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

Realize that you’re going to have afflictions in this world, but those afflictions are not going to stop you from serving the Lord, from trusting the Lord. See, that’s what the devil is after, trying to use the afflictions to stop you because that’s what he does. He’s been in the business for 6,000 years or more and he knows what he’s doing. He knows what’s worked on everybody else. Do you want to be like everybody else or do you want to be different?

This is why it’s so important. So he says, but Satan hindered us. Now look at the next verse. for what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. And He’s not talking about just because they had trusted Christ as their Savior, but because they became examples of the believer. That’s why He makes that statement over there. We behaved ourselves among you that believe and then those that did believe behaved themselves and became examples.

And so he says, my labor is not in vain, not only because you trust the Lord, but because you grew in the Lord. And your love is manifested to everyone, your work of faith, your labor of love, your patience of hope, all those things you grew, you developed, you matured. And I can’t wait until you get to heaven to see what you’re going to get. behind all of these things is something that every Christian needs to understand is that we should do especially good to those who know the Lord and try to encourage one another.

Don’t you think that’s a good thing to do? Everybody needs encouragement. And so you come to chapter 3. In chapter 3, he talks about some wonderful things and how that he says, I want to know how you do it in certain areas. So look there in verse 3. He says that no man should be moved by these afflictions. What causes people to be moved afflictions? I don’t have money. My health is bad. Friends are mad at me. Everything’s going wrong.

My husband left me. My wife left me. My kids don’t love me. What is the reason? There is no reason that should come between you and the Lord. That’s why he says that no man should be moved by these affliction for yourselves know that we are appointed. In other words, you know what’s going to happen. You’re appointed to suffer. You’re going to have afflictions. And the trials and tribulation is what works the patience that makes you valuable because it teaches you a lesson by the experiences that you go through that you can be using greater ways.

So you can hang here looking verse five. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by any means that the tempter have tempted you and our labor be in vain. See, he’s not talking here about people not trusting the Lord. He’s talking about here of the growth of the people that knew the Lord, those that did believe. See, there’s a ministry not just winning people to Christ, which is one ministry. There’s another one about challenging people to serve the Lord, to love the Lord.

So you don’t want there to be things in your life that would cause people not to do that. And then knowing that one day they’re going to stand before the Lord and people that you have challenged to serve the Lord and been a good example in front of them and they amount to something. And you don’t want your labor to be in vain. You want to see people succeed. If there’s anything any Christian wants is see somebody that they’ve influenced to succeed in the Lord.

To grow in the Lord. to have a ministry in the Lord and you help. I’m not a little legislation I gave one time, but there’s a Mercedes and you’re gonna give it to somebody. Oh yeah, and here’s a quarter. I helped. Well, that’s not when it comes to salvation, but when it comes to service, that’s a different story. You want to be, I helped. I helped. I did that. Now, look what he says there in verse 12. Up chapter 3, verse 12.

He says, and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love, one toward another. and toward all men, even as we do toward you, to the end, he may establish your hearts, unblamably in holiness before God. In other words, the way we behaved ourselves among you, we want you to do that in the lives of others. See, it’s easy for Paul to say this and to challenge them to do this if they did it. That’s what makes him good examples.

And so you want to be a good example. Can you be able to say to other people, look, you follow my example. Follow me as I follow Christ. Now that’s good as long as you’re following Christ. But you want them to follow you long enough to learn how to walk. And then God may move you away and then they’ll walk between them and the Lord. But most people that are learning, they have to have help. You just don’t say, go walk with the Lord.

Go serve the Lord. They don’t know anything. thing. They got to be taught. They got to be brought along. So important. Now, look in verse 13. And you’ll notice that behind it again is a wonderful verse, to the end he may establish your heart unblamably in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you ought to underline that whole line with all his saints. So you see, you’re talking here about God’s people, not the lost people.

Now we already had enough sermons on reaching the lost, reaching the lost, reaching the lost, and we ought to do that. But there’s another part of our ministry, and that’s in the lives of other Christians. So one day when Christ comes back, we’re going to all be together. Now right now, something heaven, and some’s on the earth. And Ephesians in chapter three talks about the family of God. Those are in heaven and those that that are on the earth, and about us loving the Lord and serving the Lord in such a way that we might know and understand the height and the breadth and the depth and so forth of the love of God.

Now you get to chapter 4 and it tells us about these bodies of ours and that it is his tool belongs to him and he owns the house in which we live. So he says here about this body that we have. verse one. Furthermore then we beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God. Now you’ve received it from us. We were a good example.

