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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.

What do we gonna do? Let’s take our Bibles and turn to a portion of scripture in the book of 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians, it’s a good portion of scripture. As you know this morning, we were talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ. And everybody says they agreed that the scripture does teach that Jesus is coming again, right? Did you see the hands? Everybody believed it. Now, if he is coming, is he coming only for those that are faithful, or is he coming for everybody that trusts the Lord?

Whether you’re ready or not, ready or not, here I come. The Lord is coming, he is coming. Second Let us loan in and look there in chapter 3. Chapter 3, it’s nice whenever somebody writes you a letter and they say finally. And then he writes a whole chapter. Finally, verse 1, finally. Brethren, pray for us. This morning in Sunday school we talked about how the Apostle Paul kept talking, how he prayed for them. Now he’s talking about you, pray for us.

You want people praying for you? Do you believe you should pray for others? In other words, the Bible says, pray for one another. I guess that goes both ways, right? Goes both ways. Sometimes I’ve had people say, now, Yakin, when you come up here, you come and see us. But he’ll say, hey, that road runs both ways. Does the road run both ways? You have some people say, no, they’d never come to see you, but it’s okay if you’d come and see them.

You can drive a thousand miles and see them. And if you drive and go all the way up there to see somebody, some people just can’t get away. They live two blocks away or they live a mile away and they just can’t get free, it’s a place for, you know, people really do, I think, what they really want to do. Most people just do what they really want to do. So anyway, here we are. Second Thessalonians, chapter three, verse one says, finally, brethren, pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free course.

In other words, nothing to hinder it. Nothing that keeps it bagged. That we won’t do something in our Christian life that keeps the gospel from getting out, that keeps the Word from getting out. We want to have free course. In other words, nothing that blocks it, nothing that hinders it. So he says, and be glorified even as it is with you. There’s power in the Word. So we want people to hear the Word, so that’s why we preach the Word and we read the Word, we studied the Word because there’s power in the Word.

And the Word of God can change your life. It causes you to think differently. That’s why it’s so good. Now look what he says in verse two, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. Now is that a possibility even in the day in which we live? We may be delivered from wicked, unreasonable men, for all men have not faith. Everybody doesn’t believe in the Lord. So therefore, you are to pray that people will pray for you and you pray for them that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life, that we may get the job done.

But like you said here, we may be delivered from unreasonable wicked men. There’s wicked people in this world, and you’ll find out in the book of 1 Thessalonians and so on. It really talks a lot about suffering. You read the book of Peter and he talks a lot about suffering. See, suffering and glory are almost always together in the Scripture, suffering and glory, suffering and glory. And a lot of people need to understand. If you want to have glory later, you have to suffer now.

I will just find out just a little bit ago that Dorothy used to sit up. over here, remember her during the past away yesterday? Was it yesterday, hun? And she had gone down to Texas and showed she’s passed away. And then a friend of mine up there in Georgia, she saw Owens, I’d taken up there in the church the whole time I was there for about 16 years, he’s passed away. So one by one, you know, God is picking some flowers and taking them on home.

I must be out there in the line. He just wants to collect pretty flowers. Oh, well. Notice what he says here in verse three. But, but, in spite of these unreasonable and wicked men that don’t have faith in the Lord, that may keep you from doing what God wants you to do. The Lord is still faithful. When you have everybody else that will fail you, things don’t work right. The Lord is faithful. And He says here, who shall establish you and keep you from evil?

Now the Lord can do that, as long as you look to Him, walk with Him, stay close to Him. You can stay strong in spite of a wicked world. I guess God could just take us all out of here, which He could do, but then who would reached this wicked world. There’s got to be somebody. That’s why we read earlier this morning about there in the book of Titus in chapter 2 about where to live righteously and soberly and godly in this present world, looking for the blessed hope and his glorious appearing.

