

Hank was loved. Of y’all being clear on the gospel. True? Clear on the gospel. But if you don’t share the gospel, being clear on the gospel is no advantage. It doesn’t matter how clear you are on the gospel if you never give it. Think about it. If you don’t tell nobody, what difference does it make if you’re clear muddy or in between? It’s because you share that gospel. So you want to also be an expert. You want to be a professional on explaining the gospel.

The know the art of so winning is a tremendous thing being able to talk to people and have them trust Christ to save So look at number one very quickly. Understand God’s righteousness and the requirement for heaven is perfection. The Bible as Christ, soil paper as us, and Philippians 3-9. So all paper is placed inside the Bible to show you have been found in Christ having his righteousness. For example, here’s my Bible and my Bible represents Jesus Christ. And then I take a piece of paper and I have a piece of paper and I can spit on it and whatever, you know, just whatever.

with our own. Give me a piece of paper. And they said, this is me and all my righteousness. And then I’m according to the book of Philippians chapter 3. And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is to the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So I am found in Christ. So my life is hid in Christ. So when God’s looking for me, he can’t find me.

I’m hid. Where am I? I’m in His Son. Oh, there you are. So I have his righteousness and be not found having your own righteousness. Don’t you be caught trusting in your good works to get you to heaven? Don’t be caught trusting the church to get you to heaven or your good works to get you to heaven or giving money to get you to heaven. God says, don’t get caught. You better be found in him. You better be found trusting Christ in him alone as your only hope of going to heaven.

And so it’s a simple illustration to use and I’m sure you’ve heard it before. to understand that a Savior is someone that saves you because you cannot save yourself. And we use the illustration about the guy that’s out there in the water. He’s out there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and he can’t swim. He’s going down. So you come along and, well, how are you going to help this poor guy? Well, it’s very easy. You just throw him a little book on 10 easy lessons on how to swim.

Now that might be educational, but that’s not a Savior. And maybe you could jump into the water and swim around him and so forth and say, dude, just like me long enough and hard enough and you might make it to shore. That’s not a savior. I mean, you might be a Daniel Bohm or a Davy Crockett in Trailblazer, but you’re not going to save this guy. Or now you might be able to just pick him up out of the water, put him in the boat and take him a thousand miles from shore and then kick him out again.

That’s not a savior. It’s the one who takes him out of the water, puts him in the boat, takes him to the land, puts him on dry land. to save you. Now a Savior is someone who saves us, takes us from here to here. So when you trust Christ as your Savior, you’re trusting Him to take you to heaven. What am I trusting Him to do? Take me to heaven. Not part way, not halfway, not some other way, all the way.

That’s what I’m trusting Him to do. I am not trusting Jesus Christ for most of my life. I’m trusting Him to save me totally completely and get me to heaven. Because if he don’t get me there, guess what? I’m not going because I don’t have any confidence in my works. I’ll never be good enough. So it’s a simple illustration, but it’s a good illustration that you can use. Number three, understand that salvation is a gift. It is a gift received by believing in Christ and not a reward for living a good life.

A lot of people you think will have a very clear understanding of that, but believe it or not, Most people don’t get it. Salvation is a gift. It’s free. Rewards are earned. So going to heaven is a gift. It’s free. I don’t earn it. When I get to heaven, if I want to have rewards when I get there, then I have to earn that. But getting there is free. What I have when I get there, I have to work for.

Total difference. Children being born doesn’t cost them a thing. But to enjoy life, they may have to learn to be obedient. But they’re not being obedient so they can have life. They’re obedient because they want some things to enjoy in life. See, God has saved us, given us He turned life and we’re His children, and there’s so much He wants to have us enjoy. It called the Abundant life. In other words, to really understand and enjoy life. Let me give you a simple illustration.

For example, a professor one time he had some students that came over to his house and he had retired, and he asked them if they wanted some hot chocolate. And they all said, yes, they wanted some hot chocolate. So he got about 10 different cups, very expensive cups, all different kinds of cups. And he put 10 of them out there and he poured some hot chocolate in him. And the kids came up here and they were looking at the vicious cups and saw different ones had taken different cups.

He says some of y’all are going to be very disappointed and very discouraged in life. He says because some of y’all, you focused upon the cup and not upon the hot chocolate. He says, what you wanted was a hot chocolate. It doesn’t matter what kind of a container it comes in. And if you fall in love with the cup, and you can’t get the cup that you want, then you don’t enjoy life. He says, God wants to give you some hot chocolate, and you’re fussing and fuming about the kind of a cup that you have, the house you live in, or the car that you drive.

That’s not the life. That’s not where it’s at. It’s not in things. It’s not in money. But some people who have less or happier people than those who have more. Anyway, that’s another sermon for another day. Look there at number four. Understand the penalty for all sin being paid for by Christ and knowing for sure of your eternal life. I asked a person this one time. I says, are you married? Yes, I am. Do you have a wife? Well, I don’t know.

Who wants a mother in law without having a wife? If you’re saved, you’re supposed to have eternal life. If you believe on Him, hat everlasting life. So if I believe on Christ, I have everlasting life. Are you saved? Do you believe? Yes, I do. Do you have everlasting life? Well, I don’t know. Then you don’t believe it. He said, if you believe it, you got it. So how do I know when I really believe it? Well, not could say I have it.

If you can’t say you have it, you don’t believe it. I have eternal life. I know I’m going to heaven when I die. I don’t hope I’m going to heaven. I don’t think I’m going to heaven. I know I’m going to heaven. I can’t go to hell if I tried. I haven’t tried. I know I have eternal life because Christ died for me. That means he paid for my sins. Well, if he paid for my sins, I don’t have to pay for them.

He paid for them. You say, you don’t deserve it. I know. That’s why he says you’re saved by grace. Grace means unmerited favor. So anyway, a lot of time I use the illustration that’s right here, but you know if I go to the McDonald’s and get a hamburger and I got to pay for it, well if I pay for it, how many times I have to pay for it? Just one time. And if I went out for a state dinner and Gary Stephen paid for my state dinner, well then I wouldn’t have to pay for it, would I?

Gary, did you hear that? Gary, Gary, he’s asleep. Wake him up bad. Oh, he is awake. He heard that then. So you don’t have to do it again. If Christ paid for your sins, you don’t have to pay for them if you believe He did it for you. God made it on a level that anybody can understand it. So simple, so easy to understand. Number five, understand that God does not save and then lose. He came into the world to seek and to lose those, no.

Seek and to save and then lose. No, seek and to save and there’s nothing else out to them. nothing else out to them. The sick and the safe, that which was lost. So when I trusted Christ as my Savior 51 years ago, the Lord saved me, gave me eternal life, and He doesn’t take it back. He doesn’t take it away from me. So you want people to understand that they can know they have eternal life. And I have an idea, I’m not sure I’m right, 100% on this.

It’s hard for me to understand how that, you know, sometimes we say we gave somebody the assurance of salvation. You know, because sometimes people got all the parts, but they just can’t put it together and they say they trust the Christ is Savior and they believe it and they believe in eternal life to the gift, but they don’t know for sure they’re going to go to heaven because they think they can lose it. Well whenever sometimes you’ve given them assurance of salvation, it might be that you’ve just let him do the Lord.

It’s hard for a person to… Believe on Jesus Christ, will not know what they’re getting. What are you trusting Him to do? I’m trusting Christ to what? To save me from what? From hell. What do you believe He will or you won’t? If you’redinand to do that, do you believe He will save you from hell? Well then if He saves me from hell and I’m trusting Him to do that, one thing can I believe that I’m saved from hell and I can’t go there?

But if I can still go there, am I really trusting Him to save me from it? Well, if he wants to, he can. If he doesn’t want to, then you don’t understand what he said. He said, if I trusted him, he will. He said, if I trust him, he will give me eternal life. And he’ll never cast him out, never lose me. Eternal security is not a separate doctrine in salvation. Eternal security is the gospel. That’s when you really know that’s really good news.

It’s not good news to be saved for an hour or a day or a week or a month or a year, but to know that I’m saved for eternity. Now that is good news. Wouldn’t you agree? That’s when it’s good news. Look at number six, understand being born individually into God’s family. So when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you are born into God’s family. And then you can use the illustration like in your own family. When you were born into your parents’ family, you were their child and you’re your child from now on.

So when you become God’s child, you’re God’s child from now on. And now you’re dealt with concerning yourself as a child of God. Before you say you weren’t his child, now you are. So as a child of God, God may chasten you, discipline you, or he can bless you. All kind of wonderful things He can do. Be the tar out of you. You’re his child. So a child of God cannot live as a please and get away with it because your heavenly Father is going to chase and or discipline you.

So it’s a good illustration used because the word of God uses that illustration. And also number seven, understand eternal life versus temporary life. Like you have a ring on your finger and it’s what you used to say is an emblem of the tide that binds and that little ring when your finger, it has its eternity. Shun, your love is supposed to be everlasting and all that kind of stuff, you know. There are some people believe eternal life is temporary.

He gives it to you until you do something wrong and then he takes it away from you. But the Bible doesn’t teach that. God’s Word doesn’t teach that. So understand the difference between something that’s eternal and something that’s temporary. Number eight, understand being sealed with the Holy Spirit. One day I had several envelopes. I had one envelope I had to the Father, and then I had one on the Son, I had the Holy Spirit. And so I said, here’s me, and I’m in this envelope, the Holy Spirit seals me in Christ, so now I’m in Christ.

And then he says, I’m in the Father’s hand, so I put me in the other envelope, so I am in the one envelope, and I had three different sizes of envelopes. And so I’m in this envelope, And then I’m in this envelope and then I’m in this envelope. I said, now the only way anybody can get to me is they gotta break the seal of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They got a problem on their hand.

Because he that is for me, who can be against me? Who’s gonna take me out of the Father’s hand? Who can separate me from the love of God? Nobody. And number nine is the teaching of baptism for the believer. We got about six or seven or something like that. It’s going to be baptized coming up unless there’s others that want to. That’d be fine. The more the merrier, but baptism doesn’t save anybody. Going into the water doesn’t save anybody.

Water doesn’t wash away your sins. It doesn’t wash the dirt off your neck if you don’t use soap with it. So it can’t cleanse you. It’s a pitcher like I’ve married a lot of people. And so whenever they get married and everybody takes pictures, well, taking the picture doesn’t marry them. It’s just a picture of their marriage of their wedding. And so when you believe that Christ died on the cross and that He was buried and rose again for you, if you believe that, then God’s as a public testimony before others.

It is a witness. It’s a step of obedience. Then you should be water baptized. Being water baptized is a picture of what you internally believe. That’s why baptism is only for believers. You do not baptize little babies. You don’t baptize little kids that don’t understand and never trust a Christ of Savior. It’s a wrong thing to do because they grow up and they’re trusting in something while my parents had me baptized or confirmed and all kind of stuff they go on.

That doesn’t save anybody, never has. You can’t find it in the Bible. It’s not there. So once you trust Christ as your Savior, because you believe He did it for you, then yes, when you stand in the water, like a picture of Christ on the cross, when you go under the water, that’s a picture of your burial, when you come up out of the water, it’s a picture of your resurrection. That’s a picture like of you dying and paying for your own sins.

You didn’t really do it. Christ did it for you. But because you believe He did it for you, this is a picture of what you believe. I believe Christ died for my sins, came back again from the dead, and never to have to do it again. So how many times can I really be baptized one time? Why? I can only get saved one time. It’s a point unto every man once to die and after this, to judgment. So this is what God’s Word says.

And so number nine, there’s a little thing that some time we use, and that’s what I just showed you. But anyway, there’s a few of these things that are very simple, easy to understand. Look at number 13. The Gospel hand, some of y’all do this with kids, for example, on the thumb, God loves me. I have sinned, Christ died for me. If I believe I will go to heaven. So you’re talking to little kids, you got a little hand.

Everybody’s got a hand. Let me see your little hand. Oh, that little hand. Look at that. And you can simply say, see, God loves you. I have sinned, Christ died for me. And if I believe, I will go to heaven. So you can use a hand just to remember that. I use the seven, so you can use this for the little kids. And you can mix it up by, you hear me do this sometimes, misquote scripture. I did it already this morning.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever keeps the 10 commandments and comes the Calvary community church, pays 50% half everlasting life. I see, you know that’s wrong. Or tell the kids, God doesn’t love me. I haven’t sinned. You’d be surprised how quickly kids can let you know. Hey, that’s not right. Who died for my sin? Santa Claus? Who died for my sin? The Easter Bunny? No, Jesus Christ paid for my sins. Little kids can get this.

Oh, look at the last thing down here. Where has spiritual muscle exercises? eyes, ears, mouth, knees, hands, eyes, ears, mouth, knees, hands. And those few little things right there, you can have a message for the kids. Because those are like, you know, with the eyes, that’s Bible reading, ears, go to listen, 10-shirt, mouth, witnessing, knees, praying, and hands helping others. So you can teach simple little things when you just learn simple little things and explaining these little things to the kids anyway Y’all behave.

Let’s pray shall we Father. We thank you so much for this time together bless each one Give us a good service and to follow in Christ and we pray they men 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

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 on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want God to reward you when you get to heaven. I want people to be in heaven because they heard the gospel from your lips personally. So I want to encourage you to do that. There are some that are getting some of that boldness. Peter was talking about some of the people that, well, when they first started out on Friday night, so when it was a little shy and timid. And now it’s like it doesn’t even bother them. They just go and they can talk to just about anybody.

And so do pray for these kids. Look at everyone in the light of the gospel. Ask yourself, are they saved? Use every opportunity to give the gospel weddings funerals showers birthday parties neighborhood parties when you ask to give a testimony of what is going on in your life Christmas letters and so forth this way if there is ever just one person in a group that is not saved You had shared the most important information they could ever need Also for the Christians who hear you shared the gospel over and over them.

They will learn how to present it clearly Now, what I enjoy is when I do a wedding, I like to give the gospel. And then whenever you do a funeral, funeral is a good place to go fishing. And there’s opportunities when somebody, a loved one, passes away in your family. That’s a perfect chance to be able to talk to people about the Lord. Sometimes it’s the only time people listen. Now, I’ve had people say this, they love the Lord, they love the gospel.

But when they die, they have somebody else. Do the funeral that’s not clear on the gospel. If you have the power in your hands, the authority to determine, who should do your funeral? Try to have somebody that will give the gospel, because the person that’s dead, they’re dead. The funeral is not for the dead person. It’s for those that are still alive that we may teach our hearts to number our days and apply our hearts on the wisdom. That person has died.

They’re already wherever they’re going. They’re there. They’re not in that body. And so therefore use that as an opportunity to get the gospel to the people that might come there for no other reason and may never darken the doors of a church. And don’t naturally assume, well, the preacher will do the funeral. If you don’t have it down, I won’t be doing the funeral because see there may be somebody else in the family that will determine it and there you go.

If you can choose and you can make that decision and it’s in your hands, try to make the wisest decision. People will think about where are they going to be buried and their insurance policy and the headstone and what they want on it and a verse of scripture and all the flowers and where it’s going to be and everything except the gospel. As long as a preacher says nice wonderful things. I was doing a funeral one day for my aunt and she had a son that was in another state.

I never got a chance to talk to him, but she had wanted me to do her funeral, so I was going to do her funeral. There’s a little white church way out in the woods where my daddy was buried. So I’m not there and everybody’s middling around so forth, so we go in there for the funeral service, and we had a couple of songs, and he’s sitting there in the family and all of them. and you know. So I got up here and I started doing the gospel.

I talked about this and that, my relationship with her. It was a few nice little things at the beginning, and that the people here are here, it’s a testimony of their love and appreciation and the flowers and all that kind of stuff. And I started going to the gospel. I got about halfway through this hand represent you and me and this wall represents sin and I was going through. He gets out of his seat. comes up on the stage.

Walks right up to me and whispers in my ear and he says, that’s enough of this stuff. Just say some nice things about my mom and let it go. I don’t want no more of this. And he turned around and walked back down. He said, I says, once again, let this hand represent you and me and walla represent sin. And I went ahead and did it all over again because he had interrupted me. And I went through and I gave the gospel, gave an invitation, had several trusts to the Lord.

Now can that happen? Oh, I’ve had it happen. But you’ve got to determine what are you committed to? She had wanted me to do this because she heard me do it years before and she trusted Christ as her Savior. And her sister, my Aunt Grace, I had led her to the Lord. And I did her funeral. So I got a lot of people, the relatives, that trust the Christ to save you because I explained the Gospel to them. But look down here.

Most Americans think they are a Christian because we are known to be a Christian nation. Most religious people would say they are saved. Only to find out they think they are saved because they do religious things. The best question to ask is, do you know where you are going when you die? If the person says he is going to heaven, then you can ask him how he knows that. His answer will help you know if he really is saved.

Is he trusting in any good thing he has done? If he says he is eternal destiny is by his faith in Christ and not in his works, then you’ll know he’s probably a Christian. But you’ve got to ask him the question. I usually don’t ask a person, well, are you saved? And you can? Are you a Christian? You can do that. But I believe number three, they’re the best question to answer is, do you know where you’re going to go when you die?

It demands an answer instead of just yes, because that answer leads into another question. How do you know? Down at the bottom, if he answers incorrectly by saying he knows he is going to heaven when he dies because of some good thing he has done, you can say that you too used to think that that was what would get you to heaven. But you found out from the Bible that there’s only one thing you could do. They began to share the gospel with them.

You see, don’t just let it go. If you get a good opportunity to talk to somebody about the Lord, you’d be surprised who God may send your way, how God may just open up a door and give you an opportunity that you wouldn’t have had no other way. In the next page, page three, learn to use clear terminology so that the person truly understands the gospel. Salvation is only what Christ has done and none of what we can do to earn it or merit it.

The issue will always be helping people understand the difference between grace and works. That’s always the issue in salvation. Is it free or do you have to earn it? And if they say they can lose it, they believe they have to earn it. There is no other way. If you really believe it’s free and you really believe it’s by grace, then you have no problem believing that it lasts for eternity and that you can’t lose it. They God will never cast you out.

But if you believe you can lose it, then you don’t believe it’s free. You believe it’s by your works because you’ll believe that by something that I do can take my salvation away, then by your obedience it’s keeping your salvation and they don’t understand the gospel. Look at those two things here. Grace and works on the the gray side, trust Christ as your Savior. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, receive Christ as your Savior, accept Christ as your… Oh, that’s the same thing because that’s just receiving something.

See, a gift is something you receive. Works is something that you have to do on the work side. Surrender your all. Make Christ the Lord of your life. Give Jesus your life or turn from your sin. That’s all things that you have to do instead of something you simply receive. Those are dead giveaways to a works gospel. And this is where some of these nuts are teaching terrible, terrible stuff. I do not recommend them whatsoever. And they’re on the radio and they’re well known.

But they do not have a gospel message, a clear gospel message. I can’t say clear because they don’t have a gospel. Their message is not the gospel. Because salvation is all of Christ and none of us, the biblical terms denoting grace are trusting, believing, receiving, accepting. And you can use any one of those words, and it won’t be no problem. Most people can understand that. It just means that you’re accepting what He already did for you. That’s salvation. All of the works terms require a person to do something poor salvation to ask, surrender, give.

Make. Remember salvation is not us doing something. It is what Christ has already done. Until a person is born into God’s family, he is unable to do anything. The work’s term can only be used once a person is already saved and you’re helping him to grow as a new Christian, not to become a Christian. You do not try to get your children to be obedient or promised to be obedient before they’re born. Would that be a problem? Would that be a problem trying to get your children to promise they’re going to behave before you let them be born?

Promise? Are you going to be in there forever? No, you let the children be born and then you have to teach them. You have to educate them. And that’s what I believe the Word of God relates it to the Father and Son relationship. Avoid using the phrase, ask Jesus into your heart. Because this is unclear and often a child thinks of this literally. Remember that we do not need to ask but rather we receive what he has given. See, asking Jesus to come into your heart doesn’t mean Jesus is going to come into your heart.

You can ask Him to come into your heart, your liver, your lungs, your eye, your toe. I don’t care. That doesn’t mean He comes in just because you asked. Find the verse that promises that. There is it one. So see, if you will do what God says to you, if I trust Christ as my Savior, Him and dwell on me automatically takes place. But you can ask Him to dwell you and never trust Him and you can’t have it.

So you can’t have Christ and dwell on you just because you asked. You can’t get Jesus to live in your heart, because you ask Him to. There’s no chapter and verse for it. But if you’ll trust Christ as your Savior, He will indwell you. To see Him indwelling you is a result of trusting Him. So people today are asking people for the results without trusting. And so this is why kids get all confused and messed up and even adults believe it or not.

The next thing, a determined to use only clear, biblical terms so that the lost people can understand the wonderful grace of Jesus that is able to save their soul. These are the seven steps that you always see me use and probably Hank Lindstrom did the same thing. But anyway, look at this here. I want you to look at all seven of these things here very quickly. And now look up here, you’ll notice that I always do the wallet illustration pretty much the same way true.

You can just about word it. Let this hand represent you and me and the wallet represents sin. And the Bible says that we have all sin. See number one, number one, all have sin. See, that’s the first point. I’ve learned this 46 or 7 years ago and I’ve been doing in exactly the same way ever since. And then I say the payment for sin is death. The wages of sin is death. The pay for the sin is eternal separation from God in a literal fire burning hell.

So we’ve all sinned and the wages of sin is death. So that’s why we all have to die. And it’s not just one death, it’s two death. One, physical death and two, spiritual death, eternal separation from God. So the wages of sin is death, separation. Now, the third thing I always say is God says, heaven is perfect and to go to heaven, we have to be perfect, no sin. So whenever you watch me do it, now I don’t say point one, point two.

And when you talk to somebody, you don’t have to say, now the third point is, leave all the points out. It’s just that you know how it’s supposed to flow and see a person’s mind can follow something logically. These seven points are just, there’s only one thing a man has to do to go to heaven. That’s to believe it. But there’s a line of understanding that if they understand this point, I am a sinner. Well, what’s the results of that?

Well, death. Well, I want to go to heaven. What go to heaven? You’ve got to be perfect. But nobody’s perfect. We have all sinned and come short of God’s perfection. And so because of sin, we can’t get in. And God says, you cannot earn eternal life. You can’t work your way to heaven. point number four, you can’t earn your way to heaven. There’s nothing that you can do. So being a sinner is bad news and going to hell, that’s bad news and got to be perfect to go to heaven.

That’s not good news for you and you can’t earn your weight. Well, that’s bad news too. So all All that, that’s the bad news now. It’s time for the good news. And number five, Christ died. So look up here. This hand represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us and He hates our sin. So number five is always Christ died for us. So you’ve got to present the problem before you present the solution.

Now if you just throw all this stuff out and you can say, you know, this is you and me and we’ve all sinned. And then if you just believe it, you can have eternal life. That doesn’t mean a person who should have just because you throw a wallet from one hand to the, there’s no power in this. The power is in the message. This only illustrates the message. This just helps us to explain it to somebody. And a person’s mind, if I know that I’m a sinner and I know that the wages of sin is death, then I have to be perfect to go to heaven and I’m not.

And then I can understand why I can’t earn my way to heaven. why? Because you got to be perfect and I’m not perfect. And I know that I’ve sinned and I’ve got to go to hell. So I need a Savior. But see, then Christ died. He came and took all of our sins, paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead. Because I believe that you ought to throw that in there. That to me is important. Came back from the dead.

And God says that all that we had to do was do what? Because of this, what do we have to do? Believe it. If we will believe, He did it for us. John 3, 16, all we have to do is believe it. And we can know that we’re going to heaven. Number seven, go to heaven. Number seven, you can know you’re going to heaven. Five Christ died. It says so simple. It just goes to, it just flows. I didn’t originate.

Dr. Stanford taught us this. He gave us a few unique things at Florida Bible College. One, he gave us the Christian youth wrench ministry that nobody ever had. He gave us the Heaven track with the clear gospel presentation on nobody ever had. He gave us the two natures that made serving the Lord simple and easy to understand. And he gave us the wallet illustration, the seven steps. He He gave us the simple, basic tools that made us unique. We were different.

No other Bible college had what we had. So then when I go to Colorado and I started a Bible college, this was the basics of why we did what we did. When Hank Lindstrom started his college here, this is why he did what he did. And it’s all because of what’s on this paper and our responsibility and then to teach people how to do it. It looks like it’s a simple thing, but people have to know the Bible because people will ask you questions and if you don’t have the answers, their questions and their doubts will become yours.

And that’s why it’s so important. So anyway, as you go down through there, those are the seven steps. You can stand in front of a mirror. I did this. Stand in front of a mirror and practice doing this and trying to see if you can get it right and try to see if you can cover all seven See, if you learn the seven steps, you’ll know which ones you left out. And see, any one of these you leave out, you’re taking away some truth from the story.

Which one of these do you think would be best to leave out? We’re going to leave anything out. Which one should we leave out? I can’t think of any of them. So that’s why I include every one of them in every message. Because I don’t want to leave out any of these because if a man is lost, which one should I leave out? Number five, Christ died? Should I leave it out that you can know you have eternal life?

I can’t leave that out. That’s what you’re talking for. But what about just believe? Only believe. Should we leave that one out? You’ve got to be perfect to go to heaven. Should I leave that out? No, that’s the problem. I can’t earn my way to heaven. Why should I trust Christ as my Savior? I think I can’t. So I can’t leave that out. Well, how do I know I’m not good at it? Well, you’re a sin. See, there isn’t any of these.

And yet, if you just throw them out there, it’s something like this. You’ve got 10 acres of ground and you want to build your house. So you throw some blocks on it, you throw some motor mix out there and you throw some bricks out there and you throw some rebar out there and you got everything to build a house. But it’s not together. You can’t live it because it’s not together. You got to do this and then this and then this and then this and then this and then you got to do the foundation to put it in and so forth and then you build your walls and your roof.

So there’s a system and And in a person’s mind, they can understand it if it has a logical sequence to it. So you don’t take this thing and just think, well, just as long as I throw a wallet from one hand to the other, I gave the gospel. Not necessarily. Did you explain what the good news was? There’s no power in this thing. This is only a wallet. I will admit one time I was sitting in a restaurant and this girl named Jenna Hausselton, she was, I don’t know, 15, 16 years old.

She was sitting beside me. And she was about eight or 10 of us sitting around. And after church on Sunday night, you know, just kind of like what we do around here in Guadalajean, a village in. Anyway, she said, I’m going to witness to the waitress. I said, okay, and I had to lay my wallet down there, beside me. And she came by the waitress dead. And I said, you know what it is? She says, yes. wallet. I said, yeah, it’s a wallet.

So no wallet. I said, no, she said, well, what is it? I said, to sin, this she jumped back about two feet. She tells her I don’t say then. And I said, let me show you something. And I explained to gospel and she trusts the Lord, generally burning. She was mad because she had planned on winning the two of the Lord. I remember one time I first went to Florida Baba College down there. It was on Sunday morning. And everybody stood around in a four year They had a bigger four year one we have here.

And it wasn’t long before this new person come up and started coming down the sidewalk. And Dr. Seymour says, here comes somebody new. I’m gonna get him. I’m gonna get him. And so there was, I don’t know, 5, 6, 7 guys in there. And so as soon as he got inside the door, Dr. Seymour started toward him and Hank Lindstrom went over there, well, welcome, good guy to have you and welcome right away and held on to his hand, told him right to the side and says, and let him do the learn.

Dick Simmel was one of the instructors at Florida Bible College, too. I remember the first time I said in Dr. Hank Lindstrom’s Sunday school class, down to the old grove. And so I had to decide what class I’m going to go to, and so I just thought, I’ll go in here and I’ll sit down. So I’m sitting there, and it wasn’t long before, you know, Hank was teaching or something. I don’t know what he was teaching on. And it wasn’t long before another person came in and sat down, and I didn’t know them.

And all of a sudden Hank Lindstrom said, now let me show you this. I thought, what in the words he doing? He’s doing that has nothing to do with what we were talking about. I mean had nothing to do what we’re coming It’s just like you know click everything else is off and He started giving the gospel. They gave you a invitation person. Trust me. But See that’s where his main focus was on and everything else. It didn’t matter But I remember that this is something a certain Image of what I can remember and that was in 1964 by the way So my memory isn’t totally gone yet, but I remember a few good things.

When you find out that a person is unsaved, remember you have asked him if he knew if he would go to heaven when he died. Then you can begin sharing the gospel by sharing your personal testimony. You’d be surprised how many people that I’ve opened up a door to their understanding by giving my own personal testimony. And I used to tell all the teenagers and the college kids and it camps. I always remember these three things. So they’re right there.

What I thought, what I found out, what I did. What I thought, what I found out, what I did. So when you’re given a test, that’s what you’re doing. What I thought, what I found out, what I did. So number one there, what I thought I had to do to get to heaven. What do you think you have to do to go to heaven? Well, I thought I had to be good. I really did. I thought I had to be good to go to heaven.

But of course I never knew how good. Nobody ever told me that. So that would have been nice to know, am I good enough? So most people think that you have to be good to go to heaven. Of course then they have to wait until they die to find out they’re good enough. So since you don’t know the future, you don’t know if you’re going to be good or bad. So then of course you’ll have to wait. So then how can you say you know you’re going to heaven now?

If it depends upon how good I got to be endors why most people don’t know where they’re going when they die. But you and I know that you can know it before because it doesn’t depend on how good you are or how bad you are See that’s the misconception that most people have if you believe that you have to earn your way to heaven Then you’ll have to wait see if you made it But if you think it’s free, but you can have it now and you can know you’re going and that’s what the Bible says So I always thought of what I thought I thought I had to live a good life join a church be water baptized believe in Jesus and do this and stop that and join this and all that.

And so there’s always something somebody thought, what do you think you have to do to go to heaven? On the little heaven track, that’s one of the questions. What must I do to go to heaven? What do I have to do? And we list a few things in there. And of course, if you know the truth of it, if they check all of them except the last one, they failed. Because there’s only one thing you have to do to go to heaven.

The second point is, what did I find out? What did I find out? Well, I had a man one day sit down with me with the Bible and he explained to me how to have eternal life. See, you can work out your own testimony, you can make it long, you can make it short and sweet. You can tell it in two minutes and you can tell it in an hour. But it should have certain basic things to it. What I thought.

I thought you had to be good to go to heaven. What you found out, you know, I was 18 years old, sitting in a little living room, and my father will explain to me how that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paid for all of my sins. And all I had to do is accept the payment he made for me, and he would give me as a free gift of a lasting life. Well, that was the best news I ever heard.

Well, what did you do? Well, that’s the next thing. What I did, I trusted Christ as my Savior. Because if you didn’t do that it doesn’t matter what you thought or what you heard you didn’t do anything about it So when I heard that all I had to do was they leave well, I can believe that that’s on the level anybody can have it So it’s not a matter of you performing something living good enough to get it You know that it’s free.

See there that statement I placed my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as the one that died for all of my sins and rose again He gave me his righteousness in exchange for my sins so that I could receive the gift of eternal life in heaven. So he took my sins and when I believe it, he gives me his righteousness. Well, that’s good. And you know what? He took the initiative. He did his part and paid for my sins on the cross 2,000 years ago.

And what was mine? Just believe he did it for me. And believe in is not a work. God’s Word says so. So I have down here my testimony explained now you’ll notice that whenever you give the the seven steps that I’ve given to you before and Explaining the gospel you can take each one of those points and make it part of your testimony You see the way to sin is death, but the first one is I am a sinner.

We have all sinned So I can start off with the testimony of I’m a sinner. That’s what I am I do things wrong. I am not as good as I’d like to be.” And I found out that the Bible says the way to sin is death. And then I heard that you had to be perfect to go to heaven. See that’s point number three. And then I realized that I couldn’t earn my way to heaven. That’s point number four.

It’s not a works. Number five, Christ died. I heard Christ died on the cross and paid for my sin. And number six is just believe. And all I had to do was believe it and he would give me as a free gift ever last. life. And number seven is I know I’m going to heaven. See, I can give my testimony to you. One of the biggest things you’ll ever do is learn the seven steps in order and it’ll help you when you do the little wallet illustration.

It’ll help you when you give a testimony. It will really help you in a lot of ways in your life because you’re trying to make the gospel clear to the person that you’re talking to because a lot of people do not know where they’re going to go when they die, and you do. So you’ve got to make it simple for them to understand. Well, that means that you need to make it simple in your mind to follow. And this is what this is for.

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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want to give you this because I believe anyone who says I want to serve a Lord. I want to win people to Christ. The easiest target of all so winning, all little children, they’ll leave it or not. They don’t know enough to argue stringously with you. And most times they are easy to win. I am sold on getting adults to understand how to go to heaven. But if you can make it clear to the child, you can make it clear to a lost person.

Because adults are just little kids grow up. And sometimes they don’t understand some of the simplicities of childlike faith. So if you can make a child understand and get them to understand it, then you have a good chance of making it clear for the teenagers and for the adults. I always just keep it, we used to call it K-I-S-S. Keep it simple, stupid. But I’m not calling anybody stupid. I’m just saying, we need to keep it clear. So on the paper that you have right there in front of you, this is life-changing.

This changes a person’s destiny. This is what you need to tell people so you know how to keep it clear. Been interesting seeing those that have come up with different names for the Bible college if we decide to start one. I’ve heard of everything. All kinds of names. Jay just gave me about six or seven names or something like that. Somebody else call it, how to go to Heaven Bible College? was called Hanke and Yankee Bible College. So, as we’re moving right along.

Anyway, I like it to be crystal clear. Something is very different, very unique, but we got time for that. Somebody sent this to me. He says, A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house, it seems obvious that someone was home, but no answer came. So repeated knocks at the door. Therefore he took out a business card and wrote Revelation 3.20 on the back of it and stuck it on the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday he found that his card had been returned.

Added to it was this cryptic message, Genesis 3.10. Regent for his Bible to check out the citation he broke up in gates of laughter. Revelation 3.20 begins, Behold I stand at the door knock. Genesis 3.10 says, I I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked. So some people are taking showers and can always come to the door. I thought that was pretty cute. Anyway, I have something I wanted to give to you.

We say that we love and appreciate the gospel of Jesus Christ and I preach the sermon not long ago on Romans 1 16. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it. I thought it was neat that on Friday night, so when the teenagers get to go out, Peter takes them out and also Betty Dowdy and a few others go with them. And anyway, they have a great time and they’re learning how to get a little boldness and talking to people.

And after a while, you’ll find out what works really good, you know, to open up a conversation. And sometimes you have to make a point of what works best for you. I’ve never found an illustration better than the hand gesture we used for the wall of the illustration, or you can use your purse or shoe or just don’t hit him with it. But you can use a lot of things to represent sin. I never let the Bible represent sin, and I usually don’t let a Heaven track represent sin.

I don’t know, can I guess, but I would prefer not. So anyway, if you’ll look there in the notes that I just gave to you, there comes the time in your life when you have to figure out what is my life purpose, my purpose in my life. Now we know in the book of John in chapter 15, and I spoken this not long ago, about, you know, bearing fruit and that Christ says, unless you abide in me, you shall do nothing.

You can do nothing. But it said, here in in verse eight, here in is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit. And we believe the fruit there is really referring to people that we went to Christ bearing fruit. And we know there’s the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace and so forth. But we are supposed to have people that we can talk to and lead to the Lord. And it’s not always the easiest thing. It really isn’t.

And I like to say I take advantage of every opportunity, but I don’t. I don’t think I can say like the Apostle Paul, I am free from the blood of all men because he hit everybody. And he covered all the areas and all the bases. This one guy says, you mean you was in the presence of this individual for a whole hour and you didn’t give him the gospel? You were in the presence of a person for a whole hour and didn’t give him the gospel?

I’d done that a lot of times. I’d give the gospel. But you need to know what your purpose is. And so the life purpose is to glorify the Lord, which means to bear fruit. Now the goal, look at the next statement, what is our life goal? That’s to lead the people to the Lord. So you’ve got to know what is my life purpose to glorify the Lord because that’s what God wants. And so what he wants is what I should have as my goal in life.

So then I seek to find out how do I fulfill this responsibility. Now, the next statement, keeping this in mind, listen to the questions all children and adults ask themselves sometimes in their lives because this is what I want to give to you right now, or things that I tried to teach the kids that were in college on making the gospel clear even for little kids. See, if little kids can understand you, then you have a possibility that the adults will, believe it or not, it’s harder to reach adults than it is kids.

And if you can win kids, you might be able to reach an adult because they’re looking for a gimmick. They’re looking for the bottom line. The adults, they’re setting their ways and they don’t trust you as easy. Little children are trusting and I think it’s good. And if you want to reach an adult, the best time to reach an adult is when they are children, because these children are going to grow up to be adults. So you want to reach them why you can.

So the next statement, what do I want to do with my life? So my life perfect. The answer should be, and here’s the two things from we get from the law, and that is to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and mind, to love my neighbor as myself. So these two things love the Lord and love others. And so to demonstrate that I do, this is what I do, then what should I be? Because sometimes we always wonder, well, what would you like to be when you grow up?

Well, what you want to be will determine what you do. I want to be a fireman. Well, if you’re a fireman, that kind of tells you what you’re going to do, you’re going to put out fires. And if you want to be a policeman, that kind of sounds, this is what but I want to be so I didn’t tell me what you want to do. So I’ve wanted to be a soul winner. So I knew what I had to be, to be a soul winner, to win people to Christ.

Now look what the next statement, what do I want to be in my life, my life goal? The answer should be to be a mirror of the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life to others, to be a specialist at sharing the gospel of salvation with everyone I meet and train them to serve Him. Now, everyone you meet, you’re not going to, but you should be prepared to. You never know when you’re gonna get certain opportunities to talk to people, and wouldn’t it be a shame to have somebody come up to you?

Could you please tell me how to go to heaven? Oh, I don’t know, I don’t know how to do it. No, I think you probably will know enough. If you’ve been coming here long enough, you’ve seen enough and heard enough that you would know how to get through it. But the reason for your faithfulness is not just because of the person you may witness to, but because of the Christian that might see you doing it. Now you don’t do it to be seen of men, but you should be seen of men, because the Bible says, let your light so shine.

Before men, that they may glorify your Father, which is in heaven. So, there’s nothing wrong in people seeing you talk to people about the Lord. Your motive isn’t to be that it’s just because, the only reason I’m witnessing or passing out tracts is so everybody can see me how great I am. Because God says, if you’re doing it for that, you’ve already got your reward when you do it just to be seen of men. So, you’ve got to get the balance in there and do it because you know it’s a right thing to do.

You do want to influence others. So don’t hold back and be so shy and timid. And that’s why I am. I’m very shy and very timid. And I have to make myself do these things. But the second point, to be a specialist at sharing the gospel of salvation with everyone I meet and trained in the Servo Lord, you don’t have to be a specialist in everything. You don’t have to know everything. I’ve often told people, I says, between men, God, we know everything.

And between men, God, we can do anything. But of course, you know, God’s gonna have to do it because I can’t, I don’t know where everything. I can’t do anything, God does. So you wanna be a specialty at making the gospel clear. So when you talk to a football player, it’s nice if you can know a little football language and talk to him a little bit, maybe they’re open to conversation, but you wanna be a specialist on the gospel.

I mentioned this to you before. when I had an opportunity to give devotion for the Denver Broncos out in Colorado. And they called me up and asked me if I’d come and give the votions. And so I said, sure. So I went down there right before the Oakland Raiders game. And they had the whole game in there. And they’re gonna go play in the Malha Stadium. And so I go in there and there’s the coach Red Miller and there was Floyd Little and Bobby Anderson and all these guys in there.

