This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

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

Now, we’re talking about the Christian running a race and that you could inherit the blessing scenes of running the race. But you don’t get it here, you get it there. But if you quit, though you seek it with repentance, I cheat my mind and all the weeping and wailing isn’t going to undo the damage. In other words, he’s going to reward you according to the work you did, not for the intent that you never did. He makes his statement, he would have inherited the blessing.

He was what? He was rejected. For he found no place of repentance. God could not change his mind. See there’s certain things that God has determined and God will not change his mind. It talks about the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. God is going to reward you when you get to heaven based upon what you did. Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. And what does he say? End of the Hebrews in chapter 6, he says this, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love.

He will not forget what you did for him and he is going to reward you and it will be worth it all. You and I are supposed to believe that. Now notice, he uses a lot of stories in chapter 11 about people who were told what to do and they did it. And so it’s a great example on what he means by living by faith. God said, do this and they did it. And most of it refers all the way to the end.

Take your Bible right quick and look there in Hebrews 11 in verse 4, where it says, by faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. He had a testimony. He did what God says to do, and God blessed him. But what happened to him? Just because he did write, everything is supposed to work out great. No, somebody else didn’t like him and killed him. He died. But God is rewarding this guy and blessing him because he obeyed the Lord.

He did what God says to do. But God allowed able to die. Now look what he says about Enoch in verse 5. Enoch was translated that he should not see death but was not found because God had translated him for before his translation he had this testimony that he did what? Please, God. So why is he saying all these things? Because you’re running a race. You’re running a race. Please, God. Do what God says do. though you don’t see the results of everything.

You do it by faith, taking God at His Word that it will be worked at all. And though in this life you will not receive the promise of all that God has promised. You know that because of faith in what God says, you’re going to get it later. Now can you be patient and wait on the Lord? And if you will, then God’s going to bless you. you, but now you’ll notice down here in verse nine where he says, by faith he so germed in the land of promise and in the last part of verse nine he says the heirs with him of the same promise in verse 10, for he looked for his city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God.

Now why is that important? That word builder is very important. The word promise is very important. The reason, because when you go back to the book of Hebrews in chapter 3, it talks about every house is built by some man. That’s just an assumption. You drive down the road, you see a house. That is a house. Who built that? Nobody. It just built itself. Now you know somebody built that house because you know the house can’t build itself. But God has built.

And then he’s talking about Jesus is wanting to build a house. You see, there’s this foundation that you and I are on. And there’s no other foundation that is laid than that is, which is Jesus Christ. But he says, take heed how you build that house. build upon the foundation. Now when you trusted Christ as your Savior, you’re on the foundation. Now that you’re on the foundation, take heed how you build upon the foundation. Because you’re talking about the building, something that God wants you to do, and this is why this is so important.

Look what he says down in verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but they saw them afar off. But they knew that it was something down the road, And they embraced it now. This is why you and I are supposed to embrace the truths of the Word of God, believing that it’s worth it, and nothing in this world will mean as much. In other words, always think eternity. Because when you get to heaven, you don’t want to look back with the regrets that you could have and you should have, but you didn’t.

If he’s only just taking God at his word, wouldn’t it have been greater? Wouldn’t you be more happier? Do you want to be ashamed before Christ at his coming? You don’t want that. You want to be so thankful that you went ahead and did what God says to you, didn’t understand how God’s going to do it. You just believe that he will. And so he preaches us all the way through here and talking about something better. Now look over there in verse 39 of the same chapter, Hebrews chapter 11, and these all have obtained a good report through faith.

That means they did what God told them to do. They received a good report. They got an A on their report card, but they didn’t get the results of the promise yet. And see that’s coming down the road. the greatest things about living by faith is like having God tell you as He walks with you, this is what I’m going to do. Now this is what I’m going to do. This is what I’m going to do. This is what I’m going to give you and you believe Him and you just keep getting up.

You’re running this race. Now take your Bible and go all the way back there to the book of Hebrews in chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. So you see you can understand sometimes a book a little better, maybe you have to go to the end of it. Sometimes in the beginning, sometimes in the middle, but you look for key thoughts. We know he’s talking to the believer, but I believe these are Hebrew Christians. And I do believe the writer of the book of Hebrews is the apostle Paul.

So how do you know? I don’t really know, but I can believe it. my faith. When I study the other scriptures and I can see that I see so much. It’s got to be Paul. When I get to heaven, whoever, if it wasn’t Paul, I want to shake the man’s hand that did. But anyway, what’s that? He was trained by Paul. Hebrews chapter 2, look at this. In Hebrews chapter 2, you’ll notice what he’s talking about here, talking to believers.

Notice in verse 3, how shall we escape? You see, that’s what we read while we go over there in the 12th chapter of the book of Hebrews. How shall we escape? Two believers. And there he was referring to those who did not obey the voice of the Lord. There’s a salvation that God has given to us. And he talks about how that Christ was better than the angels. The sacrifice He made was better than what the high priest ever made.