So God does tell us that while we’re here, everything’s not going to go cool. Everything’s not going to be just right. You’re going to have problems all the days of your life long as you’re in this body. And God is not going to take away all your problems. It’s just not going to happen. Don’t even expect it. He wants to give you the strength and grace that you need to go through the problems so that you can be a witness to whoever for the cause of Christ, that He may get glory from it.

Of course we can, Lord, make it easy on me. I don’t want no problems. Okay, I’m going to take you home. That’s the only thing He can do. He can’t leave you here and nothing go wrong. We live in a wicked, sinful world. There’s wicked, sinful people here. Things are going wrong. You can expect too much from unfaithful people, but you can expect the Lord to be faithful to walk with you, stay with you, never leave you, never forsake you and give you the strength and grace you need to walk with them through everything.

Now we know that, we’re supposed to believe that. Take your Bible and look in, I want you to see these verses. The book of lamentation, the book of lamentation, you say, where in the world is that little book? Right between Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Right between Ezekiel and Jeremiah. And I want you to look there in chapter 3, and we’ll start there in verse 18. I want you to see this. Verse 18 says, and I said, this is on page 836 in your Bible.

My My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord. Now there’ll be times in your life to see true faithfulness is when you remain faithful, when it appears, God has failed you. When you think God has let you down, in that moment of despair, when you’re ready to go, oh, nobody loves you. You’re pet rock knight. You’re gonna go out in the garden, eat worms. I mean, it’s the end of your world. So he says here in verse 19, remembering my affliction and my misery.

Do you ever remember your misery? You know, as you kind of recollect those things that people said about you, somebody did something to you. Some of the misery that you go through in life, but he says, the wormwood in the gall, now in the New Testament in the book of Revelation talks about the wormwood talking about the water been made bitter because of warm. It’s the bitterness that you have inside of you. And so it just ruins your life to be filled with hatred and bitterness and you can’t seem to get over it.

Where you carry a grudge and God says those things are wrong. But anyway in verse 20 it says my soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. This I recall in the mind. Therefore I have Hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because his compassion, what’s those next two words? Fail not. God always has compassion for his children. Whatever you’re going through and you think, nobody knows what I’m going through, nobody understands, nobody feels my pain.

God says I do. His compassion fails not they don’t fail means he always cares about you. Then look what he says in verse 23 they are new every morning and if you don’t have this part of the verse on the line you ought to underline these words. Great is thy faithfulness. You’ve heard of a song called that. Great is thy faithfulness. That’s where it comes from this word right here. Then look what he says in verse 24, the Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him.

This is the future. This is what gives you peace now because you believe the Lord will not fail you. His compassion is new every morning and there’s benefits from the Lord and so he makes a statement. statement, therefore will I hope in him. So then he says, the Lord is good unto them that wait for him. Now you’ll notice when we go back to the book of Thessalonians, you’ll see where it talks about with patience they waited with patience, patience, patience, this is mentioned everywhere, patience, patience, because if there’s some things that the Christian doesn’t have much of in his life, it patience.

Patience. That’s why we get so angry so fast because we don’t have patience. We think there’s no hope, there’s no way. But when you learn to trust the Lord, just believe that it’ll, it’ll work. Just keep trusting Lord. Now look at here, there’s a couple of things I want you to see. In verse 20, it is good that a man should both hope and quietly get this, wait for the salvation of the Lord, because see the Lord is coming.

But also wait for the Lord to do what you cannot do. You work, you pray, you do everything that you can, and then patiently wait upon the Lord to do what you can’t do. That way you put in your confidence in your trust in the Lord. But God does demand of us to make decisions and to do certain things, to say certain things. So we have a responsibility, but it’s so important. Look what he says in verse 27. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth because the time will come.

When he gets older, he’s not going to be able to go too much. I go back there to 2 Thessalonians in chapter three. 2 Thessalonians chapter three, verse, I page 1272. It makes a statement in verse four. In verse four, and we have confidence in the Lord, touching your concerning you, that you both get this do, that’s now. And we’ll do, that’s future. The things which we command you. So Paul was used by the Lord to write the scriptures and there are many things that God has commanded of his children.

