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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. 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 first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want you to take your Bible and turn with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter six. There are promises in the Word of God. Remember this, if you ever got in a car and you take a trip and say drive up to Georgia or North Carolina or anywhere else and you’d notice that you have to have an idea where the rest areas are. True, you have to have an idea. And sometimes they’ll even have a sign, you know, one more mile to the rest area.

You know where the rest areas are. Because sometime you just need a break. But as you go through life, God has rest areas for you. There are promises that are in the Word of God. God knows there’s times when you need to pull over and take a break, rest a little bit, refresh a little bit, and trust what the Word of God has to say. There’s promises. So there’s things through circumstances and problems and all those things that forces you to come to the Lord and rest.

God is always seeking to get our attention one way or the other. And one of the main reasons of all of our existence down here, and why God did what He did, the way that He’s done everything, is so that we would know God. God wants us to know what He’s like. And what He has done is the best way He could have thought of. There’s no other greater way for God to reveal to you and I what God is like.

As you read the scriptures it talks about knowing the Lord, knowing the Lord, knowing the Lord. And one day he says everyone will know the Lord. So knowing God is what God wants us to know. So as we studied the Bible, why? So we will know God. Know why God does what he does. We may not understand how God does everything, but God works in your life in my life because he wants us to learn some more about him.

Sometimes we think we have arrived. So God says, there’s a problem we can’t handle. Let’s just get totally frustrated with ourselves, get disappointed, get frustrated, in despair. So we’re forced to run to the Lord. Learn something else. So he says whenever you have these difficulties and problems, he says, if you lack wisdom, go to the Lord and ask. And he will give to all men liberally. In other words, he won’t chide you, he won’t mock you, he won’t make fun of you, but he wants you to learn.

And so the problems of life is to get us to come to God, so we’ll learn some more about the Lord. Sometimes we think we’ve arrived. There’s nothing more I can learn. Yeah. And then God steps in. But here in the book of Hebrews in chapter 6, Hebrews chapter 6, I want you to look there in verse 7. Remember after you trust Christ as your Savior, the Lord looks at you as a, like a, say you’re a piece of land.

And that piece of land, see, is property that God has given to you. Like God has given you 10 acres of land and is given to you to manage for him. That’s why we’re called stewards. We don’t own the land, we just live on the land. We’re here stewards of whatever God has for us and what He wants us to do. So on this land, you can raise some things. Now if you just let it go and don’t do anything, it’s going to come up with some briars and thorns.

But God wants us to work the land. The scripture I read this morning in the book of Philippians in chapter 2, for it is God that works in you. That’s called, because he’s helping you to work the land that he’s given to you because he wants you to do some plowing and he wants you to plant some seeds. And if you plant this right seeds in this piece of ground that God’s given us, then you can have some fruit on the land.

So here’s a good example of what he’s talking about. So he’s not talking about how to be saved. He’s talking about how to be fruitful. these were Hebrew Christians that had gotten to the place where they were thinking about departing from the living God, going back to the law, going back to the temple, going back to Judaism. And he’s trying to tell him what we have is so much better. You just don’t understand. So you can trust Christ as Savior.

And there’s a lot of things we don’t understand. And so there’s a tendency to depart, to drift back. And there’s a danger of departing from the living God for God’s people. That’s what it teaches. So in verse 7, he says, for the earth which drank it in the rain that cometh off upon it, bring it forth herbs, meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessings from God. So we’re talking about something producing something, and it’s just like the earth can bear the fruit and produce something, that’s good.

So he’s talking about you as a believer producing things in your life. Now there’s a difference of opinion on whether or not when he talks about in John chapter 15, it’s mentioned several times about you and I. We are to bear fruit, but we don’t produce the fruit. God produces the fruit, but we’re to bear the fruit. Then he says in the book of Galatians in chapter 6, bear you one another’s burdens, not produce their burdens. Is there a difference?

We’re not to produce their burdens, we’re supposed to help bear their burdens. So the same thing with fruit, we can bear fruit, but we don’t really produce the fruit because that’s a work of the Lord and the Holy Spirit working in our lives. And we’re the branches, but we bear the fruit, but if it wasn’t because the branch was in divine there wouldn’t be any fruit. So this is what I believe he’s talking about here. So if you as a piece of land will drink in the Word of God and believe the Word of God, receive the Word of God, you can bring forth things that will be a blessing from God.

Fruit that will be a blessing. And everyone wants the blessings of God upon the life. You’re asked God to bless your life. Most Christians do. I want the blessings of God. Well, the blessings of God is going to be because I receive the Word of God. Now, in the book of Isaiah, I think around chapter 55 or so, it talks about the Word of God is like rain that comes down. Water is everything and it says it’s like his seed that goes out and will not return void to believe that the Word of God that you drink in from the Word of God is going to produce something in your life.