Everything is better, better, better, better, better. So why would you want to leave something that’s better for that which is worse? And going back to the temple or going back to some sacrifice. And that’s why you’ll find in the book of Hebrews Christ was the great sacrifice once and for all the high priests that they had couldn’t do the job. The law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did. So he says here, this salvation in verse three, if we neglect so great salvation with that the first began to be spoken.

So how are we going to escape that which God will do to his children who neglect to do what God says to do with this so great a salvation? I believe that he’s left us here, so that I want you to run a race. I’ve given you the message, there’s the people, do everything you can to reach them. This is why we work and plan. Everything that we do is to be gospel-oriented. The reason for ranch, souls. If it’s a wannabe, souls, bus ministry, I mean internet, everything boils around to that.

And that’s why I want that to be the driving thing. Everyone should be gospel driven. That which drives us. Otherwise you take the gospel out of it, take reaching people out of it, and you kind of left empty. What’s the purpose of it now? But we are working toward important things. Now, I want you to see this word here. Look in verse 15 of chapter two, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Now the word lifetime, just to circuit that word because we’re talking about your lifetime, the time of your life. And there’s people in this world who don’t know the Lord and they live in the fear of death. You and I don’t have to live in the fear of death because we know the answer. We know what’s going to take place. We know we have eternal life. So when you get to chapter three, he makes this statement here. In verse two, who was faithful to him that appointed him?

As also Moses was faithful in all his house. You see, there were, God is faithful. Moses was faithful. And do you think he’s not gonna be faithful to you? God is faithful. He does what He says He will do. You just go ahead and keep being faithful to the Lord and when you get to heaven you’ll be so glad that you did. Now notice also He makes His statement here in verse 4, for every house is building by some man and remember what Abraham was talking about in chapter 11.

He looked for a city whose builder and maker was a God because you’re building something, but he’s going to build you. You see, you’re a child of God, but building you into a man of God is going to take some doing. So God allows all the things that come into your life that try you, cause you to struggle. And with the word of God, the only difference between a child of God and a man of God is the word of God that lies in between.

And you’ll get that in the book of Timothy in chapter 3 verse 16, when he talks about the word of God makes thee wise in the salvation that from a child has known and then that the scriptures are inspired of God and so forth to make you a man of God. So you have the word of God given to you. How important is this word? This is why in chapter 5, look in chapter 5, right quick in verse 11, when he says, of home we We have many things to say hard to be uttered or explained in your doll of hearing.

For when the time you ought to be teachers, so we’re talking about Christians, who ought to be able to teach the Word of God, have needed somebody to teach them. Their babes in the Lord saved, but they’re not growing like the ought to. So what do you have between what God wants to build? And when they are ought to be teachers is you’re looking chapter four and verse 12 and what do you have? The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword.

And he says piercing even to the dividedness under soul and spirit of the joints and the marrow is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. So the word of God is given so that we can believe it. What is this sin that’s so easily beset us is the sin, I believe of unbelief? God as a Christian. You doubt Him. This is why some people never serve God because they don’t really believe God’s going to keep His Word.

They’re going to let Him down. They’re afraid to be a failure. Did you realize if you don’t become what God wants you to become, you might be considered a failure. Your success in this world is not how God’s going to look at it. It’s did you do the will of God. Remember the last chapter, chapter 13, talks about the will of God and what God wants, that great shepherd of the sheep that he talks about. So he makes a statement here in verse 12, for when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have needed to teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God and become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.

Everyone that uses milk is unskilledful in the word of righteousness, He is a babe. You see, you’re talking about a child of God growing strong the Lord. And the reason you need to go strong in the Lord because you’ve got a race to run. How long you’re going to run this race until the end? See there in chapter 3, look in chapter 3. You’ll notice in verse 6. Where he makes the statement, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house are we because God is building a house upon the foundation.

He’s trying to build you to be strong enough. And he says, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm onto the end. Now some people say that’s, you got to earn, you got to work your way to heaven. It’s not even talking about that. We’re talking about running a race. It’s talking about finishing a race. It’s talking about building you and I strong in the Lord. And we can if we don’t take and cast away our confidence.

See that word confident? We hold fast the confidence. Now hold your place right here and look over to chapter 10 of the book of Hebrews. Look in chapter 10. When you understand the purpose of the book, all these so-called complicated, difficult patches are not complicated at all. So in Hebrews in chapter 10, notice what he says here in verse 31. Now we know that God will judge his people. That’s in verse 30, verse 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but called to remembrance, the former days in which, and here’s that word, after, remember over there in chapter 12, when afterwards, when he would have inherited blessing.

When we get to heaven afterwards, when you would have inherited those rewards and you didn’t get them, you’re going to find out there’s a lot of things that you probably could have had or could have done for the Lord, but you just didn’t believe him. So then heurrection statement here in verse 32. Afterwards, when you were eliminated, get this, you endured a great fight of affliction. In other words, Remember when you saw the light and how you dedicated your life to the Lord?

But for some reason or other, evidently there must have been some of these Hebrew Christians that were ready to quit the race. Ready to go back to the temple maybe. Maybe to go back and worship some, you know, back in the temple and making the sacrifices that they didn’t need to make anymore. But whatever the reason, but then he says this, Parley, while you were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and Parley, while you became companions of them that were so used, maybe you got tired, maybe you got weary.