And so he says unto the patient, waiting for Christ, that’s down in verse five. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patient waiting for Christ. Now this waiting for Christ means that you’re looking for the Lord to come back But you’re patient why you do so. Patiently doing what God wants you to do. So we can either obey the Lord or not obey the Lord. But He says He wants us to do these things and to be patient because of it.

Now look in 2 Thessalonians in chapter 2 and verse 1. Now we’re not going to get into whether or not we’re talking about the rapture, we’re talking about the revelation of Christ seven years later, the point that I’m seeking to make is He’s coming. Just that truth, He is coming. And He says in verse 1, Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by our gathering together unto Him. Now I believe He’s talking about the rapture of course.

But that day is coming. But now look there in chapter 1 and notice this. In chapter one, you’ll notice in verse three, as the apostle Paul writes to these Christians, he says, We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is necessary me, because that your faith groweth exceedingly. Now this is what we want. This is what we want to see. We want to see people growing in the Lord, starting with your salvation, watching people grow, watching them develop.

And so he says, because he says that your faith grows exceedingly and the charity or the love of every one of you all toward each other abounded. You’re growing in your faith and you’re growing in your love. So that’s why he says in verse 4, so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your, and here’s that word again, for your patient and faith in all your persecution, tribulations that you enjoy. No, there’s a lot of things in life you don’t enjoy.

Serving the Lord is not always doing what you want to do, it’s doing what you ought to do. And so you have a lot of things you’ll have to just endure it. Not everything has a smiley face on it. So some things you just have to go ahead. Not everything works out perfectly. Oh, how I wish it would. But then we’re talking about heaven. Since we’re not there, we have to consider these things that God says or things we must endure.

So 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, look what he says now in verse 5. which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer. Now you’ll be there because of Christ, but what rewards you have is because of the sufferings that you endure now. See what you go through now is making an impact upon your future. And this is why he says in verse 6, seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that do what?

Trouble you. So you don’t have to trouble others. I was always told, don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. Well, here he’s talking about those who trouble you, let God trouble them. God will deal with people. a lot better than you will. Because you probably do it out of revenge, anger, and bitterness, and say and do something you wish you hadn’t done. So he says here in verse 7, and to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed.

See that again? Reveal from heaven with his mighty angels. This is a good possibility of talking about revelation, the revealing power, great glory with his angels. And he says in verse 8, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that no, not God. Now remember, we had just mentioned over there in chapter 3 where he says, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith. Not everybody knows the Lord and not everybody He loves the Lord.

And you’ve got to live here in this wicked, wicked world. Now hold your place right here and just look there in the book of Philippians in chapter two. The book of Philippians chapter two. And notice what he says here. Because he’s left us in this world, he could have taken us out. He could have kept us from all of this. But see the sufferings of this present time are nothing more than opportunities for us to earn rewards for all eternity.

So he makes a statement here in Philippians chapter two and look there in verse 13, for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Now, can you trust the Lord with your life if you can trust Him to save your soul? Well, if you can trust Him with your life, remember in this life God who has all the power, he can keep any bad thing from happening to you. That’s the sovereignty of God.

God is powerful enough that He could keep anything bad from ever happening to me. So if anything bad happens to me, could it be because he permitted it? And that maybe I’m supposed to learn something from it or accomplish something through it, or be the right example is a good possibility. Now notice what he says here. For it is God that works within you. In verse 14, do all things without murmuring and disputing. Is God pleased with all of our complaining?

Of course, now we don’t complain. We just murmur a little bit about certain things. But it is possible that we complain a lot. But look what else he says, that ye may be blameless and harmless the sons of God, the children without rebuke in the mist of a crooked and perverse nation. Now God knows what kind of a world this is, doesn’t He? Doesn’t God see everything? Know everything? Know how wicked these people are? know that there’s people without faith in God and He let us like sheep being among these wolves?