We’ve taught you. Ye have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God and you ought to underline this statement. so ye would abound more and more. We did what we did sacrifice what we sacrifice for your benefit. Serving the Lord is for other people’s benefit, but it helps you to grow at the same time. That’s what matures you is whenever you start trying to help somebody because you’re going to have to put up a lawful lot with people.

Some people are not going to be lovable. You were trying to love somebody that’s not very lovable. There’s a few people out there like that. And to be kind to those that are not kind to you, to forgive others who won’t forgive you, I know some people say, I’ll never forgive them if it’s the last thing I do.

And then you got to forgive them because God’s words have come and just to forgive one another. Now, forgiving somebody of what they did to you really does more for you than for the person. It cleans your mind, cleans your slate, and it means you don’t hold grudges. Because if you don’t, that builds inside of you and causes bitterness. The next thing you know, it really hurts you. It destroys you. It’s a wrecking job, but it’s done from the inside job.

So forgiving somebody really releases you. You’ve released the person that wronged you. Otherwise, you’ll try to either get even. You’ll become hurtful and bitter and so forth. Don’t do that. Just forgive him. It isn’t worth it. And you’ll find out this. Here he makes a statement. So you would have bound more and more. Now look in verse three. In verse three, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.

That means taking this body of ours with all of its sinful desires and keeping it under control. To know how to possess it, how to control it. And that’s with the Lord. So therefore he gives us some good things down through here. And notice when he says down here now in verse 12. That you may walk honestly toward them that are without. That you may lack nothing. Verse 13 gets into the subject that we often talk about the rapture.

He said, but I would not have it to be ignorant brethren concerning them, which are asleep, but we don’t have to sorrow as those who have no hope. We know we’re going to see each other again, even those that have already died in the Lord. Because if we believe, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air when He comes back. So He makes a statement there in verse 16, for the Lord Himself shall descend.

From heaven, with a shout, with a voice of the Archangel, with the Trump of God and the dead in Christ arise first glands. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. We’re for comfort one another with these words. These are supposed to bring great comfort to all of God’s children. Because we know that those who have already died, we’re going to see them again.

And it’ll be the ones that died, the ones that we know, or there’s no value in telling us that, you know, hey, you’re gonna see them again. Well, let’s just the same one, there’s no value to it. So it’s the same ones. We’re gonna see our loved ones again. So even as you end chapter four, you see that it’s talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Because you see, there’s gotta be something that we can look to and believe in, and that’s why in the book of Titus, It talks about the blessed hope.

The blessed hope. We joyfully anticipate this wonderful event taking place in our own lifetime. Now, chapter five, as we’ve covered many times before, there’s gonna be a time coming, and the Lord tells us that we should understand that we are going to be delivered from the wrath to come. That’s in verse nine. So we’ll be delivered from that. And we have obtained salvation from the wrath to come. So when you mentioned the rapture in chapter four and then the wrath to come, which is after the rapture, it tells us until that time, until the Lord comes.

If you’ll notice there in verse 23, and the very God, the very God of peace, sanctify you holy, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we are supposed to be looking for Christ to come and to be found faithful until that day, until that moment, body, soul and spirit. Now, look at very quickly in 2 Thessalonians in chapter one. When we leave this world, we are resting in heaven with the Lord.

is called arrest. And as he says, rest with us until our blood be avenged on them that dwell on the year. So that’s in chapter six of the book of Revelation when he says, rest with us until the rest of our brothers should be killed as we were. But that’s doing the tribulation period. So we’re going to rest there. So when you read here in verse 6 of chapter 1, seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled, rest with us.

Now I’m not sure that Paul knew that he was not going to go up in the rapture because he already said, my departure is at hand. He knew he was going to die. I finished my course, I’ve run my race. I’ve been faithful. But he says, rest well, when the Lord Jesus shall be, and here the word is revealed, from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.

You see, this is when Christ comes back to be glorified in his saints. He comes before that for his saints, here he says, because in verse 10, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believed, and here’s why, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Now here you are and here I am. We’re living in this day. There’s coming a day when, as the Lord says right here, our testimony was believed in that So we won.

Our testimony not to cause people not to believe, but to cause them to believe. Something about us because of the things that we say and do. It all goes together. God uses the man, the message and the method. All put together to get a person to trust Christ’s Savior. And we want to be able to say, these are the people that believed our testimony in that day. Do you know there’s going to be a multitude of people in heaven?