I didn’t know them. I just knew a couple of the guys names. And anyway, I didn’t talk to them about how to play the game. They got a coach to teach them that. They know more about how to play football than I do. So I don’t want to be an expert on that. I just want to know how to tell them how to have eternal life. So I spent a half an hour telling the little wall of the illustration.

So I can tell that little wall of the illustration in two minutes, or I can take 10 minutes, or I can do it in 30 minutes. All you do is just explain a little bit more on each point. But when I got through and gave the invitation, I had about 25 trusts to the Lord. So it’s worth doing it. It’s worth knowing it. And I had a chance to speak at different places. I had a guy named Jerry Bird that would fly me all the way to Utah to speak to Christian businessmen associations.

And I was 26 years old. I just got out of Florida Bible College and I had gone through the camps and now I’m in Colorado. And so he would fly me to certain places and I would speak. I didn’t have to speak to them on business and how to run their business. All I would do is just explain the gospel. Become a specialist in that. You don’t have to know everything. To witness to a doctor, you don’t have to be a doctor.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to witness to a lawyer. You’ve got the greatest knowledge in the world. That’s great as what a doctor or a lawyer or a banker or anybody knows. The most intellectual people in the world, if they don’t know God, you’re one up on them. If you know how to get to heaven, you’re better off. And so therefore, talk to them about what you know and explain that. In other words, next statement, be a specialist at sharing the gospel of Christ.

Some important things to remember. There’s only two kinds of people in the world. Those that know they’re going to heaven and those that don’t know they’re going to heaven. See how simple that was? I used to talk, I’d ask the person, and I’d say, what kind of religion are you? Just to kind of get a question going and conversation. I’m Catholic. Also, well, okay. Well, you know, there’s only two kinds of Catholics.

So what’s that? Kind of just going to heaven, kind of thing. I said, which kind are you? You got to think. I’m a Baptist. Well, well, well, next good. Okay. There’s only two kinds of Baptists. Kind of just going to heaven, kind of thing. Pentecostal. I don’t you name the religion use the same thing. There’s only two kinds. I don’t get an argument about their religious belief. Are you the kind that’s going to heaven? The kind of isn’t. And it eliminates a lot of stuff.

It gets right down to it. I was talking to this one kid and men Betty had gone to this sprint store to get our little cell phones corrected it didn’t want to work right all the time something happened to mine and I had to get it done so anyway he he had to do it and he had to wait wait wait wait wait for it to download something I says you know we got a few minutes you’re I can I ask you a question he says sure I said isn’t it true you heard all your life they Christ down on the cross and paid for all the sins of the world.

And then what’s the next question I usually always ask? Well, the next question is, if he paid for all of our sins… Why do we have to go to hell and pay for sin if he paid for it? So I never thought of that. So I explained to him a little bit more and he said that makes sense and he thanked me for telling them that. So you can get somebody to trust the Lord and this is standing in the store while we’re waiting on the cell phone to download some kind of information on it to make it work.

But just learn how to do it and it needs to be as natural as possible. You know you don’t just talk about you know the weather. I gotta talk to you about the things of God No, you Would you want somebody to do that to you? No and Or to be in the line, you know and you get up to the cash register you kneel over there now kneel over here Oh God bless the same That’s that be petrifying You ought to do it where nobody else even watching whatever even have a clue what you’re doing unless another Christian from here know that what you’re doing.

And believe it or not, you can win people to Lord without even doing that, but it does help the individual to understand. So the next statement, the best way to reach an adult with the gospel is to reach him or her as a child. Learn to reach children is a right harvest. One of the things about little children, they usually don’t challenge you. They will listen to And if it makes it simple and clear to them, they’ll trust the Lord.

Most kids, if they understand it, they’ll trust the Lord. Now, adults will argue all day long. That’s why you have to be able to pick and choose and when to move on and when to shut up and so on. But then the next statement, believing that Christ died, that’s history, believing Christ died for me at salvation. That’s on the back of our tracks, by the way. Next statement, being born again means you must have a second birth. It is important to know your spiritual birth date.

Now you may not know the exact day and hour. It’s good if you do, but if you don’t, but you know you are saved, you should still be able to sing this little song. Happy birthday to you. Only one will not do. Born again, mean salvation. How many have you? Now, with little kids, you have a cute little tomb. So your lead little kids to the Lord is the biggest key of reaching the adults. You reach them why you can.

Look at page two. That’s all Harvey would say, page two. Top of the page, sharing the gospel of salvation is a command. It’s not something the preacher made up. It’s something that God says to do. God gives to those who have trusted Him as their Savior. It is one of the main reasons why God left us here after we’re saved. Because, see, we can sing and all those things in heaven and fellowship, but here we’re left to get this done.

And this is why we want to support the ministries that get that done. That’s why we should be thankful that we have a ministry like the Tampa Youth Ranch, because they’re having a lot of people, trust Christ as Savior. And every once in a while we have some that will trust the Lord in church or some will trust the Lord because of the Reformers unanimous. But see, the biggest thing is individual people, just don’t it as you live your life.

And the people you get a chance to talk to, and just looking for opportunity. But look at the next segment, we are entrusted with the gospel. Now, I know that most of you here, you already know most of this stuff, but you may not have it down in an order where you can teach it. See, every one of us ought to be teachers. You should be teaching somebody because of your living it and people see what you’re doing. And there’s an advantage of doing that.

Or you may wind up teaching in a Sunday school classes like that. I’d love to have 10 Sunday school classes on Sunday morning. But everybody building a Sunday school class. But see, a lot of people don’t feel like there’s an interest there. It’s not as important. And yet it can be so valuable because not only for the people that are learning, but for the people that are teaching. Did you know you don’t really know if you know what you think you know until you start trying to teach it to somebody else?

Because then it really pulls it out of you and you find out when you have to prepare something every week. I have four or five times a week that I prepare things to speak on. Somebody asked me, he says, how long does it take you to prepare a message? I said 50 years. Because see, it wasn’t done last week or two weeks ago or a year ago. I’ve spent 50 years learning so I can go back and get this illustration or this illustration or this Bible verse or whatever and put it together.

But it’s harder when you don’t have all of that knowledge behind you, but you see you have to start building and getting some successful past experiences of people that you’ve led to the Lord. Because you know one day we’ll all have to stand before the Lord. But look at the next statement. We are told to go into the entire world to preach the gospel. That’s why we want to have missionaries everywhere. I love to have 50. You know when Lee Patton was here, he has a small church, Faith Bible Church, in San Antonio, Texas.

Texas, he has sent hundreds to Bible college and they support over 50 missionaries a year and they give I think five or six thousand dollars a month to missions a little small church but all the people they give support their church and give extra to missions and every time I’ve gone to a lot of churches and I’ve never seen a church that small supports so many missionaries. It just blows my mind. But think of that little church and how many places.

And this is what he was talking about. He said, your faith is heard throughout the world because there’s people everywhere because they have been influenced by that church. I was reading something and somebody sent it on Facebook and they were talking about the youth ranch from days gone by. And then one of them wrote in there about the West Coast youth ranch started by Mel’s carbonyl about 40 years ago. And then somebody told me about the ranch that they had right here, Tampa youth ranch, and they was talking about that youth ranch.

And so you have people 40 years later, and when you started getting older, because you were reached when you were a teenager, and now see these guys have grown up, they’re old men, should say, too old, but they’re older, and they look back, and they know that the greatest thing that ever happened in that whole life of theirs was the day they trusted the Lord. And it might be that that little kid in a Sunday school class or in a water program or whatever, and they come to know Christ of their Savior, and they don’t look like nothing big and exciting then.

You know, little kid just trusts the Lord. They know they’re going to heaven when they die. And then they start slowly learning and growing and gaining their little knowledge here and a little knowledge there. And next thing you know, one of these days they could be behind a pope at some place or missionary or evangelist or raising a godly family. And the influence is so important. See, serving the Lord is letting God use the power of your influence in other people’s lives.

Anyway, the next statement, God says, He that wins souls is wise, Proverbs 11-30. He that wins souls is his wise. When Christians follow Christ, He will make us fishers of men. God’s will is for everyone to be saved. You know that. Who will tell them? Remember, In heaven we can pray, in heaven we can fellowship with others. But one thing we won’t be able to do in heaven is share the gospel. So we pray for the unsaved. That’s why we want to have the various ministries and we say pray for ranch.

Well, you don’t pray, just pray for ranch. We’re praying that they’ll have some fruit, that they’ll have people come. And we pray for the Reformers Unanimous, you want people to come and hear the gospel. There might be a lot of people that will be here and see the importance of, Hey, I need to be in that program, but you got to, you got to sow seeds, sow seeds, sow seeds. And so this is what we want everybody to do.

The next statement here, pray for the boldness to share the gospel because sometimes it takes bonus. Paul even taught about pray that I may have boldness to open my mouth and to speak because see, the hardest part is getting started. You all know this. If there’s anything that I want for you as a church, I want God to reward you when you get to heaven. I want people to be in heaven because they heard the gospel from your lips personally.

So I want to encourage you to do that. There are some that are getting some of that boldness. Peter was talking about some of the people that, well, when they first started out on Friday night, so when he put a little shy and timid. And now it’s like they doesn’t even bother them. They just go and they can talk to just about anybody. And so do pray for these kids. Look at everyone in the light of the gospel. Ask yourself, are they saved?

Use every opportunity to give the gospel. Weddings, funerals, showers, birthday parties, neighborhood parties. When you ask to give a testimony of what is going on in your life, Christmas letters and so forth. This way, if there is ever just one person in a group that is not saved. You had shared the most important information they could ever need. Also, for the Christians who hear you shared the gospel over and over, they will learn how to present it clearly. Now what I enjoy is when I do a wedding I like to give the gospel and then whenever you do a funeral, the funeral is a good place to go fishing and there’s opportunities when somebody, a loved one, passes away in your family, that’s a perfect chance.

To be able to talk to people about the Lord. Sometimes it’s the only time people listen. Now I’ve had people say this. They love the Lord, they love the gospel. But when they die, they have somebody else. Do the funeral that’s not clear on the gospel. If you have the power in your hand, the authority to determine who should do your funeral, try to have somebody that will give the gospel because the person that’s dead, they’re dead. The funeral is not for the dead person.

It’s for those that are still alive that we may teach our hearts to number our days and apply our hearts unto wisdom. That person has died, they’re already wherever they’re going. They’re there. They’re not in that body. And so therefore use that as an opportunity to get the gospel to the people that might come there for no other reason and may never darken the doors of a church and don’t naturally assume, Well, the preacher will do the funeral. If you don’t have it down, I won’t be doing the funeral because there may be somebody else in the family that will determine it, and there you go.

If you can choose and you can make that decision, and it’s in your hands, try to make the wisest decision. People will think about, you know, where are they gonna be buried, and their insurance policy, and the headstone, what they want on it, and a verse of scripture, and all the flowers, and where it’s gonna be, and everything except the gospel. As long as the preacher says nice wonderful things, I was doing a funeral one day for my aunt.

And she had a son that was in another state. I never got a chance to talk to him, but she had wanted me to do her funeral, so I was going to do her funeral. There’s a little white church way out in the woods where my daddy was buried. So I’m not there, and everybody’s middling around and so forth, so we go in there for the funeral service and we had a couple songs and he’s setting there in the family and all them, you know.

So I got up here and I started doing the gospel. I talked about this and that, my relationship with her. It’s up to you nice little things at the beginning, you know, and that the people here are here as a testimony of their love and appreciation and the flowers and all that kind of stuff. And I started going to the gospel. I got about halfway through this hand represent you and me and this wall represents sin and I was going through, he gets up out of his seat and comes up on the stage, walks right up to me and whispers in my ear and he says that’s enough of this stuff.

Just say some nice things about my mom and let it go. I don’t want no more of this. And he turns and walk back down. He said, I says, once again, let this hand represent you and me. And Waller represents sin. And I went ahead and did it all over again because he had interrupted me. And I went through and I gave the gospel, gave an invitation, had several trusts to the Lord. Now, can that happen? Oh, I’ve had it happen.

But you’ve got to determine what are you committed to. to. She had wanted me to do this because she heard me do it years before and she trusted Christ as her Savior and her sister, my Aunt Grace, I had led her to the Lord and I did her funeral. So I got a lot of people, the relatives that trusted Christ as Savior because I explained the Gospel to them. 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa dot O-R-G. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and everyday, believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline. Here God’s truth on Bibleline. Everywhere, every time. Here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church and Temple. 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms, you and I are very fortunate that there was a day when God looked down. And when He looked down, He came down. And when He came down, He laid down. When he laid down, he reached down. And then when he reached down, because he sat down. And one day he’s going to put down. There’s a simple little outline about what God did. Here in the book of Psalms, the 14th Psalm, it says in verse 1, the full have said in his heart.

is no God. Question. Do you believe that God still sent his son to pay for the sins of this fool? He did? He sent him to pay for the sins of the fool, of a fool. Lot of fools in this world. There is no God. They are corrupt. They have all done abandba works. There is none that doeth good. You know, some verses are similar here to the book of Romans in chapter 3. Look in verse 2, the Lord and you ought to underline these two words here.

They look down. The Lord in heaven look down. From heaven upon the children of meant to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. And what was the conclusion? Here’s God in heaven and he’s looking down upon the earth, sees all all the people on the earth, and he can see everybody in the whole world in a moment of time. If the devil can do that with Christ and show him the kingdoms of the earth of the whole world in a moment of time, don’t you think God can?

And as he, you know, surveys the whole earth, he says they’re all gone aside. They’re all together become filthy. There There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Not one. I am glad that we have a God that one day looked down. And when he looked down and saw the conditions of this world, you know what he said? He said, I don’t want to get involved. Is that what he said? No, he didn’t say that. You know you and I are like that sometime.

We see a lot of people with a lot of personal problems of all kinds and we don’t want to get involved. One of the reasons is because we got enough of our own. We can’t solve everybody’s problems. But we know somebody who can help people and can solve people’s problems. You see the biggest thing is you can just get people to the Lord. So maybe God wants to use us to get people to the Lord because God does want to get involved in people’s lives.

Can you believe that? That’s why He tells us to get involved in people’s lives. I think it’s a good thing. It’s a worthy thing. Look there in your Bible to the book of John, the Gospel of John, and chapter 3. The Gospel of John, chapter 3. John chapter 3 and look in verse 31. See the Lord, He saw the the the gravity of man and how bad we were. He saw the death, and the plague, and everything that stops man as we go through this life.

And He also can see the destiny of all the people that do not know Him because He’s God. But here in John chapter 3 it says in verse 31, He that cometh from above is above all. So not only did He look down, see? He came down. He looked down and he came down. He that is of the earth is earthly. And speaketh of the earth, he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard that he testified in no man receiveeth his testimony.

He that hath received his testimony have set to his ilk that God is true, for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveeth not the Spirit by measure unto him, the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things unto his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life of the wrath of God, abideth upon him. So God sent his Son. God came down.

That’s what John 3 16 is really about. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Yes, God looked down and God came down. And you and I know why he came down. He came for a reason. Not a lot of reasons, just one main reason. He was born that he might die. Take your Bible and turn there to the book of John chapter 10.

The book of John in chapter 10. And you’ll notice here a simple little verse. Look there in verse 17. verse 17, where it says, therefore it doth my father love me because I and you ought to underline these two are laid down. I laid down my life that I might take it again. No man take it from me, but I lay it down of myself. So Jesus Christ, who is God, he looked down and he saw the condition of man.

And then it says he came down. That’s why he was born into the world. That he might lay down his life for you and for me. So I want you to take and look at this in first John in chapter three, first John in chapter three and look in verse 16. This is first John 3 16, not John 3 16. But in verse 16 it says, hereby perceive we, the love of God, because, and here’s those words again, he laid down his life.

This is supposed to reveal to you and I how much God loved us. Because from God’s viewpoint, as he looks at man, he says, all are corrupt, all are corrupt. all have sinned, all have gone astray. No one seeks God. And so he came down into the world and he died on the cross and he laid down his life for all those people that he saw because God is able to see all the people in all the world at one time.

And he could send his son to die on the cross the pay for all the sins of all the world. And hereby perceive we the love of God that He laid down His life for us. But now notice the other part of the verse. This is kind of a little strange to me, but the love that we have is revealed not by just the love we have for the lost man, but here, he says in the last part of it, and we ought to lay down our lives.

But then he says, for the lost man says, for the brethren, maybe it’s to get more brethren, or for the purpose of having more brethren. But evidently, you know, from God’s point of view, God knows how much could be accomplished if just God’s people loved each other, and of the best for each other. You know why I want to have a camp. It’s not so that I can find something to do because I’m bored. I know what camp does for the people.

For the brethren, did you know when you start getting involved in other people’s lives and you want the best for them, it straightens up your own life. Your life will not get straightened out until you get connected to other people trying to help them spiritually. That means you should want all the other adults in the church, all the teenagers that are God’s children, you want the best for them and the best thing they could ever do is learning how to work together.

Peter was talking about one little girl and the change in her because she trusted Christ a Savior and has such joy and she was intermingling with other people and and sometimes these kids you know that’s how they make friendships. Getting out there slapping each other with pain, getting dirty, knocking each other into the water. All the fun kind of things that they have that builds relationships and builds friendships and causes them to want to be around each other. You know what it’s like not to be liked, not to be involved, to think or to feel that nobody cares whether I live or I die.

It can’t give people a chance to show somebody you care about them because you know it takes time to give the people. When you do that you’re laying down your life for somebody else. you’re giving them the most valuable thing you have time Because see that’s what life is made out of When you waste time you waste life So when you invest time you’re saving your life and that’s why Christ says if you will lose your life for my sake And the gospel you will find your life and most people never find a real purpose in living So as he looked down and came down and laid down You and I are supposed to be looking through the eyes of the Lord and as you and I look through his eyes Remember we have been seated in the heavenly.

We look down and We’re supposed to come down and We’re supposed to lay down our lives because, see, we have somebody that set an example for us, and there are a lot of God’s children who just don’t want to get involved in doing anything. Everything takes time, and you know your life is so valuable to you, and you don’t have time to serve God, because he’s serving God, serving people, and a lot of people don’t have time to serve people.

They live only for themselves, and they will not give up or sacrifice their time because they feel like I am worth so much more. They’d rather have people serve them instead of them serve others. Remember what Christ says, even the Son of Man did not come to be ministered unto but to minister to give his life a ransom for many. So this is what God’s Word says and I believe it’s something that we ought to do. Take your Bible and look in the book of Hebrews in chapter one.

There’s a great verse here. I like this verse. Hebrews chapter one. But look in verse one to verse three. He laid down his life. And then whenever he laid down his life, know the Bible says that when he went back into heaven that he sat down. Do you know why he sat down, it was finished. Because the work was done, it is finished. Now you and I are trying to sit down and rest, and we haven’t finished our job yet.

We’re not in heaven yet. We’re supposed to work while it is day, because there come the day when no man shall be able to work. So we work while we can, as long as we can. So here in the book of Hebrews in chapter 1, looking verse 1, God who at sundry times and in divers’ manner spake and time pass unto the fathers by the prophets. Half in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, who, being the brightness of his glory and express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself surpass deal.

It’s over in this done with when he had by himself purged our sins and you ought to underline these two little words. He sat down, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high because the work was done. The work was done. And also why you’re right here, look there in Hebrews in chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. And you’ll notice it says this once again. See the reason that you and I can rest in the Lord is because the Lord did the work.

And he sat down because there was no more that needed to be done. We’re supposed to accept the work that Christ did for us. Now that’s for salvation. So you and I are going to have a good day. because we accepted the payment that Christ made. When He says it is finished, means the payment for the sins of the world was paid for. It was over and done with. And look what He says here in verse 12 of Hebrews chapter 10.

But this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, well, what did he do? Sat down. He sat down on the right hand of God. Now, there are scriptures that talks about God being on the right hand, and then talks about the sun being on the right hand. So, Hannah, I can both of them be on the right hand.

Is it possible that he is one in the same? Interesting. When we get to heaven, will we see three of them on three thrones? Or is it just one? I believe there’s only one true and living God. And explain it, can’t do it. Tried for years. I can’t make people see it because sometimes I can’t see it. All of you is all kind of types in trying to explain it. But it’s something we’re going to have to see when we get to Heaven.

Is there one, is there two or is there three? You say, well, I think it won’t matter what you think. You can’t prove anything. That’s why when we get to Heaven, we’ll see it and we’ll know and we’ll all understand. will all understand. You see, God says, secret things belong a ton to the Lord. And we can only know that which he hath revealed. And he has not revealed everything. I want you to take your Bible and turn to Matthew in chapter 14.

Matthew chapter 14, you’ve got Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And you know, there’s a story here about a storm that came up. The disciples were told to get in the boat and go across the Sea of Galilee. And the one that started this thing was the Lord. See there in verse 22? And straight way, Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship. Who did? Well, Jesus did. And to do what? To go before him onto the other side.

Well, he sent the multitude away. So it was his idea. He told him what to do. Well, did they do it? Yeah, they did it. in verse 23. And when he had sent the maulitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the mist of the sea. And it’s seven miles wide and 1400 miles long. This is one wide sea. It’s a pretty good sight sea up there in the sea of Galilee.

I preached on it many times. I really have. And so it’s in the evening and they’re out there in the middle of the storm because it says there in verse 21, but the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. Oh wait a minute, who sent them in the midst of this storm? Jesus, well didn’t he know there was going to be a storm? Well if he’s God he knew. He knew there’s going to be a storm.

He knew exactly what was going to take place and he sent his disciples right in the middle of it. And he knew what was going to happen. He knew what they were going to think. In verse 25, and in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went under them walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were in trouble saying, it’s a spirit. They cried out for fear. But Jesus said unto them, it is, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come into the on the water, he said, come. When Peter was come out, down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the winds, boasters, he was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hands. That means he reached down. He reached down and pulled him up because he was already sinking.

You know there’s a psalm in the Old Testament. But in the 40th Psalm, it makes the statement that… The Lord reached down and lifted me up out of a horrible pit, set my feet upon a solid rock. This is a solid rock. He establishes going and put a new song in his heart. And all that because it was God who reached down. Now it’s not because you and I have been able to do all these great and wonderful mighty things that caused God to love us so much more than somebody else.

God does love us. And if it wasn’t for the Lord who did the reaching, you and I would not be saved. It is his arm so short that he cannot reach, that he cannot save us, but he can. And the Bible says that he can reach down and he can save us. Well, you know, there’s the Scripture in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 verse 13 to 18. Now we know that he’s coming back again. He’s going to come. He’s going to raise the dead bodies of believers.

And he’s going to ratcheter out all of those who are still alive. And the Bible says he’s going to reward us when we get to heaven. That’s what we have to look forward to. And the Lord says that He’s going to put down all of His enemies. Look there in 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and just look there in verse 24, verse 24. And he says, then come of the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have, and you are the line these two little words, put down all rule and all authority and power.

And you’re going to put all of his enemies under his feet. In other words, when it’s all over with, everyone is going to bow the knee and confess to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is the Lord. It’s going to be too late for them, but for you and I, it’s still good if we would realize who he is, that he looked down, he came down, and he laid down, and then he sat down, and then he reached down, and then he put down.

But he’s coming down again, and he’s going to take us out of here. We’re supposed to live by faith believing that, and as a child of God. We should be doing exactly the same thing. You see, because not only does God want us to be saved and to go to heaven and He wants us to have all the rewards. You see, whenever you really love the brethren, you want them when they get to heaven to have all the rewards they could have got.

That’s why as a child of God, say, we should want every one of God’s children to serve the Lord. We want them to be involved. And the only way you can get some people involved is to be involved, to do something, to have a ministry, to get your hands dirty, to get involved in people’s lives. And yet there’s a lot of people that will never do it. I wish I could get a hold of them and just shake them real good.

But I realize that that’s not going to give me anywhere. So I am thankful for the ones that do. So I spend all my time, most of my time, with the ones that want to be faithful and try to disciple the ones who will follow. You see, you can’t disciple people who won’t follow you. You can only disciple those who follow you. At one time, a lot of Christ’s disciples turned and went away. And so he He turned to his own disciples and he says, will you also go away?

And Peter made that statement, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God. And Jesus says, not all of you. Not all of you. One of you is a heretic. One of you is because Peter didn’t know everything. We all, Peter’s always doing it, always putting his foot in his mouth, saying things that he shouldn’t say. I’m glad we don’t have anybody like that today.

People just don’t do that anymore. But anyway, I hope that that won’t help with just a little bit. Look up here. This hand represents you and me. This book represents… We all have sin on us but God loves us. He hates our sin and because of all this sin, it has to be paid. And the wages of sin is death. That’s why we all have to die. But God loves us and wants us to want us to go to heaven.

And to go to heaven, you can’t take your sin with you. You have to be perfect. Jesus is God. And nobody’s perfect. Because of sin, we can’t get it. It says you’re good. pay for your bad deeds. Good works don’t pay for bad deeds. This end represents Jesus Christ, He is the Lord. God in the flesh came into the world because He loves us, hates our sin, because our sin separates us from the Lord. So Christ took our sins, paid for them on the cross, and came back from the dead, sent it into heaven, and sat down.

The work was all done. It’s finished. payment made in full. You see, the only thing you and I have to do is accept the payment he made for our sins. He’s already done the made to payment. All we have to do is accept it. That’s free. That’s simple. That’s grace. It means you don’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. It’s free. Mercy and grace. What a wonderful thing. Let’s pray, shall we? If you’re here tonight or watching by internet, I pray that you would right now Believe that God does love you and yes, he looked down and he sees you He sees all the rebellion that we have and the desires to go our own way God says there’s none righteous.

No, that one So because of what he saw he came down and did something about it He got involved couldn’t get any more involved than what he did He laid down his life. Because he laid down his life, he did it for everybody. Came back from the dead, sent it into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of the Father. And then he reached down his hand for you and for me. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior?

Will you trust Him to save you? If you will, God said He would give you the free gift of eternal life and you’ll get to go to heaven or what Christ did for you. So it heads by nice clothes. No one looking around is there anyone else say yes I will accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and preach I like you to pray for me. We’ll just slip you hand it very quickly in the right back down. There’s anyone at all.

Yes right where you are you too. All you have to do is believe it. God loves you that much and He’ll give you the free gift of eternal life and you can know you’re going to heaven when you die. Our Father we thank you so much for this time together, the opportunity just to study your work, get some thoughts here and there. And follow us to Blessings upon this ministry. We got good people. Help us to plan wisely through all that we can.

While we can, they get involved in people’s lives and 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvary of tampa.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. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

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 on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

The Bible tells us that God has already judged the world For 1500 years he had given to the nation of Israel his law, but he had also given the light of understanding, of conscience to the Gentiles also where they could know that there is a God because of his creation, because of conscience being able to reason that if that there is a world, there has to be a God that is assumed. Even when we read in the very first words of the Bible, God does not explain God.

He just simply starts off with the very first verse in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It is assumed that the nations of the world, the people of the world, know there is a God. But instead of seeking God and letting even their conscience, which has a little bit of light, guide them to God, they refuse that. So whether it was because of the word that was revealed to Israel, or the world that is revealed to the common mind, everyone has found themselves to be guilty before God.

Because God has judged the whole world. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter 3. And he makes the statement there in verse 19, Now we know that what things so ever the law say it, it’s safe to them who are under the law, y’all get this, that every mouth may be stopped, because whatever God does, it must be right, and God must be just justified in the eyes of everybody that whatever God did, it was right.

So God has to always vindicate Himself and prove to the world that what God did was justified and God’s going to do that. This is the only main reason for the great white throne judgment so that every lost man will get a day in court and present his cause. And when it’s all over with, there won’t be anything for them to say and the Bible says and they will be cast into the lake of burning fire. Now get what he says here.

In the last part of this verse, He says that every mouth may be stopped all the world the word all if you don’t have it on the line You should all the world may become guilty before God So if you are found to be guilty it means that courts already been held It’s already been held God has already declared this to be true and So therefore this is a judicial decision as a judge would make in a courtroom room.

Thou art found guilty. And if you had a jury trial and how does the jury find the defendant guilty innocent every man is a liar. Now look in verse 4 of Romans in chapter 3. God forbid you let God be true every man a liar. Everybody’s a liar. I know we don’t like to admit that we ever told a lie but we have and God says every man is a liar in a thousand ways but God says in this verse all the world may become guilty before God.

Now look in verse 20. Therefore… If the sentence has already been rendered, then there’s nothing that the defendant can do to justify himself, cause courts over. Courts over. It’s other words, it’s like a judge saying that you’re guilty and you’re just waiting for that. Nothing that you do now is going to change the judge’s mind. It’s final. Now the day we have the court of appeals, and this appeal, not appeal, and so forth, and they sit on death row for 20 years.

You think God’s like that? God’s not like that. God makes a decision. And he has said the whole world is guilty and because the whole world is guilty, therefore there’s nothing that you can do to deliver yourself from that verdict. Now, this is why God sent his son. Look at verse 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, because there’s nothing that you can do. The verdict is over. It’s your guilty and you got to pay.

And he says, for by the law is the knowledge of the sin. That is how we know that we are a sin. Now these are simple verses that we’ve covered many many times. Now take your Bible and turn it there to the book of John chapter 3. John and chapter 3. The Gospel of John is a book that’s very simple, very good, easy for anybody to understand. It’s one that I guess more people have trusted Christ to save your from than any other book in the Bible.

I always recommend the Gospel of John to a person who has just trusted Christ. I say read it and then we get through, read it again and then we get to read it again. If you don’t get to any of the books in the Bible. Just read the Gospel of John, because Gospel of John is so easy and simple for a person to understand. So many great truths. Now look at John 3 16, a verse you’re very familiar with, but look at it.

He says, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever it be, leave it then Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now you said, Well, everybody’s heard that verse. There are people who’ve never heard the verse. The first time I heard the verse, I was 18 years old. Now think about that. You think everybody’s heard that. I was 18 for I ever heard that verse. Get what he says in verse 17.

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world. Why? The world was already condemned. So Christ didn’t come down here to prove to everybody about all this bad wickedness that everybody’s doing. He came to save the world. I believe very strongly that as a person that is sent into the world, like it says God sent his son, well the Bible also says he sent us into the world. Well if God didn’t send his son into the world to condemn the world, then why should I go into the world to condemn the world?

The homosexual is going to hell not because he’s a homosexual in the man that drank, he’s going to help not because he drank him. All those are the results of him being a sinner. That’s not an issue to me. We’re supposed to love the person, not their sin, and they don’t have to stop their sin in order for us to love them more or even for God to love them more. That’s a love the world. And he came saying it’s not to condemn the world because they’re already condemned.

but we can let them know that they are condemned because they have not believed, not because of the things they’re doing because then whenever you point out all the sins that they’re now doing, we’re giving the impression you got to stop before God will save you. And I disagree with that. Though I want people to live good and righteous and so forth, but that’s not the point when you’re talking about salvation. Look there in verse 17 when he says, for God sent out his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be what?

Might be saved. So he came to save, not to condemn, but to save. It’s not good to always try to point out all the wickedness that people are doing most of the, all you got to do is put your center. And everybody, I think most people, they know that. I’ve only met a couple people in my whole life that thought they were perfect. And this guy, he says, if you ever met anybody that’s perfect or heard about anybody being perfect, he says, oh yeah.

He says, my wife’s ex-husband. Look at verse 18. Verse 18 says, he that believeth on him is what? Not condemned, but get this. But he that believeth not is condemned when? He’s already condemned. So he’s not going to hell because of any particular sin that he’s doing. Those, all those things that he does is because he is a sinner. That’s what he is. That’s just the fruit on the tree. We don’t have to get him to pick the fruit off the tree before God will save him.

No. But get what he says here. He is condemned already because he hath not, what? He hath not believed. and the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is why a man’s condemned because he hasn’t believed. Not because of all the bad things are doing. Hitler didn’t go to hell because he killed six million Jews or high ever many millions he killed. That’s not why he went to hell. If he went to hell, it’s because he didn’t believe on Christ, didn’t trust Christ.

Sodom who’s saying if he was the trust Christ’s Savior, where would he go? They go to heaven. And nothing else matters. I mean for the world, yes, I mean it’s terrible what happened. And some have been loved. I mean, but if they trust Christ they’re saving, they’ll go to heaven when they die. Despite everything they’ve ever done. It’s hard sometimes for us to believe it, but that’s grace. That’s because God loves them. Remember you and I don’t look at things exactly the way God does.

God loves the people. We despise and we hate. I hope there’s nobody like that in your life, but it makes a statement in verse 19 and get it. And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world because men love God. So God has given us the light so the people could see there’s a God that loves you. And I told the man, I said, I would rather let him know God loves you. And instead of trying to condemn everybody because of all the bad things that they do, maybe they have done a lot of bad things.

And I went down one day to the ball game they were having down there, and they had all these tailgate parties. And I’d never been to one. And I saw, I mean, but you know, for the most part, yeah, there were some people down there drinking. They were a little fan of that. You know, but for the most part, people were just having a good good time. They were just having fun. They were eating same food that I eat.

And some of them were even drinking, someone saying something I drink. But to put a blanket, they’re all bad. No, they’re not. There’s a lot of good people doing a lot of good things and there’s a few people that will do some things that are not good. We, I believe, have a tremendous message that people could only hear it and understand and let them know about the love of God. And to me, this is what Christmas is about. Now, take your Bible and turn to John chapter chapter 5 and verse 24.

John chapter 5 and verse 24. See, you were condemned already. That’s say judicial decree from the judge, God. After you trust Christ as your Savior, of the same God that says once you are guilty, you’re condemned, but you trust Christ, you’re saved from the condemnation and then the same God has already decreed, you can never be condemned again. In other words, you can’t be tried for the same crime twice. I was judged because I was a sinner. I can never be judged for that again.

We even have laws in our country that says the very same thing. And this is why he says here in verse 24, Verily, verily, I send to you, he that hereth my word, believe it on him that sent me, hath right now, present, ever, lash in life, and shall not come into combination. You can’t be condemned in the future, because that would be double jeopardy. You can’t do that. It is God that says it, but is past from death and the life.

God has already given you eternal life. He can’t condemn you. This is why it’s such a wonderful thing to know that you have eternal life, and to know that you’re going to heaven when you die. and understand why. I know sometimes people say, well, all you know is John 3 16. Well, if that’s all that I knew and the seven steps in the hand gesture, that’s a tremendous message and that’s a lot to know. And there’s like, I don’t think I’d ever run out of people to talk to.

But it’s understanding all these other things in the Bible that make you strong enough to keep doing that and keeping it simple and clear because you really believe it. But as you notice from this verse 24, shall not in the future ever be condemned again. You will never come into condemnation. That is right along with you can know you have eternal life. Half ever, you have this. You can’t be condemned. Can’t go to hell in the future. Take your Look at 2 Corinthians in chapter 5.

2 Corinthians in chapter 5. In this verse… It’s a tremendous truth, great truth. I never really understood this verse until I heard Dr. Stanford speak on it about a thousand times. I mean, he was always hitting this verse. I’ve read the verse, but I didn’t get out of it what he got out of it until I listened to him. And then he had to say it over and over again for me. I see what he’s saying. We can verse 21, where he had made him to be sin for us.

He knew no sin, Christ knew no sin, that we might be the righteousness of God. Now let me ask you a question concerning Christ. Can Christ go to heaven? Why? He’s perfect. That’s why Christ can go to heaven, he’s perfect. What if you were in Christ? He goes, you go, because you’re in him. If Leon is driving his little red pickup truck down the highway going to Culver, if Mrs. Campbell gets in the truck, wherever Leon goes, she’s going, why?

She’s in the truck. When you are in Christ, you get to go where he goes. that’s where he is. You’re in him. Now, this is a simple illustration. I’ve given it before, but I want to show you something. This is me. See there? Got Yankee on it. That’s how you know it to me. And this, this is Christ. So whenever you trust in Christ as your Savior, God put you where? In Him and the Holy Spirit sealed you in Christ.

And then the Bible says that Christ is in God. So now where am I? God the Father can see the Son and whenever He looks for me and He finds me, He finds me in Christ and Christ is in the Father and I am sealed in Him. This is a positional truth. This is what happens when you trusted Christ as your Savior. He says that you are in Him. Now get the last part of the verse. He made the righteousness of God those two words.

Very important in Him. So me going to heaven is me being in Christ. So Christ says salvation is Yankee needs to be into my life. We have people today that are saying that if you want to go to heaven you have to have Christ in your life. You need Christ in your life, Christ in your life. And I’ve asked Christ to come into my life. For salvation, no, is that Christ wants you in his life. And then you get to go and enjoy his life where he is.

That’s the different story, that’s salvation. Now whenever we’re talking about serving the Lord. God left us in this world. In this world I live in this body. So Christ wants to be where? In me Christ in me. In this life I am supposed to live. Christ wants to live his life through my life. That’s service. Salvation is that Christ wants me in his life. That’s a position of truth that cannot change. But Christ living his life through you down here in this world can change moment by moment.

Because you see it’s not that he is any less, is that I am not letting him live his life through me in this life. So as a Christian do I want Christ in my life? Yes. But I want Christ to live his life through me. When I get to heaven I will be in his life, that eternal life. When you trust it, Christ your Savior, you are placed in Him. And He says, He’ll never cast you out, never lose you.

You are in the Son, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and the Son is in Christ. Now, how can you ever get out of here? You can’t. You’re sealed. You’re ready to be delivered. You’re going to heaven when you die. Now that’s the good news. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Philippians in chapter three, the book of Philippians and chapter three.

I am in Christ to live there. Christ is in me to live here. And some people get it mixed up and they think that I just got to get Christ in my life to go to heaven. No, because here you’re talking about Christ helping you live your life or you’re living your life for certain things for Christ and that that’s not salvation. So you have a lot of Christians people I should say go in the church, live in good lives, doing things for Christ and so forth and never trust Christ to take them to heaven.

Because salvation is Christ allowing you to enter into Him his life and that’s you get eternal life. Now here in Philippians in chapter three, look what he says in verse nine. And be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And be found where? In him not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

How did you get there? By faith along believing that what Christ did was for you. You here can never be condemned. That’s your position in Christ. You’re safe and it can never be changed. Never be altered. God can never undo this. Over here Christ in your life may have control of you at one time and not another because it depends upon you yielding to the one who lives on the inside of you. This is why we often say greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

Satan’s in the world, Christ is in you, greater is he that is in you. So if you let the Lord who lives within you have the right to live through you because you yield to him, you have the power to defeat the one that’s in the world that’s greater than you. And you can have power over the temptations of the flesh, the trials and tribulations, and anything the world has to throw at you because Christ is in your life in this world.

Here, now you can have victory. But many of God’s people have no victory in their Christian life, but they can. Now get what he says in verse 9, Be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness, which is of God by faith. So God will give you his righteousness. Jesus Christ can go to heaven because he’s perfect. All right. If you’re placed in him Then you’re in Christ and he’ll never cast you out and never lose you and you get to go because of what Christ did for you.

See, this is a message that one that never heard this That man and his family, they left. And so this young black couple, they got up to leave. And when they got up, I said, and she was laughing about something. And I said, I don’t know what you’re laughing about it, but it must be good. And she said, oh, it is. I said, I got something good for you too. I said, you know that little thing I gave you, that little piece of paper?