So our biggest job is to receive the Word, but the previous chapter says, you’re dull of hearing. That means you don’t want to receive it anymore. You don’t want to listen to what God has to say. You’re getting tired and you’re getting weary. You’re getting worn down. And you’re not going to produce and you’re not going to have that joy that you really want. So notice the next verse, it says there in verse 8. But that, talking about the earth, which baroth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned.

So there’s things that can be produced in your life like briars and thorns that’s going to be burned. The Bible also relates this in Corinthians where he talks about when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ and our works are going to be revealed and there’s gold, silver, precious stone and there’s wood, hay and stubble. And the wood, hay and the stubble is a wasted life. Many of God’s children are going to waste their life and it’s going to be like going up in smoke because it will be looked upon and discerned by the fiery eyes of the Lord.

When you read the book of Revelation chapter 1, the Bible says, and the eyes of the Lord are like a fire. That’s who is going to be looking at what we have done and the gold, silver, and the precious stones, the fire won’t hurt it, but it will totally dissolve everything else. And many people are going to have a wasted life. So the Lord doesn’t want these Christians to waste their lives. He had done so much for them and they have come so far.

They have been through a lot of battles. And now they will kind of get into the place where is it worth it anymore. You and I, how many of y’all have been here have been saved more than five years? How many have been saved more than 10 years? How many have been saved more than 20 years? More than 30 years? How many have been saved more than 40 years? How many have been saved more than 50 years? The hands will get lower and lower.

How many have been saved more than 60 years? Just a couple of you. But you see, the longer you have known the Lord and serve the Lord, you realize of all those years. Would you want to waste your life now? Of all the good that you have done, all the rewards that have been laid up in heaven, in heaven which you cannot lose what you’ve laid up. But God wants you to receive a full reward, serve the Lord all the days of your life.

If we will, God said that He would bless us. But look again what He says here in verse 8, but that which is beryth thorns and briars rejected. Verse 9, but beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, better things than what? briars and thorns. It wants you to be blessed. I want God’s blessings upon me so I know that if I hear the Word and obey the Word then God is going to bless me. That’s going to be a result.

So I don’t have to worry about the blessings of God if I will simply drink in the Word and let the Word change my life and trusting that He will produce in my life what needs to be produced. I just need to bear the fruit so that people can see. Look, I put my confidence in my trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior, but I’ve also put my confidence in trust in the Lord for my life. And so He says here in the last part of verse 9, and things that get to accompany salvation, though He does speak, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love.

So if we talk about work and labor of love, we we’re not talking about salvation. That has to be referring to service. So those who will serve the Lord can have the blessings of God. Those who don’t believe what the Word of God says are not going to have the blessings of God but you’re going to have briars and thorns and it’s all going to be a wasted life. So as you go through the book of Hebrews and it’s talking constantly about believe, believe, believe, and not forsaking that which you know to be true.

Don’t let the devil where you out, to where you get to the place where you think it’s not worth continually being faithful. We’ve got to keep on keeping on all the days of our life. And then notice what he says in verse 11, he makes his statement, and we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to full assurance of hope unto the end, the end of your race, the end of your life, to the very end when there’s nothing else left to give, keep believing the promises of God.

Now understand this about the promises of God. The promises of God are rest areas. There are places where you go and you can rest because you’re trusting what God says. You’re believing what God says. Believe in the promises not working yourself to death, it’s just taking God at His Word and having the patience to wait upon the Lord. Because there are some things that you will see fulfilled in your life. And as you live your life here, you will find out that if you obey, you’ll see mighty blessings of God working in your life.

And if you don’t serve the Lord, you’re going to see a lot of briars and thorns in your life. And you’ll see those things and they are the result of promises that God has made for obedience or disobedience. Now, there are some promises that will not take place in this lifetime. Some of those promises will take place after we leave this world. Did God promise that we’re gonna stand at the jemmen’s city of Christ? Yes, that’s after we leave this world.

Now there’s certain things here, there’s certain things there. So when you study even the book of Hebrews, it says, and they received the promises of God. And then in another place it says, and they received not the promises of God. Because some are here and some are there. So while we’re here, we’re to believe the promises of God about here and about there so that we keep those things in mind. So that’s why he says in verse 12, therefore be ye not swaffled.

That means don’t be lazy. Don’t be a lazy Christian. Have you ever met lazy Christians? They’re just too lazy to do what God wants them to do. You’ve always got to keep making a concerted effort to faithfully serve the Lord with all your heart. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, and you’ll notice there, these are people that well had learned many things, did many things. And I covered this one night with you, but from a different angle, but I want to show you this to you.