That trusted the Lord because of those who went out on Friday night, so winning Just think of how many people they’ve talked to and the ones that they didn’t have trust the Lord Did you know there’s a testimony also among them? Even though they were given a track Maybe they walk away. Maybe they’re doing the trash Maybe they told them to get out of here and leave me alone or whatever but there are a bunch that trusted the Lord and Their testimony was believed in that day.

There’s coming a day when we get to heaven that it all will be worth it. But you see, you have to wait till then to get the praise, the honor, and the glory from God Himself. So you always work. We always do what we do because we know that day is coming. Some have already left. Hank Lindstrom’s already up there. Do you believe that there were any body that believed the testimony that he gave while he was here? Multitudes of people.

I still meet people because of the radio or the internet or something. Hank Lindstrom has led them to the Lord. I have been in a lot of countries and I’ve met people that Dr. A. Ray Stanford led the Christ. Some he never even knew, but Ray led him to Christ. Or like this bandit came today because of watching me on the YouTube. I don’t ever go there. Somebody told me that if they were on there now, I went and I looked and there they are.

Or the guy that trusts the Lord over in London. Or the one that called me, not called me, but he made me all the way from the Philippines. Trust the Lord, a preacher. Isn’t it wonderful that because, but you don’t know until we get to heaven all the results of everything we did. Those little children that are in a Wanna that are in Sunday school, did you know they’re learning stories and so forth about character? They’re learning how to give the gospel how to discern, even though right now they’re little children, one day they’re gonna be adults.

And they’ll know what they know because somebody took time to teach them those little children and those little children could, who knows, turn the world upside down some day, but you want their testimony to be believed, be believed in that day. So he says he’s coming back. And in the last part in verse 12, I want you to see that, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye and him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, I want to just very briefly state this because I think it’s important. He talked about the rapture in chapter 4, talked about the wrath, the wrath there in chapter 5, and then you get here and he says that the Lord is going to come back in power and great glory, be revealed, and every eye is going to see him, but this day is different from the other day. And he says in verse 1 of chapter 2, now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering unto Him.

Our gathering to Him is different. That’s when the believers are gathered to Him, but then He’s going to come back and be revealed with all the saints. And then He says they’re in verse two, and be not soon shaken and in mind or troubled, neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us, that day. And then in verse three, that day. Well, that day that He’s talking about here is that day when Christ comes back and power and great, and will be revealed, as He says there in verse 7 and 8.

When He comes back then, He says, rest with us. When the Lord shall come down here. But He’s talking about that tribulation period at the end of it when He comes back and takes judgment upon the earth. So this is going to take place and the Lord is going to come back. And it’s So important for us to realize and understand. In the book of 2 Thessalonians, it tells us about as a child of God what we’re supposed to do.

Until then. But he’s coming back. One day he will be here. Now look in verse 9 of chapter 3. Verse 9, notice what he tells them like he told them over there in chapter 1 of 1 Thessalonians. Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us. And Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. I want to be a good example for you to follow. I didn’t say I was the best.

I am an example. An example. You are an example. Somebody is following us. And I want people to follow my example as I follow the Lord.Used But I want youktop know the Word of God in such a way that you’re able to discern if I’m right or wrong. You don’t blindly follow anybody. Thatparams what’s wrong today is most people in most churches have not a clue. not a clue how to discern what’s truth. They don’t know the book. They don’t study the Bible.

This is why we saydamn, now look at this verse, now look at this verse, now look at this verse. And after a while the Word of God will permeate your thinking and you’ll have great discernment. You’ll know something. You can listen to redes anybody who says, that’s right, no that’s wrong, that’s right, that’s wrong. And you can tell by what somebody says, well there’s right orUpdated. Based upon your knowledge of those scriptures, because you don’t want to rest upon somebody else’s always telling you what’s right and what’s wrong.

A preacher is a guide you, but he can’t think for a year. You can’t think for me. You know what I have missed all these years ymm about 50 years. I don’t have a preacher. Think about it for a moment. I’ve never had a preacher in over 50 years. I’ve had to do it on my own because I don’t have a preacher. I’ve been doing all the preaching and I don’t usually get too much time to sit and listen some other preacher someplace.

