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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 BibleInmenistries.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.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of Hebrews, the book of Hebrews. Hebrews in chapter 3. So he says here in verse 7, wherefore as the Holy Spirit said, today, if you will hear his voice, God’s word, harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation. That means in the time when they were in the land of the wilderness, the children of Israel, and they provoke God during that period of time, that time when we’re reading just a moment ago in the book of Numbers in chapter 14.

So we know the story and because of their rebellion to God, there’s people who never got to go into the promised land because of their unbelief. There’s children of God that will never get into that state of maturity where they grow up in the Lord when you begin to question and doubt the Word of God. Because he, growing in the Lord, has to be based upon believing what he says, trusting him, learning how to walk with God. So he does want us to finish our race, the course that he has set before us.

And that’s found in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12. But get what he says here. Hebrews in chapter 3, in verse 8, harden not your heart. Now he’s not talking to lost people. This is a book to those who believe on Christ. And that’s why he says, don’t neglect this great salvation. Don’t set it aside. It’s more wonderful than anything you’ve ever known. There’s nothing better than this. So he says, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.

When your fathers tempted me, proved me, they tried him. God was able to provide fire, a cloud, manner from heaven, and gave them everything they need. They had no reason to question and doubt God, because what God did He did for all of them, and they saw that. They saw it. And in spite of that, He makes a statement there in verse 10, have not known my ways. They don’t know how God works. The only way you going to be strong in the Lord is learning how God works.

What he approves, what he doesn’t. Why he chases, why blesses. So that it’ll help you and I to make wise decisions for our life. So he says there in verse 10, wherefore I was grieved with that generation. Is there any verse that says grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you’re sealed until the day of redemption. Isn’t that a verse in the Bible somewhere? And is it possible for a child of God to grieve God today just like they greed God back then?

So instead of us having to learn what the consequences might be, why don’t we just learn you can’t win? If you can’t win, why do it? Did you realize you’ll come out so much better just trusting God, just believing God? and don’t try to do anything, get anything in a wicked way. Don’t try these get rich quick schemes where you have to do anything to sasana. If it’s a sasana, it’s not right. You don’t do it. No. You have no idea.

Since I have been here, Colorado was ferocious because we had a huge school and the ranch was growing and the church was huge. And all these things, and people come up to janky, realize that if you got in the best line now or if you got into Amway or Shackley, just think of all the people you could get to sign up underneath you. You could become a rich man quick. Temptations. You know, I didn’t have to think about it twice.

No. I decided years ago I’m gonna serve God in whatever God wants to give me. Let him do that. But I’m not into that. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to look at every person as there’s a dollar bill and play up to people because I want to sign them up for me so I can make money off of them. I had to turn that stuff down a long time ago. I’m talking about 30 35, 40 years ago, I could have been on the ground floor and a number of things.

And I’ve seen things that I had the opportunity back then. And now there’s a lot of people making good money on it and I could have got it on the ground floor way back then. But money is not my goal. That’s not what I was after then. It’s not what I’m after. There’s something better. You’d be surprised how easy it is to get sidetracked. Our rather just lay up treasure in heaven. When I get to heaven, whatever I have there, that’s what I want.

I want whatever I can get because of what I’ve done for the Lord. So yes, there’s things that you have to go through. But look what he says here. In verse 10, wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said, they do always and see that word, air in their heart. This is where it begins. When you begin to air in your own heart and you harden yourself against the Word of God, against the will of God, you’re no longer teachable and pliable in his hands.

And it says, they have not known my ways. See in verse nine, they saw my work before the years. But still never learned how God works. Did you know you could go to church before the years and still never learned how God works? And still not get it. And you think that just because I go, sit, soak and sour, everything works out great. And yet you may have missed the will of God because he didn’t do what he said, do.

There’s a thing called F-A-I-T-H. Faith, for saking all, I trust Him. And you’re not to set it around and just worry. You know, it’s been interesting how that even as a board, sometimes we see all the bills that comes in, all the things has to be paid payroll. That’s always interesting. In Colorado, we had to have, and this was 30 years ago, 35, about $35,000 a month, you know, just to pay some of the payroll. We had 42 full-time employees.

Bob Brooks was one of them. Mary was one of them. And I mean, we had a lot of people that was working in the ministry, and money came in. Money went out. And you’d think, Lord, how are you gonna get me out of this? And some people would think, yank you’ll find a way. Well, a day came when yank you couldn’t find a way. And I couldn’t make it happen. I couldn’t make it work. I trusted the Lord, but the only thing I can think of God may have another plan in mind, a higher purpose than I could ever see.