I said, let me, I said, you got two minutes, don’t you? Yeah? I said, sit, sit, sit. I think he may sit down at my table. And so when they sit down, I said, come on, let me show you something. Let me show you how you can know that you’re going to heaven. I said, can I ask you? I said, do you know that you’re going to heaven? I said, oh, yeah, I’m going to heaven. I said, what about you?

He said, yeah, me too. Oh, this is great. They’re all Christians. I said, is there anything that you could do that could keep you from going to heaven? She said, oh, yeah. That’s why you gotta go to church and do the best you can. Were they really trusting Christ? They had the right words to start with, but they were trusting in the way they live. And she said that this is why we have to go to church. And she said, and I pray, and I try to do right.

I said, well, what if you don’t? Well, then you don’t get to go. I said, let me talk to you. So I pulled out my wallet and I went through the hand gesture and I explained to gospel how they can know they have eternal life. I trust them twice to say. And I says do you understand what I’m saying she said yes, I do look at what she said and I Told them all about Robert coming to our church.

I invited them to come I said he needs somebody to come in here And I says I said I’d love to have you come and I said this guy is one of the biggest dudes you’ve ever seen your life I said he lifts weight. He’s big and solid kind of bill like myself I said, I’m not going to tell myself. Anyway, I enjoyed talking to them. And I said, where are you right now? Will you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior?

And I said, yes, I will. And I looked at the guy and I said, what about you? He says, I will do. I said, if you trust Christ right now, what would you have? Eternal life. Now listen, it’s right everything else you think about. Even with all the stores and you can buy all kind of stuff and people will. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But the greatest gift you can give to anybody Is the explanation of how to have the gift of eternal life?

And what if it’s shame for? Year after year after year to go by and there’s nobody that you’ve ever talked to Find a victim. I Sit down deliberately and ask the Lord. They’ll let me talk to somebody Then I had to take advantage of an opportunity And sometime it works sometime it don’t but at least you try I’m sure that if you really try you can find one person just they didn’t know I was a preacher. I didn’t tell him I was a preacher till afterwards But you can do it because it’s just the good message.

It’s a good news It’s the greatest story in all the world go for it Try it you’ll like it and to see something that would be tremendous Anyway, keep it in mind salvation is not me having Christ in my life But Christ having me in his life life. Service is me having Christ in my life here. So I am in Christ to live there and Christ is in me to live here. Don’t that make sense? I thought of that last night sitting downstairs.

All of us admit that makes sense to me and I wrote that down and I knew you’d like that didn’t you like that? Because it does it so simply makes sense. I am always trying to find us a simpler way to say something because anybody can be hard to complicate. I want people to understand what I’m saying and I want to be clear and simple and I hope that makes sense to you. We head by a nice close and no one looking around.

Ask the Lord that in the next couple weeks you will take the time, somehow, some way and find someone to talk to. Not just give them a track, let it be a door that you open up, but talk to somebody. even have to know it. Find one person, come by himself. Talk to a little kid, but anybody somewhere. And it’s the greatest thing that you’ll ever do. Father, we ask your blessings upon us. We thank you for all you’ve done for us.

We thank you for these people, our church, and Father, our blessings upon each and every one of you. In Christ’s name we pray. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvary of tampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and everyday, believing that the Lord is coming soon. 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 Calbreak Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radiolity internet. Your regular prayers and monthdays. and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us He was told free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at CalvaryOfTampa.org. 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.

When he died on the cross he says it is finished. Now there’s nothing anybody else had to do for the payment of sin. He paid for all the sins of the world so that everybody in the world Good have eternal life and go to heaven and all that you have to do all that I have to do is Believe that when Christ did it he did it for me and if I believe he did it for me that payment is put to my account By faith alone in Christ alone You have the free gift of eternal life.

Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of 2nd Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians and chapter 5. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. Verse 21 says on page 12-33, he says, for he, God, hath made him, Jesus Christ, who no no sin, get to be sin for us, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God. All right, so Jesus Christ comes into the world and he’s perfect. I’m not. I have sin. So God will not allow sin in heaven, but He will allow righteousness in heaven.

So that’s a perfect place. So Jesus Christ, this hand representing Christ, and this hand representing mania, I have sin, He has righteousness. So the Bible says that if I will believe that Christ paid for all of my sins on the cross came back from the dead, payments made. And I believe Christ did it for me. God gives to me His righteousness. Now if I have His righteousness, that makes me as righteous as God. I go to heaven on what He did.

He became sin for me. He didn’t sin. He became sin. He took every sin of every person in the whole work paid for sin on the cross, once and for all. It never has to be done again. So whenever you and I believe that Christ didn’t for us, He gives us His righteousness. But here’s the thing to remember in Romans chapter 3. Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God. So when He gives me His righteousness, what He’s really doing is giving me Himself.

I’m going to heaven because I am in His Son. I’m going to heaven because I am in Him. He is my righteousness. I don’t have righteousness. Now, while we’re right here, take your Bible and look there in the book of Philippians in chapter three, the book of Philippians, real quick. It’s such an important verse that you need to see it. Philippians chapter three and verse nine. Verse nine, you and I have sin. God says, do not be found on the day of judgment, trusting in your righteousness to get you to heaven.

Because God says, you don’t have any righteousness. There is none that doeth good, no not one, all have sinned and come short of God’s perfection. So no man can save himself. So the Bible says, Jesus Christ came into the world. He is perfect. He is righteous. God says to go to heaven, you have to be as perfect as righteous as Christ in order to live for all eternity. So get what he says in verse nine and be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law that he’s trying to earn it.

Work for it. But that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God. by faith. So there is a by works righteousness and a by faith righteousness. By works, you’re trying to earn it. God says, don’t be found trusting in your works to get you to heaven. He says, but trust in his righteousness. He will give you his righteousness be found in him, having his righteousness. That’s why we get to go to heaven. That’s why Christ came into the world.

Now look at number four. Number four, why he became the first fruits of them that slept. Turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians in chapter 15. 1 Corinthians in chapter 15. This is the resurrection chapter in the Bible. Has an awful lot to say about the resurrection. And if you’re noticing in 1 Corinthians, I want you to look there first of all in verse two because he’s talking about how he declared unto him the gospel, the good news. So Christ came into the world.

Where’s the good news in that? Christ died on the cross. Where’s the good news? He was buried. Well, where’s the good news? Well, he came back from the dead. Why is that good news for me? Did you know there’s a lot of people who believe in the the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and are not going to heaven. A lot of churches talk about it every week. They talk about the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and haven’t got a clue where they’re gonna go when they die.

That’s because they haven’t heard. Why did he do it? Most people think, but he did that to help me to live better so I can get good enough to go there. He’s like, help give me the strength and the grace that I need to walk that straight and narrow way. And if I do it long enough, I’m going to make it someday. Praise Jesus. That is not why he can’t. He’s not a trail blazer. You know like Daniel Boom and David Crockett blazing a trail and now boy he’s going to pour me and I got a stack.

No, for example, you’re right in the middle of the ocean. Can’t swim. Help. I come by my little motorboat and I say, what’s the problem? I’m drowning. I can’t swim. I said, look, it’s only 1500 miles to the coast of America. You just do the best you can and try hard, but you’ll make it. Now was I a savior? No, I wasn’t a savior. Well, what if I pull up alongside of them and I say, look, there’s a lesson on 10 easy lessons on how to swim.

Just read those lessons and follow those and you’ll learn how to swim. Now see, what a good deed that was? But am I a savior? No. What if I come up alongside of him and I jump out of the boat and I say, now watch what I do. And you do exactly like me and I doIII the dog paddle, the breaststroke and the backstroke and everything. I mean I can give it all. And I give him his, you know, two minute lesson.

Now you do just like me in heading that direction and you’ll make it. Now I might be a good example. might be a good way, sure, and you know, trailblades, but that’s not a Savior. Okay, well, what if I come up there in my little motorboat and I reach over there and I get him up out of the water, put him in the boat and take him 750 miles and kick him out and say, now you make the rest of the way by yourself.

Not a Savior? No. I need to take him out of the water, take him all the way to the land. When I trust the Christ as my Savior, I’m trusting Him to take me all the way to heaven. And He’s the only one that can get me there. I don’t help. I don’t do the dog paddle. I don’t do the breaststroke. I don’t retain any lesson on how to swim. I trusted Him as my Savior 50 years ago in a little old living room and it never has to be done again.

My going to heaven, totally 100% depends on Him. I’ve had people say, why don’t you pray for so-and-so, he’s almost saved. You’re either 100% saved. Or 100% lost. Nobody goes to hell. Well, I was only 10% more now that I made it. You’re either saved or you’re lost. You’re either trust them or you don’t. I’ve had people say, have you trusted Christ? I’ve been a Christian all my life. No, you have it. Nobody is better Christian all their life.

There has to be a day when you were saved. A day when you were born in the God’s family. You may not remember the exact day and the hour and so forth. I can’t. You may not. But there has to be a day when you trust Christ as your Savior. And if you don’t know of such a day, I would. You know, I’ve been saved all my life. No, there has to be a time when you trusted the Lord.

You may not remember all that. But you know, I recall there was a time when I put my trust in Him. in him. I believe Christ died on that cross and he paid for my sins. You’re not raised a Christian. I mean, just because you were, you know, you walk into a garage and make you an automobile. I can go a long way with that tip, but I’m not going to. But it’s so important for a Christian to realize that foundation, as we’re talking about in San has to be rock solid.

I know I have believed in Christ, and my salvation is secure, and that I’m going to heaven whenever I die. But Christ came back from the dead. And when he came back from the dead, why is that so important? Because he can’t save anybody if he’s still dead. And he says he’s coming back someday. Well, he can’t come back if he didn’t get there. That’s why it’s also important. Because see, it hinges upon the fulfillment of his promise, his word.

He says that he would die. And in three days, he come back from the dead. And if he doesn’t, he’s a liar. And if he’s a liar, he’s not God. And our sins were never paid for. But he did come back from the dead. Now, I want you to see this. Here in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, look in verse 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death by men also came the resurrection of the dead.

The first man there in verse 21 for since by man came death that’s Adam. By man Christ also came the resurrection of the dead. For in verse 22 says for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. So whenever anybody born into the world as a son of Adam, we all have a sinful nature, we all die. All those who trust Christ as Savior will be made alive. So I’ve been born twice. Once from the line of Adam through my mama and daddy and their mommy and daddy and all the way on down goes all the way back to Adam.

But 50 years ago go in a little old living room in Athens, Georgia, I trust it, crisis my Savior. So my new birth only goes back 50 years. The other one goes back a longer time. But Christ came back from the dead and He is the first fruits. It means that He’s the first one to come back from the dead, but He came back on His own power. You see, all the other ones had to be raised, but He said, I have the power to lay down my life and the power to take it up again.

And He says that He is the one that died, that little kernel of corn. And because of that, there’s going to be a harvest someday. And that’s where you and I come in. One of these days the graves are going to open and we’re all going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the year. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Look at number five. Why He became the author of eternal salvation. Eternal salvation, not temporary salvation.

Look there in Hebrews chapter five. Hebrews and chapter 5. These are some very, very good verses. You see, you need to understand this so that you can defend your faith. As you witness to people, there’s people going to challenge you and ask you to prove that in the Bible and you’ll be able to say, well, in the Bible it says in blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and you know your book. It is the will of God for God’s children to know the Word of God.

You’re supposed to know this book and you’re going to answer the God on why you don’t know it. Knowledge is power and this is the power that you need for your Christian life. This is the power you need to witness. Knowledge is power. So he says here in Hebrews. And chapter 5, look what he says here in verse 8. Verse 8, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. Now we’re talking about Christ as a man.

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation. You see, for something to be eternal, it has to be perfect. So when he became the author of eternal salvation, he became the author of a perfect salvation. You see, the salvation that God has has to make you perfect, or it doesn’t help you. When I trusted Christ as my Savior, my new birth, I was just like that holy thing. I was born without a sinful nature, my new birth.

Not my first one. My first one has a sinful nature. That’s when you see. But I got another one that you can’t see. It’s a new birth born of God. It’s a holy thing. And because of that, I have a perfect salvation. I am a perfect child of God. It has no sinful nature. It cannot sin. And if it can’t sin, it cannot die. And that’s why when you’re perfect, you can go to heaven. Only perfect people get to go to heaven.

good people, perfect people. So when you trust in Christ as your Savior, your new birth is perfect in the Lord. And now God wants you to grow, to become mature in the Lord. But He makes a statement. He says here in verse 9, being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation. Under all them that obey Him. He said, Ah, I knew there was a catch to this. The word obey here means to all those that believe him.

Take your Bible and just turn to the book of Romans in chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, so important to see this. Romans chapter 10, and notice they’re in verse 16. Four, they have not all obeyed the gospel. to those that obey Him. How do you obey the gospel? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So to obey the gospel is to do what the gospel says. Believe it. He that believe it hath everlasting life. And God never cast you out and never lose you.

Look what else he said. For Isaiah said, Lord, who hath what’s that word? Believed I report. So obey and believe is what it’s talking about. So when Christ became the author of eternal salvation to all those that believe the gospel. So when you believe it, you’re saved forever because it’s perfect. perfect. There’s nothing that can stop it. God says, you’ll never cast you out. He said, I’ll never lose you. You have eternal life. And if it lasts forever, then where are you going to go when you die?

And all your sins are paid. He says, the sacrifices made in the Old Testament could never pay for sin. And they continually did it year after year. He but a body has not prepared me. So he came. He made one payment for sins forever, and it’s all done. Take your Bible and look there in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10. Hebrews and chapter 10. You see why you need a Bible at this church? We use the Bible. We want people to know what God says.

And that’s more important than anything else in the world. There’s a lot of churches that they don’t even use a Bible. Well, you’re gonna feel kind of naked around here. It’s like in the whole Wild West days when you went out and didn’t have a pair of guns on your hips, you know. You just were ready to go out and face the world. Gotta have a sixth gun. Well, you need a Bible. Here in Hebrews in chapter 10, look what he says there in verse 10.

And verse 10 makes a statement. By the which will, we are sanctified, made pure and holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once from. So we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is when God took on flesh. A body was prepared and he never sinned and so for 30 years until he began his ministry, which is what the priests had to do in the age of 30. He began his ministry for three and a half years and nobody could find any fault in him.

Nobody. That’s why Christ made the statement, which one of you can vince this me of sin? If I sin, name it. Now none of us can do that, can we? Would you say to your wife, I ain’t never done anything wrong? I am Mr. Perfection. I’m goody-goody two shoes. Could you say that? Could your wife say that? I don’t think so. You know it’s amazing. The women can really, they can go shopping all day and all night long and never get tired.

Never wear out and a man he can go to a store and he got to find a bench to set on on or Something there let me go drink and coffee at our cafe while you finish up and when we get to weird Tires can be worn out. He got a bit of energy left and a woman’s just all wear on the left And she’s ready to go and spend some of them. I Have no idea where that came from you know So there’s got to be a point there.

I have no clue what it is all Look in verse 12, verse 12, but this man, this man, after he had offered one sacrifice, four sins for how long? Forever. Sat down on the right hand of God. In other words, it’s done. Payments made, finished. There’s nothing for anybody to do. The payment has been made. Now look in verse 14, for by one offering he had perfected for how long? them that are sanctified. Those who have trusted Christ the Savior, you have been made pure and holy and set apart.

You belong to the Lord. I belong to the Lord. In God’s eyes. I know this is hard for you to accept. I’m perfect because I’m in Christ. Now you take Christ away and I’m just as bad as you. What do you think I was going to say? God says that we have all sin and comes sort of God’s perfection but once you trust Christ the Savior in Christ you’re good to go. You’re good to go. I’m ready to go.

And that means from now on I’m good to go. I can’t go to hell. I can’t go to hell today. I can’t go to hell tomorrow. I can’t never go to hell. I can’t go to hell if I tried. I haven’t tried but I can’t go to I am sanctified forever. He had perfected all those that believe this good news. Now, take your Bible and turn to these last two verses. I’m just going to have you look at these last two verses.

You’ve probably never seen them before. Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9. Verse 8 and 9, this is on page 1251 in an old school for a reference Bible. Now look at the verse, this is the reason for Christmas. If you’re going to celebrate Christmas, celebrate the gospel. That’s what it’s about. That’s the good news. The good news is not that he came and was born. The good news that he died and came back from the dead, paid for my sins.

in verse 8, 4 by grace are you saved? See, God can’t save you by your works. No man’s good enough. You have to be perfect. That’s why the church can’t save you. Giving money is not going to make you any better than you already were. You have to be perfect to bring forth perfect works. A sinner bring forth sins. You have to be good to bring forth good works. He says, there is done good. All have sinned He comes short of the glory of God, of the perfection of God.

So he says here, for by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. All that we can do is brag upon what Christ did for us. But no man can take credit for his salvation, because he cannot and did not save himself, and he did not even help. He by Himself paid for our sins. By Himself. I like that in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3.

By Himself. That’s powerful. Anyway, look up here. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents sin. While we all have sin on us, God loves us, but He hates our sin. For us to pay for the sin is eternal separation from God. And since we’ve all sinned, we’re all condensed. We’re all in the same boat. Nobody’s any better than anybody else. to go to heaven, you have to be perfect. It’s righteous as God. But nobody’s perfect, nobody’s right.

Because of sin, we can’t get in. So how am I gonna get there? A body has not prepared me. Jesus Christ came into the world with born of all. As the Bible says, in due time, in due time, Christ was born right on schedule. And He lived for 33 and a half years without sin. And He chose to die for our sin because He loved us. Paid for it on the cross came back from the dead. One payment forever, never have to be done again.

And He did it 2,000 years ago. When he was on the cross, you were on his mind, and he paid for your sins. Now he says, will you believe he did it for you? If you believe he did it for you, he would give you as a freak yet everlasting life. You get to go to heaven on what he did. If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you never believed it, that he did it for you, you’re not saved.

You’re not a Christian. You will not go to heaven. It’s that simple. That’s why it’s so important for you. Will you trust Jesus Christ in Him alone as your only hope of one to heaven? And once you trust Him, you are saved. And you never have to do it again. If you trusted Christ as your Savior six months ago, you don’t have to do it again. If you trusted Him 20 years ago, you never have to do it again.

If you trusted Him as your Savior last week, you don’t have to do it again. You can only get saved one time. He can only give you turn like once. He can only save you from hell once because He paid for all of your sins when He came the first time. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bound, every eye closed, no one looking around them. If you’re here this morning and perhaps you never trust the Lord, why don’t I just talk to the Lord and say something simple like this?

Lord, I know I’m a sinner and I realize I cannot save myself. I want to go to heaven And I believe you died on that cross and pay for my sins. And this morning, right now, I believe you did it for me. And I’m trusting you as my Savior. And friend, God said, if you would believe just that much, He would give you as a free gift of everlasting life. And you get to go to heaven on what Christ did for you.

So it hits by a nice close and no one looking around. I’m going to ask you in just a moment to raise your hand. Raise your hand as not Savior. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. to you. And you say, in preacher, that made sense to me. And I will trust Christ right now. And I’d like you to pray for me. We’ll just slip in it very quickly and put it right back down.

Then we’ll all just establish a man. Once you trust Christ as Savior, it’s eternal life, and you’ll never cast you out. Then what else before we close? Just slip it up real quick, put it right back down. Our Father, we do thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. We’re thankful for this time of year when people’s hearts and their minds are toward perhaps more spiritual things, hopefully, because of Christ. Though they celebrate his birth, we pray that they’ll understand why he came.

They realize the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. And so we thank you so much for all you’ve done for us, for the one that indicated that they would trust to Savior this morning. And followed by doing so, you guarantee eternal life that you’ll never cast them on, never losing it. Bless each one here. In Christ 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. 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 much… and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach This is toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. 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.

Today’s message, called when God became a man. When God became a man. I think that’s a wonderful title of a good sermon. It’s that time of year when we talk about that very thing, when God became a man. Now we have people that want to become God. There was an angel that wanted to become God one day, and he turned out to be the devil. I believe that we ought to just let God be God. And that’s it. I know sometimes we wonder, you know, where is God?

Where’s God? Can you find him anywhere? I’ve had people that says, I don’t believe there is a God. I don’t believe there’s a God. Well, if you don’t believe there’s a God, then you ought to be able to go everywhere all at the same time to prove that God isn’t there. So before you can intellectually really state for a fact that God is not God because you can’t find him. He might be where you aren’t. So can you actually say you have been everywhere all at the same time because he might be there?

So you can’t say that. Do you know everything? If there’s anything that you don’t know could be the knowledge of God. So until you can say you know everything, you can’t say there is no God. I hate it when somebody says that. Turn in the Bible to the Book of Luke. The Gospel of Luke and chapter one.

Luke chapter one. And look what the scripture says about this event. I’m just gonna read one verse so they got a long way to go. You’ll know they’re in Luke chapter one in verse 35. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Now, he’s also titled the Son of Man.

Son of Man means that he came from man. Son of God he came from God. So he is called the Son of Man. He is a man. And he is God. the flesh and he’s called that holy thing. Every one of us when we’re born into this world, we are an unholy thing. We’re all sinners. We’ve all sinned. We’ve come shortdll of perfection. He didn’t come up short of perfection. He is perfect. No sinful nature. He did everything right.

Take your Bible look there in the book of Luke in chapter 4. It would be great if all the people of the world could see that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. But look what he says here in verse 34 of chapter 4. These are unclean devils, angels, fall of angels, demons, say, and let us alone. What have we to do with thee? Thou Jesus of Nazareth, or thou come to destroy us? I knew thee who thou art, the holy one of God, the holy one of God.

He wasn’t just a man. Jesus was the holy one of God. Now turn in your Bible to the book Hebrews, the book of Hebrews, and chapter 10. Hebrews and chapter 10. And look there in verse one. Hebrews chapter 10 verse one, make sure you read your Bible. This is a Bible church. We believe the Bible and believe everybody ought to read the Bible. And you ought to check it and make sure that what the preacher said is in the Bible.

Verse 1 says, for the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers, they’re unto perfect. So you have here in this one verse some awesome statements that the sacrifices in the Old Testament that they made never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the comers there are too perfect. It could make them perfect.

So the Bible says, see, to go to heaven you have to be perfect and none of the sacrifices ever made in the Old Testament ever made in your body perfect. So that means that nobody has ever been saved by the law. The sacrificial law, the ceremonial law, the moral law, nobody has ever been saved made perfect by the law. Get what he says now Because of that. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

In other words, every year they have to make these same sacrifice. The high priest has to go into the holy of holies and offer a sacrifice for himself and for the sins of the people. Because it never paid for sin, never made anybody perfect. Well, look what he says now in verse four. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Not possible, not possible. So that means that all those sacrifices, it was impossible to pay for sin.

In verse 5, wherefore when he come into the world, oh we’re on another subject, well look what he’s talking about. He said sacrifice and offerings thou would have not, but a body has thou prepared me. a body has not prepared me. You see, when Jesus came into the world, Mary was used of the Lord to prepare a body for God to live in. Jesus Christ is God upon the earth. He is manifested in this body. And this body was a holy body, a perfect body.

It had no sinful nature because it had no earthly father. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and placed the seed within the womb of Mary and that holy thing came from God. And God prepared a body for a son to be born in. So we have now a man walking around in a perfect body with no sinful nature and he never did anything wrong. There’s only been one person like that in all the world and it just happens to be Jesus Christ.

And he says, a body has to prepare me, but why did he prepare that body for him? Now take your Bible looking John chapter 1 and verse 14. The gospel of John chapter 1 and look in verse 14. And verse 14 says, and the word was made flesh. This is on page 11 14, Oh, let’s go for a reference Bible. Verse 14, and the word was made flesh dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

God brought this Son into existence, it’s flesh. Now Jesus already existed from the foundations of the world. He’s always been. In the book of Isaiah it says, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. But he’s talking there about unto us a child is born and the son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor of the Mighty God the everlasting father of the Prince of Peace. How can he be called the everlasting father unless you have an everlasting son?

Well the son is just as old as the dad. But that’s another story, but look what he says in verse 1 of John chapter 1. And though 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 that was made. And without Him was not anything made that was made. He was in the beginning. And the Bible says that He came into the world with their in verse 10.

He was in the world and the world was made by Him. So this Jesus, we’re talking about this one that’s being born, made the world. He created all things and without Him was not anything made that was made. He made it all. And he says here, and his own knew him not, 9.11. He came into his own and his own received him not but to as many as received him to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on his name.

And he’s talking about the word that is God was made flesh. That means made flesh means he tabernacled among us. In the Old Testament the Chicana glory came into the tabernacle. Here it tabernacle in this flesh God in the flesh. That’s what we call the incarnation. He is in the flesh That’s when John the Baptist saw him and says behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world Why did he have to come? Well, this is why that he might die See God is a spirit and God cannot die so He came into the world and took upon him a body and in this body he He became like a man He became flesh God in spirit could not die be that he might be our near kinsman Possessed the right to redeem the human race through his payment.

In other words, he had to be a man to die for a man God would not accept the sacrifice of animals. It could never take away sin You see, the reason Jesus could pay for our sins is because He had none to pay for. We’re all indebted for our own. That’s why I can’t pay for your sins because I got to pay for mine. And you can’t pay for somebody else’s because you got to pay for yours. So with the needed somebody that was perfect and there was only one.

That was Jesus Christ. My body has stopped preparing me. We call it the birth of Jesus Christ. But remember, he targon the world just to be born so that we can worship the birthday of Jesus Christ. What’s more important that he came to die on the cross. And there’s a lot of people who worship a babe in a manger but reject the man on the cross. And it’s wrong to do so. And that he might claim the throne of Israel.

He is the king of Israel. He that is born king in Israel. Behold, there’s born unto you this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. He is the Lord. He is Jehovah. He is God in the flesh. So when you think about Jesus Christ, what do you conjure up in your mind? Is He just a good man, good prophet, good teacher, trailblazer? What is He? He’s God in the flesh. I would not serve a man and worship a man that’s no better than I am.

But this man was God in the flesh. That changes everything. That changes everything. Look at number two. And turning your Bible to 2 Corinthians 8. 2 Corinthians 8. This is an awesome statement. you stop and think about this, we have people in this world that will kill in order to get money, to be famous and popular in all those things. Think about this. Here’s Jesus Christ in heaven before the world began. He has all the honor, all the glory, all the wealth anybody could ever want.

And look what the Bible says that he did. Look there in verse 9, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was what? Now when he was born into this world, he didn’t have much. He didn’t run around in the Mercedes or Rolls Royce. I don’t even know if he had a souped up camel. He didn’t spend the nights at Ramada Inn and, you know, he didn’t village in. He didn’t have none of those things.

And yet he is God in the flesh. He had everything you would ever want. Live forever, perfect place. All the wealth in the world. He can make anything he wanted. He was God. And what does he do? He comes into the world and is born as a baby and a manger and a manger. Now you would think we would even be born in a palace. What would be born in a palace? Look who he is. Isn’t it stable? Doesn’t sound too healthy to me, sanitary.

But look who he was. Jesus Christ came into the world and left everything, gave up everything. Look at the last part of this verse. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. That’s why he did it. He wants you to be rich. He wants me to be rich. But we were poor. And just think, this one man is able to come into this world and make everybody rich. He said, boy, if I had a million dollars, I’d make everybody rich.

No, you wouldn’t. You’d hoard it up, waste it, squandered, unless you earned it. What would you do if you had a million dollars? But look at the notes here. He brought from heaven all that he needed to pay the debt. Well, wait a minute, when he came and he came then to the world to pay for our sins, did he bring money? No, because that wasn’t to pay my for sin. Oh, what did he bring? He just brought himself.

Why? That’s all he needed was himself. He came into the world to do something that only he could do. It was a payment that only he could make. He came. He didn’t have to bring anything with him. I know there’s a store in the Old Testament about a guy that was called Naaman, the Syrian? Is that his name? And when to see Elijah, because the little maid told me, you know, when he came from Syria, he brought all of the people and he brought camels.

And he brought jewelry, gold, silver. He had all these raiments. He had all kinds of stuff because he had to come. This is what is going to cost for him to cure me in my leprosy. When Jesus came into the world, he didn’t bring anything. He was going to give himself. That was the payment that was needed. And that’s why by himself, he purged our sins by himself. No help from nobody. That’s why there’s nobody who can save you.

Jesus Christ, he did it all. Look at the letter B, the wages of sin was death. All he needed was life that was not indebted. Because the payment for sin is death. All he had to do is bring his life here and be willing to give it. to pay for that payment. And that’s what he did. Look at number three. Why he became sin? Why he became sin? Now I want you to look at this first because it’s very good.

Hebrews chapter one and verse three. Hebrews chapter one and verse three. The Lord says that in the Old Testament times, many ways through many prophets. He said he had spoken in times past unto the fathers by the prophets. But it says in verse 2, it happened these last days, spoken to us by his son. And look what he says in verse 2, I want you to see this verse, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world.

In other words, God the Father, he made all these things through his son. It says sons when it did it all. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In verse 3, get this, this is a powerful verse who referring to Christ, being the brightness of His glory, His perfection, God’s perfection, the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had, and you ought to underline these two little words, when he had with my help, when he had by the church, no, he had by himself, by himself, it just purged our sin sat down because the job was done, the job was completed, finished.

When he died on the cross, He says it is finished. Now, there’s nothing anybody else had to do for the payment of sin. He paid for all of the sins of the world so that everybody in the world should have eternal life and go to heaven. And all that you have to do, all that I have to do is believe that when Christ did it, He did it for me. And if I believe he did it for me, that payment is put to my account.

By faith alone in Christ alone, you have the free gift of eternal life. Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians and chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. Verse 21 says on page 12, 33, he says, for he, God hath made him, Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, get to be sin for us, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God. All right, so Jesus Christ comes into the world.

And he’s perfect. I’m not. I have sin. So God will not allow sin in heaven, but he will allow righteousness in heaven. So that’s a perfect place. So Jesus Christ, this hand representing Christ, and this hand representing me. I have sin. He has righteousness. So the Bible says that if I will believe that Christ paid for all of my sins on the cross came back from the dead. The pavement is made. When I believe Christ did it for me, God gives to me His righteousness.

Now if I have His righteousness, that makes me as righteous as God. I go to heaven on what He did. He became sin for me. He didn’t sin. He became sin. He took every sin of every person in the whole work paid for sin on the cross, once and for all. It never has to be done again. So whenever you and I believe that Christ did it for us, He gives us His righteousness. But here’s the thing to remember in Romans chapter 3.

Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God. So when He gives me His righteousness, what He’s really doing is giving me Himself. I’m going to heaven because I am in his son. I’m going to heaven because I am in him. He is my righteousness. I don’t have righteousness. Now, while we’re right here, take your Bible and look there in the book of Philippians in chapter three, the book of Philippians, real quick. It’s such an important verse that you need to see it.

Philippians chapter three and verse nine. Verse nine, you and I have sinned. God says, do not be found on the day of judgment, trusting in your righteousness to get you to heaven. Because God says, you don’t have any righteousness. There is none that doeth good, no not one, all have sinned and come short of God’s perfection. So no man can save himself.

So the Bible says, Jesus Christ came into the world. He is perfect. He is righteous. God says to go to heaven, you have to be as perfect as righteous as Christ in order to live for all eternity. So give what he says in verse 9, and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the law and he’s trying to earn it, work for it. But that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

So there is a by works righteousness and a by faith righteousness. By works you’re trying to earn it. God says don’t be found trusting in your works to get you to heaven. He says but trust in his righteousness, He will give you his righteousness be found in him, having his right to, that’s why we get to go to heaven. That’s why Christ came into the world. Now look at number four. Number four, why he became the first fruits of them that slept.

Turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians in chapter 15. 1 Corinthians 15. This is the resurrection chapter in the Bible. It has an awful lot to say about the resurrection. And if you’ll notice here in 1 Corinthians, I want you to look there first of all, in verse 2. Because he’s talking about how he declared unto him the gospel, the good news. So Christ came into the world. Where’s the good news in that? Christ died on the cross. Where’s the good news?

He was buried. Well, where’s the good news? Well, he came back from the dead. Why is that good news for me? Did you know there’s a lot of people who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and are not going to heaven? A lot of churches talk about it every week. They talk about the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and heaven got a clue where they’re going to go when they die. That’s because I haven’t heard.

Why did he do it? Most people think, but he did that to help me to live better so I can get good enough to go there. He said, help give me the strength and the grace that I need to walk that straight and narrow way. And if I do it long enough, I’m going to make it someday. Praise Jesus. That is not why he came.

He’s not a trailblazer. And they’re like Daniel, boom, and David Crockett blazing a trail. And now, boy, he’s going to for me and I got to stack. No. For example, you’re right in the middle of the ocean. Can’t swim. I come by my little motorboat and I say, what’s the problem? I’m drowning. I can’t swim. I said, look, it’s only 1500 miles to the coast of America. You just do the best you can and try hard, but you’ll make it.

Now, was I a savior? No, I wasn’t a savior. Well, what if I pull up alongside of them and I said, look, Here’s a lesson on 10 easy lessons on how to swim. Just read those lessons and follow those and you’ll learn how to swim. Now see what a good deed that was? But am I a savior? No. What if I come up alongside of him and I jump out of the boat and I say, now watch what I do.

And you do exactly like me and I do the dog paddle, the breath stroke and the back stroke and everything. man, I can give it all. And I give him his, you know, two-minute lesson. Now you do just like me and head in that direction and you’ll make it. Now I might be a good example. That might be a good weight sure and you know, trailblades, but that’s not a savior. Okay, well what if I come up there in my little motorboat and I reach over there and I get him a pile of water, put him in the boat and take him 750 miles and kick him on.

So now you make the rest of the way by yourself. Not a savior? No. I need to take him out of the water, take him all the way to the land. When I trust he Christ is my savior, I’m trusting him to take me all the way to heaven. And he’s the only one that can get me there. I don’t help. I don’t do the dog paddle. I don’t do the breaststroke. Are they attending lessons on how to swim?

I trusted him as my Savior 50 years ago in a little old living room and it never has to be done again. My going to heaven, totally 100% depends on him. I’ve had people say, well, I don’t want you to pray for so-and-so. He’s almost saved. You’re either 100% saved or 100% lost. 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 toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Sunday morning services begin at 10 30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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 on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1 at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at Calvary of Tampa.org. We pray that you’ll 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.

God made a promise to Abraham that he would save by faith, that a man could not save himself by his works. And this was 430 years before God ever gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. So God did not give the law to be saved. He already promised that he would save by faith alone. And that’s the only way a man could be saved. So that was the greatest promise that’s ever been made. That God would justify a heathen.

And I was a heathen. I was lost by faith alone. All I had to do is believe that when Christ died, He died for me and I trusted Him as my Savior. Look at number nine there in your nose. Number nine is the greatest law ever given. See, that’s what makes this the greatest story because everything about it was so great. What makes it so great? Well, the greatest promise that God ever gave was that He was saved a man by faith.

And He made it to Abraham, and yet He had to have His Son make it possible for Him to keep His promise. You see, if Christ had never come into the world, God could not have kept His Word. He could not have kept his promise to save a man by faith if Christ had not died and paid for his sins. Because he, God, made a law, a righteous law. And in that law, it says, the soul that sineth shall die.

Now, while you’re in Romans, look there in chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, Luke now in verse 19. Now we know that what things, so ever the law say it, it’s safe to them that are under the law and get this. that every mouth may be stopped and you’re to underline all the world become guilty before God. God made a law that condemned the whole world. What a law. That’s the greatest law that’s ever been given was God’s law. All every nation makes laws, every state legislature, county, city, but he made a law that governed everybody in the whole world.

Never been a law like that law. That’s the greatest law that’s ever. All the laws in America are because of the laws that God gave. By the way, they’re still in effect. They were never given to save anybody. Christ did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law. The law is still wrong to steal. It’s still wrong to lie. It’s still wrong to commit adultery. It’s still wrong. God didn’t say it’s not wrong anymore. Like the law is going to be, no, no, no, no, no, no, it’s still wrong.

still ascend. And it says, I shall make unto thee no other graven images. I shall love the Lord thy God with all thy hard mind, body, soul, and strength. That’s still a command. It’s just a man can’t keep it. Man can’t fulfill the law. But that doesn’t make the law bad. Romans 7 says that the law was perfect, the law is spiritual, the law is good, nothing wrong with the law. Well what’s the problem? You and me, we couldn’t keep it.

And because the law condemned everybody, well did God give the law for a man to be saved? No, he already promised all he had to do is trust Christ to save you. But see people won’t trust Christ if they think they can save themselves. So God gave the law to lead us to Christ. The law was never given to save a man. Can’t save a man. Look at number 10. Number 10. The greatest son ever born was given. I’ve got two sons.

One’s here and one’s in heaven. Love both of my sons. My sons I think were pretty good. But not a one of them was perfect. All they were close. I think my grandson is it doesn’t matter how much we love them. They’re not perfect Just beautiful little baby down here is not perfect They’re gonna find out in very soon That little baby has a sinful nature got it from the mother Just joking believe it or not. I believe it’s passed on by the daddy Who hated to admit that?

but the greatest law brought the greatest condemnation that the whole world becomes guilty. So that’s what helps make this the greatest story. Everybody in the world needs a Savior. This is this wonderful? Everybody needs a Savior. We’re all in the same boat. And God’s in His Son, and he’s the only one that can save. He was the only one that was innocent, he was the only one that didn’t sin, so he’s the only one that didn’t have to die.

But he chose to die because he loved his father and he made this statement in John chapter 14 verse 31. He said that the world may know that I love my father even so I I do. In the words of Christ says, I’m doing what I’m doing because I want the world to know how much I love my father. Now he loves us, but it was God love for us that sent his son and because the son loved the dad so much.

He’d do anything his father asked. So he was was willing to die for us because he loved his father and he died on the cross, came back from the dead. And God says that all those who come to him, he will give to the Son. He says, and I will know why he has ever cast them out and I will never lose them. You have eternal life and you get to go to heaven whenever you die. Pretty good news.

Pretty good news. your Bible and turn there to the book of 1 John and chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4, look there in verse 9. God is love. God in order to prove love must have an object of love. He needed to have something that He can show that He He loves. And he created a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, put him in a garden and all the world. And the beautiful garden was made just for them, just for mankind, because he loves us.

But Adam and Eve, if they had never sinned, would never have known the love of God. you and I know. It was because of sin and God permitted sin and all the wickedness it comes because of sin because it gave the Lord an opportunity to prove to us that He loves us by doing something for us we could not do for ourselves. So there has to be something so bad that he had to save us from. Something so bad would want to be saved from.

We could just say, I wish that I could just be annihilated and there’s nothing else and I don’t know why exist anymore. In other words, think of how many years went and I wasn’t around. I didn’t exist. I didn’t miss anything because I wasn’t here. Wouldn’t it be neat if you could just say, okay, I’ve had enough. Stop the earth. I want off and I don’t exist anymore. If it could all go through that, then death may be within the end at all.

And that’s it. But we know according to the Bible. Death doesn’t end at all. There is an eternity. And God tells us about a place called hell and tells us how terrible it is. How wicked it is. How hot it is. How long it is. The suffering. The smoke of their torment of sinned it up forever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night. They’re like wondering stars in the Mr. Blackness forever. There has to be the most wicked thing in all the world in order for us to appreciate the love of God.

