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

early. Turn in your Bible to the book of Micah. The book of Micah chapter 5 at verse 2. Page 948 in one of the church’s Bibles, or if you have an old skillful reference Bible. If you don’t, it’s on scroll 9. If you’re usually one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I love Christmas. I really do. I look forward to it. I don’t like all the things that people do and say about it. No, I’m not promoting Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer or even Santa Claus, but I love Christmas.

I love what it’s about. I love the story. I was almost a grown man for I understood what Christmas was about. Nobody ever told me and I broke my heart when I was 17 years old and found out that, okay, me I was a little younger than that. I ought to have a microphone pass around it. When did you find out the truth? I’m making a list and checking it twice, going to find out who’s naughty or nice. You don’t have to.

NSA already got all the information on everybody. He just checks with them and find out who’s naughty and nice. And by the way, if y’all haven’t got the memo, all of y’all were naughty. It’s only when it’s perfect in this world, And that’s the Lord. Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 says, but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me. That is to be ruler in Israel, whose going forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Isn’t that awesome? The one that’s going to be born has always been. And he’s going to be born in Bethlehem. And he’s going to be the ruler in Israel. God told us all of this in the Old Testament. You know, there’s a statement that some people make that’s called, just show me the money. Just show me the money. Anybody ever heard that before? Just show me the money. Well, with believers in the Bible, just show me the body. Just show me the body.

You see, we have to have some evidence that all these promises and prophecies are true because He made a lot of statements in the Old Testament and as time goes on, there’s people that just show me the body. Where is He? And we often think about, well, He came the first time right on schedule. He’s going to come again, show me the body. I’d love to see Him come today. I wouldn’t mind it. I got a few other plans that I like to do, but I wouldn’t mind if we just went ahead and cut those short and get with the program.

I’m looking forward to the day when we’re with the Lord for all eternity. It’s going to be a wonderful time, a great time. But until then, we have to, well, we talk about the pie in the sky, but we’ve got to live in the nasty here and now. But in Micah, a prophecy was given almost 700 years in advance. Now I want to show you something else, it was also almost 700 years, and that’s in the book of Isaiah.

So turn to your left of the book of Isaiah. Isaiah in chapter 7, and this is on page 719 in a church Bible, and it says they’re in verse 14. We often hear about these verses, you’ll see them sometimes in Christmas cards, and they are appropriate. But look what it says. You need to have it in your Bible and market so that you’ll know where it’s at. And He makes the statement there in verse 14, Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign.

Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. So there’s going to be a body. There’s going to be a body and the body is going to be of a boy and it’s going to be from a virgin. So we already know that this child is going to be born in Bethlehem and it’s mentioned over 700 years in advance. And then when you read Isaiah 53 says, under whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Who’s going to believe this report?

and he shall grow up before him as a tender plant. So the Lord himself, God is going to plant a seed and grow a plant that becomes a tree. And he says in the gospel, he says, if you cut down a green tree, what will you do to the dry? He said, I was, I didn’t have any right to die. I didn’t have any reason to die at the hands of men, But he did give himself voluntarily to be cut down out of the land of the living.

Now you and I, we’ve all done things wrong. And the Bible says in Matthew chapter 3 that God’s going to lay the axe to the root of the tree. And every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is going to be cut down. So since every person born is a bad tree, because we came from a bad seed, we got bad fruit. So the Lord says, I got a tree that’s coming and I’m going to plant my tree.

And this tree is going to be a perfect tree. And he’s called the righteous branch because he’s before David, but he’s after David. It’s awesome when you stop him thinking about it. But here he makes a statement, a virgin shallcans even, bear his son shall call his name Emmanuel. Now Jesus, as we know, was not called Emmanuel, but it means God with us. Jesus was called Jesus because He shall save His people from their sins. And that’s what the word means.

A Savior, someone who is going to provide our salvation for us. So take your Bible and just turn a couple pages to chapter nine. Isaiah chapter nine. And notice what it says in verse six. Meantime we read these verses, I quote them in cards, but But a lot of times people never see them in the Bible. And we believe that it’s important to see what God’s Word says. Then verse 6, for unto us a child is born. See that’s the body is going to be placed within the womb.

