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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 BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

There’s some things that I want to share with you that I think will help you to understand that there are many people today that are teaching many things on radio and TV, many churches, things that are just simply not true. Some of those things that have been taught is simply the health and wealth philosophy, that if you tithe, you will automatically be blessed by God financially. And if you tithe, you will automatically be healed of any diseases that you may have.

That is not true, and I don’t believe the Bible teaches that. Now in Malachi it does say, well a man robbed God, yet he says you have robbed me and ties and offering and he says and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you shall not receive it. But it is talking to Israel, it is talking about a real storehouse, it is really talking about God opened up the windows of heaven and letting it rain upon the earth so that they could have product and they would have more and that That is really what it’s talking about.

And that God says you have robbed me and that you won’t give like you should. And so I have stopped the heavens from producing the water that produces the fruit that causes you to be blessed and have so much more. But it doesn’t mean that if I make $100 and I gave God 10 that I can run to the mailbox and expect my check to come in. It doesn’t mean that just because you tithe like you should, that God’s going to automatically bless you financially and you’re going to have so much money you won’t know what to do with it at all.

That is not true. I have faithfully tithed for 42 years or more. And that has not been proven to be true. I have still hurt and suffered financially over the years. Tithing is not the key that opens up this miracle door. It is not the key that keeps you from getting sick because if you tithe you won’t get sick anymore and it’s going to be the key that keeps you to good health. There’s many preachers on TV that are teaching just that.

And of course, then when they teach that, it means you give them your money. And they are going to pray that you prosper, but they got your money. To me, they’re shifsters. They don’t have you in mine except to make merchandise of you to take something from you. I don’t like it when all preachers do as big and wine for money all the time. I don’t believe it’s right. I would rather you give because you want to, because you have confidence in the work and And you do it because of what God has already done for you, not you’re doing it in order to get something in the future from God.

I should serve the Lord and do what’s right because of what He hath done for me. He died on the cross, paid for my sins, gave me eternal life. Now we want to be blessed by God. We want God to bless us in our life. You want blessings. I want blessings. Now take a Bible look in Genesis, chapter 27. you and I, when we have our parents pass away, if they had any wealth, they generally will leave it to their children.

Not all the time, but generally they’ll leave it to their children. And so in the Bible times, it was always the first born in the family. Well, they had it up on the rest of them. And so the first born would become the one that was the heir of what the father had. And so of course there’s an advantage then of being the firstborn. Because then the father would bestow everything that he has upon you, but the blessing went even further than that.

It’s where God was honoring the wishes of the dying father upon the firstborn son. Because he was going to get what he had, Plus he was asking God to bless him with more. You may have a dad and he’s a millionaire. And then when he dies, you get a make. Wow. Now, it’s not so much that you deserved it. It’s just because you happen to be born in the family. Maybe you’re the first born. Maybe the last born. Maybe the only kid they got.

Well, whatever, and you inherit that. Now, there was a time when this man came to Christ and he says, he says, see that my brother shared the inheritance with me. And Jesus says, what have I got to do with you man? What have I got to do with you man? He says, God did come down here to make me a judge in your life like that. He says, no. He says, you need to understand that when it comes to the things of the world that it’s better, it’s better to be right with God than to have the riches and the prosperity of this world because the things of this world are going to pass away.

And so he says the riches of the world and the product of the world is not where your peace and your joy and your happiness ought to be. There’s a lot more involved. But now the time had come Isaac was going to bless his son. And the first born son was Esau, and Esau was a type of the flesh. And Jacob was a type of the spirit. Fewer little nipulations through the white Rebecca. She snuck the blessing. And she put animal skin on us so that he would feel like he was hairy.

Because Esau was a hairy man, a hairy individual. He was a hunter. He smelled like animal. She could smell it on him. Well, Aaron, he had the animal skin on him in order to deceive his dad. Because you know what they wanted? He wanted the inheritance. He wanted the blessing and his mama put him up to it She didn’t want the firstborn kid to get it. She wanted the second kid to get it So in verse 26 look in verse 26 and his father Isaac said unto him come near now and kiss me my son And he came near and he kissed him and he smelled the smell of his ramen and blessed him and says see the smell of my son Is it the smell of a phyoh which the Lord had blessed?

Therefore, God gave thee of the do of heaven and of the fatness of the year and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve the in nations bow down to the be Lord over thy brethren and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee. Curse should be everyone that curses thee. Blessed be he that bless us thee. Whoo! What a blessing! And he gave it to his son Jacob. And he saw came in a little bit later, but it was too late.

