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

Pick your Bible and turn to the book of Romans. The book of Romans. And I want you to look in chapter 9, Romans chapter 9. But I want you to know to something that is mentioned here about the Israelites. In verse 4, he says, who are Israelites? To whom pertain at the adoption and the glory, the covenants and the given of the law, the service of God and the promises. who are the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is overall God blessed forever, Amen.

Then it tells you a little bit about how God chooses. Here’s all the people on the face of the earth and God decides to take a man Abraham. God didn’t come down and says Abraham I got an idea. I want to run it by you see what you think. No. God determined after the counsel of his own will. Have you ever talked to yourself? Evertantly the father of the Son and the Holy Spirit got together and they had an idea?

I’ve often wondered how that God can have an idea. He knows everything from the beginning. How can he learn anything? He knows everything. And if you know everything, you’ve always known it. And if you’ve always known it, did I always exist in the mind of God? But I want you to look there in Romans in chapter 9. And notice what he says in verse 11, for theternal children, not yet born, but neither have done any good or evil that1965 the purpose of God according to election or how he chooses might stand.

Not of works, but of him that call it. So he’s talking about, you know, Sarah is going to have a son, there was Ishmael, and then there’s Isaac and Jacob and Esau, all these various individuals and God made a choice. God before man was ever made chose how he was going to make a decision and let us know. He didn’t base it upon man’s works but there’s some things that he did do that are based upon what we say and do.

For example, God chose from the very beginning to save every individual that would trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. But God did not determine who believes. That’s your choice. That’s my choice. So whenever I trusted Christ as my Savior, God did not make me do it. I was presented the gospel and I had a choice. But God has already pre-determined to save anybody who would trust Him. So He says, going to all the world, preach the gospel to every creature that whosoever, believe it, should not perish but have everlasting life.

Now what I want you to see is that God says here in chapter 9 of Romans, I will do this, I will, I will, I will. It’s like God makes a decision. Who can argue with the sovereignty of God? But remember that in the sovereignty of God, he chose to give man a free will. So who God who can do anything he wants, chose to give us a free will so that we can choose. And our choices have consequences.

Understand that man has an accountability to God. So there’s some things that he can do and there’s consequences to it. Now God has promised many things as you go through scripture. Some things are definite. God has determined it’s going to happen and you’re not going to change it nor am I. There are some things that God says might be, could be, perhaps, per adventure. Like whenever Jesus made the statement when he overlooked the city of Jerusalem, he says Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

He says how often I would have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks But you would not you would not not that you could not you would not So it was something that was based upon their decision It didn’t have to be the way it was They didn’t have to reject They didn’t have to be rebellious to God, but they chose to So he says how often I would have and this is God said I would have done this but no you wouldn’t.

And then he also tells the Pharisees in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John, he says, you will not come unto me that you may have life. So they could have eternal life, but they wouldn’t come to him. So he says, you will not come. It didn’t say you could not, he says you will not. You see, a lot of times people know truth. They know what they should do and so don’t do it. But there are consequences to decisions.

So we need to understand there are some things that God has determined. And therefore we can rest assured they will happen. Because it will not depend upon what we do or don’t do. Many things God has given us in His word. So we’re going to take a look at just a few of them as we kind of go through this. Now, there was a flood. God determined the flood. Man didn’t determine the flood. God did that. And when he determined the flood, the flood was going to come.

But it was a result of decisions that people made. It says that God looked upon the world and the world was sinful and there was nothing to behold them or restrain them from doing anything they imagined. But it tells us that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, saved him, his wife, three sons, their wives, eight people got on the lark. They built the boat, and it did flute.

And therefore, great things were done, he’s a great man of faith. But did you notice that it doesn’t matter who the man is, and at what time he is, they always seemed like they mess up. Noah got drunk right after they got off the Ark. Oh well, so much. I’m glad that today we have leaders of character and they don’t mess up. Now, why would you laugh? I mean, just look at Washington, all these godly men that we have up there that are good examples for us.

It’s enough to make it nauseated. And I believe if it makes us sick, just think what it does to God. But there are consequences to our decision. There was to theirs. And God is able to deliver those. He wants to deliver and He’s able to destroy those that He chose to destroy. So that’s why in the book of Romans, when He makes the statement, He says, He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. And He will have wrath on whom He will have wrath.