It’s going to have a body. A body has to out-prepared me. A son is given. So notice this. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called wonderful. His name shall be called Counselor. His name shall be called the Mighty God. His name shall be called the Everlasting Father. His name shall be called the Prince of Peace. And the next verse says, And of the increase of his kingdom, there shall be no end. Says, The zeal of the Lord of Host will perform this.

So this is why the desire of nations come. There’s even a song about that. the desire of all nations. You see, every individual in all the nations, all over the world would love to have the free gift of everlasting life. They just don’t know how to get it. They’d love to live. A lot of people would love to be able to have a life without sinned. They hated that we’re so mean and ugly and unkind and filled with jealousy and bitterness and backbiting and all the ugliness that goes on, all the killing, all the rape.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a yes or utopia where everybody loved everybody? Well, there is going to be such a place. When the Lord gets through, there will be a place where all of this will be true. But until then, we live in a world of sin. But that day is coming. The Lord of hosts is going to perform this. I want you to take your Bible and look there now into the book of Psalms. Just turn to your left to the book of Psalms.

chapter two, Psalms chapter two. Here David wrote over a thousand years in advance, a thousand years in advance and this is what he has to say. See many people don’t know that it actually refers in the Old Testament to Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Son that was going to be the King. And if you’ll notice here in Psalms chapter 2, look in verse 1. Now these verses are quoted in the book of Acts, but it’s referring to what he says right here.

Why do the heathen rage? What do they imagine a vain thing? Why does people’s minds have to run so wild? Why do they think things that are not true? So he says in verse 1, why do they heathen rage? And the people imagine a vain thing. Believing things are not true. He also made the statement in the book of Corinthians in chapter 2, he says that if the princes of this world had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But they’re not as wise as they think the people that lead our worlds today and our governments And they’re not as smart as you think if you think for a moment that the people we have in Washington are much more brilliant than you are They’re not They are men of like passion just like us They got there because people like us put them there Now isn’t that enough to break your heart? It’s not the leaders that are in Washington that bothers me, it’s all the nuts that put them there.

We can change them, but how do you change over half the United States to where they think right? I have to watch this because I can get sidetracked this morning and we don’t want that to happen, do we? So once again, somebody says yes we do. Look at it. in verse 2. And the kings of the earth shall set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. His anointed is His Son. It’s the Christ.

It’s the one that is coming into the world to make a payment for the sins of the whole world. And why do people so against Him? Stop and think from Him. They don’t know who Jesus is. They don’t really understand true Christianity. And this is why there’s such a movement on to get the Lord and the Bible and God and Christianity and creation out of the thought of every person in the world. They don’t want them to think like that.

Yet it’s the truth. It’s knowing the truth. Look what he says in verse 4, He that said the heaven shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. When it’s all over it, it’s the Lord is going to say, ha ha ha ha ha. You thought you were so smart. You thought by killing Christ, you win. Da-da-da-da, you lost. Christ had to die, to pay for the sins of the whole world, and yes, he was buried, and he came back from the dead, And one day he’s coming back as the king of kings.

Now look what he says there in verse six. Yet have I set, get those two words, my king upon my holy heel of Zion. I’ve done this, my king. And then the Lord says in verse seven, I will declare the decree, the Lord have said to me, thou art my son, my son. The one that’s coming, the one that’s going to be born is my son. You say, I didn’t know he had one, but he does. And he says, this day have I begotten thee.

And then verse eight says, ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance. And this is why when Christ made the statement in John chapter six, all that the Father giveth me, shall come to me. So all the people that are born of God because of the payment Christ made are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and all the children that God has will be given to the Son. That is his inheritance for what he did.

So God is going to bless and reward his son for the sacrifice that he made. Therefore he says here in verse 12, kiss the son, lest he be angry. And he parries from the way when his wrath is kindled, but a little. And in look at the last part of this verse, this is salvation by grace alone. In the Old Testament written a thousand years before, all because of this pavement crisis going to make blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

That’s the same thing that we teach people today. Blessed, that means to be saved, to have eternal life, to go to heaven when you die. That’s found in the book of Galatians in chapter 3. We are blessed and that blessing is that you’re justified, that heathen, justified by faith, by your trust in Him. So even God preached that in the book of Genesis in chapter 15. David preached it a thousand years later here in the book of Psalms. So all this is found in the Word of God.