What the father has said stands. He has just claimed the rights of the first born. And was his brother mad? Yes. Did he wanted to kill him? Yes. He hated him with a passion. And this is where you have a separation of Israel and the Arabs. And it’s still going on today, 4000 years later. Now Now Esau later on, he married a wife that came from Ishmael, who had a daughter, so he wound up marrying Esau then. But anyway, they got into that family and that’s where the Arabs come from.

And they still are trying to steal that land back and steal back. But God had already given the blessing. Now what I want you to see here, look there in verse 33, looking verse 33. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly and said, Who? Where is he that have taken venison? And brought it to me and I have eaten all before him, came and have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed. In other words, he stole the blessing. Where is he?

And he shall be blessed. Because see, that’s the way it was set up. And Isaac blessed Jacob. And he claimed the birthright. But see, years before Isaac had two sons born Jacob and he saw him. And he saw despised his birthright. And he came in half dead and he says, I’m hungry. And he says, I’ll give you some mess of potage here, some beans and a little. He says, if you’ll sell me your birthright. And he agreed to it.

He said, OK. So he sold his birthright for a mess of potage. And then that day came when he was going to be receiving that blessing and he did not receive it. And the Bible says here, I want you to look there in verse 34. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry and said unto his father, bless me, even me also, oh my father, bless me. And he says, can I even get one blessing?

Look what he says in verse 36. And he says, it’s not, he rightly named Jacob or he handed me these two times. He took away my birthright and behold now he have taken away my blessing and he have said, half thou not reserved a blessing for me. Just one blessing, just one. And Isaac answered and said unto Esau. Behold, I have made him thy lord and all his brethren have I given to him for servants and with corn and wine have I sustained him and what have shall I do now unto thee?

Myself. What? I don’t have anything left? And he’s all said to his father, has to, but one blessing, bless me, even me also, and he lifted up his voice and he went. These are all earthly manifestations. This is all the things, the material things of the earth, of the blessings, in the protection. This is not an inhale thing. This is not spiritual things. This is just where God says, I’m going to bless you. You’ll have cattle and you’ll have this, and I’ll protect you from your enemies.

I’ll protect your health. I’ll do all kind of things for you. It would be neat if we could claim it, but we can’t claim those today. They’re called God didn’t promise those to us. Now you can’t all you want to, but it’s not going to work that way. Now there’s television evangelists who get a hold of these verses and they try to make you think that if you just get more money, then you have a right to claim all of these things for you and you’ll get wealthy and you’ll stay healthy.

as long as they got your money, they don’t care about your health and your wealth. They get healthy and wealthy. I want you to take your Bible now and look in the book of Galatians in chapter 3, Galatians in chapter 3, over there in the New Testament. The apostle Paul had won many people to Christ there in the place of Galatia. And because of so many people that he had led to the Lord, he established churches. doing fine. And then some legalistic Judaizers came down, law keepers, and trying to tell the people that you have to keep the law in order to be saved and to stay saved.

Well, that was contrary to what the apostle Paul taught. But what those Judaizers had done is they were taking the law from the Old Testament and trying to take these Gentiles and stick them under the law and say, you’ve got to keep the law in order to be saved. And he says, If anybody preached unto you any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. So you see, you go through the Bible and talk about blessings and curses.

Blessings, curses. Now even once you have trusted because you’re Savior, so if you trust Christ as your Savior today, you understand that if you serve the Lord, God will bless you. If you don’t serve the Lord, God will chasten you. It’s a curse. God is going to have to chasten you. Maybe take you home before them is your Savior. You hire his child forever, but you cannot live as you please and get away with it because your heavenly father’s gonna have to chase and then discipline you.

So it’s important, look there in Galatians in chapter two. Galatians chapter two, I want you to notice that in verse 16, verse 16, look at it very quickly, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law I look up here. Knowing that a man is not justified before God by the law by his works means that a man cannot save himself by his good deeds. It’s not by going to church. It’s not by giving money.

You cannot earn it. It’s not by your works. It’s not by my works. So regardless of all my good deeds, God will never save any man, me or anyone else, because of what they do. That’s contoured to scripture. So there’s people though that teach that and they were saying you got to keep the law. Well the purpose of the law was not to say the man. The purpose was of the law was to show that a man that he can’t save himself by his word.

So God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai and the law was like a mirror that shows you what you are. Well I never sinned here. Now I never did this. Now I never did. Have you ever sinned? Forget it. You have broken the law. The law was to show you and I. We are sinners. save ourselves by the law. But the law was to serve a purpose. The show us that we cannot be saved by our worst.