And so you look there and see that verse here, in verse 18, therefore have He mercy on whom He will have mercy, whom he will, he hardeneth. Thy will say then unto me, why does he yet find fault for who hath resisted is will? In the word, if God makes man do everything he wants him to do, how can God find fault with man because he made us that away? It’s God’s fault. Therefore, I mean, we’re nothing more than puppets on a string and God just pull them the strings and everybody’s dancing to his tune.

How come it’s my fault for what I do if God made me do it? See, that’s a Calvinistic, fatalistic approach to the Scriptures, and that’s not what it says. But that’s what you understand when you only go from a human viewpoint. But when you look at it from God’s point of view, this is what God says. God says, I’m gonna take all of those who harden their heart toward me. I’m gonna harden their hearts even more so, and I’m gonna use every person who rebels against me vessel of wrath.

And all those that obey me, you to me, submit to me, I’m going to use them as a vessel of mercy. So, see, God’s the one that decides that I’m going to have vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy, but you and I are the ones that decides which one we’re going to be. So, if I decide to be a vessel of wrath because of my rebellion, my attitude toward God, then God is free to do anything he wants to reveal his wrath upon me.

So he makes the statement in verse 21, he says, hath not the potter power over the clay? Of the same lump to make one vessel on the honor, another on the dishonor? What if God wanted to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured? It get endured with much long suffering. The vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. In other words, God is patient, he’s long suffering. He gives you time to yield, to be flexible, pliable in his hand so he can shape and mold you into a vessel of mercy.

So he can bestow your, his grace upon you. See, God is a patient God. When you trust Christ as your Savior, he becomes your father, and if he’s my father, I’m his child, and if I’m a rebellious child, my Heavenly Father’s already decided. He’s going to chasten every one of his rebellious children. How are he? He says, oh, he burns in chapter 12. So he’s going to discipline me and chasten me because of my rebellion to him. I know that my heavenly Father is patient and long suffering, but I should understand I cannot rebel against God and get away with it.

There’s a price to pay. I’m his child. I’m going to heaven, but I’m not there yet. yet. So there’s a price to pay for it rebellion. So he makes this statement here in verse 22, what if God willing to show his wrath to make his power known? See, God uses people to either be a blessing or to reveal his wrath, then he uses people to show how good he is or to show his wrath upon sin. So as you go down through the Bible, you’ll find out where God gave people time and they rebelled.

He worked with them, they rebelled. And then God has to chasten some places he destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sins. So he says there in verse 23, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had the four prepared under glory. So he endures long suffering those who are going to be chastened and he prepares those that are going going to be vessels of mercy. One that God can use.

So here you and I are and we have the opportunity as his children, do I want to be used by God? Then I have to prepare. So God prepares those he wants to use. And those that rebel against the Lord, God says he’s patient, he’s long suffered, but he’s going to have to chase. And so we determine whether not we are a vessel of wrath or a vessel of mercy. God determines the blessing or the chastening on the vessels of wrath or the vessels of mercy.

So you see there’s things God has determined that cannot be changed and if I as a child of God rebel against the Lord it won’t matter I can’t say God no God I’ve been a I’ve been a preacher enough of 45 years now. You ought to cut me a little slack. I don’t think that dog will hunt. You see, it don’t matter who you are.

God will resist the proud. He’ll give grace to the humble. God can lift you up and God can put you down, but always remember in the back of your mind. Be sure your sin will find you out. So you can run, but you can’t hide. There’s consequences to our decisions. Now you move on down through time and you find out that God made a promise to a man named Abraham. He gave him a promise that he was going to justify the heathen through faith.

When he gave him that promise, remember, there are some things that are conditional. Some things are unconditional. When he gave them the law, they said, we will do. So it was conditional upon their obedience. There are some things that God promised Abraham that was unconditional. And so God says, this depends on me. There’s other things God says, depends on you. We often tell people in the Lord’s Word, you pray like it all depends on God. Then you work like it all depends on you.

And between prayer and your work, you get something done. Some people just pray and I left it to the Lord and then you go the however you want. It don’t work that way. Neither are you supposed to work yourself to death is what all depends on you and nothing depends on God. God has seen fit to bless the fruits of our labor. If you will serve me, he says, him will my father honor. So if you will faithfully serve the Lord, you’d be surprised what God will do for you.