You see, they’re in verse 32. He said, I want you to call to remembrance. Remember what you’ve heard, what you’ve learned, what you’ve gone through, the sacrifices you’ve made, all the years of your faith in the Civil War, your dedication, the hours you spent, the money you’ve given, your sacrifice, all this. Can you remember? You probably don’t remember everything. I was trying to and remember some things the other day and I knew parts of it and then Betty says, Yank, you remember blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

I said, no I have no clue. She said, remember the blah blah blah blah blah blah. I said, honey I don’t not remember. Finally she said, you know where you had, you know, this took place and yes, now I remember. She just did that afternoon. And I remember, okay that’s the place where I put my hands on the clothesline and trying to remember the address of a certain house that we lived in 50 years ago for a short period of time.

But when both kids got sick, went up in the hospital, no job, no hospitalization, no nothing, and I’m going to school and it was just bad news. Nothing ever seemed to work out smooth for me. I had to struggle all the way through and I used to wonder whether or not it was worth it at all. And so I went out one night with my hands on the clothesline in the dark bed, He was in the house and I had my hands on the clothesline and I was blessing God out.

I mean I had a time with me and God. I was mad, I was angry, I was crying, I was emotional, very emotional and I was talking out loud and I was talking to God and I held nothing back and I was talking God about how He is on the verge of ruining His testimony. I said, God, I am your child and I’m trusting you. But if you don’t come through, if you don’t come through, you realize I’m going to tell everybody you did not come through.

I said, but if you will do what you say you’ll do, I’ll tell everybody. Boy, did I eat my words for a while. Have you ever had to eat your own words and they don’t taste so good? Have you ever got to eat crow? It doesn’t taste very good. Look what he says here in verse 32, but call to remember the former days. So you see, these are things they have already experienced. They’ve gone through things. It’s like, y’all have been here for a long time and you’ve gone through some of the water programs years ago.

You’ve gone through some of y’all to go all the way back to ranch. Some of you are trusting Christ’s Savior because of Dr. Linson on the radio and you’ve been here and you’ve seen things and all the pressures and some of the problems and I mean you’ve got a history but you’re still here and you’re still faithful. Don’t stop now. We’re too close to home. So he says here, the call to remember is the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of affliction.

A lot of things that afflicted you. A lot of problems, lot of heart, lot of stress. These Hebrew Christians were suffering. Some of them were being killed. They paid a great price back in the early church age. And there was people trying to kill the Christians. And one of them by the name of Paul, what was his name? Paul. His name was Saul, and then he became Paul. But he did a lot of damage to the church. And you’re talking about how the persecution was great.

So there was a price and it says you endured so much and then they would take up offer. Some of them sold everything that they had for the cause of Christ so they get the gospel to more people and everybody had the same thing but they did it willingly voluntarily and then later on they had to take up offerings from people over in Macedonia and take up offers to give to those poor saints in Jerusalem. Why were they so poor?

Because they gave up everything. They paid a price to get everything going because they believed it. And they believed that Christ was coming back soon and now He didn’t come. Now all their resources were gone. Now there’s great persecution, great fight of affliction and they had gone through that. And he says, ye endured a great fight of affliction. See, this endured is the same thing you find over there in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12, when it talks about Christ endured.

And you and I are supposed to endure. You don’t enjoy a lot of things in the Christian life. People don’t always treat you right. Things don’t always work out right. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you’re a fraud. Sometimes people lie about you. And you can’t get even. There’s no justice. Don’t worry about it. God. There’s somebody who keeps the books on everything and God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of blood. God remembers. If you believe that and trust that, then you don’t have to worry about it.

Otherwise, you’re going to have a vengeful spirit. You’re going to have a get even attitude. I’m going to make them pay what they did to me. You don’t have to make anybody pay anything. Just be faithful and do what God wants you to do. Because If you don’t, you’ll find yourself getting enraveled and entangled in the affairs of the things of this life that you cannot please him who have called you to be a good soldier. So then he says here in verse 33, partly why you were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and affliction, partly why you became companions of them that were so used.

In other words, because you were associated with us, you paid a price for that. You may pay a price just because you come to this church. Or you go to that church of an hour, that preacher teaches that one saved, always saved. You’d be surprised what people could have to go through. So you may have to bear it. Some people can’t. They can’t take it. There’s always something. But look what he also says here. He says in verse 34, for ye had compassion of me in my mind, took joyfulness, full of your goods, Knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and enduring substance cast not away there for your confidence which has great recompense of reward.

For you have need of patience, now get this statement, after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise. See there’s promises that you’ll receive while you’re here but it’s after you do the will of God. Sometimes we want God to pay us in advance. No, you be faithful and then pay day someday. You don’t know how God’s going to bless down the road. Don’t worry about it. You just believe that He will. That’s you’re being patient.