Doesn’t God know that? Evidently He’s God. So if He does that, He might have a reason. Something or purpose that pleases Him. Well, maybe it’s hidden in here somewhere. Look what He says. In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among home, among home, among home, wine and pine and moaning groan among whom you what? What’s the rest of the verse? You can’t read it. You can’t see it in your Bible. You shine as lights in the world.

So one of the reasons God’s left us in his soul sent for world is to shine as lights in the world. Who needs the light? The God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not less the light of the gospel of Christ should shine unto them. See any connection there whatsoever? Just a little bit. So do we have an understanding of why we’re left here? And look at all the problems that we’re going to have.

God could eliminate all of them with a snap of his finger, but he chooses not to. He said, if you suffer for me, you’re going to be rewarded.” And then he says in verse 16, how do you shine his lights? And they were holding forth the word of life, the word of eternal life. That I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain, because to live for another purpose is to live in vain, to run in vain.

So therefore we know that God is told us in advance, it’s not going to be a piece of cake. He told Paul at the very beginning, I am going to show him what great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. Not what great, you know, easy life he’s going to have, but what things he’s going to suffer. And so it’s in the book. Go back there to the first chapter of 2nd Thessalonians. So the Lord says that He is coming.

He’s coming back. Look in verse 10. When He shall then come to be glorified in His saints, to be admired in all of them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. In other words, they gave their testimony and they believed. So there’s people who are supposed to share the testimony and then they believe. That’s why you and I are going to heaven because of this. Now I want you to take and go to 1st Thessalonians, 1st Thessalonians.

In 1st Thessalonians in just chapter 1, the Bible talks to us here in chapter one, 1 Thessalonians, talks about us being saved and knowing that we have eternal life and so forth. So he says there in verse 5, for our gospel came not unto you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. Now I believe that once you trust Christ as Savior, you try to give a great assurance that they have eternal life.

And we try to show them salvation verses that he that believeth of me had everlasting life. These things have I written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God that you can have great assurance, much assurance. You have it settled. Your salvation is a wonderful, wonderful thing. But are you looking verse 6? He’s also talking about these believers in Thessalonica, and you became followers, followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word and get this much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost.

Now the apostle Paul and others that went and shared the gospel had to go through much affliction. And so that’s mentioned also in chapter two. All the things he went through to get the gospel to them. And so here we are living in good old Christian America. If we live for the same purpose, are we gonna have much affliction? It’s gonna be things you’re gonna have to struggle with in order to do it anyway. But you struggle, there’s gonna be problems, pressures.

You got financial problem, you got health problem, and in the spite of all of those things, We’re supposed to be about this too. God didn’t say it was going to be a piece of cake, but it did say that he expects us to do it. He did say, I’ll be with you. And so he makes this statement here in verse 7. So that you were, and here’s another word, these are examples, examples to all that believe in Macedonia and a cayi.

So we have those that are saved become followers. They followed, they become examples. And then you look down in verse 10, and they became, or I should say verse nine, they become servants. You see, for they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had under you. How you turn to God from idols, and here’s those two little words you’re on to serve, to serve the living and true God. Because see, it’s one thing to win somebody to the Lord.

It’s another thing to get them to follow you. long enough that they can become an example, long enough so they can become a servant and stand on their own two feet. So in the end of each one of these chapters in the book of 1 Thessalonians, it talks about something that’s gonna take place. We kind of talked about it this morning tonight. See the verse 10, and to wait for his son from heaven, to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Christ, Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Now He delivered us the day you trusted Christ as your Savior, He delivered you from the hell that is to come, but also that we’re not gonna be going into the tribulation period, that time of wrath upon the earth, we’ve been delivered. So now in chapter two, it makes a statement in verse 19 and verse 20, for what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing, or not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. When?

At His coming. Do you think that Lord keeps telling us about Him coming back because He’s coming back? He must want us to remember that. 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 Paulus at 1-800-576-3771 or write to us and request your free copy of the Gospel-Driven Name. The 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 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. Caught 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.