And it’s clear, now take your Bible and turn to the book of Proverbs. Just turn to the next book to your right. Proverbs in chapter 30, Proverbs 30, and look there in verse 4. Part of this verse is also quoted in the New Testament in the book of Romans. But notice what it says here in verse 4. Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended? Who hath gathered the wind? And in his fist, who had bound the waters and a garment?

Who had to establish all the ends of the earth? What is his name? And what is his son’s name, if thou can’t tell? So does the Old Testament talk about God having his son behold unto you? A child is born, but a son. He’s always existed eternally in the pat with the Father. And if his name is called Wonderful Counsel, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, then And he has to have an everlasting son. You generally don’t say, you know, oh, your father, oh yes, where’s your children?

Oh, I don’t have any. That’s as bad as sin. Are you married? Yes, I am. You have a wife, no? That’s the shame to get a mother-in-law without a wife. So the Bible makes it clear that God had a son from the very beginning. And God was willing to give His Son as a payment for our sins. So the question come down is where’s the body? I mean, it’s prophesied, it’s talked about. Now turning your Bible to the book of Hebrews in chapter 10, the book of Hebrews in chapter 10, Hebrews chapter 10.

And you’ll notice there’s a verse here that says that the blood of bulls and goats and And so on were not sufficient to pay for the sins of the world. God did not accept it. It only a cupboard, but it did not take them away. So God had a lamb, a perfect lamb that would take away the sin of the world. It means, and I explained this to a girl the other day, I says, now you stop and think, if Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins and your sins and everybody sins, I says, why if He paid for our sins, why are we going to hell?

And look, totally dumb fansi. I don’t know. I said, if He paid for my sins, He didn’t pay for your sins, why would you or me have to go to hell and pay for my sins, or your sins, if they’re paid for it? So I don’t know. I said, all you have to do is believe He did it for you. He’s already paid for them. You see, it takes the righteousness of God to go to heaven. and the righteousness of God is the gift of eternal life.

See, if you are righteous as God, perfect, then you can’t die. Anything that’s perfect lives forever. But if it’s not perfect, it can’t live forever. It comes corrupt. Therefore it cannot have eternal life. So God says He will give you His righteousness. And if you had His righteousness, that’s good enough to go to heaven on. So we go to heaven on what God did for us. But now look what he says here. In verse five, wherefore when he cometh into the world, when he cometh into the world, was Christ coming into the world?

Is that what Christmas is about? When he cometh into the world, it makes a statement, he said, sacrifice and offerings thou would if not, but a body has not prepared me, a body. So God that made all these promises in the Old Testament, there has to be a body. Somebody somewhere along the line has to be born. There has to be a body. There has to be the sun revealed. And lo and behold, it happened just like you said.

Now, won’t you take your Bible and turn to the gospel of John? I was very pleased that I set up here thinking I should have had Jay read John chapter 1. And lo and behold, he gets up here and says, let’s read John chapter 1. Right here on my notes, 1 through 14. It’s the very scriptures that he gets up here and he reads that I wanted to have him read this morning. But anyway, God moves in strange and mysterious ways.

He can even use a Jew and a Gentile. And John chapter 1, look what he says now in verse 1, where he says, 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. He was in the beginning with God. Who? The Word. That’s the Son. He was in the beginning with God. And it says, all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made.

That was made. So So he is the creator. He’s the one that did it all. Who? The son? Because that’s what the Bible teaches. See there in verse three, all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. But what was the purpose of God sending his son into the world was the message that John the Baptist taught. And if you’ll see that down there in verse seven, the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men, now here’s the reason that all men through him might be what?

Might. be leave. So there’s something that you and I are to believe. And so therefore there was someone who came to bear witness that, hey, there’s a body. And he says, I’m baptized in you with water, but he that cometh after me, there’s a body. There’s the evidence of all those Old Testament scriptures. There’s a body. There’s an actual person that has been born. That’s the Son of God. And see, as the Son of God, He is also the Son of Man.