Because he’s got to save us from something we couldn’t save ourselves from. And God allowed all of this wickedness and so forth to prove that He loves us. You say, well, I may have proved just the opposite. Then you’re not looking correctly. You say, you and I don’t have to spend eternity in hell. You can accept the love of God, or you can reject the love of God. He that believeth on Him, God gives us His righteousnesses upon him.

He that believeth not the wrath of God’s all in him. It’s a choice. This made sense to me 50 years ago. So I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I know that I have eternal life and I know that I’m going to heaven when I die. Now, hearing your notes, there’s a few of the things that’s mentioned here, the greatest event in human history was the cross. And mainly that time of the death and the barrel and the resurrection of Christ is all tied in together here.

There’s nothing alike those few short years that Jesus came into the world. Now you stop and think there’s a lot A lot of people who tried to rule the world. And you could name me, no Hitler, and Stalin, Mussolini, and all the rest of them, all the way down through time, Napoleon and Alexander, they all wanted a rule world.

And they all ruled by force to conquer, to kill, to threaten, terrorize. We have people today who want to take and terrorize the world. Willing to kill anybody and everybody as long as they can dominate and win, conquer the world. And yet the Bible talks about come, desire of nations come. This desire of peace and joy and happiness. This is the Lord. The desire is Christ. The desire that you and I have to live forever. eternal peace and joy all this that we want that’s Christ That’s what you really desire and how many people live their whole lives Chasing soap bubble the dream and and they don’t want anything to do with Jesus And he’s what you’re looking for He’s always been there You need the Lord God is so designed this world that there is nothing in this world that can bring the peace that joined the happiness

like the person of Christ, Christ. And the Bible says that this desire of nations that He will come and one day as King of kings and Lord of lords, He will rule the world. And He will rule for a while as the rod of iron. But see, he rules because he is a God of love. You and I are not supposed to serve the Lord because we’re afraid he’s going to beat us up, though he can, but because we know he loves us.

And our lives are supposed to reflect our love for him. So as we study the word of God and we see these things, and he makes a statement here in verse 9, and this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. And live through him means to have eternal life, not just the length of life, but the quality of life. This life is in his Son and he did have the Son, have life, and he did not the Son of God, have not life.

These things have arisen to you that believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life so you and I can know that we’re going to heaven whenever we die. And him dying on the cross, when you stop and think about all the histories of the world, the kingdoms of the world, and they all give recognition to the date when Jesus Christ was born into this world. It’s either before Christ or after Christ.

Anyway, they want to cut it. It’s because of him. And yet he only lived maybe 33 and a half years. One little old fellow been born. Let’s just pretend he wasn’t God. Why is all of this about a man? If he was just a plain ordinary normal man, look how many people are meeting today to sing about this man, to worship this man. Look at the books that have been written about this man. Look at the nation of America that was founded on the principles of this man.

If he was just a man. What a man. But he was God. And you’re not going to go to heaven because you believe he was a good man or a great man or that he was a prophet. You must understand he is God in the flesh, God. And he that have seen the Son have seen the Father. He says, I and The Father are one, were the same one. You and I in this life would probably never understand it all.

But when Jesus Christ went to the cross, He had made the statement, I am the light of the world. And the Pharisees says in chapter 8, John, He said, you’re not the light of the world. Thou bear us record of thyself and thy record is not true. He says, I’m the light of the world. He says, and when you put me on the cross, you’ll know who I am. My Father will tell you who I am when you put me on the cross.

And when Christ was put on the cross, the Bible says that the veil in the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. The Bible also says that when the light went out, darkness was upon the face of the earth, when he was on the cross. The Bible also says that the rocks were torn in two and many of the saints would slip arose and came out of his grave after the resurrection. Because he says I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And Christ says when you put me on the cross my Father will tell you who I am. I told you I am the resurrection. I told you I was the way and that veil was ramped from top to bottom as the only way into the holy of holes and to the very presence of God. He said, I am the light of the world and they didn’t believe that. And God through the main switch of heaven and all of the universe went dark.

I believe Jesus was who he claimed to be. I don’t believe a dying man on the cross could make those things happen. I believe. I believe. Look at the last statement I have there. The Father’s testimony bears witness that Jesus was truly the Son of God. Now I can’t make other people believe it. I just know that it made sense to me. And I didn’t understand a lot about the Bible. I really didn’t know the Bible. I had never heard of John 3 16 until that night when I was 18.

My father-in-law showed me John 3 16 and told me the story. The greatest story I’d ever heard in my life. I did not know that Jesus was the Lord. I did not know that he died for me. I did not know that I could have eternal life. I did not know I could be certain of going to heaven when I died. I did not know I could become a child of God. I did not know that he could be my father.

I didn’t know. I didn’t know that. But after that night, I knew it. He told me the greatest story ever told. Since you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, have you ever told the greatest story in the world? What about all the people that’s never heard? Do you talk to people about football, basketball, girlfriend, boyfriends, talk to them about Christmas and all kinds of things? Have you ever told the greatest story in all the world where they can understand it?

A lot of people have never heard. They’ve never heard. Look up here just a moment. This hand represents you and me and the walla represents sin. Now we are all born into this world and we’re all sinners. And because we are sinners with an old sinful nature, we bring forth sin. And everybody sins. So we’re all in the same boat, everybody in the world. Now God loves the whole world. Now he gave his law, the greatest law, and it condemned everybody.

So nobody could save themselves. Nobody was exempt from the law. It condemned the whole world, the whole world is guilty. So God says you cannot save yourself. That’s why Christ came to show you how much He loves you. So Christ came into the world because God so loved the world. we sinned his son, born of a virgin, had no sin, took upon flesh, tabernacle among us. And the Bible says that because he loved us, he took our sins and paid for them on the cross, came back from the dead.

And God said, if you and I, if we would believe that he did it for us, he would put this payment to our account and his righteousness, though it’s under all, it’s only upon those that believe it. Now you say, well, I don’t believe that then his righteousness is not put to your account. You won’t have to worry about going to heaven. You won’t go. You don’t have to believe it. But you will go to hell. You will go to hell.

If that’s what you want, that’s That’s what you can have. It’s not because anybody makes you do it. That’s your choice. You can laugh at it, you can mock it. You can do anything that you want. It’s not gonna change the fact that God loved you and he offered it to you and you rejected it. He said, well, I’ll think about that down the road. If you died today, that was a decision today. No decision is a decision. to wait that’s a decision.

Oh I plan on getting right you know down the road right before I die. I had a girl call me the other day well she’s my cousin. She’s about my age. She says yeah I was just thinking about you and thought I’d call you. I said well great I appreciate that. I said well how you doing she says well like at one foot in the grave and the other one on the banana peel. She says, I said, it’s that bad, hon.

She says, it’s that bad. She said, I’ve smoked all my life. She said, Yank, I can’t quit. She said, I’ve tried. She says, I’ve already lost one lung and I’m losing the other one. The doctor says, I’m dying of cancer. She said, all because of smoking. I said, well, I lost my mom because of it. I lost my two sisters because of it. And I says, I buried probably 25, 30 of my relatives that all died from it. My dad died from it.

I says, a lot of people just get hooked on it and they can’t quit. I says, but do you know where you go when you die? She says, oh, yes. I had led her to the Lord years ago. I said, release. I said, I’m gonna be coming up to Georgia in a week. I said, maybe I’ll get a chance to come by there and see you. And it’s a joy to, yeah, you lead them to the Lord. But you want so much more for people, but you can’t make people, you can’t live their lives for them, you can’t make them make decisions.

People do what they really want to do. If you really want to quit, you will. And if you don’t, you won’t. That’s how simple it is. Because if you just don’t know, I don’t need to know. You can decide. Are you trying to tell me the God of heaven, the Holy Spirit, and living and dwelling within you, can’t give you the power that you need to stop something? Do something? That’s a cop out of I ever heard it. You can do what you really want to do.

And you will when you really make up your mind and you won’t until then. I’m not God. I don’t play God in people’s lives. But I don’t fall for the stuff. Does it excuses? That’s the flesh. That’s the flesh. God says you can control it. Yes, I can’t. Yes, you can. I can’t. Yes, you can. Dr. tells you you’re down to cancer unless you quit smoking and you’ve got to quit within a week. Doc, I quit. My sister, right before she died, she’d gone to the hospital and the doctor has told her.

Says. I don’t want you coming back into this hospital if you’re not going to listen to me. He says you’re dying of cancer. He says you won’t quit your smoking. She said if you don’t care about your life, he said there’s nothing I can do for you. And she says I don’t think I can wait for a doctor to talk. Anyway, the doctor told me she says she’s not to come back into this hospital. It wasn’t long here’s my sister again.

He says, I thought I told you not to come back and let you quit your smoke. She said, I quit. He says, when did you quit now? And then she’d get in the bathroom and sneeze. She’d go outside and sneeze. They were on their quit when I owe the God bless my sister. My sister’s in heaven. I’d rather her smoke here than smoke later. But… I’d rather her smoke here than smoke later. Aren’t you glad? Aren’t you glad God loves you in spite of the problem?

I don’t care about your sins. He did something about sin. One day whenever you leave this whole world and that whole body of yours, he will have totally delivered you. Your new body is not going to have any of that problem. Right now, it’s a battle and you go through it and that’s not what I did because of it. And it’s rough and hard. I know.

But that doesn’t mean all the fact. God loves you. He paid for everything you’ve ever done, ever will do. And he says that if you’ll believe he did it for you, he’d give you eternal life as a gift. You get to go to heaven and what Christ did for you. Let’s pray, shall we? Never hit bow and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you hear this morning and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, God loves you.

He sent his son to prove it. He died and paid for your sins. All you have to do is the only thing you can do. Will you believe he did it for you? If you don’t, the wrath of God abides upon you. If you believe it, the righteousness of God is given to you. You. It’s under all, but it’s only upon those that believe. Will you believe it? With heads bowed nice and closed. If you say, yes, that made sense to me.

And preacher this morning, I believe Christ died for me, and I’m going to trust Him as my Savior. Now, if you’ve never done it before, would you do it right now? If you’ve already trusted Christ as a Savior, you don’t have to do it again. But if you have never done so, and you say, that made sense to me, I can see it’s a gift. It’s free. I can’t earn it, can’t work for it. I know I can’t deserve it.

So by grace, I accept it. I believe he did it for me. And so friend, would you believe he did it for you? And God said, he’d give you the free gift of eternal life. Would you just slip your hand out very quickly and put a right back down? I’m not gonna stand, have you stand up? I’m not gonna embarrass you. It’s over and done with when you make a decision. But if you hear this morning, you say that made sense to me.

And I wanna be certain of going to heaven when I die and pray to God wants to pray for me. Would you slip your hand out very quickly? You know it all, just slip it up very quickly, put it right back down. Our Father, we thank You so much for this time together. We thank You for Your blessings to us. We thank You for the free gift of eternal life made available to us because of the death, the sacrifice, the substitution or payment of Your Son, in whom we are thankful 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 toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

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 month… and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can And reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calbryoftampa.org. 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 love this time of year. I think it’s good because people think about giving and receiving. know sometimes you have to be on the receiving end. There’s some people who never like to receive anything, they like to do the giving. But you know if nobody accepted anything, there’d be nobody giving anything, somebody has to receive. Sometimes there’s a pre-job I had people do special things for me and all I can say is just thank you. My wife and I do Thank you for no cards and kind words and phone calls and special little gifts at times that people give to us.

And and we’re thankful and we don’t take it for granted. And we’re thankful for the ministry that God has given to us here at the Calvary Community Church. But anyway, if you have your notes now, what makes it so great? I love to tell the story of the greatest story ever told. Some of these things I’d share with you before, but I wanted you to have a copy of it. Because me, one of the greatest verses in the Bible is John 3 16.

It says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, who so ever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs and chapter 30. There’s a verse here that asks a bunch of questions. Everybody likes to ask questions. We always want to know why, but the Lord puts some in his word here, says who? Who? So you notice in Proverbs chapter 30 and and look there in verse 4.

Verse 4. And verse 4 says, Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended? Good question, isn’t it? I know someone who did. He asked another question, who hath gathered the wind in his fist? I know who can calm the storms. He asked another question who had bound the waters in a garment. I know who established the ends of the earth, and then he says, what is his name? And what is his son’s name if thou canst tell? So even here in the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament is a question about God, his name, and what is his son’s name.

Well, I think he just, he was a chip-off-the-block. He has a name just like his daddy. Some people get him all mixed up. You look at this little baby down here and looks just like his daddy. He’s got same hair, do everything. But then whenever you think about Jesus Christ, he has a name just like his father. So I know who he is. And I know his son’s name. But didn’t that a good question to ask back here before he was ever born?

Now won’t you take your Bible and turn to your right to the book of Isaiah chapter seven, the book of Isaiah and chapter seven. Now Proverbs was about a thousand years, a thousand years before Christ ever came. But in the book of Isaiah, oh about 700 years before Christ came. It makes another statement here in verse 14. Verse 14 says, Work for the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. Some people say, well, that just means a young woman.

That’s not a sign most young women do have a child. But a sign is a woman who has never been touched by man. They have a child. That’s mentioned over here in the Old Testament before he ever came. And he says, behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son shall call his name Emmanuel. So God, see, he had a son before he was ever born in this world because he says, what is his son’s name? Well, he had to have one in order to know his name.

And then look there in Isaiah chapter 9 and look at verse 6 where he says in verse 6, for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given. The child is born into this world, but he was already a son of God before he came into the world. And this was written 700 years in advance. And the government get this, this is prophecy. The child will be born, the Son will be given, he’ll die on the cross.

The government shall be upon his shoulders, he’ll rule and reign. And his name shall be called wonderful counselor, The counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the Prince of Peace. What a name. The son has a name just like his daddy. You know when Christ came to the door? the prince of peace. What a name! The Son has a name just like his daddy. You know when Christ came into the world, he even talked like his daddy, and lived like his daddy, walked like his daddy.

He was a spitting image of his dad. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3, the express image of his father. He could even go as far as to say, when you’ve seen me, you’ve seen my dad. How can he be called the everlasting father without an everlasting son? So Jesus Christ existed before he came into this world. this world. Mary was used by God to bring the child into the world. This is the most awesome story in the world.

When you stop and think the greatest story ever told, look there in the little box that I have there and look whenever you tell the story about what Jesus Christ did on the cross. The Bible tells the greatest stories ever heard, but it takes all of these stories together to tell the story of what Christ did on the cross. Heaven tells of the greatest splendor ever imagined. Hell tells of the greatest horror that ever produced fear in a man.

This story involves the greatest number of people. the whole world. It was 4,000 years in the making. It is still being told. It is the greatest love story ever told. The putting of Christ to death was the greatest display of wickedness ever recorded in human history. Because look what the world did to a perfect man that never did any wrong. No fault was ever found in him. This is truly an awesome story and one that we ought to be thankful that we know that someone told us about.

I want you to look there in Romans in chapter 1 and verse 16. Romans chapter 1 and verse 16. This is one of the statement of face that we read every Sunday. Where it says in verse 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, that means in this message, in this gospel, there’s something that you need to see.

the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. I believe like the Apostle Paul says, I am ready to preach the gospel to those that are at Rome also. That’s in verse 15. So he was given the gospel and he believed it and so by faith he was saved. So you tell that message that wonderful story to someone else and they hear it and they believe. So from faith of one to the face of another to the face of another to the face of another and right on down the line, not only from faith to be saved but faith to grow, faith to tell.

To believe what God’s word says about it, in this message is the righteousness of God revealed. Look there in chapter three. Chapter three makes the statement in verse 21. But now, now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest or revealed. being witnessed by the law and the prophets. In other words, they told about this righteousness that would come. That would be made available to any person who would accept it, and they would be given the righteousness of God.

What if God walked into this room and was willing to offer you his righteousness, and that would be good enough to go to heaven on? God said, I’ll let you go to heaven on my righteousness because your righteousness is not good enough. If you had to earn your way to heaven, you’ll never be good enough. That’s why most people do not know where they’re going to go when they die. Because, see, they think that they’re going to heaven is a result of how good they’ve lived.

And if they don’t measure up, they won’t make it. So they have this emotional roller coaster of, yes, I am, no, I’m not, yes, I am, no, I’m not, they don’t never know. for sure For 50 years I can be able to say absolutely Dogmatically, I know I have eternal life. I know I’m going to heaven whenever I die Because God gave me his righteousness His righteousness is Christ Christ is my righteousness Look what he says here in verse 22 22, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, which is unto all.

And upon all them that believe. Look up here, His righteousness, His perfection is unto all. But it’s only upon those that believe. Now God says in his word in chapter three, in verse 36, that he that believeth on me hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of God is upon them. So would you rather have the wrath of God or the righteousness of God? It’s your choice. You see, his righteousness is what makes this such good news.

good news. Christ came into the world. Yes, born to die for our sins so that God could give to us his righteousness. So it’s in reality. It’s like God stands up here and offers you his son. And if you accept his son, you will have a payment for your sins. He was the payment. When you accept Christ, you have the righteousness of God put to your account. So his righteousness is unto all, but it’s only upon those that believe.

Now look again there in chapter 1. And you’ll notice there in verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. You know those two things are mentioned right here following the declaration of the gospel. I am not ashamed of this message because this gospel message, this good news of why Christ came, it shows you the wrath of God against sin. And so when Christ took upon himself all the sin of the world, it showed the wrath of God against sin, but it shows the righteousness of God.

Christ came back again from the dead and offers to you and me his righteousness. And that’s good enough for you and I to go to heaven on. So yeah, it’s the greatest story in all the world. Look at number eight there on your notes. The greatest promise ever given. God promised that they heal them. That’s the lost people. You say, you’re here this morning, you say, am I a heathen? If you’re lost, you are. Don’t you realize who I am?

Yeah, you’re a heathen. If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, if you are not saved, if you have not trusted Christ as your Savior, you’re not a Christian, you are a heathen. Now, I know we often think about the heathen. Well, that’s those people that’s, you know, on some dark continent and they don’t know and they’re running around at low and cloth and they’re totally ignorant and everything else. No, a heathen can be the most intellectual person in the world.

But if he’s without God, he’s a heathen. That’s how God sees you. So God says that if you don’t know that you’re going to heaven when you die, God says you’re locked. You don’t know the way. So to be justified by faith, we have to believe in the death, in the burial, in the resurrection of Christ. It does not say that we had to believe in the birth, but I believe in the birth. I believe in the virgin birth.

I believe that Jesus Christ was who he claimed to be, that I have eternal life because of what he’s done for me. past, God made a promise to Abraham that he would save by faith, that a man could not save himself by his works. And this was 430 years before God ever gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. So God did not give the law to be saved. He already promised that he would save by faith alone. And that’s the only way a man could be saved.

So that was the greatest promise that’s ever been made, that God would justify a heathen. And I was a heathen. I was lost by faith alone. All I had to do was believe that when Christ died, He died for me and I trusted Him as my Savior. Look at number nine there in your nose. Number nine is the greatest law ever given. See, this is what makes this the greatest story, because everything about it was so great. What makes it so great?

Well, the greatest promise that God ever gave was that He was saved by man by faith. And He made it to Abraham, and yet He had to have His Son make it possible for Him to keep His promise. You see, if Christ had never come into the world, God could not have kept His Word. He could not have kept His promise to save a man by faith if Christ had not died and paid for His sins. Because you see, God made a law, a righteous law.

And in that law, it says, the soul that sineth shall buy. Now why you’re in Romans? Look there in chapter 3. chapter 3, Ruth now in verse 19. Now we know that what things, so ever the law sayeth, it’s sayeth to them that are under the law and get this, that every mouth may be stopped and you’re to underline all the world become guilty before God. God made a a law that condemned the whole world. What a law. That’s the greatest law that’s ever been given was God’s law.

All every nation makes laws, every state legislature, county, city, but he made a law that governed everybody in the whole world. Never been a law like that That’s the greatest law that’s ever all the laws in America are cause of the laws that God gave By the way, they’re still in effect They were never given to save anybody Christ did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law The law It’s still wrong to steal. It’s still wrong to lie.

It’s still wrong to commit adultery. It’s still wrong wrong. God didn’t say it’s not wrong anymore. Like the law has been done. No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s still wrong. It’s still a sin. And it says, thou shalt make unto thee no other graven images. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hard mind, body, soul, and strength. That’s still a command. It says, man can’t keep it. Man can’t fulfill the law. But that doesn’t make the law bad.

Romans 7 says that the law was perfect, the law is spiritual, the law is good, nothing wrong with the law. Well, what’s the problem? You and me, we couldn’t keep it. And because the law condemned everybody, what did God give the law for a man to be saved? No, he already promised all he had to do is trust Christ to save you. But see, people won’t trust Christ if they think they can save themselves. So God gave the law to lead us to Christ.

The law was never given to save a man. Can’t save a man. Look at number 10. Number 10. The greatest son ever born was given. I’ve got two sons, ones here and ones in heaven. Love both of my sons. My sons, I think, were pretty good. But not a one of them was perfect. All they were close. I think my grandson is. It doesn’t matter how much we love them, they’re not perfect. beautiful little baby down here is not perfect.

They’re going to find out and very soon. That little baby has a sinful nature. Got it from the mother. Just joking. Believe it or not, I believe it’s passed on by the daddy who hated to admit that. But the greatest law brought the greatest condemnation, that the whole world becomes guilty. So that’s what helps make this the greatest story. Everybody in the world needs a Savior. This is this wonderful? Everybody needs a Savior. We’re all in the same boat.

And God’s in His Son and He’s the only one that can save. He was the only one that was innocent. He was the only one that didn’t sin. So he’s the only one that didn’t have to die. But he chose to die because he loved his father. And he made this statement in John 14 verse 31. He said that the world may know that I love my father. Even so I do. In the words Christ says, I’m doing what I’m doing doing because I want the world to know how much I love my father.

Now he loves us, but it was God love for us that sent his son and because the son loved the dad so much. He’d do anything his father asked. So he was willing to die for us because he loved his father and he died on the cross, came back from the dead. And God says that all those who come to him, he will give to the Son, and says, and I’ll know why he’s ever cast them out, and I’ll never lose them.

You have eternal life, and you get to go to heaven whenever you die. Pretty good news, pretty good news. Take your Bible and turn there to the book of 1 John and chapter four. 1 John 4, look there in verse 9. God is love. God in order to prove love must have an object of love. He needed to have something that he can show that he loves. And he created a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, put him in a garden and all the world.

And the beautiful garden was made just for them, just for mankind, because he loves us. But Adam and Eve, if they had never sinned, would never have known the love of God like you and I know. It was because of sin and God permitted sin. And all the wickedness it comes because of sin, because it gave the Lord an opportunity to prove to us that He loves us by doing something for us we could not do for ourselves. So there has to be something so bad that He had to save us from.

Something so bad would want to be saved from. We could just say, I wish that I could just be annihilated and there’s nothing else and I don’t know why exist anymore. In other words, think of how many years went and I wasn’t around. I didn’t exist. I didn’t miss anything because I wasn’t here. Wouldn’t be neat if you could just say, okay, I’ve had enough. Stop the earth. I want off and I I don’t exist anymore. If it could all go through that, then death maybe would end it all, and that’s it.

But we know according to the Bible, death doesn’t end it all. There is an eternity and God tells us about a place called hell and tells us how terrible it is, how wicked it is, how hot it is, how long it is, the suffering, the smoke of their torment, I’ve sinned it up forever and ever and they have no rest day nor night. They’re like wondering stars in the Mr. Blackness forever. There has to be the most wicked thing in all the world in order for us to appreciate the love of God, because he’s got to save us from something we couldn’t save ourselves from.

And God allowed all of this wickedness and so forth to prove that he loves us. You say, well, it may have proved just the opposite. Didn’t you not looking correctly? You say, you and I don’t have to spend eternity in hell. You can accept the love of God, or you can reject the love of God. He that believeth on Him, God gives His righteousnesses upon Him. He that believeth not the wrath of God’s on Him. It’s a choice. This made sense to me 50 years ago, so I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I know that I have eternal life and I know that I’m going to heaven when I die. Now, hearing your notes, there’s a few of the things that’s mentioned here. The greatest event in human history was the cross. And mainly that time of the death and the burial and the resurrection of Christ is all tied in together here. There’s nothing alike those few short years that Jesus came into the world. Now you stop and think there’s a lot of people who have tried to rule the world.

And you can name me, no Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and all the rest of them, all the way down through time, Napoleon and Alexander. They all wanted a rule the world. And they all ruled by force to conquer, to kill, to threaten, terrorize. We have people today who want to take and terrorize the world. willing to kill anybody and everybody as long as they can dominate and win, conquer the world. And yet the Bible talks about come desire of nations come.

This desire of peace and joy and happiness. This is the Lord. The desire is Christ. The desire that you and I have to live forever. Eternal peace and joy. All this that we want. That’s Christ. That’s what you really desire and how many people live their whole lives. Chasing soap bubble. The dream and they don’t want anything to do with Jesus. And he’s what you’re looking for. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon. Just keep looking up.

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 on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

As you know, this is the Christmas time of the year. Everyone, mostly in America especially, are celebrating what we call Christmas time. There’s also a teaching that’s also going to be taught this year, very strongly so, in many, many homes, and that is something that most of us have gone through or experienced in our own life. I want to ask you some questions. I’m not going to say good, bad, or indifferent. I’m not going to say right or wrong.

I want to take and just give you something to think about and you think about it. This is not to put a guilt trip on 81. It’s not to bring up the past. It’s only to help you to clarify in your mind what maybe you think you really believe. As you know, we teach an awful lot about believing that the Bible is true, that it’s the Word of God. And I believe that this Bible is the Word of God.

Every word from cover to cover, even believe the cover, it’s got holy Bible on it. So I believe that too. And that is at Christmas time, we talk an awful lot about Santa Claus. But let me just give you a couple of thoughts concerning something. I just want to ask you some questions and I I want you just to write them down if you would. Yes, no, don’t remember. You put a D-R, that means don’t remember. When you were a child, did you teach your children?

Now if you’re here and you don’t have any children, of course you can’t do that. So try to recall if your parents told you that. It’s not as best as possible. There’s just a simple little questions for you to think about for a minute. Did you ever teach your kids that Santa knows if they’ve been good or bad. Did you ever teach your kids? That Santa knows if they’ve been good or bad, yes? No, don’t remember. Number two, on Christmas morning, have you ever said in a sincere, believing tone, Santa has been here, or look what Santa brought us.

Have you ever said those words? Yes. No, don’t remember number three Have you told or had your children believe that if Santa promises to bring you something? He will always keep his promise because Santa never breaks a promise Have you ever tried to convince them or to believe that Santa will always keep his word, never break his promise? Yes, no, don’t remember. Number four, Santa is always the same. He never changes. He’s always happy and he’s always jolly. Yes or no?

Or don’t remember. Number five Santa is good and only brings good things good toys, you know brings things good things that Santa is good Number six Have you ever taught the children this? Santa is coming Santa is coming You better be ready. Yes, no, don’t remember. Number seven, did you convey to your children all year long that they need to be careful because Santa is watching and he is coming and you should try to please Santa so you won’t be ashamed when he comes.

Did you ever use the teaching of Santa during the year as motivation? for them to be good because Christmas is coming. Number eight, do you believe it is and write down one of these words? Do you believe it is helpful, hurtful or harmless to teach this to the children? Helpful, hurtful, harmless to teach this to the children. You may want to choose two words, or just one. Now I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Mark.

The book of Mark and chapter 7. Mark chapter 7 is a portion of scripture that deals with Christ rebuking the Pharisees. And what he said was down here in verse 5, then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why what not by disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands. In other words, they had ate and didn’t wash their hands. Now according to the Bible in the Old Testament, there were laws that God had given.

There were the moral laws, the 10 commandments and the civil laws and the ceremonial laws of the sacrificial laws. So God gave many laws to his people. Well as time went on, many people developed many traditions that were supposed to be based upon the principles that were taught in those laws. But after a while, people kept making more laws and more tradition, but it didn’t have any connection to the Source, the Bible. But there were people that said, the Bible says, God said, the law said, but it didn’t say.

But the ones that were saying that were the lawkeepers, the ones that were supposed to know the law, the Pharisees, the Lawyer. And so when Christ comes along and His disciple, He was doing some things that the Pharisees didn’t approve of and Christ and His disciples violated the tradition. Well, this made them mad. How come your disciples don’t wash their hands because that’s the tradition of the elders, the leaders. So he made the statement here in verse 6. He answered and said unto them, slap my mouth.

I didn’t mean to offend them. I must be wrong. I promise that I’ll wash my hands from now on because I don’t want to violate your tradition. That’s what he said. Is that what your Bible says? No, no, no, no, look what he says there in verse six. Well, have Isaiah prophesied of you, what’s that word? Oh, that’s a hard word hypocrite. As it is written, this people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

How be it in vain? Do they worship me? What were they doing that was in vain? Teaching for doctrine, the commandments of men. Saying that these commandments that these men wrote was on the same level with the word of God. And by their tradition, they were saying that this is equal with God in self God’s Word. And so he says there in verse 8 for laying aside the commandment of God laying in a side is saying that the Word of God has no effect, no effect has no power.

In other words, what they were saying carried more weight than what God had to say. And that tradition was more important than the Word of God itself. People had drifted so far from the truth they now didn’t know what was the truth. And now it didn’t seem so bad because everybody’s doing it. Lord Behold, who shows up? Christ shows up in the midst of all of this tradition. Did Jesus Christ go along with all the tradition? Or did He violate the tradition?

What else He said? Now, either we take this book as this is the Word of God and it does have effect or we can take the Bible, lay it aside and accept tradition. Now let’s notice something. In verse 9 he says, and he said unto them, full well, ye reject the commandment of God. Why? You had underlined that part of the verse. That ye may what? Keep your own tradition. Now look what he says in verse 13. Verse 13 should also be underlying in your Bible.

Here’s why. Making the Word of God of what? None affect through your tradition as though it carries no weight. It doesn’t matter what God says. What is tradition? What does man say? He says of none effect through your tradition which ye have delivered and many such like things do ye and the people could not understand where did Christ get his authority because they said no man speak like this man. This man did not yield to all these pious religious snobs he called them Pharisees, hypocrites.

Now based upon what that scripture says I want to share just a couple of thoughts with you and that is on on the first question that was asked. Did you ever teach your kid that Santa knows if they’ve been good or bad? Think about what the question says and if it was true. Remember that is saying that Santa is omniscient. What does the word omniscient mean? Anybody have an idea? All knowing, all wise. Now, we know that the Bible says that God is omniscient.

That means He is all wise. All knowledge comes from the Lord. Nobody else is wise. Nobody else has all knowledge. Only God. The next question, On Christmas morning have you ever said in a sincere believing tongue Santa has been here look what Santa brought is That true or not true Is it true or not true? If you say it in a believing sincere tonal voice that causes one to believe something that isn’t true But I know that sometimes we think ah the world is so harmless Maybe it is.

But all depends on what it’s embedding into the mind of individuals. But remember, this is talking about him being omnipresent. Why? He’s been here. Yes. And somebody else is saying in another home, he’s been here and thousands of home all over the world. Millions of home. He’s been here. Well, if he was, he would have to have been everywhere at the what? Same time. What is that? That is omnipresence. What is on my present main. Pray, present, everywhere, all at the same time.

That attribute belongs to who? That belongs to God. Now, have you ever made this statement in the third question? Have you told or had your children believe that if Santa promises to bring you something, He will because He always keeps His promises. It means that He is always faithful. If He always keeps His Word, He must be God. He’s infallible. He makes no mistakes. He never fails. It has to be. Who is that a reference to? Remember, there’s only one person the Bible says, I will never forsake you.

I will never fail you. Belongs only to one person. Nobody else can ever claim that. Now, the next question, Senate is always the same. Never changes. Always happy, always jolly. The word immutable means never changes. the same yesterday, today and forever. You ever heard that phrase before? I wonder who that refers to. Anybody got any idea? You know who it refers to, don’t you? I thought you did. Repers to the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ refers to God. The next question, He is always good and always brings good things.

We never hear about Him bringing any bad thing for anybody. True? Think it through. Never brings anything bad. He’s always good. And He knows if you’ve been good or naughty or nice. He knows all of these things and He’s good. the Bible says that there is none one good but one there’s only one that’s perfect there’s only one that’s righteous there’s only one that’s like that the Bible says in the book of James every good and perfect gift comes down from the from Satan they come from Santa come from God every good and perfect comes down from the Father of light, from the Father.

Now, the next question, Santa’s coming, you better be ready. Do you know anybody else throughout the Bible talks about somebody coming and you better be ready? Anybody know who that might be? Anybody have an idea? His name is Jesus Christ. The next question, Do you convey to your children all year long that they need to be careful because Satan and Santa is watching and he is coming and you should try to please so you won’t be ashamed at his coming.

Do you know anywhere else in the Bible that says something along this line? Little children abide in him that when he shall appear you may have come and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Do you think there is a possibility that many things have been taken away from somebody and stripped some honor and a little glory from somebody and given it to another? You think it’s a possibility? I’m not telling you anything. I’m just trying to get you to think about a few things.

Now if you think about it, these are some wonderful attributes what you like to have all those nice wonderful things said about you. Alright number nine, number nine on your paper, number nine on your paper. Did you teach that Santa is God based upon those attributes. Did you teach? Whether harmful or helpful or hurtful, would you say yes or no? Did you teach that Santa is God? Number 10, does the teaching of Santa make void the Word of God as we have just covered in Mark in chapter 7.

Would that be a substitute for the Word of God which is the truth? Now I want you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Exodus, the book of Exodus and chapter 20. Exodus and chapter 20. Please understand I’m not trying to be a mean, bad, old, ugly man. I wholeheartedly believe there’s nothing wrong and celebrating Christmas. Is that for anything you said? Well I must be able to harmonize it somehow and let me explain it to you.

I don’t know of anybody who is teaching that we have to celebrate Christmas because it is a command and scripture. I’ve never said that. Did you ever say that? I don’t know nobody that does say that. There’s nobody I ever hear to say that. The Bible says we have to celebrate Christmas. The birth of Christ, no we don’t. But there’s no command that says we can’t. There’s nothing wrong and being thankful for the day that he came. They even rejoiced the day he did come.

The shepherds rejoiced. The angels rejoiced. It was supposed to be a Grat hiding in good news and all that. Well, that still hasn’t changed. There’s nothing wrong in celebrating the real purpose. Christ was born. I really don’t care what day we do it on. There’s no command that says we have to or that there’s no command says we can’t. In itself, there’s nothing wrong. In itself, it can be a good thing. Makes everybody think about that. But when you take the attributes that belongs only to God and give those to another, I believe that something else is wrong.

Let me show you this. Look in verse one of Exodus chapter 20. God speak all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God which have brought the out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage. Verse three, Thou shalt have no other what? First thing He ever told them, You’re to have no other gods before me. Now stop and think for a moment. All the gods that were in the land of Canaan and there were many nations in the land and they all had heathen gods.

God says they were false gods, false gods. But they worshiped them like they were real gods. Now whether or not they’re real or not, we all know that there is no other God. There’s only one true and living God. But God doesn’t want there to be any other God. So he says in the next verse, verse four, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven, above or that is in earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth, an image of what?

Of a God. God, you don’t take the attributes that belong only to God and give them to anything and he said you don’t make nothing. Now question number 11, Santa is an image of who? If he’s not real, he is an image of who? Based upon his attributes. Let me ask you question number 12. Based upon what the Word of God says, what the Word of God says to do not to do. Do you believe that teaching it is helpful, hurtful, or harmless to teach this to the children?

The same question that I asked you in number eight, I’m asking you again. Based now upon what the Word of God says, is it helpful to the children? Is it harmless or is it hurtful? Based upon what the book says. Now, do you believe that there is a lot of tradition in America that may not be based upon this book? A Christian is supposed to regardless of what everybody else does, still to do right, a book. Or we make tradition more important and carry more weight, have more effect upon our decisions than the word.

Or people don’t really believe it. Or do we obey it? I believe that this is the Word of God and that we should not allow any kind of traditions of any kind to override this book. The Bible did not say anywhere that it’s wrong to give gifts. It doesn’t say that. It encourages it. It says do good. It’s good to share. More blessed to what? Give than to receive. Now, I know you will not give at Christmastime just in order to receive would you?

But we do think it’s fair. I don’t mind getting presents, and I’m sure you don’t mind getting present. The greatest gift of all is the gift that God gave to the world. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if when the world celebrates Christmas they really celebrated the birth of Christ? And understand the real reason. I’ll have to admit it was years after I was growing up that I really understood. and the Christmas was all about. I didn’t know it was about Jesus Christ.

I always thought Jesus Christ was a cuss word. It’s only time I ever heard it. I thought it was profanity. I tried my best because I didn’t want to swear. I tried my best not to even think of the word Jesus Christ in my mind because I thought it was a swear word. Can you believe that? And yet many people get an attitude over the years of thinking that God is just like that false image that had been planted into the minds of innocent little children.

And most times with parents, fun, cute. It’s nice. But is it? If God was here, well, what do you think? Or let me ask you this. If Jesus Christ was here, Do you think he would think it was helpful or harmless or hurtful? You think he would just think it’s just some funny little gag that everybody’s just having fun with? I’m not going to tell you one way or the other. I’m hoping that what I told you, what the book says, will help you to think and you’re the ones that got to live with it.

But I’ll tell you this. My kids, my daughters, and my other son, David was, he died when he was 28, but I have never told him that Christmas was anything except the honoring of Jesus Christ been born into this world. I’ve never told him the other, never celebrated the other, never lied to him. I just believe it either I believe it or I don’t practice it now other people may not have the same conviction that I have on that But I believe that according to the Exodus in chapter 20 when he says thou shall have no other gods before me I believe he means exactly that There’s nothing wrong and having a tree and putting some on it sharing some gifts and all the rest of it talking about Christ coming It’s a wonderful wonderful thing But when you make a graven image and you give this picture of him and you put all those

attributes that belongs only to the true and living God and say, this is Him. Then what you’re doing is you’re planting your minds. This is God. He sees and knows everything. And all those attributes, God says, you rob in His glory away. And I think that Satan would love, I want you to take now on that little piece of paper you got. I want you to write down these words, these letters. S-A-N-T-A. You got it down? I want you to take the N out of S-A-N, take the N out, and put it at the end of the word.

What did you come up with? No, no. Huh? You came out with Satan. Isn’t it amazing? It’s just one little word and I mean lettering on one of the plays, but I think that’s who he really is. The teaching. Satan is always trying to usurp the glory away from God, saying, I will be like the most high. And he’s done a pretty good job of an invitation, hasn’t he? And now more people talk about that, which is false and they talk about that, which is true.

And somehow, another, things get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, I didn’t want to make anybody mad, but if you do, I’m just thankful that what I held back. 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org. and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church There’s 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 going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. And one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.

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. Clearly to 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you’ll 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 first Corinthians chapter 11, first Corinthians chapter 11. Now, we do the communion service every month, and I just want you to look at this because it’s important. You see there in verse 23, 1 Corinthians and chapter 11, he says, for I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. Now, see, that’s all we’re doing in servant Lord. You’re receiving from the Lord and you’re delivering. Receiving and delivering. We’re learning truth from God and we’re delivering.

That’s what the gospel is. We receive the gospel and we give the gospel. That’s all we do. We’re cheap radio sets. That’s all we are. But it makes a statement in verse 24, and when he had given thanks, he’d break it and said, take heed. This is my body which is broken for you. And then he says this, this do and remembrance of me. Now do you believe that month after month, year after year, people can get to where the Lord’s Supper is just nothing more than a ritual that they go through and they do it, but not in remembrance of Him?