And you’re not going to say, well, I’ll serve the Lord if, and I’ll serve the Lord if. No, then you’ll be an if-a-out-of-only. And there’s a club called that, if-a-out-of-only club. You don’t want to be a member of that club. So you put your confidence in the Lord and serve the Lord. And don’t worry about anything else. God will take care of the future. You just do the right that you know to do why you can. And this is what He says here in verse 35.

Cast not away therefore your confidence. Verse 36, for ye had need of patience. You had need of patience. That after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. And He says, He’s coming. You see there? He’s coming. get a little while and he that shall come will come and will not carry.” Now just look there in chapter 9. Somebody else is promised he’s going to come. They thought he might have come back right then on the spot but he didn’t come back then.

So in verse 28 of chapter 9 he says, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Now some people are not going to be looking for, but he’s still going to appear. He is going to appear. There are some people that will be looking for the Lord, and there’s going to be some people that are going to be ashamed. Because he says there’s a reward mentioned in the book of James to those who love his appearing, those who serve him because they’re looking for him.

They’re expecting it. And expect the Lord to come at any time is what helped the Christian to purify his life. That’s what he’s talking about in 1 John chapter three. We don’t know what we shall be like, but we know we shall be like Him, but we shall see Him as He is. And those who have this hope purify Himself. So we purify our life because of the hope that we are going to meet Jesus soon, or He could come at any time.

His promise is sure. Be patient. Wait. It’s going to take place. Now take your Bible and turn the chapter 12. Chapter 12, and I want you to look there with me in verse 23, Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 23. The Lord had told us about how that God came down and talked to Moses on Mount Sinai. And at that time the people were afraid. They were trembling because he also gave him a warning, don’t touch this mount because if you touch this mount you could be shot through a little darach.

Radiation, whatever you want to call it, but they would live. So there was a great price to pay and people were scared. But in verse 22 he says, but you’re coming to Mount Zion, a different mount. And unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. The church of the angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven and to God the judge of all. And get this statement.

This is a tremendous statement. And to the spirits of just men made what? The spirits of just men made perfect. So as you go through Hebrews, you’ll find out the law could not make you perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did. Man could not be made perfect. but by faith in Christ a man can be made perfect. So God is the Father of just man made perfect. Look there in chapter 12 and look down there also in verse nine, where as phrase says, furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence.

Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father? This is why God is our Father. Remember when we trust Christ as our Savior we are born of God. God becomes our Father. When Jesus says, all that the Father give to me shall come to me. Well, God, the Father is going to give us to the Son. And all that the Father give to me shall come and I’ll never cast them out. So you see, we are the inheritance that the Son receives because of the payment He made for the sins of the world.

That’s also mentioned in the second Psalm where it talks about we will be His inheritance. We are what He’s after. But it’s not Jesus that gives us the new birth as in a sense. We’re born of God, the Father. And therefore He is the Father of spirits made perfect and then we will be given to the Son because we’re the bride that will be given to the Son and the Son will never divorce His wife. not that good or not?

As Jesse would say, is that good? And they good? And they good. Now, here in Hebrews, notice what he says in verse 25, see that you refuse not Him of that speaker. You see, God told Him in the Old Testament under Moses what to do and they said, all that He told us we will do. But did they? They never kept the law for 1500 years. Now he says this salvation that we have, don’t neglect so great a salvation.

Don’t depart from this wonderful salvation that God has given to us. I’m not talking about you can’t depart from the salvation you’ve been saved, but this message that God has given to the purpose that God has given You see, we’re safe, safe, safe. When you trusted Christ, you were saved from the penalty of sin. In our life, we’re being saved from the power of sin. And then one day, we’ll be saved from the very presence of sin. So we’re safe, safe, safe.

Don’t let this pass you by. Don’t depart from the living God. And start following the world and drifting into things that It’ll be nothing but briars and thorns and just waste in your life. Keep dedicated to the Lord. Don’t stop now. Are you a new listener to Bibleline? Do you enjoy the teachings of Dr. Arnold? Well, if you’ve never contacted us before, we want to give you Dr. Arnold’s book, The Gospel-Driven Man. Every day we receive many emails from folks who have questions about repentance and salvation, about faith in works, and about how to share the Gospel with friends and loved ones.

This book, The Gospel Driven Man, covers all those topics, and we want all new listeners of Bibleline to receive a free copy. There’s no obligation, no donation necessary, simply call us at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of The Gospel Driven Man. mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Again, don’t forget to include your mailing address. And God bless you and thank you for listening to Bible Mind.

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. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believe in that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.