Did you know a lost man can take corn and plant it in the ground? And a Christian can take corn and plant it in the ground? And both of them will come up. It rained upon the just and the unjust. Lost man has problems, Christians have problems. The believers have most of the same problem that a lost man has, don’t they? They lose jobs, Christians lose jobs. Lost men get sick, same men get sick. They have kid problems, you got kid problems, they got white problems, you got white problems.

They got health problems, you got health problems. They die, you die. because you’re a Christian doesn’t eliminate the pains of life. But you and I are supposed to be able to make better choices, better decisions, because we want better results, better consequences. And so therefore we know that there is a God in heaven that says, if I will do thus, thus and thus, he’s promised that he would bless. And if I do this and this, He says he’s going to chase me, maybe take me home before my time.

So we’re burdened with this idea of blessings or chasteening. What do I want from God? How do I want my life to be? Now as you go through and you find out, the law was given and Israel said all that he had to us, commanded us, we will do. So they had like a marriage. And Israel, did Israel keep their part of the bargain? No. They never kept the law because they never kept the law that was a price to pay.

And so Israel as a nation was scattered upon the face of the year. So that’s why the temple was destroyed and the Jews were scattered upon the face of the year. And God says that in the last days Israel has been scattered for almost 2000 years. They’re going to come back to the land. Now, the nation of Israel was God’s decision. Whether or not they are blessed or chastened depends on their obedience to the Lord. And so because of their rebellion to God, because they rejected the Messiah, Jesus says not one stone will be left on top of the other And so the temple was totally destroyed.

Titus from Rome came in in 68 AD, late siege against the city, and two years later, the nation of Israel fell. The temple was destroyed. Jews were scattered. And after 2,000 years, you and I know nobody is going to be able to put a nation back together again. never happened to any other nation, but lo and behold, Israel becomes a nation again. And we know that in the very near future, this period of time right here called the seven year tribulation period, there’s going to be a peace treaty.

The Bible talks about this in the book of Daniel in chapter 9. We often hear about the peace treaty, this covenant that’s supposed to be made. And we hear about the antichrist, somewhere along the line, there’s got to be a man that comes on the scene and the Bible says he will be so much like the devil. He will be articulate with words, he will be a liar and he will deceive the world. He will lie, but people will believe it and he will turn the world against Israel.

But before he does that he must seem like the Savior of Israel, somewhere along the line, and we’ve said this before, something has to happen in the Middle East. I’ve said this quite a few times since I’ve been here. Something really has to happen in the Middle East to have a peace treaty. Why would these Arab nations want to have peace with Israel if they could take care of them? So all they keep doing is seeing whether or not what is their resistance?

How far are they willing to go? Did you know? What if you lived in Israel and you were Jewish and they started lobbing these missiles in there? What if they did it from all of those countries around the bottom? How could that little nation defend themselves against over 50 Muslim countries? And then a lot of people in other countries don’t like the Jewish people. the Bible says, God said, I’m going to have, they are going to hate the nation of Israel.

And ye shall be hated of all nations. And buddy, that’s come to be fulfilled. But it says there’s going to be a peace treaty made. Now, to me in my mind, I think something has to drastically happen to cause the world to accept a one-world leader. Why would they do so? Something has to happen where Israel is able to live in safety. Because the first three and a half years see is they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction.

And that’s the last half of the tribulation period. So it’s the worst part. It’s the great tribulation. Worst period of time the world has ever known. ever known. And isn’t it amazing that this is where we are right now. We’re in this 2000 year time called the church age, 2000 years long. Pentecost to the rapture. This is when Jesus Christ is going to come back. Now see, we don’t plan that. God plans that. He’s already determined this is going to happen.

This is going to take place. You and I are not going to stop it. It will happen and everyone who’s trusted Christ is their Savior will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That’s the rapture. It’s a snatching away of God’s people. And God says there’s going to be the great tribulation upon the earth, but it begins with a peace treaty. So something has to happen to cause Israel to agree to a peace treaty. They must have the right to exist as a people, the right to their land, and the right to rebuild their temple.

You know, I was over there one year and met a guy named Gerson Solomon. I interviewed him and I still got the tapes of it. It was a good interview, but from what I could tell and talk to him, he has not trusted in Christ. He believes in the Messiah is yet to come. He said, if you’re listening closely, you can hear him. The footsteps of the Messiah. But I told him, I said, he’s already come once. And he just smiled at me, you know.

