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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. The 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 concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

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 wished 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, see, and 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. Cause 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 seven, and to you who are troubled, rest with us. when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed.”

See that again? Revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. This is a good possibility of talking about the revelation, the revealing power, a 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 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. 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 2 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 of God, 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 lets us, like sheep, be in a mess.

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, you 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, sin for world, is to shine as lights in the world. Who needs the light? The God of this world have 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 from 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 to 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 has 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 2 Thessalonians. So the Lord says that He is coming.

He’s coming back. Looking in verse 10. When He shall then come to be glorified in His saints, to be admired in all 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 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians.

In 1 Thessalonians in just chapter 1, the Bible talks to us here in chapter 1 of 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 person 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 a 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 six? 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 to 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 problems, you got health problems, 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 He did say that He expects us to do it. He did say, I’ll be with you. And so He makes a 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 9, they become servants. You see, for they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you. How you turn to God from idols, and here’s those two little words you’ll only 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 the Folia 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 going to take place. We kind of talked about it this morning and tonight. See there in 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 going to 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. It’s a great motivation to serve the Lord because we believe that He is coming. He says in verse 20, for ye are our glory and our joy, our glory and our joy. So we have the service. Now in chapter three, you look there in verse 13, which is at the end of this chapter. And as you go down through here in chapter three, it talks a lot about your faith, your faith. And just to look at this very quickly in verse one, wherefore when we could no longer bear, we thought it good to be lifted Athens alone.

That’s Athens, Georgia. That’s where I was just up there at. And he says, and sent to Mothius, our brother and minister of God and our fellow labors in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, to comfort you concerning your faith, what you believe, to get them settled, get them established, to strengthen them. And Then he says in verse three, that no man should be moved by these afflictions. See that? That nobody’s strong enough that the afflictions of this life doesn’t move you.

Change you. Stop you. Hender you. This is why the Apostle Paul says in chapter 20 of the book of Acts. He says, I know that I want to finish my course with joy. And the ministry that God has given to me and that none of these afflictions move me. They don’t stop him. So he says that no man should be moved by these afflictions for yourselves know that we are appointed there unto. In other words, it’s an appointment you have.

God has, have you ever gone to the doctor and you made an appointment and you’re supposed to be there at 12 o’clock? And so you got there a little bit earlier and then he finally saw you at 2 o’clock all the time. God says these afflictions are appointments. They’re not accidents. There’s appointments that God has. And so He may have appointments for you tomorrow. Now you didn’t have to plan it. God may just intervene into your life. Remember when you dedicate your life to the Lord, expect God to interrupt your schedule.

Because you have your own plans. And what you expect. And God has His. Now sometimes they are parallel and sometimes they’re contrary. And don’t we just despise it when things just rock our life and change us around so that it’s not what I thought. It’s not what I expected. That’s all right. God has a plan all of his own and you’re supposed to wait patiently on the Lord and watch the Lord work. So he says down here in verse 5, for this cause when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, less by some means, some means, the tempter having tempted you and our labor being vain.

You see, it’s not just to let the winds of my Lord, you got to stay after them sometimes. And people are easily led astray. And they hear this doctrine, they hear that doctrine, all those things that are crazy. And you got to be careful. You’ll follow those things, the next thing you know, it’ll trap you. It can get you. You can take it, take it, you hold this witness, boy, I let them come into my house. I let them get all of them, Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

And you’d be surprised. They may plant some doubts into your mind. And next thing you know, you become a Jehovah’s Witness. You say, I never happened. Yeah, I can. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve seen people that you would think would never do that, and they do. And they fall into this belief and this belief and this belief, Because if you don’t have the answers to all that wicked stuff, their thoughts and their questions plant seeds into your mind.

And so those doubts become your doubts and if you feed doubts, your faith will starve to death. But if you feed your faith, your doubts will starve to death. Feed your faith. The things you do believe, the things that are right, don’t feed your mind on the things that are not. You run a great risk. So he says this down through here. He wants them to stand fast in the Lord.” Then He makes His statement up there in verse 12, “…and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another and toward all men, even as we do toward you.

To the end, He may establish you, your heart, unblameable, in holiness before God, even as Godfather at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all his saints. He’s coming back. But God wants you and I to become stabilized, to know what you believe and why you believe it. Now hold your place right here, because I want you to see this over in the book of Ephesians, the book of Ephesians, and chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. Now God says that he has given to every man grace according to the ministry that he wants you to perform.

So he can give you the desire and the power to do the will of God, but you can deny the grace of God in your life and never fulfill the ministry God intended for you. So he says in verse 7, but unto every one of us has given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. So then he says, in last part of verse 8, gave gifts unto men. Verse 11, gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers.

These are ministers to minister to people in the church so that they would not be tossed to and fro by everyone to doctrine that comes along. And he says they were given to the church for the perfecting of the saints or the equipping of the saints. See there in verse 12? For the work of the ministry It appears that God wants every one of his children involved in the work of the ministry. Every child of God is to be involved in the work of the ministry.

Not even right, Dad, but that’s what he says. See you in verse 7 again, for unto most of us, or does it say every one of us, every one of us. and then down in verse 12, for the perfecting of the saints. Are you a saint? If you trust that Christ is your savior, you are a saint. Bernard, no. You are a saint. Now you may not look like a saint, act like a saint, but in God’s eyes you’ve been made pure and holy and set apart, sanctified for the Lord’s worth.