Nobody was ever saved by keeping the law. You see, what about those people in the Old Testament? Nobody has ever been saved by keeping the law. Nobody ever will. Means nobody goes to heaven because they deserve it. No, they don’t. There’s never been a person ever lived that deserved go to heaven. Jesus Christ was perfect, but he didn’t have to worry about it. He didn’t have to worry about going there. He came from there. Look there in Galatians in chapter 3.

Now look what he says there in verse 7. No ye therefore that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham. For seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached before the gospel under Abraham sin and they shall all families of the earth be blessed. So that everybody all over the world can be blessed with faith in Abraham by faith alone. Because Abraham simply believed God and God saved him, gave him perfection, gave him his righteousness.

Here we are now 2,000 years later, and God is saying Abraham was saved by faith. Not Bible law, because the law wasn’t even given yet. It was given 430 years later. How could Abraham keep the law when there was no law? Couldn’t. So you and I can be justified. Look in verse eight. Last part of verse eight. In the shall all nations be blessed. So which be of either blessed with faithful amen. What is this blessing? Those also hidden in all this other stuff that Abraham had mentioned.

Now I’ll bless the people and I’ll bless the land and I’ll bless the product and I’ll bless the rain and I’ll bless the fruit. I’ll bless everything else. But something in all of this he says, and through all of this there’s going to be a come a seed from which all families of the earth will be blessed, not just the Jews. But the seed is a reference to Jesus Christ. Look there in Galatians in chapter 3. Look at number 16.

And to Abraham and his seed, singular, where the promises made, he saith not and the seeds as of many, but as of one and to thy seed which is who? Christ. It’s to reference to Jesus Christ. In other words, through the line of Abraham, all the way on down through and then David and on down through and lo and behold, Jesus was born. He had no sinful nature and he wants to father many children and all those who trust Christ as Savior become a child of God, you are in his family.

Now see, we maybe were not in the family of Abraham back there. I’m not an Israelite, I’m not a Jew And there’s many promises that I can never claim. But because I am now a child of God, because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I became His child as His child. There’s blessings that are mine, simply because of who I am. Now you may look at me and you see flesh and blood. In God’s eyes, I am somebody.

I’m somebody because God says I’m somebody. I’m a child of God. I have blessings that you can’t take away from me. I got them simply because I am in his family. And he said that when he died, we inherit something. I inherit the eternal life. And this eternal life is the gift that he gives to all of those who believe on him. It’s awesome. Look there in verse 13. Look at verse 13, chapter 3 in Galatians. have to redeem us, curse of the law.

Why was it a curse? Because you had to keep the law perfectly to go to heaven. If you’re going to have to be good to go to heaven, you’ve got to be perfect. Okay, how many qualify? Is anybody here like that? No. That’s why you need a Savior. Look what he says. Verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through law through faith. Simply believing what God said is true, I can have something I never had before.

I can become a child of God in Jesus Christ. Look what else he said. He says they’re in verse 15, brother and I speak after the manner of man, though he be but a man’s covenant, yet it is confirmed. No man disanelleth or addeth there too. And God made a promise and you can’t add to it and you can’t take it away. It cannot be disanolved. The promise that God made what He would justify a man by faith alone in Christ alone.

The moment you accept Him as Savior. So that very moment you became a child of God. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. Just turn to your right just a couple pages. chapter one and look there in verse three. Verse three, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, God saved you from hell, gave you eternal life, you became his child. As his child, what do you inherit? Well, we know that I’m going to get a new body one day that’ll last forever simply because I’m his child.

I don’t have to do anything for that. I’m going to get automatic. I have already received the Holy Spirit who indwells me to teach me the Word of God and to comfort me, I’ve already received that. So I’ve already been blessed. Just because I’m his child and I’m blessed simply because I am a child of God that was promised. These are all promises to me. Looking verse three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath, and you ought to underline this, hath past tense, hath blessed, past tense, hath blessed with what?

With all material and financial blessings. Is that what it said? Look what it says. Hey, it hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. So whenever you and I trusted Christ as our Savior, we have been blessed with spiritual blessings that I am one day going to reap. Now, some of those I can enjoy now enjoy being a child of God, Knowing that I have God’s word. Knowing that I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Knowing that I have a purpose in my life.

These are spiritual things. And many of you may sacrifice financially to do things for the Lord. You’re laying up treasure in heaven where God’s gonna reward you when you get there and you’re not gonna lose that. But he says things in this world you can lose. You can lose here, help here. And you can lose your wealth here. And you can serve God with all your heart all the and come down with some incurable disease and all your praying and all your money ain’t going to stop it and some of you are going to wind up dying and I’m going to do your funeral if God should tear you and let me live long enough and all the praying and all the giving and all the righteous living in work ain’t going to stop you from death.