I had spent years laying block, hanging lights, sheet rock, building a building, and then you have to walk away from it. You think, God, do you have anything else for me? And sometimes you can’t make some things happen. But maturing in the Lord is Lord, I don’t see how. I don’t know what. And it really doesn’t matter. I’m going to just walk with you. If all I have is just you and me, that’s enough.

You’ve heard that song called Christ is all I need. You don’t believe that until He takes everything away and then you’ll know He’s all you need. because you’d be surprised how some of you’ll squirm when you lose your job and you lose your health and you lose all that money and you lose the security and you lose that. Now how do you respond to it? Never break down. Well I don’t know how God is gonna do it but I’m gonna trust him.

Just keep trusting the Lord. Praise the Lord anyway. Oh I learned that at FBC. Praise the Lord anyway. Dr. Cameron always says or as long as you can move that little pinky you still got chance, you know, the Lord’s not dead. And there’s been a lot of time I want to, I can’t move it. But look what he says here. In verse 11, he says, so I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest. Now that means they didn’t get into the Promised Land, they didn’t, they all died in the wilderness.

But that was a place where supposed to be, you know, the rest that they were looking for, that wonderful land. Sometimes we call it Christian maturity. The Christian light, victory in Christ. Having victory, mature enough that you can face the battles and win. You can face the temptations and the trials and tribulations and win. And some Christians never get mature enough that they can have victories. And so they want to wear the medals, but they don’t want to have to fight any battles.

Like I said, they want to make a six-foot splash in a six-inch mud puddle. Learn how to have some victories, have some successful past experience, and build on those things. Hasn’t God kept you to this day? You’re still alive. You’re not dead yet. Trust the Lord. Even though it may seem like it’s so dark and you can’t see how God’s going to do it, just keep walking with the Lord and trusting Him. And then He makes the statement here in verse 12, take heed brethren.

Brethren, are we talking to believers? Brethren, take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of what? Did you know it’s an evil heart of unbelief? not to trust the Lord is a sin, not to believe what God says is a sin. Therefore to Him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to Him it is sin. And you’d be surprised. You can read the scriptures, but all this applying business is so difficult. And so He says, an evil heart of unbelief and what?

Look what he says, and departing from the living God. You know God, you’re his child, and you’ll have within you an evil thought of not serving him, of not being faithful to him. And go in your own way. Remember, we were lost sheep, all we light sheep have gone astray. We’ve all turned to our own way. Didn’t know what it says, something like that? Now after you’re saved, do you think there’s a possibility the sheep might still want to go its own way?

And so he says, and departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily. So as you read the book of Hebrews, you’re going to find out there’s a lot of things that were problems and doubts that they had, but then you’ll see how he comes alongside and begins to give them the scriptures and the stories and tell them why. Jesus is so much better in explaining things like chapter 12 of the Chasing. They will begin to despise the correction of God, the Chasing of God, because God sometimes tells you no.

And if you listen to what God has to say, you’d be surprised how that he comes along with you, alongside, and will help you and strengthen you. And so you’ll find a lot of exhortations throughout the book. Just hold your place right here and just go over there in the book of Hebrews in chapter 10. Hebrews in chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and notice what he says, because of who we are and what we have in Christ and notice there in verse 19.

So that you’ll see that we are talking to believers having therefore brethren, because of what we have and has gone through a whole bunch the chapter telling what we have. But he says, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way better than they’ve ever had in the Old Testament, better than the temple. He says, which he had consecrated for us through the veil. That is to say his flesh and heaven on high priest over the house of God.

Let us draw near with a true heart and get this full assurance of what? So faith is believing what God says. Not believing what God says is having an evil heart, of departing from the living God. So that’s why you have verses that talk about God will judge His people. You and I are supposed to draw closer and closer to God. Look what He says in verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

That evil conscience is a mind of unbelief. So when you read over there in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12 in verse 1, where he says, seeing that we’re encompassed about what’s so great, a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight in the sin which does so easily beset us. The sin that so easily beset us is the sin of unbelief, doubting God. When you start doubting God, you’re not going to be able to finish your race.

You’re not going to be able to mature as God wanted. And therefore you’re going to make decisions that’s going to cost you. And God’s going to have to chase you. You see that? They saw that in the Old Testament, all the power of God, but they never understood his ways. They didn’t know how God works and why God does certain things. If you learn these things, they can help you in your Christian life. You go down through here and it tells about looking verse 23, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without waiving because see, it starts off in the book about your unbelief.

and not getting into this place where you learn how to trust the Lord, rest in the Lord. Did you know what burns out most people is the lack of trust in God and they burned themselves out by works of the flesh, trying themselves to make it happen, trying to do what they could of trusted God to do. And the flesh gets tired and worn out. And you find that you don’t have all the intellectual ability you love to have.