They just do it because, well that’s what we do in the first Sunday of every month, we just do it. But do you really think about why you’re doing this? I’m supposed to be looking back to what Christ did. I’m supposed to be looking at my life now and judging my life. I’m supposed to be looking forward to his coming again because it affects how I live my life, if I can remember. So the Lord’s Supper and why he came, why he died on the cross, came back from the dead and given me the power of the Holy Spirit to let’s, that’s doing it and remembrance of him.

And the last verse in 25, he says, after the same manner also he took the cup when he had stopped saying, this cup is the new testament to my blood. This and there’s that word do ye as all that you drink and remembrance of me, remembering him. There’s another verse similar to this in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12 where he says, consider him, consider him. You know, when you get weak and weary And you’ve done all these things and you’re running your race and it seems like everything’s going wrong.

And you get ready to quit. It ain’t worth it. He says, consider him who endured the cross. But for the joy that was set before him, that he didn’t quit. Consider him remembering him. You see, there’s got to be the power of a purpose in your life that keeps you going. I believe that these are some of the things that just to help you to think clearly. Look in the book of John chapter 13, the Gospel of John in chapter 13.

And look at verse 17. You often hear about the Bible and everybody wants to be happy. Who doesn’t want to be happy? Did you know that God’s the one that wants us to be happy more than anybody else in the world? God wants you to be happy more than your desire be happy. Your desire for peace and love and joy and all these things. God wants those for you more than you want them for yourself. But it’s how you get it.

God says, now you obey me and I can get it for you. But we want to get it ourselves our own way. And when things don’t go our own way then I’m not happy because happenings is what makes me happy. And when things are not happening right, I’m not happy. So a lot of Christians are not going to be happy in life because of the happenings are not in compliance with their will. But what if you could learn to be content with what God has?

You’re going to learn to be, if you want to call it happy. But look what he says in verse 17. If you know these things, the word know you ought to un-the line of the circle of it. You know these things and you ought to un-the line of the last part of it. Happy are ye if you think about it. You know these things? Happy are ye if you know it. Oh, I know the Bible. I’ve read the Bible a thousand times.

But happiness comes from what? If you do it, do it. So you find out what does the will of God say that I’m supposed to do and just Just do it. Does God want you to pray and talk to him? Just do it. God wants you to forgive one another. Just do it. Just do it. Just do it. Be nice one to another. Kind one. Just do it. Just do it. This is hard to follow. Can y’all follow me?

This is a hard sermon to preach, I can tell. It’s just really hard. It’s got two words to it. Do it. You know, just do it. So, look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and look in verse 31 verse 31. There’s a lot of things he mentions in here about the conscience of man, and how you’re supposed to think, how you’re supposed to judge, but whenever you kind of get confused and so forth, make sure of this one thing that whatever it is you do because there’s always people say well I don’t see why I can’t go here and I don’t see why I can’t do that and I don’t see anything wrong with this.

All right whatever it is you want to do. In verse 31 whether therefore you eat drink whatsoever you do good all to the glory of God and if you can’t give God glory for whatever it is you say do and think then maybe it’s not right. Everything in that because your whole life, why are you living life to glorify the Lord? That means to give him glory that he is honored by your decision that you make. He is pleased whatever it is you’re supposed to do it’s acceptable unto the Lord.

So I live my life in a way that’s pleasing to God. So whatever it is that you want to argue with anybody over, you know, standards of this and that and music here, I don’t give what it is. Dress, you name it, do it all for his honor and for his glory. And you’d be surprised how much trouble that’ll save you. Do you think this is pleasing to God? Or is this what you want to be thinking or doing whenever the Lord comes back.

So one of these days that is going to take place. It will happen. Take your Bible looking Colossians in chapter 3, long the same line. Colossians in chapter 3, there’s several verses mentioned there, but chapter 3 is a very, very good chapter because it talks about how we’re to live, how we are to live. You see they’re in Colossians in chapter 3. If in verse 1, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. In verse 2, set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth.

For your dead, your life is here with Christ. In other words, the only reason you’re alive is because you’re in Christ. Because You see, whenever you accepted his death as your death, you should have died, but he let you live. I was crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lived within me in the life which I now live. I live by the faith of the Son of God who let me gave him. In other words, Philippians talks about he is my life.

He’s my life. That’s why I’m living. So I have the power of a purpose. He is my life. He is my reason for living. Well, if he’s my reason for living, then I should seek things that please him and set my affections on things that are above. And so he says in verse 5, mortified therefore your members which are upon the earth. In other words, this old body that we have with this sinful nature and the desires that we want to have that may be pleasing to us, but not to God.

God says mortify. Have you ever been mortified? What does it mean to be mortified? It means that you thought that Rock Wiler was going to eat you alive, and, well, it didn’t. But you thought it was, because you fear. What do they call a person who embalms the dead? A mortician? Kind of goes along with the word mortified, doesn’t it? Scared to death, mortified. And we get mortified. We get filled with fear. And so God says, these things that causes that, set it aside.

Everything that causes you to live your life in fear, set it aside. Learn to trust the Lord. Some things we bring up on ourselves. We are people with an old sinful nature and we don’t always keep it under control. True? Except me. Nobody keeps it totally under control at all times. And so whenever we don’t, there’s a problem. But now see it says in verse 7, in the which he also walked sometime when you lived in them, and that old simple nature.

But now that you know Christ is your Savior, put off all these anger and wrath and malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deed. That’s that old sinful nature that you have. Now this is to the guide that says, okay, I’m going to serve the Lord. I’m going to serve the Lord. Look, he God says, you have to put that on the old fellow side because he ain’t going to let you serve him.

So then he says in verse 10, and have put on, and you ought to line these two words, the new man. Well, that’s the one that you got when you trust your Christ’s Savior. So are you now living as the old man or the new man? Which one do people see? Who? Sometimes in our life they see a little of this one and they see a little of the other one. Well God says it should be the other one.

But you and I know we still have this old man and he just follows us around just waiting for a week moment and I gotcha. And it happens just so quickly. But now in the last part of verse 10 makes the statement which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. So the new birth the new man is created by God himself and renewed in the knowledge. See there? Renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

So the new man must study the word to put it into his mind so that you have the power of the mind because see all of your success and all of your defeats starts and stops right there. All actions are a byproduct of the way that we think and if you don’t think right you cannot live right and if you want to raise a caliber of your life you have to raise the caliber of your thinking so as you go down through here puts on a lot of good stuff but look down in verse 23 verse 23.

In verse 23 he says, and whatsoever you do, do it, hardly, do it hardly, as to the Lord and not on the mantle. Whatever it is you do, whatever it is your ministry is, whatever it is. I don’t know what it is. Do it is unto the Lord. I am serving the Lord. This is what God wants me to do with my life. Now you commit yourself to that and you do the best job you possibly can is unto the Lord and you do it hardly as unto God.

Look there in verse 17, these two verses kind of tie together. Verse 17, whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Then we’re thanking the Lord that you’re able to do it for Him. So when people do you wrong Think the Lord that you have an opportunity to help somebody for Him. And whatever it means, whatever it does, just do it. If Christians could only burn how to live the Christian life.

And it’s not hard. That’s because we’re thinking with the mind of the old man. The old man has an old mind and he always tells us the wrong things to discourage us. He points out things to us that we don’t like and don’t see. And so he makes sure that you get down and negative. And so for that old man, you got an old brain up there that’s got all that old knowledge in and that devil is gonna use that on you.

So you gotta learn how to discern your thoughts. If not, when you can’t read your thoughts, you can’t discern your thoughts, you’re hooked indeed. It’s almost like being totally helpless. You don’t know what in the world you can do. So that’s when you gotta learn how to walk with the Lord and trust Him. Look down at verse 24. I want to see verse 24. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, and here’s what?

For ye serve the Lord Christ because you’re serving Him. Do it is unto the Lord and because God sees it, you’re doing it for Him, then God’s gonna reward you. And it’s gonna be worked at all. So that’s why you do it. Now look at their enrollments in chapter 12 and verse eight. Romans. Chapter 12 and verse 8. In this chapter as he talks about yielding your bodies as a living sacrifice onto the Lord and then in verse 2 talking about renewing your mind so that you can discern what is that good and acceptable will of God.

And then he talks about the ministries that all of us have that differ because we differ. Advice different. And so he says to do this, but whatever it is that we’re supposed to do, the Bible tells us, like in verse 8, or he that exhorteth on exhortation, or he that giveth, let him do it. And here’s these things. Do it with simplicity. Do it with simplicity. Now do it hardly is unto the Lord. Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it with simplicity.

Try to keep your life from being entangled with the affairs of this life, because you will not be able to faithfully serve the Lord. If you get so entangled that you can’t remember who you are, what you’re doing, and you’ve lost the power of your purpose because there’s so many things that come to your life. Sometimes it’s good just to get away, stop and take stock and see, What am I doing? Where am I going? What is my ministry?

How am I doing my ministry? Whatever that ministry may be, might be just your housewife. You work on some job. Whatever your job is, every job you have, that’s a ministry because you’re the minister. And whatever it is that you do it is unto the Lord because you believe God is going to bless you because of it and you’re going to be rewarded, but it says do it with simplicity. Keeping things simple. The Lord talks about it in the book of Corinthians and Peter makes a statement.

He says, I want to present you as a chasing birds into the Lord because I fear lest the devil through his subtly will corrupt your mind from the simplicity that is in Christ. You see, it’s the devil in the world that wants to complicate everything, But we’re facing right now the wrath of Congress and they’re at each other’s throat. Nobody loves nobody. Everybody blames somebody because everybody won’t figure out how to get it or reelected again. So they want to try to look like they’re doing something when they really don’t have the time to do anything.

But all of that is because they have forgotten the purpose of government. And so, whenever people in America, we have people a day in the churches, in the home, that don’t understand the Republican form of government, which is what our founding fathers gave to us. They did not give us a democracy. They gave us a republic. And there is a world of difference. And so you either believe that you have the responsibility of your self, or you believe that government will take care of us.

So we’ve got to the place where we have dependent upon the government to take care of us and we look to them for everything. So we don’t need to pray because government will take care of this. Government will take care of that. Our answer is not at the White House. It’s in this book. And I don’t know whether or not we’ll ever change course. I’d like to see us stay free, at least until the rapture. But that may not happen.

We don’t know what’s coming down the road. But I know who’s going to walk with us to do it. And that’s the Lord that we just keep doing what we’re supposed to keep doing. And keep praying for our leaders that even though they may not know it and understand they’ll make some wise decisions and pray that we can have good people run for election of office and so on. And that is the thing that we’re supposed to do. But to do it with simplicity.

Look there in the book of 2 Peter chapter 1. I’ve got a couple verses I want to show you. But 2 Peter in chapter 1. I won’t just see this because it’s such an important verse. You see there in verse 10 and verse 10 says, Wherefore the rather brethren, so we’re talking to those that know the Lord brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. And you’re on the line, this part of the verse. For if you do these things, you shall never fall.

See now what in the world is that talking about? What we’re talking to the believers. And we’re talking about them never falling. Well, how can you keep from falling? Well, if you just keep standing, now, Izzy, if you keep standing, you don’t have to fall. So he says, stand upon the truth of the word of God. And he says, now, after you trusted Christ as your Savior, you’re supposed to add to your faith. See the faith that you had to get saved and you know you’re going to heaven when you died because well I know John 3 16 or Ephesians 2 8 9 for by grace.

So you say through faith that not of yourself. It’s the gift of God not a works list. Any man should vote. I stand on that verse. First John 5 13 these things have already known you that believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have it. I know I have it turned life and that’s I never learn anything else in the whole world. I know that and I know I’m going to heaven when I die.

Okay. Do you think that’s all God wants you to know? It’s hard to go to heaven. Now it’s good to know you’re going to heaven. There ain’t no doubt about that. But you ain’t there yet. And you’d be surprised at things that can happen in life, that can ruin your life and your testimony. What about all the other people that don’t know it? So he says here, the add to your faith. See there in verse 5? And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith.

You already say you have eternal life. but add some things to it so that you can be the kind of a Christian that you ought to be because it says down in verse 8, if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall need to be bearing nor unproofal. Do you want to be fruitful? And you’re talking about in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will never know the Lord as much as you should is when you obey Him.

You’ve learned God and about God by obedience. You may know him as your Savior, the one to heaven when you died, but if you don’t serve God, you don’t know God the way you should know it. In the book of 1 John, it’ll use that word, no. If you know Him, then serve Him if you know Him. But that word, no, means if you love Him, you will serve him. And if you say you know him or love him and don’t obey him, he says you don’t know him.

That’s 1 John chapter 2. So you say you know him, that means you love him. And if you love him, that’s the key for your obedience. Because if you don’t serve him, you don’t really know him. You don’t love him. God says if you love me, serve him. Do it. Just do it. And this is what God is talking about and it says if you will do this you don’t have to fall. You see falling is a choice that’s made by people who don’t keep their trust in the Lord and just keep doing what God says.

It’s because we take our eyes off the Lord. We look at people and see whenever you become weak in the faith you use what people say and do as the evidence to yourself, giving you potentials of why I don’t have to be faithful, not because because and you’ve got somebody you can point to as the reason for your own personal bad decision. Is it wiser and wise? It’s unwise. So you want to keep your eyes focused upon the Lord, not upon people.

People come and go. But you don’t want to base your steadfastness based upon what somebody else does or doesn’t do. You’ve got to learn how to be strong in the Lord and keep doing what’s right. Regardless of what anybody else does. And I think God said that He would bless us because of this. Now, one verse in closing. You stopped by Jesus closing a while ago. Well, I was. I said I had a couple more verses. I hadn’t got there yet.

Looking Philippians in chapter four. book of Philippians and chapter 4. So in Philippians and chapter 4, one of your favorite verses, this is one of your favorite verses, I just knew it was, verse 13, I can do, I can do, get to all things, through Christ which strengtheneth me, strengthen this me to perform. You see it’s Christ that strengthens you so you can perform. All the things that happens to you is God’s way of making you stronger. That struggling is what makes you strong.

Christ will strengthen you. That’s why Paul says I have learned to be content in whatsoever state that I’m in. When I I have when I don’t have. That’s why he was able to say Christ strengthened it to me. Now do you want to be strong in the Lord? Then just do it. Do what he says do. And put your confidence and your trust in him and he says I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Christ gave him the strength to keep going when he was hungry.

Christ gave him the strength to keep going when they didn’t have the support that he needed. And whenever he was, didn’t have this, and when he had abundance… When his knee was met, he said, whether I abounded or suffer need, Christ gave me the strength to keep my eyes focused to keep going for the Lord. Look up here. Letting this hand represent you and me, the wall it represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. Now he hates our sin, but he loves us.

And the wages of sin is eternal separation from God, in a literal fire burning hell. But see, heaven is a perfect place. And you have to be perfect to go to heaven. And because of sins, we’re not perfect. And that’s because that sin we can’t get in. So God says that a man cannot make himself perfect. See, if you have to be perfect to get into heaven, how can you, a sinner, make yourself perfect? So stupid for a person to even think that they can change themselves.

Can a lever change the spots? I mean, there’s verses in the Bible that talks about the stupidity of man. Trying to do something that’s totally impossible. It’s impossible for a man to save himself. It’s impossible for a man to cleanse himself from the stains of sin. Can’t do it. This man represents Jesus Christ. the Lord God in the flesh came into this world because he loves us but he hates what we do wrong and the Bible says that our sins separates us from the Lord.

So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die. He took all the sins of the world paid for them across came back from the dead and said that that payment would be put to our account if we would simply believe he did it for us. So when you believe that he did this for you he puts this payment to your account you get to go to heaven. And you can say, I know I have eternal life because I’ve accepted Christ as my Savior.

I believe He died and paid for all of my sins. Let’s pray, show me Him. With His bow nice clothes, no one looking around. If you’ve never trusted the Lord, why not do it right now? And even though you may be here in the auditorium or you may be watching by I want you to know that God loves you and he loves you so much that he died for you to pay for your sins And all that you have to do to go to heaven believe he did it for you Would you believe that he died for you?

Well, that means that you don’t have to go to hell that means you don’t have to pay for your sin because he paid for your sins Not some of them not even most of them. He paid for all of them And that all you have to do is believe he did it for you. And God said he would save you. Save you from hell, give you eternal life. You become his child and you get to go to heaven whenever you die.

If you’re making that decision, I’d like to know it. I’d like to have prayer for you. So with heads by nice clothes, it isn’t one of all. Say, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. I pray your life for you to pray for you. And with all just live that real quick. If you’ve already trusted Christ to save it, your God’s child, you’ll go to heaven. Just do it. Just do right. Serve. 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 what we call the Bible. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 3, 3, 6, 3, 4. 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 going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. And now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed.

God 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 m- and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. One line donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. 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 few things that I hope that will be a blessing to you. You know, one of the biggest words in the whole Bible, one of the biggest words is do. Think upon these things, but he says, just do it, just do it. I think Nike must have got that commercial from the Bible because it was in the Bible first. So take your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John chapter 2, the Gospel of John and chapter 2.

You know, there’s three things about power that a person should be aware of and to pray for. And believe it or not, there is the power of the mind. You’ve heard people say, well, if the mind can conceive it, the body can achieve it. That’s not exactly true. And I don’t like pre-inserments on the power of the mind or positive thinking. I like to preach on biblical thinking, the power of biblical thinking, which I believe is very, very good.

But the thing about the mind is how the mind thinks. And you have to guard yourself because of these two things. And everything in life, there’s always going to be success and defeat. So people are going to have this, but you have to guard it. When should you guard your mind when you’re defeated and when you’re successful? I’ve seen just many people fall because of success as been poverty stricken. You can have everything in the world and it leads people to stray because of things of this world.

You can get them and then it can lead you astray. Or the apps and sove them, you can use what God doesn’t love me, poor, poor me and have your pity parties and so be so discouraged and so depressed. So the mind has to be guarded at all times. And then everybody knows that when you trust Christ is Savior, you have the Holy Spirit in dwelling you. Talk about the power of the Holy Spirit. Well, let me ask you this.

When do you receive the Holy Spirit? Immediately when you trust Christ is saved. So when do you think that the Holy Spirit should start controlling your life? Immediately. I mean, the Holy Spirit’s not to be on the back burner and you guide your life until you get ready for it. Or do you really need it? He’s supposed to lead and guide you all the time in every area, every situation. But see, if you don’t, you will lose the power of the mind, the power of our mind to be able to think right.

Even whenever you seem like everything’s going wrong, because that’s whenever the devil knows he can jump on you with everything. Or you can also be lifted up with pride and exalt yourself because when something goes successful. You know, you can have some of your weakest moments right after a great success, right after a victory. You know, kids go to camp, get all excited, wound up, wanna turn the world upside down. You know, sometime about week two later, you’d be surprised how fast they can hit rock bottom.

And so there’s a constant battle trying to keep the second law thermodynamics from taking place. And there’s always this tendency toward running down, randomness, disorder, decay, destruction. And so you’re either building yourself strong in the Lord, or you’re going to allow the things of the world to destroy you and destroy you, they will, unless you learn how to think. And I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but there is the power and a great purpose. If you have a great purpose that drives and motivates you to go through all kinds of things, there’s power there.

And unless people have a purpose that’s greater than anything they know about for themselves, There’s gotta be something that’s for the Lord. I can do this for the Lord. Because see, sometimes you think, I’m not work doing all this for. But he is. He’s worth why I do everything that I do and to keep battling until the day comes when we get battling anymore. I got a lot of decisions that I’m looking at. I don’t know what God’s got down the road.

But I sure enjoy certain, oh Lord. Certain Lord is the most exciting thing in life. And every man has to have the power of a purpose because that’s just the way God designed it. Now, I want you to take your Bible and look there in the Gospel of John in chapter 2, and look in verse 5. Now, a lot of people say that you’ve got to go to God through Mary. But I want you to look what Mary had to say about this.

Although, there was this situation with the water pots, and they didn’t have any, all the wine was gone, and I’m not going to get into the discussion about whether or not it was that for a minute or just, you know, it was just happy hour. You know, what was this? That’s, that’ll do for another time. But it says in verse six, Jesus sent it to her woman, what have I to do with thee? My hour has not yet come.

His mother said unto the servants, and you ought to underline this statement in your Bible. Whatsoever, he sayeth unto you, and see those two little words, those two little words, do it. Just do it. Whatever he says, do it. You know, that’s a good thing to remember As you study the Word of God, and you see what the Word of God says, just do it. See, you didn’t know that was in the Bible saying, nang, he’s tried to steal this stuff from God’s Word.

But the Lord had it first, and this was written 2,000 years ago. So I’m not going to stop using it just because of that. Take your Bible and turn to the Book of Mark chapter 3. And Mark chapter 3, and you’ll find that the Lord tells us things that He wants us to know and what he wants us to do. And if you look there in verse 35, there’s a verse that talks about his mom, his brothers, and his sisters.

But to get the idea of looking verse 31, there came then his brethren and his mother and standing without sent unto him, calling him, and the multitude sat about him and and they said unto him, thy mother and thy brethren without secrecy.” Now a lot of people say, well, Jesus didn’t have any, you know, brothers and sisters. Well, it’s hard to say. The Bible says that Mary had more children. And so I got a hunch that those children were the children of Joseph and Mary.

Jesus was not the child of Joseph and Mary. Mary was the mother of that child that was born, but Joseph was not the father. But it says here in verse 33, and he answered him saying, Who is my mother or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him and said, Behold my mother and my brethren, For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister and mother. Whosoever, and there’s that one little word, whosoever it shall do the will of God.

Now when it comes to salvation he says that you might work the works of God and that is that you will believe on him whom he hath sent. Now this verse right here is even clarified a little bit more in another portion of scripture that I think it would be good to look at. Well look there in Luke chapter 8. Just turn to your right there just a little bit. Luke and chapter 8 and Luke chapter 8 and look in verse 19.

Kind of the same story but look at the ending of it here in verse 19. Then came to him, his mother and his brother could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring the sieve. and he answered and said unto them, my mother and my brethren, are these which hear the word of God, and then there’s those two little words, and do it. Those that hear the word of God and do it.

See, you can go to church all your life. You can even sit down and read your Bible and have devotion every day, but if you don’t do what the word of God says, what was the value? See, it’s like a man who looks into a mirror and sees what he looks like and then he goes his way and looking in the mirror didn’t help him at all because he didn’t do anything about what he saw. And so you and I as we study the Word of God we’re supposed to let the Word of God change our life, change our directions, affect the mind.

That’s where the power of the mind is because the power of the Word within the mind. So you put the Word of God into your mind, it will sustain you whenever it seems like you’re at your lowest moment and your highest moment. What I try to do is if, try not to go too far above the line and all of your excitement. Because usually as far as you go high above the line, you’ll go below the line when you’re totally discouraged and depressed.

And so there’s people who can just, everything’s just wonderful, and they can drop just that fast below the line. So you want to get to where you ride with things and don’t overreact to anything. We can be hurt so easy. And it’s time when men, it wouldn’t matter what anybody said or did. We were comfortable in who we are and what we’re doing. And we know what we want. And nobody’s other opinions have bothered us. I remember that there’s some of these old westerns.

I love the old westerns. You know, a guy standing there and somebody walks in and says, where are you from, partner? None of your business. And they could have a gunfight right then and there because of the way they said that. Or you backed off because you didn’t mess with somebody because it was none of your business. But we today are so easily, easily offended. Although the Word of God tells us what to do, what not to do, but you have to always guard your mind so that you don’t become easily offended.

That’s what the Word of God teaches. Now, when he makes the statement that we’re going to here in verse 21, the last part of it, these which hear the Word. Hear the Word, do it. In James it talks about hearing the word, the doers of the word and not, here’s only. Because you can hear it, but you don’t obey it. You don’t put it into practice. And if you did, it would solve a lot of problems. Look there in the book of John, chapter 7, the book of John, the gospel of John, and chapter 7.

I believe that if a man is willing to do the will of God, God will reveal his will. Sometimes we want God to do all the revealing first, and then we’ll decide whether or not we wanna do that or not. Well, settle in your mind, the power of a purpose, to do the will of God for my life. So now that purpose is power. without the purpose, there’s no power. There’s nothing to make you do it, because it’s got to be something bigger and stronger than what you are.

So yes, you have the power of the mind, but the power of the mind is not to be the humanistic philosophy of the flesh that says my performance is all based upon my fleshly mind and fleshly knowledge and the abilities and talents that I’ve got in my physical body. And so therefore I’m limited. The power of the mind that believes that the Holy Spirit indwells me. And so I’ve got that power living inside of me to help my mind think the way I should think so that I can do what God says to do because I’ve got the power of a purpose.

And there’s got to be something in every individual’s life that drives them and motivates them to do what God wants them to do. So here it makes a statement in John chapter 7 and verse 17. He says, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it is of God or whether I speak of myself. Because you see he had made some statements, my big statements. And he says in verse 14, now about the mist of the week Jesus went up into the temple that taught the Jews marble saying how knoweth this man letters have I never learned in other words where did this guy get his degree from how does he know all this stuff he hasn’t been to you know the the school of the prophets he hasn’t been to said the feet of Gamaliel he hasn’t how does he know all

this stuff he didn’t learn in the synagogue and so forth Jesus is the author of the law, not only what the law says every letter, every job, every title, he knows all of it. And he goes into the temple and he says and teaches them and they’re all amazed at this man’s wisdom in how he spoke with authority. You see, Jesus says, my doctrine is not mine, But it’s the will of him that sent me. The one that sent me, I’m here to represent him.

So I can only speak that which I see and know and understand. And that was of his father. So he would do that. Now the Bible says that these ignorant fishermen that God had chosen to serve him and to follow him, that the world took note that these were ignorant fishermen, but it says they recognize They had been with Jesus. They were like Jesus because they had been with him. And when you spend time with the Lord, it’s going to affect the things that you think about.

It’s going to affect how you look at life. It’ll determine whether or not you’re way up here or way down here. Like the Bible talked about girding up the loins of your mind. So it’s not up here down here up there like a bunch of yo-yos. And that’s where most people are. They don’t have any emotional high or down depressed. They’re thinking, great! Everything’s terrible. and learning how to be steady, steadfast, girding up the loins of your mind. And so God says in verse 16, my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

And if a man will do the will of God, God will see that he understands the will of God. So I believe that if I’m willing to do whatever it is, God wants me to do, it’s God’s responsibility to show me what it is to do. And then whenever I find out what it is that God wants me to do, what should I do? Do it! Do it! Is that so hard to understand? Is there somebody I need to forgive?

Then forgive them! Somebody I need to say, I’m sorry, it’s sad! So I just can’t do that. I just can’t do that. You will. That’s what I’m talking about. There’s not enough. The of man. Own up to it. You’re wrong somebody. Hey, I wronged you. I should have done it. I’m sorry. Will you forgive me? Well, would that be wonderful? But too many people have too much pride. P-R-I-D-E. Pride. You know, there’s some things that God says in the book of probability Hates.

And you know that that’s one of the words. That’s one of the things. Pride comes before what? Before or fall. And that’s why so many people fall because of pride. Because they don’t want to have to humble themselves. And so this is what God’s word says. Now look at it. Here’s part of the problem. See there in verse 18, he said, He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory. But he that seeketh his glory, that send him the same is true and no unrighteousness in him.

So did he get into about the thing about Moses and the law and so forth and the order of circumcision, how that it was under the law, but that was before him. And he says, when you consider what God has given to you and how he gave to you the law, he says you haven’t even kept the law. See what he says there in verse 22. Moses therefore gave unto you circumstances that not because it is a Moses but of the Father.

You on the Sabbath day you circumcised the man. If a man on the Sabbath day received circumcision that the law of Moses should not be broken. Are you angry at me? Because I have made a man every withhold on the Sabbath day. Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment. He says you have not even kept the law. You haven’t even kept The last verse 19 where he said, did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keepeth the law.

Why go you about to kill me? They said, whoa, what do you mean? We’re not taught, nobody’s trying to kill you. Ha, ha. Yeah, they were, and he knew it. I love the way that Jesus handled the crowd, how he talked to people. He was a man’s man. Jesus was no sissy. Jesus was a man. You realize when you read this who we could stand up against and what he said and what he did, you realize the power to hold your tongue when your lead is a sheet to the slaughter?

And he didn’t say a word and all that. That’s because he was a man. He wasn’t some of the sissified fellow that sometimes you see some of these pictures and drawings of him. I believe Jesus was a man’s man. I believe he was a carpenter for all those years. I believe he probably had a few big muscles on him. a lot of like me myself, you know. Just, why you always laugh whenever I do shenan. I do this. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians chapter 11. Now, we do the communion service every month. And I just want you to look at this because it’s important. You see there in verse 23, 1 Corinthians chapter 11. He says, for I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered delivered unto you.” Now see that’s all we’re doing in certain words. You’re receiving from the Lord and you’re delivering. Receiving and delivering. We’re learning truth from God and we’re delivering. That’s what the gospel is.

We receive the gospel and we give the gospel. That’s all we do. We’re cheap radio sets. That’s all we are. But makes a statement. Verse 24, And when he had given thanks, he’d break it and said, take heed, this is my body, which is broken for you. And then he says this, this do. And remembrance of me. Now do you believe that month after month, year after year, people can get to where the Lord suffer is just nothing more than a ritual that they go through?

And they do it, but not in remembrance of Him. They just do it because well that’s what we do on the first Sunday of every month, we just do it. But do you really think about why you’re doing this? I’m supposed to be looking back to what Christ did. I’m supposed to be looking at my life now and judging my life. I’m supposed to be looking forward to his coming again because it affects how I live my life, if I can remember.

So the Lord’s Supper and why he came, why he got on the cross, came back from the dead and given me the power of the Holy Spirit till it’s, that’s doing it and remembrance of him. And the last verse in 25, he says, after the same manner also he took the cup when he had sipsed, saying, this cup is the new testament to my blood. This and there’s that word do ye as off as you drink it and remembrance of me, remembering him.

There’s another verse similar to this in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12 where he says, consider him, consider him. You know, when you get weak and weary, And you’ve done all these things and you’re running your race and it seems like everything’s going wrong. And you get ready to quit. It ain’t worth it. He says, consider him who endured the cross. But for the joy that was set before him, that he didn’t quit. Consider him remembering him. You see, there’s got to be the power of a purpose in your life that keeps you going.

And I believe that these are some of the things that just to help you to think clearly Look in the book of John chapter 13 the gospel of John in chapter 13 And look in verse 17 You often hear about know the Bible and everybody wants to be happy Who doesn’t want to be happy? Did you know that God’s the one that wants us to be happy more than anybody else in the world? God wants you to be happy more than your desire to be happy.

Your desire for peace and love and joy and all these things. God wants those for you more than you want them for yourself but it’s how you get it. God says now you obey me and I can get it for you but we want to get it ourselves our own way and when things don’t go our own way then I’m not happy because happenings is what makes me happy And when things are not happening right, I’m not happy. So a lot of Christians are not going to be happy in life because of the happenings are not in compliance with their will.

But what if you could learn to be content with what God has? You’re going to learn to be, you want to call it happy? But look what he says in verse 17. If you know these things, the word know you ought to underline it or circle it. You know these things and you ought to underline the last part of it. Happy are ye if you think about it. You know these things happier if you know it. Oh, I know the Bible.

I’ve read the Bible a thousand times. But happiness comes from what? If you do it, do it. So you find out what does the will of God say that I’m supposed to do and just do it. Does God want you to pray and talk to him? Just do it. God wants you to forgive one another. Just do it. Just do it. Just do it. Be nice one to another time when… Just do it. Just do it. This is hard to follow.

Can y’all follow me? This is a hard sermon to preach, I can tell. It’s just really hard. It’s got two words to it. Do it. You know, just do it. So, look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians and chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. and look in verse 31, verse 31. There’s a lot of things he mentions in here about the conscience of man. And how you’re supposed to think, how you’re supposed to judge. But whenever you kind of get confused and so forth, make sure of this one thing, that whatever it is you do, because there’s always people who say, well, I don’t see why I can’t go here, and I don’t see why I can’t do that, and I don’t see anything wrong with this.

All right, whatever it is you wanna do. Verse 31, whether therefore you eat, drink whatsoever you do. Do it all to the glory of God. And if you can’t give God glory for whatever it is you say, do and think, then maybe it’s not right. Everything of that. Because your whole life, why are you living life to glorify the Lord? That means to give Him glory. That He is honored by your decision that you make. He is pleased. Whatever it is you’re supposed to do, it’s acceptable unto the Lord.

So I live my life in a way that’s pleasing to God. So whatever it is that you want to argue with anybody over, you know, standards of this and that, music, hair, I don’t give what it is. Dress, you name it, do it all for his honor and for his glory. And you’d be surprised how much trouble that’ll save you. Do you think this is pleasing to God? Or is this what you want to be thinking or doing whenever the Lord comes back?

So one of these days that is going to take place. It will happen. Take a Bible looking Colossians in chapter 3, long the same line. Colossians in chapter 3, there are several verses mentioned there. But chapter 3 is a very, very good chapter because it talks about how we are to live. How we are to live. You see there in Colossians in chapter 3, if, in verse 1, if you then be risen with Christ seat those things which are above.

In verse 2, set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth. For you’re dead. Your life is here with Christ. In God, in other words, the only reason you’re alive is because you’re in Christ. Because you see, whenever you accepted His death as your dead, you should have died. But He let you live. I was crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I lived yet not I, but Christ live within me in the life which I now live. I live by the faith of the Son of God who Lemon gave himself for me.

In other words, in Philippians and talks about He is my life. He’s my life. That’s why I’m living. So I have the power of a purpose. He is my life. He is my reason for living. Well, if He’s my reason for living, then I should seek things for that please Him and set my affections on things that are above. And so He says in verse 5, mortified therefore your members which are upon the earth. In other words this old body that we have with this sinful nature and the desires that we want to have that may be pleasing to us but not to God.

God says mortified. Have you ever been mortified? What does it mean to be mortified? It means that you thought that why we’re going to teach you alive and what you thought it was. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 3, 3, 6, 3, 4. 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 going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. 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.

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 1-800-5-7 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 1-800-570-875. 763-771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampup.org. We pray that you’ll 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. Isn’t it difficult for you to be found faithful in witnessing? It is for me. And yet, we have to struggle through a lot of things. We go through a lot of trials and tribulations.

We still have bills to pay. We still have to worry about our health, then we have to concern ourselves with our jobs and everything that goes on in life. All that why we’re here and all the suffering that we go through, such difficulty to get a person to trust Christ as their Savior, but is it gonna be worth it? All the difficulty that you’ve gone through, all the sacrifices that you made, all the money that you’ve ever given. You think about how much to get a soul saved.

Well, is that so worth that? If that was, if that’s so was you, whether it had been worth it, if you were lost and you get to the great white throne judgment, you don’t care what people had to pay. You just want to make sure, why didn’t you get the gospel to me? I don’t care what sacrifices you had to make. I don’t care how much money you had to spend. I don’t care how much I had to, you should have reached me.

I’m lost for all eternity and you’ve played games while I’m going to hell and it’s going to play on your mind and God says he’s going to have to wipe away all tears from our eyes because we just didn’t see it. So look what he says in verse 18 and while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. That’s with the flesh, the natural eye.

But can you see beyond this to the eternal, to the day whenever you’re glad? There’s a song that they used to sing called Thanks to God or something like that. It was in ways to talk about when you get to heaven and God shows you to people and they say, no thanks for what you’ve done in reaching me and so forth. And I like the words to the song. And he says, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

And that’s the spiritual things. But that’s what God wants us to see. That’s what He wants us to focus on. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Matthew 11. Matthew and chapter 11. Jesus said that there’s a lot of people in this old world that have a heavy, heavy yoke of iron upon their shoulders. In the book of Deuteronomy it puts it this way, but if I will not serve the Lord thy God with joyfulness of heart, I will put a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you.

Unless you serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart, the yoke of iron upon your shoulders, upon your neck until it weighs you down. Isn’t the shame that a Christian has to wear a yoke of iron doesn’t have to. Look how he puts it in the book of Matthew in chapter 11. Look in verse 28, this is where you take a rest by taking a burden. You take a rest by taking a burden. Do you ever get physically tired? When you get physically tired do you want to rest or work?

You want to rest? What do you mean by rest? You don’t want to work. You don’t want to do anything. But look at this, this is just the opposite. In verse 28, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you what? Rest. I’ll give you rest. Verse 29, okay Lord I’ll come to you And I want that rest you’re talking about. And the Lord says, take my yoke upon you. No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

I’m tired. I want rest and the Lord wants you to put you to work. He says, if you’ll take my yoke upon you, you shall find rest under your soul. So we’re not talking about rest for the body. We’re talking about rest for the soul. Did you realize that you inside of this body, you can get all the rest physically you want and desire and have no rest for your soul. Because you have no peace, no happiness, and no joy.

And you can have a living hell on earth as a child of God. You can get all the rest you want physically. But you have no rest for the soul. You’re troubled. Remember when he told these disciples, you believe in God? Believe in me. He said, be not troubled. He says, in my Father’s house, or many mentions, if it were not so, I would have told you. So you and I have a good message right here in this little verse.

Let me show you the verse 29. Take my yoke up on you and learn of me. There’s a lot of things you can learn in this life, but one thing that’s most important is to learn of him. Learn of me for I am meek and lowly and hard and ye shall find and you ought to underline these words rest unto your souls.” And then he says, for my yoke is easy. It means that if you will lose yourself in the work of the Lord, you’ll find rest for your soul.

You know what most people say? I don’t have time to do the work of God. I don’t have time to do what God wants me to do. I don’t have time. I don’t have time. I don’t have time and they have no rest for their soul and making wear themselves out and that’s what they call me Oh, well, I’m just burn out. I’m just burn out my plate so full. I can’t do anymore I’ve been certain or for almost 49 years.

I have never come close to burn out Well, I just had enough. I can’t serve God anymore. He ain’t going no more old fiddle fattle Get a grip Get a life Stop whining and panning and moaning and groaning. I wish Christians would just stop belly-aicking. It doesn’t have to be that way. God says, you’re gonna work while you’re here. He says, take up on you my yoke. My yoke is easy and my burden, my burden is like. It doesn’t mean no responsibility doing nothing, but when you get involved in doing what God wants you to do, you’ll find rest unto your soul, because you know you’re doing what God wants you to do.

And that’s why in the book of Nehemiah, and Nehemiah chapter eight and verse 10, he talks about the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. You see, but when you’re not doing what God wants you to do with your life, you won’t have joy and you won’t have strength. The strength to keep going because awake in the cares of this world will weigh you down and destroy you. It’d be like a yoke of iron.

That’s why he says if you will not serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart. But the joy of the Lord is your strength. That’s where you get your strength from. That’s why you can rest in the Lord. But there’s no rest for your soul when you don’t do what God wants you do with your life. And I love that first 30. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. My burden is light. So we rest by taking a burden.

Take care of my book in the book of Romans in chapter 6, Romans in chapter 6. We conquer by yielding. We conquer by yielding. And you’ll notice there in chapter 6, look in verse 11. We think that to conquer is in our power, our wisdom, our strength, our talent, our ability, whatever it is, it depends on my smartness and it doesn’t. It means that you are yielding yourself to Lord and let God work things out. I can’t solve everybody’s problems.