But he didn’t believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. And, but it was interesting in, in a reunion because he was talking about they have certain stones. They’ve already got for the temple and they’re ready to rebuild the temple and they want to rebuild their temple. And he’s even tried to have a cornerstone place And there’s so much. And he’s a very interesting guy to talk to. And then that was about 25 years ago, so he must be an old man by now.

Because I’m not. I mean, I’m… But anyway, it’s interesting to see what’s going on. I was over there and they were talking about some of the things that they have to have for the temple. They talked about how they’re trying to breed the red heifer because of the ashes from the red heifer. They talk about the candlestick and the menorah, all these things, and they’re working toward that position. I made a statement one time, I says, and this was years ago, maybe 10 years ago, something like that, that’s years ago.

I said, I believe there’s a good possibility. Somehow it seems like the nation of Israel has got to develop some way of telling who is on what tribe? How do you know who is the tribe of Levi? And so you’ve got to have certain ones. And I said, maybe by the DNA, there’s something special about every Jewish person that has in their DNA, something that puts them in a particular tribe. I thought, wouldn’t it be neat if they could figure this thing out?

But I’m going to let God deal with that. We know that right now we’re living at the most exciting time of human history. But you see prophecy can be good if it challenge you and Motivates you to do something with your life now a lot of people that just want to sit around and just study Prophecy study prophecy and all the time about when he comes and when he’s gonna come and when the rapture is gonna happen And you can waste your life doing that never accomplish a thing with your life If you knew it all it shouldn’t change the way you live They should motivate you to want to do more for the Lord, not just sit around and say, well, I know the Hebrew and I knew the Greek and I know when this is going to happen.

I’m like, OK, that’s fine. What are you doing? You’re winning anybody to Christ. You’re changing anybody’s life. What kind of an impact are you having anybody’s, you know, that’s what it’s about. It’s about us serving the Lord because of it. Yes, I’m looking for the Lord. He might come back today. But if you don’t come back today, I’m not going to lose no sleep over that. I’m looking for him tomorrow. The next day, I’ll look for him every day.

Now, I don’t, if he wants to come back in October, that would be fine. But I don’t mind if he comes back today. See, I don’t really care when he comes. I doubt any of us, whatever figure I had exactly the day, he’s going to come. And what will be the value? If you really knew, would you do more? So you need to understand there’s consequences to our decision. Some things will not change. You see, this is going to happen.

God determined that. You and I, we live in these periods of time. We live right here. And we make decisions and choices under the umbrella of the will of God. There’s a time limit God puts. You and I are here and we make decisions and there’s consequences to our decision. God has already determined that this is going to take place Christ is going to come back in power and great glory called the revelation This is comes when he comes with us.

This is when he comes for us And takes us to heaven. This is already determined. That’s going to happen He didn’t ask us if we wanted to Be a real thing enough. It’s going to take place. It’s where God is going to reward you For what you’ve done for him So if you don’t serve Him, you don’t get rewarded. But if you do, God will. And the rewards you get, many believe that it’s because of your service during the thousand year reign upon the earth.

And we’re gonna rule and reign with Christ for this thousand year. But see, all of these things are determined by God. He says, man is not going to destroy the earth. there’s going to be another thousand years yet. Then God said, He’s going to destroy this earth by fire. Then there’ll be a new heavens and a new earth and a holy city. And He makes the statement about the holy city and I John saw the holy city coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

That day’s coming, but it’s real. It doesn’t have, it doesn’t have anything to do with our obedience or disobedience. There’s thing God has determined that’s going to take place. You and I should not be concerned what God has determined, but the things that He’s given us choices on. What kind of choices are you making with your life? That’s important. Because, you see, that’s where you and I live. That’s what determines whether or not we get the chastenings of God or we get the blessings of God.

Not only here, but also for all eternity. All eternity, your future is been determined by your obedience That God today, let’s pray, shall we? Father, we thank you so much for this time together. Bless each one, help us to be wise. To realize that we live in an exciting time, so much to be done, help us to make the right decisions. Bless each one here and give us a good service to follow. In Christ’s name we pray, amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing tool free, 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us.

The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcasts of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound and we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.