We’re all going to what? We’re all going to die and just because you do what’s right doesn’t mean you’re not going to have financial troubles. You read the Bible and says that Peter and John, when they walked along and they came to the temple of the gate, and it says that the guy was trying not for arms. And he says, silver and gold have I, how much? Then Paul didn’t understand the spirituality and the teachings of the health and the wealth philosophy.

Silver and gold have I, none. How did the apostle John end up on the Alapatmas with nothing. It was exiled on an aisle. And how did the other disciples, they were crucified, some of them, some born and all, and some die horrible deaths? And you read the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews and you’ll find out. So these evangelists that are teaching you on the radio, all of it is your money. Because inside of you, you all have a desire, you want money and you want help.

And they take those natural desires that you have and burn it inside of you and this is the secret. And you have seed money. You’ve got to have seed money, right? And you plant your money in what I’m doing and God is going to take and bless you out there. So many people are lulled into that. Find somebody who’s trying to reach somebody for the Lord and invest your money, invest your time, and do right. And if God blesses you financially, praise the Lord, use it wisely.

If God sees fit to close the doors of opportunities, and sometimes God can want you to move around and do certain things because he either supplies over the holes, there’s a God in heaven that we’re responsible to. And God may open up doors for you and he can cause you to lose your job and allow things to happen. That doesn’t mean God is against you and God’s turned against you and God has forsaken you. No. Have you ever heard of a man named Job?

He did all the right that he knew to do and God took his wealth and God took his health. Yes or no? And even cost him his friends and his wife says, why don’t you just curse God and that’s always nice to have a good godly woman standing behind you in a time of needing. It doesn’t mean everything’s gonna work out. Oh, I’m not there. We’re supposed to believe that for all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are called according to his his purpose.

Not your purpose, not my purpose, his purpose. A reason why he does what he does. And God tomorrow can bless you tremendously or he may withhold things from you. But whether he gives or takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. When the Lord giveth, blessed be the name of the Lord. When the Lord take it the way, blessed be the name of the Lord. You shouldn’t change it because of what he gave or took away. Your character is based upon I’m God’s child.

I love the Lord. Everything’s okay. I don’t care if it’s your health is bad and your money’s gone between you and God. Everything’s all right. You and God, you can tackle anything. You can face anything between you and Lord. Look up here. This is you and me. This is sin. We all have sin on us. God says that He loves us. He hates our sin. And for you and I to go to heaven, well, we have to be perfect as righteous as God, no sin.

See, God is perfect. Heaven is perfect. And for you and I to go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous God. So because if we go to heaven, well then we’ll lie in heaven, steal in heaven, cheat in heaven, kill in heaven, then heaven won’t be heaven. So God says you have to be perfect to go there, well none of us can go, because every one of us have a sinful nature. So God says you cannot save yourself.

It’s not by your works. We’ve all sinned, we’re all condemned. This sin represents Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. into this world because he loves us, but he hates our sin because our sins, they separate us from the Lord. So Jesus Christ, who had no sin, didn’t have to die, he was perfect. He came into the world because he loved us and the proof that he loved us, he did something for us. He took all of our sins, he became sin for us.

And he paid for the sins on the cross, came back from the dead. And God says that if you and I, we will believe he did it for us by faith. He puts this payment that he made to your account and you go to heaven on what he did for you. So you didn’t do this. He did this. All that you have to do is believe he did it for you. He gives you as a free gift everlasting life.

He gives you his righteous Now if God gave you his righteousness, that would make you as righteous as God, and you go to heaven on what he did for you. Sensarity is not a substitute for truth. And a lot of sincere people are going to be lost. If I offered you my wallet and you accepted what would you have? I empty wallet. If I offered you this Bible, and you accepted what would you have? A Bible. If Jesus Christ walked in here and offered you eternal life and you accepted you would have eternal life.

If it’s eternal life, how long would it last forever? If it lasts forever and all you send your pay, then where would you go and you die? I have been blessed. I am going to be blessed because I am a child of God. I get that automatically. And God also made promises that if I served Him as a result of my service, He’s going to reward me on top of those blessings. But rewards have to be earned. Rewards are earned.

That’s what I do for Him because I want to, because I love Him. Now, nobody can make you love God. But if you do love Him, He says, serve me. And if any man served me, Him will my Father honor. And there’s a time coming when we get to heaven that every man shall receive praise, honor, and glory at the Jesus Christ. Let’s pray, shall we? 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 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 to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.