You don’t have the physical strength you love to have. You can’t make some things happen. But if you rest in the Lord, it doesn’t wear you out. There is strength, the joy of the Lord is my strength, the joy of the Lord is my strength, the joy of the Lord is my strength. That’s where it comes from. And so when you learn how to rest in the Lord, trust the Lord, then you can accept, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to make everything happen.

Just keep walking with Him. Now look what else He says, why we’re right here, my Lord. Look in verse 24, let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good work. But if you provoke God, you’re going to provoke other people against God. We influence people and you don’t want to come across us. You’re just a negative individual. God fell off the throne. got sick and died. And you’re all alone. Nobody loves you. And all you want is a pity party.

Stop that foolishness. Be bold in the Lord. Have confidence in the Lord. And as he says in chapter 10 verse 35, cast not away, therefore your confidence which has great recompense of reward. Confident is you trusting the Lord. That confidence is what makes you bold. That’s what gives you strength. That’s what increases your vision, where there is no vision a person dies. They can’t do anything. They don’t know where to go. They’re all mixed up. You and I are not supposed to be like that.

Go back to Hebrews in chapter 3. We’ll never finish this. I’ll need the next three hours. But we’re just looking at a few more verses. Look what he says down here in verse 13 where he says, but exhort one another every once in a while. That word daily. Take a fight cross daily. Die daily daily. Daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. You ever go barefooted? I used to go barefooted all the time.

I mean, when I was a kid, you said, why’d you go barefooted? Didn’t have any shoes. That’s the truth. We’re barefooted. I went barefooted all the time. But the bottom of my feet were just like a piece of leather. I could walk over stones and run over them. It didn’t matter. I’d run down through the woods. It driers all the time. It didn’t. My feet on the bottom were like rocks. Well, see, that’s what happens sometimes when you have deceitfulness of sin.

It hardens your heart where you’re not sensitive. don’t feel the pricking of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God doesn’t affect you anymore. And you can do what you want and it doesn’t bother you. Because see, you seared your conscience. It’s like having a scar that has no sensitivity, no feelings in it. And so there’s people who rebel against the Lord and after a while, you won’t be sensitive to the Lord anymore. When you’re tender to the Lord, as soon as you read the Word of God and you see that you’re doing something, you said to the Lord, I’m sorry, that was wrong.

I apologize. I correct that. that men, nobody has to tell you, you just do it. Because you know God knows, and you want God to bless you. If all anything you want, you want God, but you gotta be honest with him. You can’t hide anything from God. He’s one who knows everything. And sin deceives you. Oh, God didn’t see that. God doesn’t know that. I can have all these bad thoughts, but nobody knows. Does God know everything? He’s your heavenly Father.

If there’s anybody you don’t want to make mad, don’t make God mad. Look what else he says here in verse 14, For we are made partakers of Christ. If we hold the beginning of our confidence dead fast unto the end, let’s talk about you growing and maturing into the Lord. You trust the Lord, you’re his child. Now grow in the Lord, and this goes all the way back up there to where it has in verse six. We hold the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm unto the end, till you reach your goal, till you reach that which God has for you, whether it’s maturity, the end of your race, but whatever it is, to be complete in whatever God has for you.

You don’t know where the end of your race will be. Your race may end tomorrow. true. God may take you home tomorrow, but he might let you live for 10 years. So he says, don’t harden your heart like they did. You’re going to be smarter. You’re going to be wiser. So then look in verse 16. For some, see this word, some, as you read over there in the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 10, some fell because of this.

Some to this, some to this. Not everybody false of the same thing, but it looked like a whole bunch of them did fall. For some, when they had heard, did provoke Habit, not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. For with whom was he greed 40 years? Was it not with them that had sinned whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? Remember the story? Why is he referring to that? Because he says in the book of Romans in chapter 15, in verse 2, talking about these things were written for our admonition for our learning.

Okay, what do you learn? What did you learn from those stories? This is why I love teaching sometimes the stories in the Old Testament. You know, whenever little kids come to Sunday school, isn’t true that most of the time we teach them the stories in the Old Testament because they like stories. Those stories are supposed to be taught with the principles of doctrine from the New Testament, but those are our illustrations and kids can learn those stories. I love those stories Because that’s where you’re learning how God works.

Then he says there in verse 18, and the homes where he that they should not enter into his rest, to them that believe not. Now here you are, a supplier. You want God’s best for you. You want to be used by God. Then you’ll have to learn how to trust him. You’ll have to learn his word here. Believe it. and not have this evil heart of departing from God. Because see, when you want to say this book, I got it written in front of my Bible.