So that’s why in Matthew you have the lineage of Christ, and in the book, you have the lineage of Christ. Because He has to be a Son of God and also the Son of Man. So He fits both of these criteria. He has to be in order to be the Savior that the world needs. So He came right on schedule, born in the right place, at the right time, by the right family, a body has not prepared me. So Jesus Christ, God’s son was placed inside of a body.

And Mary had a baby boy. And they knew that it was going to be a boy named it in advance and says she is with child. It didn’t say she is with fetus. She was found to be with child. That’s a child in there. And it was already a boy or girl before it was born. God knows all these things. You know, he’s the one that designed all of this. And so he makes the statement there in verse 14.

Look in verse 14, and the word was made flesh. There’s a body. The body is the evidence and the evidence has to meet the criteria. It has to be born in a certain place. He has to be He called a certain thing. He has to be a perfect child. He has to live a perfect life. There was a natural person who came into this world. Historically speaking, he was here. It was real. All the world today recognizes the fact that it’s either before Christ, after Christ.

Before Christ, B.C., or after Christ. All of our calendars, all of our dates, everything is from him. It is his story. history, history, history. And that’s why the world knows that something has happened, something has changed. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, and the Word became flesh. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. This is no ordinary child. This was a special child. Now I want you to take your Bible and look I haven’t looked there in the book of John chapter three.

John chapter three. In John chapter three, when you look at verse 31, in verse 31, he that cometh from above. So there’s somebody who came from above, and that is the Lord who came down from heaven. And he says, one day you’re going to see me ascending and descending. He said, what I’m saying now blows your mind. He said, wait do you see that? So he says here in verse 31, 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 testifyeth. And no man received his testimony. In other words, he came into the world and he gave his word. Here’s somebody, even his own family didn’t believe him. He had a hard time convincing people. You would think, well, if they knew the Scriptures, then they read it, they ought to know. But they didn’t. They were blinded. They had like a veil, scales over their eyes.

They had eyes but they could not see, they had ears but they couldn’t hear. And so he made the statement in verse 32, and what he hath seen and heard that he testify. no man receive at his testimony. He that hath received his testimony have set to his seal that God is true. In other words, if you can see him, then you can believe him. And you’ll know that what God said, that it was true. You see, God knows that we’re hard headed and stiff neck.

So He said, I’m gonna tell you what’ll happen before it ever takes place. So then when it does, you’ll know, hey, I told you so, I told you that. Did not God tell us all these things hundreds and hundreds of years in advance? Yes, He did. And did somebody show up right on schedule, born in the right place at the right time, just like God said He would. And He would live and never commit a sin. And He would be able to speak in parables, which He did, because when He talked to me, it’s an audience that wanted to know the truth, could understand.

Those that didn’t want to know the truth could not understand. And He was speaking parables, but He also validated everything He said and did by the things that He did, like raising the dead and making the blind to see and the the death to hear and the dumb to speak, walking on water. When’s the last time you tried that? But no man ever born has ever been able to fulfill all of these scriptures, the prophecies. And there was a literal body that came that was prepared, about a body that did not have an earthly father, but it did have an earthly mother.

That’s why Jesus had to be born of a virgin so that he would not have a man’s sinful nature. He got it from the Holy Spirit. And Mary said, How shall this be? Seeing I know not a man. He says, The Holy Spirit shall overshadow thee. And that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called Son of the Highest. This is what Christmas is about. It wasn’t just by Him being born. He had to be born a certain way.

Jesus had to live and He had to keep the law. He had to be perfect in every way, under every circumstance the devil tried to get him and people would try to have him kill him. All kinds of things that went on and he was rejected and despised. But look what he says in verse 34, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the spirit by measure unto him, the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. So it all boils down, all of humanity is based upon do you believe on the Son, or do you not believe on the Son? Do you believe that he was who he claimed to be did what he said he was going to do and that he will save you if you simply believe that what he did was for you?

So that’s why it says in John 3 16, the many people could, but listen, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. He only had one and he gave him as the payment for all the sins of all the world and all that What we have to do is what the Scripture says, they that believe on Him should not perish. In other words, the only thing that can keep you from perishing going on is to believe in Him.

Your good works will not help. Your good works, how you live, has nothing to do with you going to heaven. Christ died and paid for all our sins. 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 tool free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bible line programs, just go to our 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. The live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

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