I already know that. It’s too many for me. I am not the smartest guy on the block. I don’t have all the wisdom in the world. I don’t have to have it. I just know the one who has it. You see, I don’t have to have all the wisdom in the world and all the books and so forth. But if I got a library down there, I can go down there and find out most whatever I want. Or you can Google it I guess today.

But a child of God knows that I don’t know. have to be the smartest kid in the block. My daddy is. And I can go to my daddy and my daddy can teach me whatever I need to know. I’m going to learn of him. And you can’t learn from him unless you spend time with him. And so that’s why Christ says, learn of me. Take my yoke upon you. Lift for my reason, for my purpose. What I called you to do.

That’s why Paul says, I’m free from all men, but I have made myself a servant of the law that I may please Him who have called me and so forth to be this soldier. You see there in verse 11, likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed in the sin, but alive in the God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin, this whole sin for nature, therefore reign in your mortal body, this physical body, that you should obey it in the lustor realm.

In verse 13, neither yield yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness on the sin, But, and you ought to underline these verses, this phrase, yield yourself unto God. And when you yield to God, you can become victorious. You win by surrendering. You win by yielding. But when you fight God or try to do whatever you do because of the strength of the flesh, you will not win. It will wear you out. get so tired being faithful to God and it doesn’t have to be that way.

You see I have one main goal to the people here at this church. I want you to keep serving the Lord to endure whatever trials and tribulations may come our way as a body of believers or even individually. You’ll keep serving the Lord because I want one day and it may not be too far away. We’re going to be in heaven with the Lord. And I want God to give you everything that He could have given you. I want Him to bless you.

Now, true love means I want the best for you. So that’s why because if I want the best for you, I am going to try to do everything in my power to be a faithful individual. I’m going to try to see that I don’t do something in my light that would cause you to stumble over my lackadaisico, have heartiness, callous feeling, I care. I want the best. That’s why I may say something you won’t like. I might get on your case.

I may preach a hard sermon because I want you to do right. And I might have to even rebuke you sometime. Why? Because I care. Now, if I don’t care about you, I’m not going to say anything that’s going to ruffle your fingers, because I don’t want to make you mad at me. That’s when I don’t love you anymore. But as long as I love the Lord and I love you, I’m going to try to hit you as much as I can right between the eyes.

And I think I think that you’re doing something you ought not do. I’m going to tell you so. Why? Because I care about you. If I don’t, parents who love their children, do you let them just do whatever they want to do, however they want to do it? Never say anything, never correct them, ever discipline, never rebuke them? No, because you love them. Sometimes you have to beat the tar out of them. No, I don’t have a bullwitt and pit and I do not want to use this as a bull pit.

But I want the word of God to take effect in your life. And so I want to teach it in such a way as he says in the book of Nehemiah in chapter 8 that he read the scriptures and caused them to understand. I want you to understand what God says because I can’t play God in your life and I can’t walk around and hold your hand all day long. You can’t do it with me either. I want you to know the word of God in such a way that you can walk with the Lord all by yourself and you can examine yourself through the eyes of this book.

So if you see something in your life that’s not right, you’re grown up, you’re mature enough. You can correct it without somebody having to always look over your shoulder and tell you everything. You don’t want that. Neither do I. The next thing I want to share with you is we gain wisdom through foolishness but I’m not going to spend any time on that one. It mainly from the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 2 and talking about by the foolishness of preaching.

That’s how God chose to save people. See it. It sounds like it’s such a foolish thing that just by believing on Christ. Well, at that ought not work. Surely you got to do something. So in the mind of man, he always feels like he’s got to do something. Like I can’t really just take God at his word. I can’t trust him completely. I’m going to help just in case. Well, when you help just in case he doesn’t come through, is all I’m going to do some good works just in case, Then you don’t trust Him.

Then you don’t trust Him. So you can’t help God out. And it’s such a foolish things in the minds of some people. And how many churches are there that teaches you got to be good? You got to be good. Because the natural man just can’t believe that it’s free. And yet, it’s free. But that’s the way God is. See, it’s like a paradox. doesn’t make sense to some people. They can’t see it. And if it is so easy-believism, why can’t everybody believe it?

You say, well, that’s too easy. How do you believe hard? If I told you that this was a baby grand piano, would you believe that? No? Well, because that would be hard to believe. What if I told you it was a microphone? That would be e. Oh, that’s not fair. That was too easy. And so God says, going to all the world and preach the gospel to everybody who is totally, highly, intellectually educated so that they can be saved.

Mom, he says, feed my sheep, not my giraffes. Put the food down on the bottom shelf so everybody can add it. Even little children can understand, hey, God loves me. He paid for my sins. I trust him and he saves me and gives me his a free gift. everlasting life. Take your Bible and look at Mark 10. You’ve got Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Mark 10. Mark 10 in verse 42. And look at this verse. Verse 42, this is Jesus talking to them, and he’s saying something here that’s really good.

There’s always people who want to know How can I be great in the kingdom of heaven? You know, whenever God sits at home, you know, I want to make sure that I’m one of the top dogs. You know, they even had James and John and the mom come to see Jesus one day. And he says, Lord, when you get into the kingdom, I want my two sons who said in the kingdom, would you one on the right hand and one on the left hand?

God bless mamas. It ain’t up to mama. And they thought that it would just be a promotion that Jesus would just give to them. He says, are you willing to be baptized with the baptism that I’m going to be baptized with? Sure. He says, you sure are. And buddy, they had to really go through the fire. And buddy, they died for this little honor. But look what he says here. verse 42, but Jesus called them to Him, and said unto them, ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, exercise lordship over them, and their great ones, exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your master or your minister. And whosoever of you will be the cheapest, shall be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.” Did you know that most Christians think that everybody else is here to minister to them? Did you know that Christ came into the world not to be ministered to, but for him to minister and to give his life for them?

Did you know that serving the Lord is ministering to other people? Serving the Lord is not everybody served me. Do you realize that in this ministry it may look in your eyes like I’m head honcho. I am the mean dictator and I got a boy where ever and everybody hears my servants but you know in the gods that ain’t the way it is at all. I’m here to serve you. You are not here to serve me. I am here to serve you.

And any person in place of leadership, it means that they become servants. We’re not here to be served. We’re here to serve. And Christ says in the kingdom, if you want to be somebody there, this is the only time that you have to earn the right. And your exaltation there and you’re ruling with him there means that you’re the greater servant here. So the greater you want to be there the greater the servant you have to be here not ruler not just in place of authority Did you realize that as a member in this church?

If you faithfully serve the Lord and you serve and you minister to others When we get into the kingdom, if you were more faithful to your job than what I was to my job, you might be ruling and I might not be. You see, it doesn’t matter about who has what position now. Are you serving the Lord and serving the Lord is serving people? So when we ask for people to Wanna serve in the ministry we’re talking about are you willing to help others?

Not to be served Because whenever you have in your mind that people are here to serve me and make me happy make me complete Do things for me and they don’t do it when I’m mad at them. I hate them. I’m You don’t get it you don’t get it You’re here to serve now your serving has nothing to do with their response But if you don’t get it, you won’t get it. And so you can be found faithful doing what you can, where you are, with what you have.

And whenever the kingdom comes, God may exalt you, hidden shoulders above everybody, because you faithful and did, what you could with all your heart. And there will be others that down here looked like men, they are a shoe in. Did you know you take, for example, a man like Billy Graham, because of one of these people to the Lord and the greater evangelist and all that? Did you realize that when he gets to heaven, God knows when the night he did it for his own honor and glory?

Did you realize that he might not even be there if he really didn’t believe what he preached? But if he really believed what he did preach, I would have questions. because in most cases he was not clear on the gospel. But I’m not the judge of that. I don’t really know. But you see, he may have done what God gave him the talent and ability to do, but he didn’t do it wholeheartedly. We’re not the judge. We don’t know.

And there could be some little housewife that’s raising four little kids, and daddy’s gone off and so forth, and she had to sweat and labor and did what she could. She went to church and she gave what she could and faithful and serving and cooking and whatever she could do and God’s gonna raise that person up Because she humbled herself and she became a servant. She worked behind the scenes It’s not the person that’s up in the front all the time that God’s going to honor We’re only servants and everybody here is to be a servant to each other To help challenge and motivate people to do their best for the Lord See, God in heaven has blessed you a talent and abilities by which He wants you and me to encourage one another, to be a blessing to each other, to challenge and motivate one

another. And at time, yes, we beat one another for the ministry’s sake, for it to be servants. So whoever will be great is to be the servant of all. If you’re not willing to be a servant, you’ll never be able to rule. Cause the way up is down. That’s a paradox also. The true way and the best way to stand for the Lord is to kneel. Look up here. representing you and me. And the wallet represents sin. We all have sin upon us.

God says that He loves us and He hates our sin. And because of our sin, we have to pay for it. Eternal separation from God in hell. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven. But to go to heaven, say you have to be perfect, as righteous as God and no sin. And God says that we’ve all sinned. We’ve all come short of God’s perfection. The Lord says you cannot save yourself, you cannot earn eternal life.

This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord, God in the flesh. Came into the world because He loves us. Hates our sin because it separates us from Him. So Christ took the sin, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead, and said that if we would believe, He did it for us. He’d put this payment to our account and we’d get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. Even though I know that probably most of you have already trusted Christ as your Savior, I made a commitment to the Lord years and years ago that if I could, and if I could remember to do so, I want to try to give the gospel, especially when there’s a possibility that there might be little ears listening that I’ve never heard and understood.

Now if this was a closed session and I already know that, then I can give and take a little bit on that. But see, if you don’t understand where I’m coming from, did you know you can get to the place where you can despise this? Oh, here he goes again. Is that all he knows? All he knows is John 3, 16 in the Ephesians 2, 8, 9 on that little wallet trick. And you don’t understand that you’re fishing for souls.

And the only way you can keep doing that faithfully and faithfully over the years is that you’re strong in all these other areas in your life because if you’re not strong there you will not be steadfast on this. So I pray that you have trusty Christ as your Savior and you’re going to heaven when you die. But if you’re here and you never trust the Lord I urge you to do so. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around.

Would you right now just talk to the Lord and say something simple like this, Lord, I’m a sinner. Friend, we all are. But, but God love sinner. He died on that cross paid for our sins. Now, I believe that He did it for me. Would you believe that He did it for you? God says, if you’ll believe it, He’ll save you, save you from hell, and give you eternal life. And you can know that you’re going to heaven because it’s a gift.

It’s free. He offers it, You accept it, you have it. It’s a done deal. He that believeth on me, hath, present tense, right now, hath everlasting life. Would you trust Him? If you will, God will save you, and you can know that you’re going to heaven when you’re dying. So with hedge bomb nice clothes, is there anyone that also says, yes, I will trust Christ right now. It’s by Savior. And if you’ve never done it before, you’ll do it right now.

Would you just slip your hand up very quickly, put it right back down, anyone at all? Anyone at all? You that know Christ is your Savior. Do you feel like you’ve been living with a yoke of iron upon your neck? Does it seem like faithfully doing what God wants you to do is such a burden anymore? Have you seen yourself drifting? That where you’re losing your desire, your heart for the Lord? Do you see that you may not be as faithful as you used to be?

Trade it for His yoke. My yoke is easy, my burden is lame. The joy of the Lord, the joy, knowing that you’re doing what God wants you to do will give you strength. Our Father, we thank You so much for this time together. We thank You for Your Word and pray 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us.

The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvary of Tampa dot 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. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon.

just keep looking up.

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 on the air. You can reach us toll-free. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calbryoftampa.org. 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.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of John, the Gospel of John. John chapter 8, you know, in life there are many paradoxes, things that seems that it just doesn’t work the right way. And it seems like God says to do something totally contrary to our nature. Well, it’s really that. We have a new nature once we trust Christ as our Savior. And there’s things that God tells us to do that’s totally unnatural for the natural man. So here I want to give you a few things that I think will help you to see how God shows you contrast.

Do you love the Lord enough to become a slave? Do you love the Lord enough to become a slave of the Lord? Now, hearing the book of John in chapter 8, Jesus is talking to him and this is what he says, looking verse 32. Now we gain our freedom through slavery. We gain our freedom through slavery. Now that sounds like a paradox, well it is. But we really when you become a slave to truth, you really gain your freedom from sin.

And you’re not going to have the power over sin until you become a slave to truth. You should want to be a slave to truth and the truth will make you free. So everybody says in verse 32, and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Now the way to stay free is keep believing truth. And as a child of God, we should continually study truth, know truth, and hold on and grip. Hold on to Bible says, grip it so that we can be free.

Because there’s a lot of things in this world that wants to enslave us. So the key to being free is to be a slave to truth. And look what he says. In verse 33, they answered him, we be Abraham’s seed, and we’re never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou ye shall be made free? We’re not enslaved to nobody. What are you talking about? He says, when you’re a slave to sin, then you’re a slave. So he says in verse 34, Jesus answered them, barely, barely, I send to you, whosoever, and you are an underlyingness, Committed sin is a servant of sin.

So that means that you become a slave to sin. Well, how can you get free from that? Well, you’re gonna have to know the truth and believe the truth. Truth will set you free. So that’s why Jesus says, I am the way the truth and the life. So once you trust Christ as your savior, you are free from the penalty of sin. Now, as you serve the Lord and believe the truth your light and you have the power over sin that’s in the world.

And one day truth will appear Christ and we will be delivered from the very presence of sin. So he says here in verse 35, and the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth ever. In other words, Jesus Christ lives forever and when you believe on him, you have eternal life forever and he can make you free and he can keep you free and you’re on the line, verse 36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

There’s only one thing that can separate you from the old sinful nature and that is by the new birth. That’s why in John chapter three, it talks about the new birth. And so by accepting Christ as your Savior, born into His family, you are free from the first birth. Though you still carry it until you die and leave this world. But one day when we get to heaven, say, it won’t have that first birth. You won’t have that old nature.

You’re free from it. You and I are now supposed to live like we don’t even have a sinful nature, isn’t that rough? Can you do it? We seek to and we focus on, so if you become a slave to the truth, you can live like you don’t have this one. But if you don’t live according to truth, this one will rule your life. And it can enslave a Christian. So a Christian can be a slave to the habits of this world, to the sinful desires, the lust of the flesh of this life.

And so that’s why it is so important. Look there in the book of Ephesians in chapter four. The book of Ephesians and chapter four, the apostle Paul, who was a great servant of the Lord, made this statement in several places. You see there in chapter four, looking verse one, I therefore, and here’s a word, the prisoner, the prisoner of who? Prisoner of the Lord. That means it’s the Greek word bond slave. Du-loss, Greek word, Du-loss, bond slave. He says, I am a bond slave, a love slave of the Lord.

So he says, I am free, but I chose to be a prisoner. So the key to being Free is to become a slave. So when you have trusted Christ as your Savior and in your Christian life, if you become a slave to truth, to study truth, believe the truth, it can keep you free in this world to serve the Lord. Get away from the Bible. Get away from the truth of the God’s Word. And you’ll find yourself so entangled with the mess in this world that you can’t please Him who’s called you to be, you won’t have time.

You won’t have any time. Did you know all of us have exactly the same amount of time in every day? 24 hours a day and some people have time to serve the Lord and some people just never have time Did you know that if you want to get something done in this world find a busy man because a lazy person never has time to do anything? But a busy person can always work a schedule to get done priorities But a lazy person never has any time.

And so he says here, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord be seat you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. So this is how God wants us to live. Like we were slaves, a love slave, a prisoner of the Lord. And look how he kind of balances this thing. thing. In verse two, with all lowliness and meatness, with long suffering, for bearing it one another in love. Now that will take a lot of, been a prisoner of the Lord, in a lot of areas of your life, to yield to this.

In verse three, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Do you say and do that which is just the opposite of this, where you like to inflame, to insight into a riot, because people to be stirred up in anger over things that want to mount a hill of beans 100 years from now. So we studied the Word of God, let truth control us. And that’s why he says over there in verse 15, looking at verse 15, but speaking the truth in what?

In love may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head talking about Christ. Now take your Bible and look there in the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 9. 1 Corinthians and chapter 9. Look in verse 19. And look what Paul says. He says, yet though I be free from all men, I’m free. Yet have I made myself, and there’s that word, servant. I’ve made myself like a prisoner. I’ve made myself like a slave in order that I might when people to Christ.

That’s what he’s talking about because he’s talking about the gospel up in verse 18 and so on. So you and I are supposed to make ourselves a slave of the Lord and do it because we want to because we love the Lord. You see being a love slave will get you to do things that nobody else can make you do. Your husband can’t make you do this. Your wife can’t make you do this. The kids can’t make you do it.

The preacher can’t make you. I can’t make you a slob slave. You the only one that can do that. And so when you decide that this is what you want, nobody can stop you. Isn’t that good? Nobody can stop you. Take your Bible and turn there to the book of Hebrews in chapter 11, the book of Hebrews and chapter 11. The second thing I wanted to share with you was this, the The Christian sees that which is invisible. The Christian sees that which is invisible.

You see, the Bible talks about we must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek to please him. So this is why once we have trusted Christ as our Savior, we’re to serve the Lord, but we serve the Lord because we see Him who is invisible. Look what He says there in chapter 11 and look down there in verse 27 as He talks about Moses. He talks about Moses. And He makes a statement here in verse 27, by faith, talking about Moses, he foresook Egypt, fearing the wrath of the King, Pharaoh, for he endured.”

Now, as you study the book of Hebrews, it’s talking about as a Christian, you and I, enduring the things, the trials of this life and remain in faithful, living by faith, taking God at his word, doing what God says and and hanging in there, believing that one day it will all be over and it will be worth it. So he says that enduring as seeing Him who is invisible. So you and I are supposed to have special eyes by which we can see what the lost man can’t see.

The lost man is not supposed to understand why a Christian does what he does because he says the natural man understand if not or discern if not the things of God because things of God are discerned in a spiritual way by spiritual means. So we understand spiritual things by spiritual means and that’s the Holy Spirit and the lost man doesn’t have the Holy Spirit. So because you and I have the Holy Spirit, we can see things that the world can’t see.

We can understand things the world doesn’t understand. So they’re not going to see or understand why you and I do what we do or sacrifice what we do because they just can’t see Him who is invisible. But we see Him and we believe and we walk with the Lord and this is why we are to live by faith. Look there in Hebrews in chapter 11, look in verse 1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things, and you ought to underline those tooling words, not seen.

It’s not seen. That’s what faith is, taking God at His Word and believing Him on things. You can’t see with the naked eye. Sometimes with the naked eye, we can’t see how God’s going to provide for us. us. We can’t see how God’s going to take care of our problems that we have. We just don’t see, but it doesn’t matter because you see, we have special eyes. We can see Him who is invisible. We believe the truth of the Word of God and we’re a slave to it.

And we can live our lives because of what God’s Word says. We can live by faith and see him who was invisible. Now take your Bible and turn there to the book of 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And you’ll notice that in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he’s talked about this little light burden that we have. We talked about that this morning in Sunday school a little while in comparison to eternal glory It’s the end verse 17 first of all for our light affliction that means that little period of time that God gives us to live in comparison to eternity everything down here is just a moment For our light affliction which is but for a moment work it for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

That’s why he says in Romans in chapter 8 in verse 18, for the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will follow. In the words of what we have been, this doesn’t compare to it. This is going to be so good. And we’ll think, you mean that little bit of investment that I made, that little bit of time I gave to the Lord. That little sacrifice I made. You see, I never have the question or debate what I’m going to do because, I mean, Betty just decided this is what we’re going to do for the rest of our life.

We made that decision a couple of years ago. And in the meantime, we may go through a lot of trials and we have, but we know that God’s going to take care of it and it will be worth it all. It will be worth it all. This is just for a moment. and then it’s all going to be over. Now look what he says in verse 18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, you mean I can see something that you can’t see?

You see when you can look into the future and you can picture yourself at the the judgment seat of Christ. Can you picture the Lord with all these rewards to give to you? Or do you picture He wouldn’t stubble a big bonfire? Or are you laying up treasure in heaven now and being faithful to the Lord now because you know that it will be worth it then? You see, my goal in serving the Lord is to try to get every person I can that knows Christ is Savior, to serve all over all that heart.

Why? Because when you stand at the judgment seat of Christ, when James stands at the judgment seat of Christ, I want the Lord to reward Him as greatly as He possibly can. I don’t want James to miss out on anything that God could have had for Him. I want Peter to get everything that he can possibly get, so I want him to be faithful while he’s here. So my serving the Lord is to give him all the information I can, all the tools that I can so that they will be faithful because at that time, it’ll be worth it.

It, if I will put it this way, he says, he are my glory, my crown of rejoicing at the appearing of Jesus Christ. So that whenever you get to heaven, the people you won the Christ as you stand there and you see the people that you want to cry, that will be your joy, that will be your glory because you’ll know it was worth it. It was worth it. Remember in the book of 1 Peter where we’ve been reading studying in chapter four, the end of the chapter, and it makes a statement because if the righteous scarcely be saved, if the righteous scarcely be saved.

What shall the ungodly do? Where shall they stand? In other words, you and I were one to Christ with much difficulty. In other words, when you consider how long you’ve lived and how few people have ever witnessed to you, you ought to be very thankful that somebody did. Because when he says with much difficulty, thank for a moment, we had a missionary here a couple weeks ago, or a vaudrem, who came over from Trinidad and goes to Bible college for four years, goes back to his home country and his parents had turned against him.

Nobody wanted to believe him because he was a Hindu before and he trusted crisis savior. So with much difficulty, he spends years trying to win his mom and his dad, his family. And finally, after almost 37 years, he has a great work going, but look at the difficulty that he had to go through to reach a handful of people. And so, when you figure that there’s a lot of people who have done a lot of work just to give you just that little bit of knowledge with such difficulty, isn’t it difficult for you to be found faithful in witnessing?

It is for me. And yet, we have to struggle through a lot of things. We go through a lot of trials and tribulations. We still have bills to pay. We still have to worry about our health. Then we have to concern ourselves with our jobs and everything that goes on in life. All that why we’re here and all the suffering that we go through, such difficulty to get a person to trust Christ as their Savior. But is it going to be worth it?

All the difficulty that you’ve gone through, all the sacrifices that you made, all the money that you’ve ever given. You think about how much to get a soul saved. Well, is that so worth that? If that soul was you, what did it have been worth? If you were lost and you get to the great white throne judgment, you don’t care what people had to pay. You just want to make sure, why didn’t you get the gospel to me? I don’t care what sacrifice you had to make.

I don’t have how much money you had to spend. I don’t care how much I had to, you should have reached me. I’m lost for all eternity and you’ve played games while I’m going to hell. And it’s going to play on your mind. And God says, he’s going to have to wipe away all tears from our eyes because we just didn’t see it. So look what he says in verse 18, and while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen.

for the things which are seen are temporal. That’s with the flesh, the natural eye. But can you see beyond this to the eternal, to the day whenever you’re glad? There’s a song that they used to sing called Thanks to God or something like that. Well, it’s in ways to talk about when you get to heaven and God shows you to people and they say, no, thanks for what you’ve done in reaching me and so forth. And I like the words of the song, but it says, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

And that’s the spiritual things, but that’s what God wants us to see. That’s what He wants us to focus on. Now take your Bible and turn to the book, Matthew chapter 11. Matthew and chapter 11. Jesus said that there’s a lot of people in this old world that have a heavy, heavy yoke of iron upon their shoulders. In the book of Deuteronomy it puts it this way, but if thou will not serve the Lord thy God with joyfulness of heart, I will put a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you.

Unless you serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart, the yoke of iron upon your shoulders, upon your neck until it weighs you down. Isn’t it a shame that a Christian has to wear a yoke of iron? Doesn’t have to. Look how he puts it. In the book of Matthew in chapter 11, look in verse 28, this is where you take a rest by taking a burden. You take a rest by taking a burden. Do you ever get physically tired?

When you get physically tired, do you want to rest or work? You want to rest? What do you mean by rest? You don’t want to work. You don’t want to do anything. But look at this. This is just the opposite. In verse 28, come unto me. All ye that labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you what? Rest. I’ll give you rest. Verse 29. Okay, Lord, I’ll come to you and I want that rest you’re talking about.

And the Lord says, take my yoke upon you. No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I’m tired. I want rest. And the Lord wants you to put you to work. He says, if you take my yoke upon you, you shall find rest under your soul. So we’re not talking about rest for the body. We’re talking about rest for the soul. Did you realize that you inside of this body, you can get all the rest physically you want and desire and have no rest for your soul?

Because you have no peace, no happiness, and no joy. And you can have a living hell on Earth as a child of God. You can get all the rest you want physically, but you have no rest for the soul. You’re troubled. Remember when he told these disciples, you believe in God? Believe in me. He said, be not troubled. He says, in my father’s house, If it were not so, I would have told you. So you and I have a good message right here in this little verse.

Let me show you the link. Verse 29, take my yoke up on you and learn of me. There’s a lot of things you can learn in this life, but one thing that’s most important is to learn of him. Learn of me for I am meek and lowly and hard, and ye shall find and you ought to underline these words. rest unto your souls. And then he says, for my yoke is easy. It meansolute that if you will lose yourself in the work of the Lord, you’ll find rest for your soul.

You know what most people say? I don’t have time to do the work of God. I don’t have time to do what God wants me to do. I don’t have time. I don’t have time. I don’t have time. And they have no rest for their soul. And they can and wear themselves out and that’s what they call me. Well, I’m just burn out, I’m just burn out. My plate’s so full, I can’t do anymore.

I’ve been serving life almost 49 years. I have never come close to burn out. Well, I just had enough, I can’t serve God anymore. Can’t go on no more. Oh fiddle faddle. Get a grip, get a life. Stop whining and pining and moaning and groaning. I wish Christians would just stop belly-aikin. It doesn’t have to be that way. God says, you’re gonna work while you’re here. He says, take up on you my yoke. My yoke is easy and my burden, my burden is like.

It doesn’t mean no responsibility doing nothing. But when you get involved in doing what God wants you to do, you’ll find rest onto your soul. you know you’re doing what God wants you to do. And that’s why in the book of Nehemiah, and Nehemiah chapter eight and verse 10, he talks about the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength. You see, but when you’re not doing what God wants you to do with your life, you won’t have joy and you won’t have strength.

The strength to keep going because a weight in the cares of this world will weigh you down and destroy you. It’d be like a yoke of iron. That’s why he says, if you will not serve the Lord with joyfulness of heart. But the joy of the Lord is your strength. That’s where you get your strength from. That’s why you can rest in the Lord. But there’s no rest for your soul when you don’t do what God wants you to do with your life.

And I love that verse 30, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. My burden is light. So we rest by taking a burden. 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org. and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. We will be changed. Hot 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 through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

If 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 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 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 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, 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 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 us of all sins and cleanse us 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? Because 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 you and what Steve will you forgive me and Steve can forgive me. Well see he forgave me, then he forgave me. And as I live 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? So 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, this is you are guilty and Christ made the payment for your sins.

And so you accepted God, the judge for 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, 1 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 sin against, what’s his name? James. I sin against James, then I should ask James to forgive me because I sin against him. So see, 1 John 1 9 is not for salvation. 1 John 1 9 is not so that I can get to heaven eventually and keep on.

No, that’s because I sin 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 it 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 there’s little shenanigans, you know, nobody knows. There was a God in heaven and knew. And look at it in verse 1, 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 him to pray a hedge of thorns around them so that they quickly are hurt or prick and get back to the Lord.

Just stop 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 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. 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.

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 name iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin. So whenever a Christian sins against the Lord, what should you do? First John, one, nine. 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 cleanse us 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 trusted 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 Psalm, just turn back to you left a couple pages there. Psalms chapter 32. And you’ll notice there in verse 1, 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 4, you’ll find that verse mentioned. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputed not iniquity and 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. And 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. unto thee in mine iniquity my sinful motive. Have I not hid? I said, I will confess my transgressions unto 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? Yeah, I hit her all right, 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 tried to justify the wrong, you might have just shut up.

Confess, you ain’t confessed nothing. Confessing is when you take responsibility for your action. I did it, it was wrong. end of story. And don’t use other people 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 than a 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 And to the Lord, more about what He did say, Behold, I was shaping in iniquity, and then sinned in my mother conceived me, and when 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. Hurge me with hiss that I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou had broken may rejoice.

Wash me and I shall be whited.” 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, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 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 endwell 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 volunt me. I don’t have to worry about that. That’s unpopent between in dispensation. He says here in verse 12, restore unto me the end of the line. joy of thy salvation. So he hadn’t lost salvation, but he 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 that 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, do 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 face 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 They’re still a little fire in a 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, dairways, 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 down my lips and my mounish up praise, show 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 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 and 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 God’s word is perfect. It’s holy. It’s sweeter than honey. All these wonderful things about the 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 that 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 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 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 patients 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 and looking at them rooming. And as soon as I did, I know it was gonna be, They go, Mr. Paulson. You know, or they go, Steve, they go, Steve, you know, cause 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, hmmm, 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 and how it can be and how it can really cause you a lot of problems 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 I had 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. A lot of times 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 wanna 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 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. And David Kugelai of, dang them in the lion’s den, the three Hebrew children. good stories that always is positive and on the up and the up. But very seldom that we looked at the same men later and study how they were thinking.

What caused them to be so down and discouraged and so they pressed. 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 16. First 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 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, 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’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, but 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 loses temper and get mad and say things he shouldn’t have said, did things that he shouldn’t have done. Did it 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. 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’d become in 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. 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.

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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download to free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa.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. 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. 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Should a Christian backslide? No. I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 2. The book of Jeremiah and chapter 2. This is where he’s talking about backslidden Judah, backslidden Judah, and look there in verse 19. Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hath forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of host.

If you want to have an idea, what does it mean to be backslidden? Look at the words that are used here in this verse concerning Judah, and how that they have been backsliding. As a nation, they were joined back from God, not going forward with the Lord. And he says, in that first part, thine own wickedness shall correct thee. Remember this, God has instituted natural laws into our land. You cannot make wrong decisions and get away with it. There’s natural results and consequences to them.

So your bad decisions are going to hurt you somewhere down the road. And the Bible says that’s how some people get to be wise. The Bible also says that the children of this world are wiser than the children of light. What he’s saying is that there’s lost people in this world when it comes to living in this world, have greater wisdom and judgment than the God’s own people do. because God’s people won’t obey God and obey Christian principles, yet there’s some lost people, lost people who will have some higher standards than what God’s people will have.

They will have better worth ethics and they will try to live better in society than some of God’s people will. Now notice what he says here and thy backsliding shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter. So whatever backsliding is, it’s an evil thing and it makes God bitter toward you. God is not going to put up with backsliding. Whatever backsliding is but just to give you a clue, look what it says.

For thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God. As a child of God, remember this, God said he’ll never leave you and he will never forsake you. But you as a child of God may not walk with God. There There may be a time in your life when you was a godly individual. You could even be in the ministry full time. And today you may not be where you ought to be. You’re backslidden. You’re living in a backslidden condition. It means that God is not the God of your life anymore.

You’re not honoring God. You’re not walking with God. And if you live in sin as a Christian, God’s going to have to chase it and discipline you. no child of God can live as he pleases and get away with it. You cannot play games with God. Notice what else he says in that verse. The last part of this is that my fear is not in the… In other words, when you don’t have fear, the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Christians are the fear of God. If we fear God with fear nothing else, but whenever you You don’t fear God, you’ll fear everything else and live in fear. And God says, you don’t fear me. You don’t have a high holy reverence or respect for me that you ought to have. You don’t fear God’s chasing hand upon you. You think you can get away with sin and you can’t get away with it. You’re deceived. You’re backslidden in heart. And when you’re backslidden in heart, it’s only a matter of time before you become backslidden in practice.

Because remember, deeds are simply their product. of how you think. First of all in the mind and then in practice chapter 3 and verse 21. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel, for they have perverted their way and they have forgotten the Lord their God, return ye back sliding children and I will heal your backsliding. Now notice there in verse 21. 21 says, for they have perverted their way. Whatever backsliding is, it’s a Christian perverting their way.

It means that you have taken the will of God and perverted it just like you can take the gospel and pervert the gospel. You’re changing it into something else. God has a way He wants you to live. When you don’t live the way God wants you to live, your perverting the will of God, perverting his way, and so that you as a child of God don’t bring honor and glory to God for what all he’s done for us. God says you’re backslidden.

Though this is talking about the nation of Israel, is it possible for a Christian, though the word is not found in the New Testament? Can a Christian be a backslider? Yes, he can. I would venture to say we have many churches with many backsliders. People that have slid back from what they did believe to the same degree and have not gone forward. You’re not as God is you ought to be. You’re not as holy in your thinking as you ought to be.

And God says He will chasten backsliders. Now when you get to the New Testament, though you don’t find the word there, God doesn’t deal with us as a nation. The Bible says He deal it with us as sons in Hebrews chapter 12. And there you find it talks about chasening. It’s obedience and disobedience. Obedience and disobedience. When you’re disobedient, God’s gonna have to chase you because you’re not obeying. You may have obeyed God at times in your life, but are you obeying him now?

That means you have slid back from obedience to disobedience. That means you’re not going forward, Jer going backwards. Now some of God’s people can accept the free gift of eternal life and have never done anything for God so they haven’t back slid because they have never gone forward. We used to say in church, all the holy people sit down close to the front and all the backsliders sit in the back. When I went to church you know where I used to always sit, right on the back row.

And I didn’t like to say in that. So I’m not I’m not gonna say that. But anyway, if you used to sit up here and now you’re sitting there and then sitting there and then sitting there, well, he has moved back. He’s not as close as he used to be. Oh, that’s the same principle with God. Are you as close to God as you used to be? So he says, return your back sliding children. Look there in the same chapter of chapter three and look up there in verse six.

Verse six. The Lord said unto me, In the days of Josiah the king, hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She has gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. That’s what Israel has backslidden and has played the harlot. Means worshiping of other gods. You and I know that there is only one true in living God. And in the book of 1 John and chapter 5, the last little statement says, children keep yourselves from idols.

It means you and I are not to worship any God except the true God which is Jesus Christ and eternal life. But if you worship money and you worship fame and you worship popularity or you worship your wife or your husband, you worship anything other than God, you’re in spiritual idolatry. You’re backslidden. Backslidden. Now, you’re not doing right, and God will have to chase in you. You’ll have to discipline you. Louis says in verse 8, And I saw, went for all the causes, where by backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcements.

Yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also. So Israel, the northern king, kingdoms, the tribes, and the seven two tribes of Judah and Benjamin made up Judah. Then they both went a whore and after other gods. God says, you’re playing the harlot. God says, you’re rebellious. And what did God do with his rebellious children? The Bible says he cast them out of the land and they were taken into captivity. That’s what happens to them.

Did they sin and get away with it? No, they didn’t. Did God judge them? Yes, he did. Because they were backslidden. Backsliding nations. Now, if it can happen to a nation, it can happen to individuals. It can happen to a church. A church may not be as godly as it used to be, because after a while the people need to understand it, a church takes upon itself the character of its people. Are we going to be a godly church or an ungodly church?

Well, the determinant on the individuals in the church. And the Lord said in the me, the backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah, justifying themselves when they’re wrong. Did you ever notice that when people are not right with God, you can justify anything you want to do. You can make it right in your own eyes. And when you try to justify it in your eyes, you’ll also try to justify it in the eyes of somebody else. And if somebody else pointed out to you that you’re in air in your ways, you’ll usually climb upon them and render them the pieces and turn upon the people that are trying to point it out to try to help you because you become judgmental right back and you become critical and you become bitter.

Look what he says in verse 12. Go and proclaim these words toward the North and say, return thou backsliding Israel. Sayeth, Lord, and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you. For I am merciful, sayeth, Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. God is angry with backsliders. Do read the book. You cannot rebel against God and expect God not to get angry and full of wrath toward his children. God’s going to chase it and discipline none of God’s children can ever live like they please and get away with it Now you say that sounds contrary to what you preach last way You said you just say buy grace and whatever you do nothing can ever affect that I said your salvation you cannot be affected though.

I never go to hell. That is true. I can’t go to hell in future Does that mean that I advocate living wrong? No, I don’t listen to what I’m saying But there’s other reasons why I should live godly the fear of hell that’s been taken away. But I do fear the wrath of God upon me as his child. I fear the chasing hand of God. I’m also concerned that when I get to heaven that I’ll have no rewards there.

And then wishing that I had something that I had done for God. Oh there’s more than that. Look in verse 14. Turn oh back sliding children. Say, if the Lord for I am married unto you and I will take you one of a city UNCLASSIFIED two of a family and I will bring you to Zion but turn no backslide in Israel. Does God want his backslidden children to return to him? Over and over and over again you’ll read that in the Word of God.

Remember this as a child of God when you rebel against the Lord and you think well God don’t love you anymore. Yes he does. The Bible says up there in verse 12. Remember he says for I am merciful, sayeth the Lord, return me because I am merciful. But if you don’t do it, God’s going to have to chase you and make you wish you had of. It’s better for a child of God to do right than to have to be forced because of being chasing by God.

And yes, you can continue to rebel against the Lord. Look in chapter 5, you’re in my chapter 5, in verse 6, where for a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf out of the evening shall spoil them. A leopard shall watch over their cities. Everyone that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.” In other words, it’s kind of like God puts a hedge of thorns around you.

Then whether it’s day or night, whatever decisions you make, it seems like all you do, it keeps hurting you. You keep hurting yourself. You try to run from God and you get hurt. That doesn’t work out. That doesn’t work out. And you try to search for that little peace and you can’t have it. You look for some joy and some habit. Can’t have it. Because you’re running from God. And God says that He puts a thorn around you and you’re pricking yourself.

You’re hurting yourself. God says, wake up. And many of God’s people never do. You see when you’re going down a slide board, it’s kind of hard to stop halfway. But he pleads with us over and over again. And he says, see, if you don’t wake up, then you just continually more and more backslided. It increases. Once you start running from God, you either have to stop somewhere along the way, get back to God, or you’ll get further and further away from God.

It’ll keep increasing. And if it keeps increasing, the chasing hand of God is going to get very heavy upon you. That’s why the Bible says, because thou serviced not the Lord thy God with joyfulness of heart, I will place a yoke of iron upon your neck until it destroys you. It becomes a yoke, a burden that weighs you down for the purpose of destroying you. That’s why you have people sometimes they say, I just can’t bear it anymore. Can’t bear the burden anymore.

Get right with God. God purposely puts burdens upon us. And he says, cast all your cares upon the Lord. If you don’t cast the carriage upon the Lord, then the bird will destroy you. It’s to reveal who you’re walking with. Or you can try to solve everything all by yourself, but God will let you know that you don’t have all the answers and you can’t solve all the problems. You’re not wise enough. The Bible said in the book of Jeremiah, it’s not within man that walk of to direct his steps.

That’s why you need God. Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 7, oh Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy namesake, for our backsliding are many we have sinned against thee. Whatever backsliding is, it’s sinning against God. It’s rebellion to God. It’s leaving the God that done so much for you and saved you and gave you eternal life. Now this morning, are you walking with God or not walking with God? Are you obedient or disobedient? Are you living in a backslidden condition because you have a backslidden heart that’s not right with God?

See, some things you can deceive a lot of people, but God looks a lot deeper than just your attendance at church and the little funds that you may give at times. God is looking on the inside of you and God knows whether you’re right with Him or you’re not right with Him. You cannot deceive God. Take it by very quickly, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. When you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are born into God’s family, you have eternal life, you’re going to heaven when you die.