Mr. Jackson did it in one of his Bibles and I copied it. This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. Isn’t that a good statement? Sin will keep you from this book, or this book will keep you from sin. I’d rather have the book, and it has kept me out of a lot of trouble, and it’ll do the same for you. So we look there in verse 18, And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but them that are believed none.

So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. They didn’t get into the promised land because of unbelief. Now someone will say that they didn’t get into the, they could go to heaven because of unbelief. That’s fine, but we’re talking about believers here. We’re talking about those who already know the Lord, but they’re coming short of maturity. And that’s why, now looking at, we’ll close with this. See there in chapter six, looking verse one, therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ and let us go on unto perfection, that’s maturity.

In other words, once you’re saved, you can forget about that. You don’t have to be taught salvation all over again. But you need to go on to maturity, not lay in again the foundation of repentance from dead works. So we know that repent means to change your mind. dead works from a dead man can’t save you. So we’re not trusting in the works of man, we are trusting in Christ as our Savior, but we need to go on to maturity.

And what will keep us from going to maturity? Well look what he says in verse three, this will we do if God permits. And God will not permit you to go into maturity if you’ll question and doubt his word. If you will not believe what he says you cannot grow. You’ll hear verses, you’ll memorize verses, but never grow one iota. But cheering in the Lord is to apply it to your life, wanting to live by the scriptures. They saw the power of God, but they didn’t learn their lessons.

And you and I are supposed to learn the lessons they refuse to learn. Look up here. This hand represents you and me. The wallet represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. Hates our sin, but He loves us. And the Bible says that because we have all sinned, we’re all condemned. But God loves us. To go to heaven, you and I have to be perfect as righteous. God and none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous.

We have all come short of God. perfection. Therefore we need a Savior and we can’t save ourselves. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He is 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 did something for us no one else could do. He took all the sin upon Himself, made that payment for all of our sins and came back from the dead.

Jesus Christ is the payment for our sins. Therefore, will we talk about accepting this payment He made? It’s Him. He was the payment for my sins. So when I accept Him as my Savior, Jesus Christ gives to me as a free gift of our lasting life. I go to heaven on what He did for me. And He says that when He came back from the dead, whosoever believe us to know that he has eternal life. I know I have eternal life.

I know I’m going to have him when I die.” Now that’s what gets our little pinkies inside the pearly gates, but don’t you want to have more when you get there? Don’t you want the Lord to say, well done, thou good and faithful servant? Do you want to be like it says in James chapter 2, verse 28, my little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have Come and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

You don’t want to be ashamed. Serve a little with all your heart. Let’s pray, shall we? With his bow knife closing, no one looking around. Or if you’re watching by the internet, just understand this. There’s nothing that you have to do to save yourself. Only thing you can do is, would you believe what God said? Would you trust Him? Would you believe that when He died on that cross, He died for you? And if you’ll trust Him as your savior right now, He will give you as a free gift, have our lasting life and they’ll never cast you out and never lose you.

Best news in all the world. But if you’re in the auditorium tonight and you’ve never trusted Christ’s Savior, I’d like to know that you will trust the Lord. I’m going to ask you if you will and I want to ask you if you’ll just raise your hand very quickly and put it right back down and say, preacher, that makes sense to me. I want to know I have eternal life and I like you to pray for me. We’ll just slip in it and it very quickly.

and want it all. You know that no Christ is your Savior. Every time I teach the Lord of God I believe that it’s for somebody. I believe it’s for everybody. You may not need it today but you might need it tomorrow. There might be some things that you learn that can help you to explain some of these things to others. Following thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. We thank you for our church and all the good people that we have, the workers.

And we pray Lord your blessing. We We know that some people are hurting, some are still sick, and some have financial difficulties. We pray Lord that as we’ve talked about tonight, just to keep walking with you, we don’t understand sometimes how all these things have come together. But we know that because you love us and we love you, that all these things can work together. This bless us in Christ name we pray, amen. Have you heard about Bibleline Institute, the online Bible College of Bibleline Ministries?

There are 11 different Bible college courses to choose from and for this month we’d like to give you a free enrollment to the class Cult Evangelism 1 taught by Dr. Arnold. For your gift to Bibleline Ministries in any amount you’ll have full use of the 10-hour course which you can access whenever you like and as often as you’d like. It’s all online. The classes include video instruction, lecture notes and quizzes if you’d like to submit and again it’s all online.

you send in your gift, please include your email address and we’ll enroll you in the class called Evangelism 1. Our mailing address is 4811 George Road Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your email address or contact information. God bless you and thank you again for supporting Bibleline. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. 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. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold.

Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. And we will be changed. God up can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.