So he says, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Edify means to beautify what’s there and add to it. Beautify what’s there and add to it. So we’re to help each. Christian, to become stronger in the Lord, stable in the Lord, and add to it. Keep adding to it. Look in verse 13, till we all come in the unity of the faith, does God expect all of his children to believe the same thing?

The unity of the faith? Being of the same mind, same judgment, where we should all think the same way? Why? Because if we all listen to God and God tells us what to believe, shouldn’t we all believe the same thing? I would think so, till we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the statch and the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and cared about by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie and wait to deceive.

So God wants you to be strong enough that you’re not swayed by every wind of doctrine that comes along. And buddy, there’s a lot of things that people teach that are not according to this book. So go back there to the book of 1 Thessalonians. So in chapter 4 you find out that he says, I beseech you, brethren, that you abound more and more in your walk with the Lord. See there in the last part of verse 1, how you ought to walk and to please God.

How you ought to walk and please God. Now you ought to do that. So because one day we’re going to stand before the Lord. The Lord is coming. So we live here, according to it, does it please God? It doesn’t necessarily please everybody else, but does it please God. And that’s why it’s so important. We’ll He said in verse 7, for God have not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. So you have the scripture that tells us how God wants us to think, how He wants us to be.

Then He talks about in verse 13 down to verse 18 what we consider the rapture scriptures. And the reasons because Christ is coming again. He’s coming. either in verse 16. He’s talking about the Lord is coming unto the coming of the Lord, verse 15, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. We’ll be called at the meat, the Lord and the ear.

Now when he says in verse 18, wherefore comfort one another with prescription drugs? Words. Wherefore comfort one another because when you lose somebody that’s precious to you, there’s great sorrow. And what’s supposed to bring comfort is you know, as he says up in the last part of verse 14, when he comes back he’s going to bring them with him. You’ll see them again. So we sorrow and we grieve, but not as those who have no hope, but we do have hope.

And so we believe, yes, Jesus is coming and here’s our comfort, here’s our hope. And then you look there in 1st thessalonians chapter 5, look what he says in verse 23. This is talking about your whole body, soul and spirit. All that you are, all that you are. And the very God of peace, sanctify you whole Him. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved blameless. And what’s the last part of that verse? Onto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, God told us what He’s going to do. He’s coming. He’s told us He’s gonna reward us. And he says, I will be with you and I’ll never leave you and I’ll never forsake you. And while you’re here, you’re going to suffer an awful lot. There’s a lot of things going to go wrong in your life. But before we quit, look at this one verse. Look there in 1 Peter, chapter four. Just turn to your right there. First Peter, chapter four.

And you’ll notice that there’s a wonderful verse that you just got to lay your eyes on here. 1 Peter 4, look in verse 12, Beloved, think it strange. Let’s write it again. Think it not strange concerning the better roses. You can see what it says, don’t you? What does it say? fiery trial, the trial of your faith. Your faith is on trial. God is putting you to the test. Do you love Him? You say, yes I do. How much?

More than your help? More than your wealth. More than this word? Do you love the Lord more? Now remember you can never lose the Lord. Now you can lose everything else. So you’re going to have your testing. So look what he says. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which might try you. No, is to try you. As though some strange thing happened, you just don’t know what I’m going through. Oh, I mean, you got some strange thing happening to you.

Nobody else has ever had happened. We go through pretty much the same things, just different times in our life. As though some strange thing happened to you in verse 13, but rejoice now. rejoice now. And as much as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. So we suffer now, glory later. And we’re supposed to be patient and wait upon the Lord and it’ll work. So we don’t have all the answers, we don’t have to.

I just know the one that’s got all the answers. Look up here, this hand represent you and me. The wall of represents sin. We all have sin on us, but God says that He loves us. Now He hates what we do wrong, but He loves us. And for the wrong that we do, these sins, mistakes, anything you want to call it, whatever sin is, we did it. And because we did, we’re guilty. And because we’re guilty, we got a debt to pay because the wages of sin is debt.

So we’re all condemned. We’re all in the same boat. So the Bible says for us to go to heaven, we have to be perfect. It’s righteous as God and none of us are perfect. None of us are righteous. We’re all sinners. And God says, you cannot pay for your sins except by death, eternal separation from the Lord. So God says, you cannot earn eternal life. You cannot buy away to heaven. This end represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh.

Came into the world because he loves us. Hates our sin because our sin separates us from him. So Christ, who had no sin, didn’t have to die. So because he loved us, he took our sin, not he took our sin, paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead. So that you and I would believe he did it for us. He would put the payment to our account and we go to heaven, oh, what Jesus Christ did for us.

That’s the best news in all the world. Let’s pray, show you. It has bow nice clothes and no one looking around. And if you’re watching by internet, right where you are, all you need to do, it’s the only thing you have to do, The only thing you can do is where you believe that when Christ did that, that He did it for you. If you will believe it, God said He will save you and give you eternal life. Eternal life is a free gift.

You can’t earn it, can’t work for it. Once you have it, can’t lose it because it’s free. God loves you so much. Would you trust Him? Right on the screen it says, yes, I will trust Christ as my Savior. And if you believe it, let us know. Our Father, we do thank You so much for Your watch, care, and your love and all Your provision for us. for meeting all of our needs. And Lord for giving us your word whereby we can read and study it, be challenged and motivated in order to be found faithful.

That we’re not children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine that comes along. Help us to be stabilized. To know what we believe, why we believe it. And Father, help us to comfort others with these words in Christ and we pray. Amen. 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. 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 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.