Now in the New Testament, you do not find the words referring to backslidden, but the same principle of chasening and rewards is in the Bible. It means that if you want God’s blessings, do this, be obedient. If you don’t, then God will chase in you. So he says in 1 Corinthians in chapter 3, this phrase mentioned there in verse 15, yet so as by fire. So what does that mean? Yet so as by fire. Well what God is talking about is this.

See there in verse 11 it says for other foundation can no man lay but then that which is lay which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation and you were saved place upon the foundation. Now you may tremble upon the rock, but the rock will never tremble under you. You are safe and secure. The rock will never move. It’ll never move and you’re on the rock. But God says on this foundation, He wants us to build. And this building is done by the deed that we do for the Lord.

The time will come and will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And God’s going to take all the good works that we have done. And the bad that you have done, the wasted efforts of not living for God, and God says He’s going to put it on fire. Set it on fire. Which means simply He’s going to judge it by the eye of God, not by our eyes. We may think we’re doing such a super job, and God says, I’m the one that’s going to try this thing.

And He says that everything that is not gold, silver, and precious stone is going to be consumed, it will burn up. If you’ve done no good works. He says there in verse 15, If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, loss of the rewards that he could have had, but he himself shall be what? He still shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Nothing but you and the foundation left. Everything else had burned, but the foundation’s there, and you’re on the foundation.

Everything’s gone because you!. You wasted your life. God wants us to serve Him, not to get to heaven, but because we’re going there. And once you’re on the foundation, which is Christ, you can never be lost again. You can build on that foundation or you can waste your life. God’s going to reward you when you get to heaven because of what you’ve done. Now, I want you to take your Bible look over there in a book of Hebrews in chapter 10.

The book of Hebrews. And chapter 10. And you’ll notice there in verse 35. The time will come when we’ll go to heaven. What you have when you get to heaven, the rewards are a result of the work that you do for him. Well the work that you do for him is going to be a result of the confidence that you have in God. Well the confidence that you have in God is based upon your knowledge of his word. So you cannot know the will of God unless you know the word of God.

God. So it’s God’s will that you know God’s works or you’ll know God’s will. Now look what he says in verse 35. Cast not away therefore your confidence which has great recompense of reward. Remember salvation is a gift. Rewards are earned. Only a Christian can earn rewards. No lost man earns rewards. Christians are those who have trusted Christ the Savior and been justified by their faith in the Lord. You notice what he says in verse 34, for you had compassion to me in my bonds until joyfully the spawn of your good, knowing, knowing in your self the knowledge that gives you the confidence, knowing that in your self that you have in heaven a better and enduring substance.

Not only getting to heaven is important, that’s trusting Christ is your Savior, but having a far more better and enduring substance there, well that’s gonna be the result of what I did for the Lord. So there’s IMAGES going to heaven. It’s what you’re going to have when you get there. That’s why the Christ says, lay up treasures in heaven. Then He makes this statement here in verse 36, for ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.

For yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and he will not tear thee. Because we’re all waiting, the Lord’s going to come, the Lord’s going to, well, he hasn’t come yet. It looks like he’s waiting, okay? What are we supposed to do while we’re waiting? Occupy till he comes. Keep working. Stay faithful. Live right till he comes. But now notice. Now the just shall live by faith. Those who are justified have placed their faith in trust in Jesus Christ are made righteous, declared justified in God’s eyes by our faith.

But how are the just supposed to live? The just shall live by faith, taking God at his word. Believing that in heaven, there’s a far more enduring substance. As he says thereHong chapter 11 and verse 6, the last part of it says, He must believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek to please them. You must believe that. And if you’ll believe that, that gives you the confidence. In your confidence, He says, don’t cast that away because that’s what you get the rewards for.

Then He makes a statement, what if people don’t do it? What if people won’t serve the Lord? What if the just won’t live by faith? He says in verse 39, he says, excuse me, verse 38, but if any man do what? Draw back, draw back. Same as backsliding. Any man draw back, my soul shall have no what? Pleasure in him. Now isn’t the purpose of our obedience to God because we want to please him? That’s why he says over in verse 6 of chapter 11, but without faith it is impossible to please him and you don’t please him when you draw back.

If there’s anything that you want to do in life, it should be I want to please God. Drawing back doesn’t please him, but look what else he says. Verse 3, but we are not of them who draw back on to Perdition or the word here is unto destruction as a lost man. It’s kind of like whenever you go to Six Flags, if you get on the roller coaster and it starts going up, do you ever hear that little clicking sound?

What’s that clicking going on? In case something happens and that thing stops, it won’t go back down the hill. It just moved us a little bit. Click, click, click, click, click. Yeah, everybody’s heard that. It means you can only go so far. You and I as a child of God, yeah, we can draw back in our obedience to God. But you cannot draw back to being a lost person. cannot allow that. You can only go back and get no weaker than you are in your birth.

So can a Christian that was spiritually minded become carnally minded? Yeah. Can a man that was once a godly individual and a giant for God loses steadfastness and falls all the wayside and be a shame and a disgrace to the cause of Christ? Yes. But can that man ever draw back and lose his salvation? No. Look what he said in verse 39 again. But we are not of them, and I’m not one of them either. I don’t believe that a man can lose his salvation who draw back unto perdition, but of them that Let me lead to the what?

Saving of the soul. The man still saves yet so as by far. Everything else is gone. Nothing left but the foundation and the man. No works on it whatsoever. Never did anything for the God. Now, you’re the one that are making decisions today. Are you closer to God today than you were yesterday? Do you plan on being closer to God tomorrow than you are today? You see, we plan picnics. We plan jobs. We plan on buying homes. We plan on doing a lot of things.

We plan all kinds of things. But do you plan on walking closer? the God. Do you plan on having some rewards when you get there? Did you know that if you do, you need to start doing something to make it happen to be fulfilled and you’re running out of time. We don’t have a lot of time. Are there areas in your life right now that you know based upon what these scriptures said, you’re backslidden. If what this says is truth.

Would you judge in your own mind because nobody can do it for you? Are you back slitting? Are you as godly as you used to be? Do you love the Lord as much as you used to? Are you walking with God the way you should? Why not? Correct it. Return or face chastisement. Isn’t that simple? It’s clear. You understand it. You can’t say when you get to heaven, I didn’t understand because I do my dead level best to try to make it as simple and as clear as I can for anyone that listens will know what I’m talking about.

It is so important. This hand represents you and me. This wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. The Bible says that God loves us, but he hates our sin. And since we have all sinned, we’re all condemned. And the payment for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. God, see, loves us and doesn’t want us to go to hell. He wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, you have to be perfect as righteous as God.

And none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. That’s why we need a Savior. God says, you can’t save yourself. It’s not by your works. He says, this is what I’ll do for you. Letting this hand represent Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, he came into the world because he loves us. He hates our sin because it separates us from him. So Christ took all the sin of all the world, paid for it for everybody. So what he did for one person, he did for the whole world.

Because God so loved the world. Individually, you got a choice. You can accept this payment that Christ made for you. And God, if you’ll believe that, he did it for you. He’ll put that payment to you account, and you’ll go to heaven on what Christ did for you. And he’ll never cast you out and never lose you. And you’ll go to heaven whenever you die. And then as a child of God, because you know you’re going to heaven, then you should decide, I want to serve the Lord, but not to get to heaven, but because I’m going there.

I hope this makes sense to you. Let’s pray, shall we? Every headbound, every eye closed, no one looking around. If you hear this morning and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, you see, that’s more important. It’s where you’re going to spend eternity. So in the quietness of this moment, would you say something like this between you and the Lord? and I believe Christ died and He paid for my sin and I’m going to trust Him right now and take me to heaven and right.

When God said if you didn’t trust Him, He’d say, can you return on earth? What’d you do it? 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, 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or 80 previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryuptampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Arden. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Hot up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, they’re got to word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. Here gots truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa. 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 through the Bibleline website at CalvaryofTampa.org. We pray that you’ll 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 there in John chapter 6 and verse 64, John chapter 6. And look there in verse 64. God, being God, Christ being Christ, knows everything that’s going to happen, knows the end from the beginning. He knows who believes and who does not believe. So verse 64 says, but there are some of you that believe not. Well, why didn’t you just say there’s some of y’all don’t believe not because you can’t. I didn’t give you the faith to believe. They don’t make any sense.

If they can’t believe because he didn’t give me any faith to believe, well, it ain’t They’re Paul, but see the Scriptures don’t teach that. It doesn’t back up what they say. Doesn’t bet there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. He knows everything. But for knowledge doesn’t mean he makes anybody do anything. He may know that tomorrow you’re gonna rob a 7-Eleven store.

Because he’s gotta go for it. That doesn’t mean he made you do it. You can try that if you want to. the Lord made me do it because he knew I was going to do it. It won’t work. And so he says, and you therefore said, I unto you that no man can come unto me except they were given him of my father. You can’t come to him unless he draws you. But he says he draws all. See there in the same chapter, but look at verse 44, he says, no man can come to me except the father which have sent me draw him.

How does he draw with the gospel? Priest the gospel to every person and you draw them through that message. And that’s why I came to Christ. He drew me to him and I trusted him. But it’s because I heard the gospel and he said, I will draw all of them. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person. And that’s what I believe. I don’t believe it’s already preset where God says, I want you to go to heaven.

I want you to go to heaven. And I want you to just so glad that God chose you. I had a man tell me one time, I’m just so thankful. I don’t understand it all. How did God do the telescope of time look down here and he saw a little of me and he said, I’m going to save you and he saved me. Well, he might have saved you, but that’s because you trust it. It means you’re a savior.

If you hadn’t trust a Christian savior, you’ve been lost and gone to hell. Don’t try to make the scripture say something scripture don’t say because see it’s a very damaging thing if I believed what they teach why in the world would we want to have missionaries why would you want to talk to anybody about the world they’re gonna get saved anyway because he already didn’t chose one he’s gonna save rest of them gonna go to hell anyway and they ain’t got a chance ain’t got a ghost of a chance they don’t matter what they want you can’t go to heaven.

Because God didn’t choose you. You’re not one of the chosen. You’re not one of the elect. God has chosen to save everyone who will believe. And that’s their choice. And I’m glad I made that decision. Another one of the scriptures that I have ever heard John 3 16 for God so loved the elect. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that who’s whoever that I’ve chosen, who’s whoever, believe it. So they, I lost me and can’t believe.

He said that to Nicodemus. So then Nicodemus could believe the woman at the well she could believe. Anybody can believe. You hear the stories, I believe that. I want to go to heaven. I believe Christ, down in the cross, and paid for my sins. God said if I believe He did it for me, Give me eternal life and I get to go to heaven whenever I die. Sounds good to me. I’m so glad God made it simple where anybody can understand it.

It’s not hard, it’s not complicated. Aren’t you glad you don’t have to go to church to go to heaven? You don’t have to give any money to go to heaven? You don’t have to stop anything. All you have to do is just trust Christ as your Savior, because He loves you and pays for your sins. And you get to go to heaven whenever you die. No tricks to it, no gimmicks to it. Best news in the world. Take your Bible and turn to Ephesians chapter 1.

The book of Ephesians in chapter 1. The second thing they have is called unconditional election. In other words, God has just simply chosen those that He wants. He says, all we’re going to hell anyway, so for God to pick a few, still grace, isn’t it? I guess God could do that if He wanted to, but that’s not what He said He did. In Ephesians chapter 1, look in verse 4, He says, according as He had chosen us in Him before the foundations of the world.

Now get this, He had chosen us in Him before the foundations of the world. God has chosen all those that are in Him in Christ. When, before the foundations of the world, those that are in Christ, He’s chosen to be made pure and holy. But He did not choose to put us in the Christ. That was your choice when you trust He Christ is your savior. Anyone who trusts Christ is their savior. God from the foundations of this world has chosen, decided he’s gonna put every one of those who have trusted Christ to save you, they’ll be made pure in holy and without spot and blameless before the Father.

You see, we’re going to heaven, why? Because we’re in Christ. But God made that decision before we were ever born before we ever did any good or any bad. Verse chapter nine, that God said it’ll be by grace. God has chosen to save those that they leave. He is not willing that any should what? Now, women, that doesn’t jive if the other is true. Then God is willing that the majority perish. God would have to be willing that the rest of them go to hell because he never chose to save them and they can’t get saved unless he chooses them.

They ain’t got a chance. So God cannot desire that, oh, men, be saved. And I despise the people that teach the junk because it blinds people to the truth. See if I really believe that why should I witness to anybody why wouldn’t see anybody I Don’t know who God’s children I ain’t gonna waste my time trying to find out why should I become a missionary if some foreign field if God ain’t chose to save nobody They ain’t nobody gonna get saved.

Why don’t he just tell me which one he’s gonna save and now just go straight to that person Don’t that make more sense? Here’s all these people in this room, and I only got so much time He’s only chose five in this whole auditorium to go to heaven rest of you here you’ll have to go to hell. But God’s chosen five of you. Lord, why don’t you tell me which five? Sit away from my time with 95% of them, then it can’t go.

Now don’t that make sense? Makes me mad. I’m starting to feel better. You notice my voice is getting stronger? John chapter five, John chapter five. The book of John chapter five. So the devil wanted me to stay home today. I said, I’m going to be preaching the way. He might as well leave me alone. I’m going to do it anyway. Look in verse 39, search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life. They are they which testify of me.

Now get verse 40. And ye cannot come to me because I didn’t choose you. Nana, nana, nana. Is that what he said? He says, and ye will not come to me that you might have life. So they could have had life, they could have eternal life, but they won’t come to him. He didn’t say you couldn’t come. He says you wouldn’t come. You see that teaching, oh it sounds good, but it’s not good. It’s in air. It’s false. The Calvinistic doctrine is wrong.

I don’t believe the first point and I don’t believe the second point. And I got news for you. I don’t believe the third point. The third point is that it’s unlimited atonement. Limited atonement. You say, what does that mean? Well, if I’m only going to save those 15 that I chose to save in here, well then Christ only has to die for the ones that he’s going to save. Why should he pay for the sins of all the others?

He ain’t going to save you anyway. So he only had to die for those ones he chose to save. That’s why the atonement that he made, the payment he made, was limited. It wasn’t for everybody. You just thought it was. See there? Should you believe that? I don’t believe that. But that’s what they teach. You get your little computer and you type in John Calvin and look at the tulips. And you’ll be surprised how many people will leave all this junk.

People you know. Names you’ve heard. They believe that. And they’re on the radio broadcast right here in this town. But I just don’t believe it. I believe that when Christ died, He died for all the sin of all the world. And salvation is to whosoever. And I believe when He says John 3, 16, for God so loved the world, I believe that. That he gave his only begotten son, the who’s so ever, who’s so ever, I believe it’s who’s whoever.

Believe it, that’s all he has to do. I don’t believe that God handpicked a few people that he loves and he wants him better. How naive for me to think God saw something in me that made me better than you. If God is not a respecter of persons and both of us are lost, he can’t love me more than you or he is a respecter of persons. There is no difference than what caused him to be a person. to choose to save me and let you go to hell.

How could he do it? What did he use as a determining factor that caused him to save Yankee, but let you go to hell because he didn’t love you. He chose me but he didn’t choose you why. I have an inquiring mind and I’d wanna know why. And when I stand to some gray white throne judgment, he gonna cast me into hell. I’m like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, I got a question. If you never gave me the faith to believe, Why should I have to go to hell and pay for sins?

Because he didn’t pay for mine. He paid for them. That ain’t fair. Why didn’t you pay for mine? Why didn’t you give me the faith to believe like you did him? I could find fault with God. But God is a just God. And whatever God does, he must be justified, even in the eyes of a lost man. That’s why he’s going to have a judgment. You see, all they’re teaching, it breaks down. There’s no truth in it. It’s not the Bible.

It’s not of God. And it’s wickedness. Now, in the limited atonement, look in Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two, just very quickly, I want you to see this verse. The book of Hebrews and chapter two. Hebrews two, look there in verse nine. Verse nine. But we see Jesus, who has made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, Crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for the elect. For what?

Every man. Now either the Bible means what it says, in the shame that God, who created languages, can’t figure out how to express himself and say what he means. Why can’t God say what he means? Or maybe he did. You see, when you go the other way, You have to make it say something. It didn’t say that. They twist it. Put a spin on it. So he says here, the grace of God should taste, death for every man, every man.

Look over there in the book of 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. Now let’s just look there first of all in verse 1. 1 and verse 2 says, My little children, these things right, are the things right, and if any man’s sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he, Jesus Christ, is the propitiation for the payment sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only, that’s the believers. Not for the believers only, but get the last part of them, but also *) for the sins of the, what?

The whole world. Now either he has trouble expressing himself or he said exactly what he meant to say. That’s why I don’t quit and I don’t give up hope and I want to witness to as many people as I can because I don’t want him to go to hell. Last week when this guy was sitting right down here on the front row, came in here the first time I asked him to come into the office. I said, do you know for certain you’re going to go to heaven when you die?

Well, I wasn’t sure. I said, let me explain it to you. He trusted Christ as Savior. Now, if I believe that it’s the other way, why waste my time? God’s chosen, God can save me, don’t need me. Why witness? It’s a deadening effect upon God’s people. I believe that it is important. That’s why I believe thatoubted Christian ought to try to take advantage of it. The witness to people, carry tracks. The other one is called number four, irresistible grace.

Irresistible grace. Remember the total of P-U-L-I-P, total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace. In other words, that when God draws you, you can’t resist. You just can’t turn it down. That’s why I see it’s a sure thing. So God gives you the faith to believe, I believe. Well why did you do that? Because God drew you by his grace and you couldn’t say no. You couldn’t refuse. But that’s not what I read in Scripture. Why should God hold a person accountable for their decision when it wasn’t their decision?

It wasn’t their decision. Whosoever believe it, you really didn’t have a choice. You had to, but the man that God didn’t give him this grace so that he could be irresistibly drawn. It’s not the same for him. I find that very repugnant. Just the idea, the thought of it. Look in Acts chapter 7, the book of Acts in chapter 7. Look there in verse 51 next chapter 7 verse 51. He says ye do always resist the Holy Spirit look what he says ye stiff neck and Uncircumcised and hardened ears you ought to underline this you do always Resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did so do ye in other words It didn’t have to be this way you resisted and they have irresistible grace But what does the book say?

You can resist it. Does that mean that if God has His will for you, you’re going to do whatever it is God wants you to do, because God’s drawing you and you’re to serve also by grace. And whatever it is God wants you to irresistible, and you just have to do the will of God. So that means it’s automatic. If you’re really saved, really saved, You have this irresistible grace that demands not only to be saved, you’ll have to serve a Lord too.

And that’s why they call the last one the perseverance of the saints, perseverance. Now if I persevere, you mean once saved always saved? Well, I might agree with that. But that’s not what they mean by it. It means that if you do get saved, if you’re real and you’re genuine, you will persevere in the Christian life, all your life. You know what, if you really mess up really bad, that’s a sign you weren’t really saved. This is one of the reasons you have a lot of people thinking, you know, boy, I really got to mean business when I get saved.

No you don’t. God meant business. You’re trusting Him to save you and take you to heaven. He meant what He said. God meant business when He said that. Now they say, as a child of God, you’re going to persevere. That means trial and tribulation is all the things that happen to life. going to persevere to all of this year. So that means they never can know for sure if they’re really saved because they don’t know if they’re going to persevere to the end.

So you have to wait to the end of your life to find out that I make it. Now you can call that a shirt if you want to. That is not my type of assurance that I want. Where I know I’m saved because I’m serving the Lord because I’m still going to church and I’m praying and I’m giving money and you know 50 years I’ve been doing this so I must really be saved but I could mess up tomorrow and that’ll be a sign that I never was saved the whole time.

Never was saved because if you really saved irresistible grace will cause you to persevere all the way through. Don’t that sound good? So it means if you don’t serve the Lord. That means you weren’t really saved to start with. How would you like to live your life for 50 years? Hoping that you are. Think of it you are. But right at the end of it, I, you caught your husband with somebody so you blew his brains out and then you shot yourself and now you go to hell.

Fifty years for one moment that’s all over. You can believe that if you want. I don’t. I believe that God says, preach the gospel to every creature. And I believe that God says that anybody who su ever hears and will believe the gospel, God will save them by grace. They don’t earn it. They don’t work for their faith, which is not a work. Into Jesus Christ, the object of their faith, their belief in He did the work. And I’m accepting what He did for me.

And that God saves me and gives me eternal life. And He’ll never cash him out and never lose me. Why would he have to put that in there? Because I’m going to fail in my Christian life, but I’m so glad that even if I fail, if I fall flat on my face, if I fall in some deep sin, he’ll never cast me out until he’ll never lose me. I’m still gonna go to heaven, not because of what I’ve done, but because of what he did.

If Christ paid for all of my sins, then they’re all paid. And not for hours only, but for the sins of the whole world. So he paid for my sins 2000 years ago, and all I had to do was accept the payment he made for me. And God gives me eternal life as a gift, and I get to go to heaven on what he’s done for me. Now there’s no tricks to that and there’s no giving. So in the tulip, the total depravity, the unconditional election, The limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints.

Every one of those is dead wrong. So you see why I’m not a five point Calvinist? I’m not even a one point Calvinist. I’m not zero Calvinist. Now there’s another group called the Armenians. They aren’t meaning. They say it was only these two groups. You either an Armenian or you’re a Calvinist. I said, I’m neither one. They can’t believe there’s could be a possibility of a person who could be a person. be something without being one of them. He said, what’s an Armenian?

Armenian believes that you can get saved today and lost tomorrow. I don’t believe that. And so the other one said, well, you’re really saved. If you’re really saved, you’re a perseverant to the end. I don’t believe that. I’m not a Calvinist. I’m not an Armenian. So what are you? I’m a Christian. I’m a real genuine and biblicist, like that word. I am a scriptulist. I believe in the Bible. And the Bible doesn’t teach the, what the Armenians teach, you can lose it.

And it doesn’t teach the perseverance of the saints that I’ve got a perseverance to the end and a door to the end. And then I might make it someday by hanging in there. I was saved by grace 50 years ago and God gave me turn a life and I serve the Lord today because I want to not because I have to, but His grace works in me and I believe He’s given the desire and the power to do the will of God.

And I can resist the Lord. I can resist studying the Word of God. I can resist hearing the Word of God and I can resist the Holy Spirit in my life. I believe I can rebel against God and because of my rebellion I believe my Heavenly Father according to His Word going to beat the tar out of me and maybe take me home before my time but I kind of like living down here for a while anyway and if he keeps me healthy enough I might want to hang around for another 50 years I’ll go to y’all y’all’s funeral I just want to live long enough to bear the rest of you and then I’ll be ready to go I mean you got to have a preacher to your funeral right look up here this is what I believe This hand represents you and me.

The wallet represents all of our sins. God says that He loves us. He hates our sins. Now I believe I am separated from God. I don’t have eternal life. But that doesn’t mean I can’t walk, think, eat, choose, trust, have faith. We do it all the time. It doesn’t mean I have inability to make decisions. I believe I’m separated from God, separated from eternal life. And because of sins, I can’t go to heaven because I’ve got to pay for what I’ve done.

The wages of sin is death. Now to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God. None of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. So God says, you can earn your way to heaven. You can’t work your way there. and do it all kind of good deed, we’ll never pay for your sins. So the Bible says that you need a Savior. Now we’re all in the same bone. And I believe that Jesus Christ, this hand representing Jesus Christ, came into the world.

Why? Because I believe he loved the world, all of us. And that he was willing to die for all of us, not some of us, not most of us, not a few of us, all of us. He took the sins and paid for them on the cross. all the sins of the world. I don’t believe there’s a limited atonement. I believe it was a total payment for all the sins of all the world. Came back from the dead and says, if we would simply believe.

That’s all I have to do. But I have to hear the story. I can’t put my faith in Jesus Christ if I never hear about Jesus Christ. How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall he preach unless they be sent? But faith commit by hearing and hearing by word of God, not because God decided to put faith in everybody that he wants to be saved. No, it’s not the Bible. So Christ paid for our sins. Came back from the dead.

And God said that if you and I 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 he did. And he said that he would save me from hell for all eternity. He And he would never cast me. I’d never lose me. He gives me eternal life. I don’t have to persevere at all. I don’t have to do anything because he loved me that much.

And all this is to show how much he loves me. Now, after I trust the crisis, my Savior, and I knew I had eternal life, yeah, I’ve wanted people to know that I love the Lord too. So I serve him. I try to do right. But I don’t do any of it to persevere so that I can make it someday. I’m going there heaven because of what he did. Not because of what I’ve done. And because he is who he claims to be and he did what he said he did.

He is my Savior. I know that the Lord is more real to me than the clothes that I’ve got on my back. I love him and I’ll die for him. I’ll even do something like most Christians never do. I’ll even live for him. And if you trust the crisis, your Savior, I wish you would too. But I’m not going to lie to people just to try to get them to do right. Because otherwise, you know, if you don’t live right, that means you’re not really saved.

Now, you can have trust in Christ, you’re saved, and if you don’t do right, you can be a rebellious child of God, and he’s going to be the Torah that you, I’d really tell you the truth. It might even take you home before your time. You say, what does that mean? He might take your life, and he has power to do it. So I don’t want to make my Father mad. So I decide I’m going to serve the Lord.

Let’s pray, shall we? head bound every eye closed, no one looking around. If you’re here this morning and you never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? The best you know how right where you’re sitting. Say something simple like this, Lord, I don’t understand it all, but I believe Christ died and paid for my sins. And I’m going to trust Him as my Savior. I want to go to heaven. I believe He did it for me.

And I’d like you to pray for me. I’m going to ask you a moment to raise your hand, raising your hand doesn’t save you. It just lets me know that what I said made sense to you. I like to do it hitchbar, nice clothes, because I’m really not interested in trying to embarrass anybody. But I’m not going to trick you. I’m not going to pin you against the wall. I’m not asking you to come forward or anything. I just want to know what I said made sense to you.

You say, yes, that made sense to me. God bless you, ma’am. Anyone else? Just split up quickly and put it right back down. Just God bless you, sir. You trust Christ as your Savior this morning. I’d like to know it. God bless you. I appreciate that. If you trust Christ right now as your Savior, He saves you right now, gives you eternal life, and He’ll never cast you out and never lose you. There’s no tricks to it. You know, when else before we close, that made sense to me.

I want to be certain I’m going to heaven when I die. Friend, it’s your choice. Not God. God’s already made the choice. He died for you, paid for your sins. He says, he’ll save you if you trust Him. So he’s already done made his decision. Would you trust him? Our father thank you so much for your lessons to us and for these indicating that by faith alone that trust in Jesus Christ is their savior and that by doing so you guarantee that the maternal life is a free gift, that you’ll never cast them out and never lose them.

And we’re thankful for the gospel that you’ve given to us, an understanding whereby we’re not trapped by these other man-made theological discussions that don’t hold water. We thank you for these individuals, blessed each person 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 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.

1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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 on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-8 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 1-800-576-836. 371 online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calburyoftampa.org. 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 have a different kind of a message for you this morning. I’m going to preach to you a sermon that I don’t like.

five of these points I disagree with and I can’t believe how anybody could believe what they teach. But there are people in this world and preachers that teach what I’m going to tell you they teach but I don’t believe what they teach and I don’t want you to believe what they teach but if I don’t tell you what they’re teaching you might believe it or not know that that’s what they were teaching. Got that? All right. It’s called the Five Dangers of Calvinism.

The Tulum is a caustic for five principles of their theological position of what they believe. And it’s sometimes very subtle and there’s people that are even on the radio station, television, a lot of churches and it’s a wide movement. A lot of preachers believe this, but after studying the Bible I can’t see how they can believe it. I really don’t. But I want you to understand it so that you will not fall for it when you hear it. At least if I give you a few things concerning it, you will have a better understanding of it.

Turning your Bible to the book of Ephesians chapter 2, the book of Ephesians and chapter 2. The first one that they have is called total depravity of man, the total depravity of man. It’s also called total inability that God must give the new birth before one can even believe. In other words, what they believe is we are so totally depraved. We can’t believe unless God gives us the faith to believe. So it’s God that takes the initiative and of all the people upon the earth.

So it’s everybody’s going to hell anyway. If God picks this one and then this one and this one and this one and that one and this one and this one, that’s still like grace. You would just hope it was you that He picked. But what if you weren’t one of the ones that was picked then you go to go to hell. And if God did not choose you, you didn’t have a choice. So really, whatever will be will be.

How can you hold a man accountable for decisions that were not his? I have a problem with that. And so I do not believe that man has total inability to believe on the Lord. I believe that a person can hear and understand as a lost man and accept Christ’s Savior without God giving you the faith to believe. So if God gave me the faith to believe in Christ, did He also give another person the faith to believe in Buddha or Mohammed?

We all demonstrate faith every day. Well, right now you’re trusting that pew to hold you up and I sure hope it does. You can trust that view that you’re sitting in to take you to heaven, but it doesn’t have any power to take you there. But you can trust it if you want. But I don’t think it’s going to deliver. So see, having faith is not the problem. It’s the object of your faith. If you trust Christ as your Savior, you can have eternal life and go to heaven whenever you die.

And so they make a very serious mistake. You see, they believe that faith is a work. If it generates from you first, then that means that you did something. So your faith would be a work and your salvation then would be a product of your faith, which would be by works and salvation can’t be by works. So it cannot be by your faith. So God has to give you the faith so that it comes from God and it’s not of work.

If God gave it to you. So that means it had to be totally free and God had to give it to whoever he wants to. I see problems with all of that. Now it’s okay if you believe that whenever we die, you know we see the sign on the side of the entrance into heaven, chosen before the foundations of the world. And then when you get on the inside you look up there. And you see that sign that says, you know, I was chosen by God before the foundations of the world But on the outside, you know, who’s whoever will Well, that’s good if you believe but what if you were going to hell?

Who’s whoever does not believe? You get in the hell Look up there. Ah ha Chosen to go to hell before the foundations of the world. How would you like that one? I don’t think I’d like that either I would have problems understanding a little bit about God, though I know that I don’t have to explain everything about God. But we are to be rational. We are supposed to understand some thing. God does talk about in His words and things that are reasonable that we can understand.

God did not say that man did not have the ability to trust or to believe. He said he has the inability to save himself by his works and give himself eternal life. He cannot do it. God does not accept that. Totally unacceptable. So Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, I want you to look at these two verses. For by grace are you saved through faith? That not of yourselves, it’s the gift of God, not of works, lestings men should boast.

So they say, well, since faith has to be given to you because faith can’t be a work because that means that if I have to have my faith in the Lord and it comes from me, then I just perform my own salvation by believing which I didn’t have the power to do. So where does it come from? God has to initiate it. So there’s those who teach that God takes faith and gives it to whoever he wants to so that they can have the faith to believe in the Lord.

So it means that you really have to be saved or born again before You get salvation and none of it makes sense. It is a a jungle is A circle where there’s no beginning to win and don’t make any sense whatsoever So when you read here in Ephesians 2 8 9 Faith is not the gift Salvation is the gift you see when it makes a statement here What is by grace? Well, salvation is what we’re talking about. Because you’re talking about by grace are you saved.

See the last part of verse 5? Look at verse 5. Even when we were dead in sins, had quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved. Saved in verse 8. For by grace are you saved. So we’re talking about salvation being saved. So what is by grace? Salvation. What is through faith? Well, salvation. What is not of yourselves salvation? So what is the gift of God? Salvation. Faith is not the gift here. And if they try to make it say that, then that means that man can’t get saved unless God gives him the faith to believe.

So that’s why, since God only saves those that he chose to save, he only gives faith to those he wants saved. And so you can spend your life trying to win people to the Lord, the God ain’t going to save anyway because they weren’t chosen. I call it heresy. That is not the Bible. That is not what God’s word teaches. Take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans in chapter 4, the book of Romans and chapter 4.

And Romans in chapter 4, to understand that faith is not a work. Faith is not a work. Faith is taken and putting your confidence in another and believe in and trusting them. You see here in chapter four of the book of Romans, look in verse five, but to him that worketh not, but believeeth, on him that justified the ungulli, his faith is counted for righteousness. So faith is not a work. So a man is not trying to save himself by his works by trusting Christ.

Faith come at hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So God says that my faith in Christ is because I heard the Word. So that’s why we believe in teaching the Word of God not to believe that, you know, for example, if I was an electrician and I had this great big old panel of all these lights up here and in the back I wired wired all these lights, but some of the lights, I didn’t wire them. I only wired just certain ones and I got them set up here to where, if I flip a switch they’ll all come on, the one that I wired.

But I’ve got, you know, three-fourths of them that won’t even work. So I’m supposed to believe that I’m going to go into the world and turn all these light bulbs, but knowing that God’s only wired certain ones to come on. Now the electrician that wired, he knows which ones will come on. Why play that silly little game with me to waste my life raising funds to go to our foreign country and turn light bulbs that will never work because they were never wired to work?

to believe that a God in heaven has got people that he wants to take to heaven, but the rest of them let him go to hell because he don’t care about him anyway, and just be thankful that the ones that I did pick. Oh, that’s great if you’re one that was picked, but what if you weren’t? I don’t believe that my God is like this. Now there are many people who are Calvinist. Five point Calvinist, I don’t 56.2.4, I am a zero Calvinist.

I don’t have any points of what they believe that I believe. I disagree with the whole scheme of things. And yet you’d be surprised. There are independent fundamental Bible, mission, and reminded Baptist preachers all across this city that believes exactly what I’m telling you right now. You say, no, yes, I tell you the truth. And some of them will hear on your radio broadcast and they will teach that there’s only certain ones God has elected to save certain ones and they’re the only ones that can get saved because God gave them the faith to believe.

And I totally disagree with that. I believe that I can talk to an individual and try to get a person to trust Christ as Savior and I believe it’s His choice. And therefore, going to all the world and preach the gospel to everyone that I pre-wired, I don’t say that to every creature. Faith has no merit. Look there in verse 16. Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace. So faith is not a work. So by grace are you saying through faith.

So faith is not a work. So their premise is wrong because they’re trying to say that you’re saved by faith. And if it’s your faith, then that’s work. And how can a dead man do anything? I mean, you’re a dead man. How can you believe in the Lord? So it’s God that has to quicken you first before you ever get saved. No. The Bible doesn’t teach that. Man’s logic will teach that because God says you’re dead and trespasses and sins.

So a dead man can you do anything? So we’re all dead. We’re just dead people. And it’s God that comes along and says, I’m going to give you the faith to believe. And that faith that I give to you to believe is irresistible grace. You can’t resist it. Whatever will be will be. Fiddle faddle. It’s not the Bible. Look in John chapter 1, Gospel of John chapter 1. Man is born aware of God. See there in verse 9, that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, every man that comes into this world.

God has given some light, some truth to every person that they know that there is a God. They know there’s a God. Now you may not understand a lot of things about God, but you know that there is a God. And you know that the world is here and you didn’t make sense. Atheism has to be taught. has to be taught. You’re not born as an atheist. No person is. And a person naturally has within them. They know there’s a supreme being.

No, there’s a Creator. Take your vibe on looking at the book of Romans in chapter one, the book of Romans in chapter one. I look there in verse 18. God has revealed some things to us, verse 18 and verse 19. Verse 18 of Romans chapter 1, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, in them, for God has shown unto them.

Now he’s talking about mankind that’s born upon this earth, all mankind. He let every man that comes into the world, every man is given some light and some truth, and any man that will follow truth, any truth, be followed truth, it will always lead to the source of truth. And that’s why God can take a little missionary over here, and God can take a person over here. If they want no truth God can bring the truth to them, their paths can cross.

And hi God can do all that I don’t know. I don’t even really care. But I believe that who so ever believe it can have everlasting life. The man put it, the elect or the who so ever wills, and the non-elect or the who so ever wants. Whosoever will open imitation. Anybody. And you’ll read that all the way through the scriptures. Whosoever. Anybody who wants it. Get to have it. Whosoever thirsteth. Let him come into me and drink. You see, God is saying He would draw all men unto Himself.

If I believe that I would draw men, all men, not just some. So to believe that God has chosen to save certain people and the rest of them haven’t got a chance, that’s not taught in this book. Now preachers teach it. A lot of people can believe it, but it’s not the truth. It is not the gospel. That is not right. John chapter 12, John and chapter 12. And look there in verse 32, Christ says this, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, and I believe that’s when he’s referenced it to the cross, till the very next verse says this, he said, signifying what death he should die.

If I die for all men, I will draw all men unto me.” So he died for all men and he said, I will draw all. Then say some of them or just to select few. God has from the foundations of this world chosen to save all those who will trust Christ as their Savior. And God has determined not to save anybody who doesn’t trust him. Now that’s a choice God made. God says many are called if you are chosen.

God calls everybody, but only a few people choose to hear it, choose to believe it. That’s not God’s fault. That day when that man explained the gospel to me, I come so close of saying no. I got that close to just walking out of his house. I got to the front door. I threw his Bible down on the couch and I walked through to the front door and I was going to go outside, but I didn’t go outside. I’ll come back close, just walking away from all of it.

And he’s told me, he says, Yankees, come over here and sit down. And I went back. But I come so close to rejecting it. That was been my choice. But I heard it. And I understood what he said. If what He said was true. I am going to hell. And then I didn’t like that. I’m so glad I trust the Lord. And so He says, if I be lifted up from the earth, we’ll draw all men unto me. And I believe that’s exactly what the scriptures teaches.

Look there in John chapter 6 and verse 64, John chapter 6. And look there in verse 64. God, being God, Christ being Christ knows everything It’s going to happen knows the end from the beginning. He knows who believes and who does not believe So verse 64 says but there are some of you that believe not Well, why didn’t you say there some of y’all don’t believe not because you can’t I didn’t give you the faith to believe They don’t make any sense if they can’t believe because he didn’t give me any faith to believe well, it ain’t their fault But see the scriptures don’t teach that it doesn’t back up what they say Does Bet there are some of you that believe not for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him?

He knows everything. But for knowledge doesn’t mean he makes anybody do anything. He may know that tomorrow you’re going to rob a 7-11 store because he got it got for it. It doesn’t mean he made you do it. You can try that if you want to. Did the Lord make me do it because he knew I was going to do it. It won’t work. And so he says, and you therefore said, I unto you, that no man can come unto me except they were given him of my father.

You can’t come to him unless he draws you. But he says he draws all. See there in the same chapter, but look at verse 44. He says, no man can come to me except the father which you have sent me, draw him. How does he draw with the gospel? the gospel to every person and that you draw them through that message and that’s why I came to Christ. He drew me to Him and I trusted Him. But it’s because I heard the gospel and He said, I will draw all men.

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person. And that’s what I believe. I don’t believe it’s already preset where God says, I want you to go to heaven. I want you to go to heaven. And I want you to go to heaven. And I want She’s just so glad that God chose you. I had a man tell me one time, I’m just so thankful. I don’t understand at all how the God did. Tell us go up time, look down here, and he saw a little of me, and he said, I’m gonna save you, and he saved me.

Well, he might have saved you, but that’s because you trusted him as your savior. If you hadn’t trusted Christ your savior, you’d have been lost and gone to hell. Don’t try to make the scripture say something scripture don’t say because see it’s a very damaging thing if I believed what they teach. Why in the world would we want to have missionaries? Why would one who helps anybody about the room? They’re gonna get saved anyway? Because he already didn’t chose one he’s gonna save.