So a lot of times when they have a preacher’s session or something like that or a Baptist fellowship or somebody I like to go and sit there and just listen. And sometimes I wish I hadn’t. But I like to just listen and see what other preachers are preaching. And so sometimes you learn a little jewel here and sometimes you ask, sometimes it’s a piece of gold and sometimes a piece of coal. So you listen and you learn, but that verse, an example under you to follow us.

So we have scriptures that to help us with the background of the second coming of Christ. Christ is coming back. We’re supposed to be looking up because we believe it. Have you noticed that one of the ends that I have on my radio broadcast, I always end it with the same words and it’s always keep looking up, keep looking up. And I was told, and I had that on my radio broadcast probably for 15, 20 years now, even up in Georgia and I didn’t Colorado, keep looking up.

I came down here and I found out Hank Lindstrom had pretty much that same thing. Always like keep looking up. He must have got that from me. No, but you know, some of God’s people, you’re always, that’s what drives you. It does. It motivates. It drives you. And you love prophecy and you love soul when in it kind of like goes together. And so you keep talking about the Second Coming of Christ. You’re always interested in what’s going on in Israel, but there’s some things you can know about Israel is that there’s going to be a battle and we’re going to be out of here first.

You know the thing is going to get bad. I could speak every week on what’s happening in the Middle East and you not grow at all. This is what you need in spite of what happens in the Middle East. Regardless of what happens, you know when is Christ coming back again? Is it going to be in October? is he going to be in spring? Or when was Jesus born? It really doesn’t matter. One Iota. It’s not supposed to change one thing that I do.

This is what I’m supposed to be about. State focused on that, which we’re supposed to stay focused on. Stay strong, keep doing right, keep winning souls until it’s all over. And just keep looking for Jesus to come at any time. If I believe he’s coming in, He said, well, he’s not coming today. He can’t come in April. Well, he can’t come in May because he’s coming July, where he’s supposed to come in September. I know Leviticus 23. I can just about quote it all.

Almost all the verses, I don’t know, started so many times. And I’ll have to be honest, I still don’t know when he’s coming. The truth, I don’t know when he’s coming. But the truth is, I know he’s coming. I just don’t know when. I kind of like it that way myself. Look up here. This hand represents you and me, this wallet represents sin. We all have to, more than this wallet getting thin. Represent you and me. The wallet represents all the bad things that we do.

Now God loves us, He hates what we do wrong. And God says for us to pay for sin, and we have to pay for it because the wages of sin is death. And since everybody sends everybody to condemn. So the Bible says we are eternally to be separated from God. But God loves us, He wants us to go to heaven. And to go to heaven we have to be perfect, as righteous as God. And none of us are perfect, none of us are righteous.

And the Bible says that heaven is a perfect place and no sin can enter therein. So because of sin we can’t go. We need a Savior and we cannot save ourselves. The church can’t save you, money can’t save you. We need a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into the world because He loves us. Hates our sin because our sin separates us from Him. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die.

He took all of our sins, paid for it on the cross, came back from the dead, said if we would believe He did it for us, He would put the payment on account. We get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. That is free. That is the gift of God. Christ paid for our way to go to heaven. Let’s pray, shall we? There be head down, there be eyes closed and no one looking around. If you’re here tonight or if you’re watching my internet, friend, if you’ve never trusted the Lord, just be honest and say, Lord, I’m a sinner.

He’ll straighten everybody is. And Lord, I believe when Christ died, I believe He died for me. He paid for my sins. And friend by believing that, God says that if you would believe that He did it for you, then that payment He made is like you making a payment for your sins, but you don’t have to really go to hell and you don’t have to pay for sin. He paid for them. He did it for you. He loves you that much.

And so with heads bowed, knives closed and no one looking around. If you have never trusted Christ, would you trust Him tonight? And I’m going to ask you in just a moment to raise your hand. Raising your hand does not save you. But I’d like to know what I said made sense. And I love to have prayer for you in closing. Is there anyone at all before we close? Yes, that made sense to me. And I will trust Christ as my Savior.

We’ll just slip you in a very quickly, but right back down. Then what at all? Then what at all? Our Father, we thank You so much for the opportunity we have to read Your Word and to realize the responsibility that we have to believers because we want them to have all the joy, all the rewards, all the crowns that they could have because we love them, we care about them. We want the best for each person. We want everyone to have a ministry by which he can prove his faithfulness, he loved to you, by the thing that he says and that he does.

Help each one, bless each one. Thank you, but with church in Christ and we pray, Amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free. 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-8 800-576-3771.

To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the radio broadcast link. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10.30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

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