Rest of them gonna go to hell anyway and they ain’t got a chance. Ain’t got a ghost of a chance. They don’t matter what they want. You can’t go to heaven because God didn’t choose you. You’re not one of the chosen. You’re not one of the elect. God has chosen to save everyone who will believe. And that’s their choice. And I’m glad I made that decision. Another one of the scriptures that I have ever heard John 3 16, for God so loved the elect.

love the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever that I’ve chosen, whosoever, believe it. So they are lost, man, can’t believe. He said that to Nicodemus. So then Nicodemus could believe the woman at the wellolkien could believe. Anybody can believe. You hear the stories, I believe that. I want to go to heaven. I believe Christ out in the cross and and pay for my sins. God said, if I believe He did it for me, give me eternal life and I get to go to heaven whenever I die.

Sounds good to me. I’m so glad God made it simple where anybody can understand it. It’s not hard, it’s not complicated. Aren’t you glad you don’t have to go to church to go to heaven? You don’t have to give any money to go to heaven. You don’t have to stop anything. All you have to do is just trust Christ as your Savior because He loves you and pay for your sins and you get to go to heaven whenever you die.

No tricks to it, no gimmicks to it. Best news in the world. Take your Bible and turn to Ephesians chapter 1, the book of Ephesians in chapter 1. The second thing they have is called unconditional election. In other words, God has just simply chosen those that He wants. He says, all we’re going to hell anyway, so for God to pick a few still graces, isn’t it? I guess God could do that if He wanted to, but that’s not what he said he did.

In Ephesians chapter 1, looking verse 4, he says, according as he had chosen us in him before the foundations of the world, now get this, he had chosen us in him before the foundations of the world. God has chosen all those that are in him in Christ when before the foundations of the world, those that are in Christ he’s chosen to be made pure and holy. But He did not choose to put us in the Christ. That was your choice when you trusted Christ as your Savior.

Anyone who trusts Christ as their Savior, God from the foundations of this world has chosen, decided He’s gonna put every one of those who have trusted Christ as Savior, they’ll be made pure and holy and without spot and blameless before the Father. You see, we’re going to heaven, why? Because we’re in Christ. But God made that decision before we were ever born before we ever did any good or any bad. In Romans chapter 9, that God says it will be by grace.

God has chosen to save those that they leave. He is not willing that any should what? Now, women, that doesn’t jive if the other is true. Then God is willing that the majority perish. God would have to be willing that the rest of them go to hell because he never chose to save them and they can’t get saved unless he chooses them. They ain’t got a chance. So God cannot desire that, oh, men be saved. And I despise the people that teach the junk because it blinds people to the truth.

Because see, if I really believe that, why should I witness to anybody? Why wouldn’t see anybody? I don’t know who God’s chosen. I ain’t gonna waste my time trying to find out. Why should I become a missionary to some foreign field? If God ain’t chosen to save nobody, there ain’t nobody gonna get saved. Why don’t he just tell me which one he’s gonna save and now I’ll just go straight to that person. Don’t that make more sense? Here’s all these people in this room and I only got so much time.

He’s only chose five and there’s whole auditorium to go to heaven. The rest of you have to go to hell. But God’s chosen five of you. Lord, why don’t you tell me which five? It should have wasted my time with 95% of them that it can’t go. Don’t that make sense? Makes me mad. I’m starting to feel better. You know what my voice is getting stronger? John chapter 5, John chapter 5, the book of John chapter 5. So the devil wanted me to stay home today.

I said, I’m going to be preaching away. He might as well leave me alone. I’m going to do it again. Amen. Look in verse 39, search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life. They are they which testify of me. Now get verse 40. And ye cannot come to me because I didn’t choose you. N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n You see that teaching? Oh, it sounds good, but it’s not good. It’s not it’s in air. It’s false. The Calvinistic doctrine is wrong.

I Don’t believe the first point and I don’t believe the second point And I got news for you. I don’t believe the third point and the third point is that it’s on Our limited atonement limited atonement. You say what does that mean? Well, if I’m only going to save those 15 that I chose to save in here, well then Christ only has to die for the ones that he’s going to save. Why should he pay for the sins of all the others?

He ain’t going to save you anyway, so he only had to die for those ones he chose to save. That’s why the atonement that he made, the payment he made was limited. It wasn’t for everybody. You just thought it was. See there? There? Should you believe that? I don’t believe that. But that’s what they teach. You get your little computer and you type in John Calvin and look at the tulips and you’ll be surprised how many people believe all this junk.

People you know, names you’ve heard, they believe that. And they’re on the radio broadcast right here in this town. But I just don’t believe it. I believe that when Christ died, He died for all the sin of all the world. And salvation is to whosoever. And I believe when He says John 3, 16, for God so loved the world, I believe that. That He gave His only begotten Son, to whosoever, whosoever, I believe it’s whosoever. Believe it, that’s all He has to do.

I don’t believe that God handpicked a few people that He loves and He wants Him better. How naive for me to think God saw something in me that made me better than you. If God is not a respecter of persons and both of us are lost, He can’t love me more than you or He is a respecter of persons. There is no difference. 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. Our 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. 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 through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. 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.

Here in Colossians, I want you to look in chapter 3. verse 17 and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. So you give things to the Lord by Jesus Christ because of Him. Now if that doesn’t motivate you then nothing’s going to motivate you. But what I want you to notice is something very important here. In verse Verse 18, it says, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husband as it is fit in the Lord.

Verse 19, husbands, love your wives, be not bitter against them. Verse 20, children, obey your parents in all vain, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, in verse 21, provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged. Verse 22, servants. Verse 23, it hit all of us. So wherever you do, do it hardly, get this as to the Lord, not on the man. So when it talks about wives submitting yourself to the husband, do it as unto the Lord.

Looking verse 21, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance and New York on the line for ye serve the Lord, Christ. When he says, children obey your parents for ye serve the Lord. serving the Lord teenagers is obedience to God. That is serving the Lord when you obey. Husbands love your wives. Loving your wife is serving the Lord. So if you don’t submit yourself to your husband as good wives ought to, you’re not serving the Lord.

And if you do not love your wives as you ought to, you’re not serving the Lord in that area of your life. Children that do not obey their parents are not serving the Lord in that area of their life. If some areas you may obey and some areas you disobey. Now I know there’s some people that teach you, he’s either Lord of all or he not Lord at all. That isn’t true. I’ve had children, I’ve got grandkids and some areas that they obey and some areas they don’t.

And you’re the same way. Some of your errors of your life you are obedient and some areas of your life you’re not you pick and choose. But look down here in that verse again in verse 24 knowing knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive knowing that of the Lord you shall receive but you should also know that if you don’t do what God says do for his honor for his glory you will not receive what God has for you.

That’s why you even talked about husband and wives be right with the Lord because if you don’t then your prayers will be hindered. Verse 3 to chapter 3. So important. I could get lost in some of these verses, but I’m going to move right along. Verse Corinthians in chapter 8, looking first Corinthians after 8, just turn to your left very quickly. Look in verse 9. He says in verse 9, but take heedless by any means. Get this liberty of yours.

Become a stumbling block to them in that are weak. See, not everybody’s strong. Not everybody’s as strong as you are. And some people, if they did the same thing that you permit yourself to do, it doesn’t bother me. Okay, but could it bother somebody else to the point that they could become weak and stumble because of it and go further than you would go? You see, there’s the cliff right there. Now, some people get exhilaration, times you have closing get to the cliff without falling over.

There’s just something about, you know, living dangerously, living on the edge. But what if somebody else is on the edge and they just go just another step too far? He says, you know, maybe not for you, but because you love somebody else. And they’re weaker in the Lord. They’re not as strong. Maybe you ought to back up from that edge for their sake because you love them. Because you want the best for them If you restrain yourself from doing that what punishment is there?

But if you go too far there is a great punishment a lot of great damage How much suffering have I gone through in my life because I missed I don’t take it and drink Where I’ve lost a lot I suffered a lot because I never drink Because I never had a cigarette in my mouth and I’ve never tasted. I have no clue what it’s like. Boy, I’ve really left that. I mean, it’s just a poor life that I’ve had because of that.

I don’t wake up in the morning coughing and hacking. I don’t have lung cancer. Now, let me tell you this. I’m not trying to break. I’m trying to help people. I’m going on 68 years, no, I’m always 68. I’m going on 69. They don’t matter. I’m up there. At this point in my life, and I want you to understand this, my heart rate averages between 50 and 60 all the time. My blood pressure is about 110, 120 over 60, 65 all the time.

I don’t have headaches. I don’t have any medical problems. I’m not diabetic. I don’t have to take any kind of medicine for anything. I don’t have high cholesterol. I’m fine. But I do have to watch myself. I believe that serving the Lord and putting Him first in my life does make a difference physically. And if I don’t watch myself, I can go downhill real quick. Now, I may die tomorrow something. I’ve got to die something. But I’m gonna thank the Lord and praise the Lord for what he has done for me.

And the things that I have restrained myself from doing, I believe would have hurt me or harmed me. I simply believe that I can do more for the Lord longer if I stay healthier. Now, is something wrong with me? I don’t think it’s wrong to think the way I’m thinking. Like Paul made a statement about women. He said, I was at all a more like me, leave them all alone. I believe that people would do better if they did love the Lord more.

And they disciplined themselves to watch themselves, guard themselves. And it’ll keep you from a lot of addictions that you don’t need. That probably it would take away a lot of medicine you don’t need. Now, some of it, I’m not a doctor. I’m just simply telling you that I know enough that it can affect you physically when you don’t do right spiritually. The guilt of permitting yourself to do whatever you want to do can take its toll upon you in time.

It can wear that body down so that body can’t go. Now, like I said, I may die tomorrow or the next week, but I am going to praise the Lord today for what he has done. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I do believe that it will make a difference in your life if you try some of the biblical principles in the Word of God and live where you can forgive other people. Live without bitterness and hatred and the grudges, the meanness and the unkindness.

You can do this. You can do this. So he says here in verse 9, but take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. And there’s a lot of weak people in this world. I don’t believe that I’ve hurt anybody in this life by my staying away from certain things that could maybe more harm me, but it might cause somebody else to be harmed. I want my love for them to discipline me because I care.

If you don’t care about nobody, but then you can do whatever you want to do. But there’s a price to pay. Look there in Romans 14 and verse 13, Romans 14. Romans 14. And look at verse 13. I covered some of these verses not long ago, but I want to hit it one more time. Look at verse 13, let us not therefore judge one another anymore. But judge this rather that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

So God doesn’t want us to put stumbling blocks in a person’s way. Now, when we started off this morning, I was talking about whatsoever is not a faith. It is sin. Because if you give yourself permission to do something, you know it’s not the will of God, then it’s sin. Because it wasn’t a faith. You did not have the confidence that this is within the will of God. So look there in chapter 15 of Romans and verse one, we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmity of the weak.

And yet get this not to please ourselves. Well, I’ve got my rights. I can do it if I want to. We’re not talking about that. We’re not talking about what pleases you. We’re talking about what pleases God. We’re talking about the effects that our lives have upon other people. And he says in verse two, let every one of us please his neighbor for, get this, is good to education. Because we want to build them up. Edify doesn’t mean edify.

It means to beautify what’s there and add to it. You want to encourage people to do what’s right to build them up, to have them spiritually strong. So important. Let’s just go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. I realize that I’m never going to finish all of this today, but that’s okay. You still got the notes and you’ll go home and study those all week. I know you will. But first the salonians, I want you to look at this verse.

First the salonians, chapter 5, there’s a lot of little short sentences through here, a whole bunch of them. Let’s just start there in verse 16, verse 16. Rejoice evermore, verse 17. Pray without ceasing, verse 18, and everything give things. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesying. Prove all things. Whole fast that which is good. Uh-oh. On the line verse 22. Abstain. Abstain. I wonder what that word means. Don’t do it.

Abstain. From get this all appearance of evil. Now when Jesus Christ was here. He went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day and ate some corn and in the minds of all the people that were around, that was a bad thing. Now it wasn’t a bad thing, but it had the appearance of evil in the minds of a bunch of hypocrites. Now Jesus didn’t change it for them. He wasn’t dead in any way. He even healed people on the Sabbath day.

So you can’t do that. So he didn’t change it because they thought it was wrong. You see, you’ve got to balance things. There’s some people that are just nitpicky, I don’t care what you do. They’ll find fault with you. There’s always somebody to try to find fault in the lives of everybody else. And they go around through life, kind of blow out everybody else’s little life. They think their life change brighter if yours isn’t working at all. Your life’s no brighter, just because you blew out lights on somebody else.

always says abstain from all appearance of evil. In other words, if it doesn’t look good, if it costs somebody to think something that’s not right, because they’re weak in the Lord, learn to think, have good judgment, learn discernment. Is this something that’s going to bring honor and glory to the Lord? Is this something I need to do? So you weigh these things in your own mind. I’m not talking about you weighing things in everybody else’s life, We’re not to be judges in everybody else’s life.

Every one of you in here, if you trust the Christ to save you, you have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you. And he’s probably enough. And he is working. When you please the Father, the joy of the Holy Spirit, we’ll keep you joy. When you don’t please the Father and you quench the Spirit, you quench the joy, the peace, the love, the happiness, Everything that you want is quenched. And you wanna why I’m, why I’m not happy.

Maybe you need to do some, an inventory of just some kind of, what am I doing? How am I living? What am I decisions? What am I making? Who am I living for? What’s the purpose of why I do what I do? And maybe you’re permitting yourself to do things that God doesn’t want you to do. But there’s no clear verse. This is thou shalt not do this. I don’t need a verse. All I need is biblical principles to help me to think, to be responsible, to look further, the look deeper.

I would think if God had a list of mile long, if He left out any one thing, well that means I can do that. I can do that because He didn’t say that one, so I can get to do that. Hebrews chapter 12, you look at it real quick, you just got to look at this verse, this is good. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 and look in verse 1. He’s talking about us walking by faith, living by faith from chapter 10.

All the way through chapter 11 examples of those in the Hall of Faith chapter Living by faith and so now he’s boiling it down to you and me Wherefore brethren he says seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses those Old Testament saints in chapter 11 let us lay aside every weight and The sin which is so easily be set us and let us run with patient the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame, sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

He says, you’re running a race. You got some weights. You can run with weights if you want to, but chances are you’re not gonna win. You’ll get tired of that pretty fast. So most people who run races, they just strip down to as low as they can in just tennis shoes, not Claude Hobbers, not a bunch of weights hanging onto both arms. They don’t want any excess weight. Now Christians, God says, just lay aside every weight that would hinder you.

That’s because you’re running the race. Now if you’re not interested in running the race, if you’re not interested in serving God, if you’re not interested in pleasing Him, do whatever you want. Do whatever you want, it won’t matter. Who cares? God is just gonna beat the tar out of you. That’s all, but that’s okay. Because you can’t live as you please and get away with it. There’s a price to pay. The one that I think is very important is Romans chapter 13.

Look at this real quick. Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13. Remember one day I took my coat off and I hung it up here and there and it fell to the floor? That’s because I didn’t have anything there to hang it on. I was trying to hang it on air. Now I can lay it up here, But I can’t hang it here, because there’s no provision for it. This is a provision. The floor, it can hold it. That’s why when I walk in the house, I take it off, and I throw it here, and I throw it there, and I throw it there.

And my wife comes behind me, yank, you want you to hang it up. I want you to hang it up. That’s why we married each woman. Well, I’ve had to learn a few things. You know, a woman can make you pay for not picking up your stuff and doing right and so forth. And so I thought, you know, it took me 50 years to get that woman away. She is and she’s thinking it took me 50 years to get yanking the way I want him.

Probably have worked on each other. What Romans in chapter 13, look what he says in verse 14. He says, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, make not provision for the place to fulfill the lustro. Don’t make it possible to get in trouble. Don’t go to places that you can get in trouble. Try to watch yourself. Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you, but some people just look for trouble. And then they always whine and because everything’s falling apart in my life.

What kind of choices are you making? Check and see how you’re thinking. And you’ll find out that you maybe you’re making provision to get in trouble. You’re giving yourself the opportunity. Maybe you’re around the opposite sex more than you should be. Or maybe you say things you shouldn’t say to them. Maybe you tell dirty jokes. Maybe you watch film. You say, well, that doesn’t say in the Bible about something not watch porn. Are you making a possibility for the lust of the flesh?

Think there’s biblical principles that we use in the Word of God to help to make decisions so that you can do right. Another one is, will it grieve the Holy Spirit. Will it grieve Him? Remember, when you trust in Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit of God indwells you. And when the Holy Spirit indwells you, you don’t want to grieve Him. You don’t want to grieve Him. By doing things you’re not supposed to do or quench the Spirit by not doing what He wants you to do.

There’s two words, grieve, quench. And as a the child of God, you can do both, you can not obey him, not do the things he wants to do. So you quench. And when you quench the Holy Spirit, you mean you’re keeping yourself from the love, the joy, the peace, and all the fruits of the Spirit. When you do serve the Lord, then you can have all of that. So as you go through life, are you happy or are you miserable?

If you’re miserable, good. You ought to be. If you’re joyful in the Lord and you’re excited about the things are good, you’re supposed to be. You see, it’s a result of your choices. It’s where you are mentally. Are you trusting the Lord? Trust you in the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Come from Isaiah chapter 26 and verse three and four. And verse three says, now we’ll keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon the trust you.

in the Lord Jehovah for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Good stuff. That’s why we study these things. Look in 1 John chapter 2 at verse 28. First John chapter 2 and verse 28. How many believe the Lord’s coming back soon? Let me see you hand. You believe the Lord’s coming? Some of you are not sure. Some of you don’t even believe He’s coming. Some of you don’t have a right hand.

How many believe Christ is coming back? Let me see you hand. All right. That’s better. That’s so much better. When I love when people cooperate, you see there was a little spirit of rebellion in you. I’m Josh and you know. First John chapter 2, looking verse 28, little children abide in him. That means why you’re here living in, living the Lord. Let the Lord live in you. And he says that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed.

So in your notes there will eventually cause you shame. Whatever you give your permission to do, it doesn’t matter how society looks at things, it’s going to bolt onto how does God see it? The Bible talks about proving those things that are acceptable on the God. What does he accept? What does he accept? What does he not accept? And will you be ashamed before him? If he came right now, other things in your life that you happen taking care of, you’d be ashamed to get to the judgments of the Christ.

And what if, what if, we find out everybody will know what you have done, even though it’s been forgiven. But what if everybody knows what you’ve done? If he’s going to reward us for what we’ve done, we’re going to suffer the loss of what we didn’t do. I don’t know what all is going to happen to the judgments of the Christ. I like your pictures just going to be one big, joyful event, but it may not be. I may be wrong.

I know we’re going to be there. I know he’s keeping the books. I don’t want to be ashamed before the Lord has just come in. Look at the last statement I have down here. The questions, ask yourself this. Did I really pray about it? Do I really want God’s will? Do I really believe this decision to be right. Don’t go through life, have heartily. Don’t just nonchalantly just do whatever you want to do. Think, think through, be patient, talk to the Lord.

Learn to wait upon the Lord. Let God open. Let God provide. See what God has. Let God open doors and close doors. Don’t get a sled, let me tell you something. My wife and I had been married for 50 years. The other day we went out to the motorhome and we opened it up to see what was in the back end of it because I had put some stuff in there and I can’t remember what I’d put in here.

And we know we’re moving so we got to see what’s in the back of the motorhome. Well the thing would keep going down on those little things that were supposed to hold it up, it wouldn’t hold it up. So my dear darling wife, she went over to the corner of the garage and she got just big ole sledgehammer and she stuck it right down here and she put it up there and it braced the door and I’m in there looking and so forth and she had gotten down doing something looking at something and I was through and so I looked it up to let it down and the handle came down and there’s my wife and it hit her right across the top of the head so yes I have hit my wife and they hit with a sledge hammer and you want to know how come she’s so obedient

I felt so bad she did too. She had a headache for a couple days and it was just this week. I do not recommend hitting your wife with a sledgehammer but now if God can’t get your attention do you know he just liable to have to hit you over the head with a two before I don’t work, then they’ll sledgehammer. But God loves you, and He’s not going to let you alone. You are already feeling the response of God in your life, whether you know it or you don’t know it.

The Lord is working, and He’s either blessing or He’s withholding. You’re in His hands. He loves you too much to let you go. So He’s gonna… Bless you real good and give you joy and peace and happiness because you know you’re doing right. But when your conscience has that guilty feeling because you know you’re not doing like you’re supposed to be doing, it robs you of all that you want. And you’re, well, I just don’t know why I’m not happy.

It’s not happy. Well, happiness sometimes comes from happiness. Joy comes from the Lord. Happiness sometimes is because of what’s happening. And if things are not happening right, then you’re not happy. not happy. But by the joy that was the Lord is a totally different thing. Look up here. Now most of you in here, I know you’ve already trusted Christ to say, you know you have eternal life. You’re going to heaven when you die. But if you’re here this morning and you’ve never trusted the Lord, maybe you’ve heard of the thousand times, but listen very closely, letting this hand represent you and me and the wallet represents sin.

We all have sin on us. Now God loves us. I hate our sin, but He loves us. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in a place called hell. And God wants us to go to heaven. To go to heaven, we have to be perfect, because righteous is God and none of us are perfect. None of us are good enough. We have never done anything good enough to go to heaven. We have all done things good enough to go to hell.

Because we’ve all sinned, we’re all condemned. God says you can’t save yourself. That’s why you need to save here. The sins that you committed and not committed, we’d have to pay for them. This hand represent 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 the so Christ took the sin paid for them. The cross came back from the dead and said if we believe he did it for us, it put this payment to our account.

We get to go to heaven on what he did. It’s what he did. So I’m asking you, will you trust Jesus Christ to take you to heaven whenever you die. Well, you believe he died and paid for all of your sins. If you believe he did it for you, he said he would save you from hell, give you eternal life, and you get to go to heaven on what he did for you. Let’s pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around.

If you hear this morning and you’ve never trusted the Lord, would you just talk to the Lord and say something simple like this, Lord, I know I’m a sinner. I know I don’t deserve to go to heaven. I’ll never be good enough. But I believe Jesus Christ died on that cross and paid for my sins. And this morning, right now, I am going to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, as my only hope of going to heaven. Pray in God said, if you would trust Him, He would save you.

Will you trust Him? If you’re making that decision, I’d like to have prayer for you. I’m not going to have you forward, not going to embarrass you, but right where you’re sitting. So yes, that made sense to me in preacher. I’d like you to pray for me in closing. We’ll just look at it very quickly, but right back down. And we’re at all. I’m not going to have you forward. I’m not going to embarrass you. You know, we’re going to just slip it up real quick, just so I can see it.

I just look around just a little bit. Sometimes I don’t always see too good. Our Father, we do thank you so much for each person here. And all I pray that these things, these biblical principles, will help each person to learn how to discern things in their life, what they should and should not do because of how much you mean to them. Help us not to be judges in everybody else’s eyes or in their life. Let the Father just do what we do because we care about each other.

Help us not to be stumbling lots. We just commit this service to you, this message to the people. In Christ 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live. Now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. 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 the air. You can reach us till free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calbryoftampa.org. 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 be sold upon the idea. Yes, even though salvation, going to heaven, is a gift that is free. You don’t earn it, you don’t work for it, you cannot buy it. And we’re going to heaven because of what Christ did for us. It’s not what we do for Him. You do not have to change your life. You don’t have to promise God to stop something or start something. There’s no commitment that you had to make for God to save you.

All you had to do is trust Him. And when you trusted Him, He saves you. He sets you free from the penalty of sin. You never have to pay it. And the devil can never get your soul. You’re going to heaven when you die. It’s a done deal. Yes, we believe that once you trust Christ’s Savior, you’re saved forever. And that there’s nothing that you have to do to stay saved. In other words, He is able to save me and keep me and present me faultless to the Father.

I do not deserve that. I didn’t deserve it 50 years ago and I don’t deserve it today and I will not deserve it tomorrow. That was all because of His love for me. But you do need to know how to answer those who believe that you have been simply given a license to sin because there’s people who accuse and slam the gospel of grace because it just gives people a license to do whatever they want to do and still get to go to heaven when they die.

Now I know that sounds bad, but can I as a Christian live however I want to live and still go to heaven when I die? Yes. You shouldn’t say that. That just causes people don’t live like a devil. I don’t know about that. I trust the Lord 50 years ago and I haven’t been trying to live like the devil. These people that are in the choir singing, they’ve trusted Christ as their Savior. They’re not trying to live like the devil.

But why are they trying to do right? Why are they here this morning? They don’t have to be. Because see, when you really understand salvation by grace. You understand how much he really loves you. But if you have to do something to keep it, then it’s got to be because you love him. And it’s your love for him that’s keeping your salvation instead of his love for you keeping your salvation. And then you have to get all the credit and all of the glory.

Look at what I’ve done instead of He did it all for me because He loved me. So yes, after you trust Christ to save you and you’re God’s child, you’re going to heaven when you die. You need to understand how as a child of God to learn to make the correct decisions in the midst of a wicked, crooked world in which we live. So take your Bible and look in Romans in chapter 14. The book of Romans in chapter 14, living by faith is believing that your choice are within the realm of the will of God.

In other words, the choices that you make for your life and God gives you the freedom to make a lot of choices within the realm of the will of God and within the will of God there’s a lot of room to make a lot of choices that will be right And God wants you to study His Word so that you can learn discernment. How to choose the best decision for your life. Now here in Romans 14, looking verse 22, has thou faith?

Have it to thyself before God? Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. In other words, is your conscience clear when you give yourself permission to do the things you choose to do. You see, you have to give yourself permission to make whatever decisions you make. I want to go here. I want to go there. I give myself permission to do whatever I do. When you give yourself permission, does your conscience agree that it was the right thing or does your conscience tell you you’re guilty because it was the wrong thing?

Because you can give yourself permission to do the wrong thing. things you know to do that’s right and you won’t do it. And the Bible says, and we talked about this last week about what is sin and you can do the wrong thing. But you know what was right and you do it anyway. So we’re making decisions all the time and these decisions affect our life, our life. There’s a God in heaven that didn’t just save you and then he’s got other things to do, know other worlds and galaxies and he’s busy over there on the other side of the universe and then we’re just down here doing it but we want to do it and then natural it’s all over what we’re going to meet him one day.

He is intricately involved in every decision you make. He’s watching, listening and many of the things that will happen in your life is because God either directed or permitted things to happen in your life. I believe in the providence of God. I don’t think he just wound up the world and let us take it like a time bomb and he’s busy doing something else No, I believe that God loves me and I’m his child and he knows everything It has happened in my life.

I Live believing that because I believe it’s taught in the word of God Look at that word again happy happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing but you allow do you realize why a lot of people are not happy in life because they’re filled with guilt and Guilt is like a yoke of iron upon your shoulders and it weighs you down until it destroys You see there’s peace and there’s joy There’s happiness when you’re not loaded with guilt and you don’t condemn yourself and that which you permitted yourself to do But we do these things So he says here in verse 23, and he that doubt it is damned if he eat because he eat it not a faith for whatsoever is not a faith.

In other words, you and I are supposedly that whatever we do, it’s the will of God. And if you don’t have the faith that it is the will of God, then you have the faith that it’s not the will of God. And if it’s not the will of God, why did you do it? you and I are commanded in the scripture to live by faith. The just, those who have been saved by faith, are to live by faith. As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord by faith, so walk ye in him.

So we have that responsibility. Look at the little statement I wrote here, since no one can make all of your decisions for you. It is imperative that you learn how to make the right ones for yourself. Here are some biblical principles I believe are taught in the Word of God that will help you discern right from wrong. Because the preacher can’t walk around and hold your hand. I don’t have anybody to walk around and hold on. You got to learn how to stand on your own two feet.

You have to learn how to walk with God. You see there’s a lot of things that are right and wrong but I do not like to set a whole bunch of rules and regulations for people. I have very few. When you want to be a leader, look out because I have some of them. I have a lot of requirements that I think is scriptural, what God says not to do, or what He wants them to do. But the rest of the people that are not committed to a position of leadership, I just don’t believe sometimes people are ready yet.

So you can float, do whatever you want, come and go, but I require those who know crisis, Savior, and are leaders, especially be faithful. Now, there’s things that you do in life, a lot of decisions about things. And you might not think, I don’t see anything wrong with this or wrong with that and somebody else might. So it’s easy to make a whole bunch of rules and regulations. A lot of churches have them. But I try to stay away from as much as possible because I want people to make the decisions.

How, Godly, do you want to be? How spiritual do you want to be? I never told the people in church how many hours that I spend in prayer. Because if I told somebody I spend four hours every morning in prayer, you’d think, well, if I want to be spiritual, I got to spend four hours every morning in prayer. That ain’t true. Well, I read the Bible one hour every day before I meal. So that’s what I got to do.

I get up every morning at four o’clock and have my quiet time. Next thing you know, you think, well, I’ve got to get up at four. You don’t want to live your life by somebody else’s rules. Living by grace is when you do what you do because you believe this is the will of God for me. This is what God wants me to do. and your conscience needs to be clear. Now, you’ve heard me say before, there’s things that I don’t do, there’s places that I don’t go.

You may give yourself permission and it doesn’t bother you when I order. It’s fine. But see, in my mind, there’s things that will bother me if I did the same thing. So I haven’t given myself permission to do certain things because I don’t believe it’s the will of God for me. I have set a high standard for myself. I want to be an example of what I believe faithfulness and loyalty and love evangelism. You name it of what a Christian ought to be.

I believe that’s my responsibility. Not only am I a Christian, I want to live like one, the way a Christian ought to live, in every area of my life. Doing that causes people to take potshots at you. They’re always waiting for that mistake that you make so that they can shoot you off your little perch But of course if you never commit yourself to do anything to be anything Nobody’ll ever bother you nobody else you did you because they won’t even know you you’re a Christian Well, I want everybody to know I’m one But look at 1 Corinthians in chapter 10 1 Corinthians chapter 10 just turn to your right 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and notice verse 31, whatever, therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, you’re to underline this part of the verse, unless you want to learn underline the whole verse.

Do all to the glory of God. Now this is simply a principle because there’s some things that it doesn’t say in the Bible what to do or what not to do. In our day, we may have things that they didn’t have, you know, 2,000 years ago, but you might have to decide, should I or should I not? Is it wise or unwise? But you don’t want to do that which you condemn yourself for doing because that produces the guilt that takes away the happiness and the joy and the peace.

Well, I got the right do anything I want to do. Yeah, you’re free to make the choice Free to make the choice, but all choices have consequences understand it There may be a God in heaven. It says well if you studied and knew this verse you would have done that But because you didn’t study it you didn’t know and Ignorance of the law is no excuse or Agence of the word of God is no excuse. Did you know if a lost man applies biblical principles to his life?

It can get the same resolved if a Christian does it Did you know that you can take some seeds? A Christian can take some corn and plant it in the ground, and a lost man can take some corn and plant it in the ground. And if it rains on both of them, both of them can grow. You see that? This is deep. If a saved man and a lost man go outside and it’s raining, they both gonna get wet.

It rains upon the just and the unjust. And God says in the Book of Romans in chapter two that his goodness to man is what leads a man to repentance. The change is mind about God because he’s so good. So he’s laid down some principles for us. So whatsoever you do, inward or deep or drink, he says, do it all for his glory. In other words, he is glorified. He is pleased with that decision. And when you know God is pleased, you’d be surprised at the peace that you’ll have.

Because you know you’re pleasing the one that as everything in in his hands and he can control. And he can open up doors and he can close doors. He can give you good help and he can allow you to have bad help. He says in the word, some are sick. Some are weak, some are dead. It means that some are sick. By the will of God and some are dead by the will of God. So can you live as you please and get away with it?

Oh, no, no, no, no. Never think you can. But can you live as you please? Yeah. But there’s a price to pay. But understanding why should you make a better decision, a wise decision. Look there in Colossians, a book of Colossians in chapter three. Let me just say this about the thing about what so ever you eat.

I want to get in trouble to say something about eating. I can sure to get in trouble about that. Do you eat to meet a need or do you eat to meet a want? There’s a difference. We eat because we need to eat. If we don’t eat, we die. But do you eat what you need to eat? Or do you just simply eat whatever you want and you know that if you just eat whatever you want As much as you want Whenever you want there’s a price to pay Yes or no Yes, there is and so when you sit down and you eat and when you get full It’s satisfied stop Just because you still got five items on your plate Was so I don’t want it to go to waste it will it will You’re either burning or wear it So The next time you go through the line or whatever you do

You think I want to eat what I need Now you need some food and there’s a lot of freedom gods given to us about food But learning how to say not is enough When’s enough enough? I like when these years, the beer commercials coming in. No when to say when. I know when to say when. Don’t take the first one. And you don’t have to worry about it. Don’t say when. I will never become an alcoholic if I never take the first drop.

So by doing so, I have lived long enough to understand that there’s a few restraints in my life that I’ve never had a regret for. I could regret if I do something that I shouldn’t do and that I don’t know how to say no or how to quit and I become addicted. What if I just try some drugs? You know if I want to quit I’ll quit? But what if I can’t quit now? What if I just take a little social drink and the more I drink the or social lie yet.

And after all, I’m very sociable. But now, is it wise? Do I have a right? You’re free? God said it’s free. But it says, don’t use your liberty, your freedom, as a cloak of maliciousness, or as a stumbling block. So we can do whatever we want. You’re free, because God did not save you or me because we predetermined that we would serve him and not do certain things and we would do other things. There was no condition on our salvation.

We were free. I, as a child of God, I don’t have to serve him. I do not have to go to church and I do not have to give any money and I do not have to pray and I don’t have to read my Bible and I’ll still go to heaven because he loved me that much and nobody can make me do it. God can’t even make me do it. He can only make me suffer consequences for my stupidity but because he loves us, he loves us enough to give us freedom and he says, if you love me, if you love me, serve me if you let me.

Now if you don’t let them, all your legalism in the world ain’t gonna work for you. It ain’t gonna make you spiritual or godly. It’s just gonna make you a man of a law that lays down the strictness of the law and no freedom and it kills. And that’s why a lot of people rebel against it. I despise the legalism and yet it doesn’t mean that I don’t have standards or convictions or led by biblical principle. Here in Colossians, I want you to look in chapter 3, look in verse 17, and whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

So you give thanks to the Lord by Jesus Christ because of Him. Now. If that doesn’t motivate you, then nothing’s going to motivate you. But what I want you to notice is something very important here. In verse 18 it says, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husband as it is fit in the Lord. Verse 19, husbands, love your wives, be not bitter against them. Verse 20, children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

Fathers in verse 21, provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged. Verse 22, servants. Verse 23, it hit all of us. Whatsoever you do, do it hardly, get this as to the Lord, not unto men. So when it talks about wives, submitting yourselves to the husband, do it as unto the Lord. Looking verse 21, knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, and New York on the line for ye serve the Lord Christ.

when he says children obey your parents, for ye serve the Lord. Serving the Lord teenagers is obedience to God. That is serving the Lord when you obey. Husbands, love your wives. Loving your wife is serving the Lord. So if you don’t submit yourself to your husband as good wives ought to, you’re not serving the Lord. And if you do not love your wives as you ought to, You’re not serving the Lord in that area of your life. Children that do not obey their parents are not serving the Lord in that area of their life.

As some areas you may obey, and some areas you disobey. Now I know there’s some people that teach he’s either Lord of all or he not Lord at all. That isn’t true. I’ve had children, I’ve got grandkids and some areas that they obey and some areas they don’t. And you’re the same way. Some of your areas of your life you are obedient, in some areas of life, you’re not, you pick and choose. But look down here in that verse again, in verse 24, knowing, knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive, knowing that of the Lord, you shall receive.

But you should also know that if you don’t do what God says do for his honor and for his glory, you will not receive what God has for you. That’s why you even talked about husband and wives. Be right with the Lord, because if you don’t, then your prayers will be hindered. Verse 3 to chapter 3. So important. I could get lost in some of these verses, but I’m gonna move right along. Verse Corinthians in chapter eight, looking first Corinthians chapter eight, just turn to your left very quickly.

Look in verse nine. He says in verse nine, but take heedless by any means, this, get this liberty of yours. Become a stumbling block to them that are weak. See, not everybody’s strong. Not everybody’s as strong as you are. And some people, if they did the same thing that you permit yourself to do, and it doesn’t bother me. Okay, but could it bother somebody else to the point that they could become weak? And Stumble because of it. And go further than you would go.

You see, there’s the cliff right there. Now, some people get exhilaration, trying to see how close they can get to the cliff that I fall over. There’s just something about, you know, living dangerously, living on the edge. I know, but what if somebody else is on the edge and they just go just another step too far? He says, you know, maybe not for you, but because you love somebody else and they’re weaker in the Lord. They’re not as strong.

Maybe you ought to back up from that edge for their sake because you love them because you want the best for them. If you restrain yourself from doing that, what punishment is there? But if you go too far, there is a great punishment, a lot of great damage. How much suffering have I gone through in my life because I missed I don’t take a drink. Boy, I’ve lost a lot. I’ve suffered a lot because I never drink. Because I never had a cigarette in my mouth and I’ve never tasted.

I have no clue what it’s like. Boy, I’ve really left that. I mean, it’s just a poor life that I’ve had because of that. I don’t wake up in the morning coughing and hacking. I don’t have lung cancer. Now, let me tell you this. I’m not trying to break, I’m trying to help people. I’m going on 68 years, no, I’m always 68. I’m going on 69. They don’t matter, I’m up there. At this point in my life, and I want you to understand this, my heart rate averages between 50 and 60 all the time.

My blood pressure is about 110, 120 over 60, 65 all the time. I don’t have headaches. I don’t have a Any medical problems? I’m not diabetic. I don’t have to take any kind of medicine for anything. I don’t have high cholesterol. I’m fine. But I do have to watch myself. I believe that serving the Lord and putting him first in my life does make a difference physically. And if I don’t watch myself, I can go downhill real quick. Now, I may die tomorrow.

something. I got to die something. But I’m going to thank the Lord and praise the Lord for what He has done for me. And the things that I have restrained myself from doing, I believe, would have hurt me or harmed me. I simply believe that I can do more for the Lord longer if I stay healthier. Now, is something wrong with me? I don’t think it’s wrong to think the way I’m thinking. Like Paul made a statement about women.

He said, I would, did all of them were like me. Leave them all alone. I believe that people would do better if they did love the Lord more. And they disciplined themselves to watch themselves, guard themselves. it’ll keep you from a lot of addictions that you don’t need. It probably would take away a lot of medicine you don’t need. Now some of it, I’m not a doctor, I’m just simply telling you that I know enough that it can affect you physically when you don’t do right spiritually.

The guilt of permitting yourself to do whatever you want to do can take its toll upon you in time. it can wear that body down so that body can’t go. Now like I said, I may die tomorrow or the next week, but I am gonna praise the Lord today for what He has done. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future, but I do believe that it will make a difference in your life if you try some of the biblical principles in the Word of God and to live where you can forgive other people.

Live without bitterness and hatred and the grudges, the meanness and the unkindness. You can do this, you can do this. So he says there in verse nine, but take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. And there’s a lot of weak people in this world. I don’t believe that I’ve hurt anybody in this life by my staying away from certain things that could maybe more harm me, but it might cause somebody else to be harmed.

I want my love for them to discipline me because I care. If you don’t care about nobody, but then you can do whatever you wanna do. But there’s a price to pay. 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 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. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our home page. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634.

Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.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. 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.