And he says in chapter 12, consider him that also endured such a great fight of affliction. And he’s referring to Jesus Christ. He’s talking about himself. He says, lest you become weary and faint in your own mind, just because things get hard is not an excuse for God’s child to doubt and question their heavenly Father and to fall away from serving God. It’s not going to be a justifiable excuse. God will not accept it. So it makes a statement.

In verse 34, for ye had, that’s past tense, compassion of me in my bonds. Put joyfully the spallen of your goods. Now get this part, because this part helps you to understand chapter two, chapter three, chapter five, when he makes his statement, knowing in yourselves that you have, where in heaven a better and enduring substance. Now down here in this life, everything is gonna pass away. Nothing will endure, but you and I and this moment of light affliction are working for something that’s going to be great.

It’s eternal, lasts forever, endure forever. So he says, don’t cast away, therefore you’re confident which hath great recompense of, what’s the word? Reward. That’s salvation. Reward. The reason you want to keep your confidence in the Lord confidence is the definition for faith. Faith is nothing more than you having confidence in what God said He will do. And you believe Him. He says that you’re going to get to heaven. He said He’s going to reward you. Can you believe Him?

Can you be patient? Can you think it’ll be worth it? Isn’t there a song that we sing sometimes? It will be worth it all. You ever heard that song before? We say that. But living in it’s a different story. So He makes a statement here in the last part of verse 34. You have in heaven a better and enduring substance. He’s gone through and talk about how better the Lord is over the angel, how better the sacrifice that He made.

And that He’s spoken old times by the will of men, but He’s spoken these last days. He has given us His Son to whom He’s made heir of the world. And he had by himself purged our sins. We have so much of a reason to be found faithful in serving God. How shall we as a chalagot escape the chastening of the Lord? That’s why in chapter 12 you have the warnings about the chastening of the Lord, the chastening of the Lord.

But look also in verse 35. cast not away, therefore your confidence. See, we’re going to have these rewards if, and you go back to chapter two, and it’ll tell you if, but nobody’s going to make you, nobody’s going to make you run the race. Nobody’s going to make you finish the race. Nobody’s going to make you endure anything. That’s your choice. And there’s going to be a lot of heartache and problems. And he says, some of you did. You started off, and you knew you had better and more enduring substance, but something has happened.

And you had compassion, now things are changed. So he says here, you have great recompense of reward. Now look in verse 36, because this is important. For ye have need of patience that get this, see that word after again? That word after there, and up in verse 32, that word after? Do you think those are just coincidence? This is why I love the King James Version. The other verses, you can’t do this. The Bible is written in such a way, it teaches itself what it means.

He says, after you have done the what? Well, after you have done, you’ve run your race when it’s all over. He says, you might do what? Receive what? So it’s about you doing something and it’s about you receiving something. You do what God says do. You run the race, you finish the race. Run well, finish well. Don’t you want to finish the race? I was on this trip and it broke my heart when I found out that a good friend of mine, now in his 80s, fell in love with a 27-year-old woman from Ukraine.

And when you go over there, they have these women that they teach on how to get to America. It’s to be translators. So you get to travel with that person and you help them in translating whatever you want to say. And you spend enough time and they work on these older men and it doesn’t take long before they can build up that old man ego and make you think that you’re only 30 years old and so deceive. Next thing you know, we’re in love.

Now, I don’t believe that a 27 year old tradem if he’s in her right mind is going to fall in love with this 80 something year old man when she’s only 27, unless he wants to get to America and found her sugar daddy and ruined this man’s life. But she didn’t ruin that man’s life. He ruined his life. He should have kept his eyes on the prize. And there’s a consequences and brought a lot of shame. It didn’t have to happen.

therefore you and I are supposed to keep our focus upon the Lord and keep serving God. And one of these days when it’s all over with you need some patience then after you have done the will of God, so the whole thing is about you doing the will of God. He bruises very simple, it’s very clear. And he says, for a yet a little while and he that shall come, what’s the next two words? hmm will come he will come now it’s been 2000 years so I guess he’s not coming do you believe he’s coming do you want to be ashamed before him when he comes I don’t think so you’re gonna wish you’d have been found faithful don’t let up now don’t stop now stay faithful and keep serving the Lord and he will come he will not tear you.

You just keep the patience that you’re supposed to have and trust the Lord and keep doing what’s right and let the Lord take care of everything else. You see the only thing you have to be concerned about is that you just do right. You just do right. Find out Lord what’s right and do right. And you don’t know what’s right. You talk to somebody and get some good counseling. But don’t take in a moment of weakness, make major decisions.

Generally you’ll make the wrong one. That’s my introduction for the book of Hebrews. We may never get back to it, but we have introduced it. Anyway, look up here. This is you and me. This wall represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves the whole world. But the whole world has sinned against God, and because of sin, we’re all condemned. And the Bible says to go to heaven that we have to be perfect, as righteous as God.

No sin that eliminates everyone. So nobody can save themselves. The wages of sin is death, so we’re all condemned. The Bible says that Jesus Christ, let him just hand-represent Jesus Christ, God in a flesh, came into the world because he loves us, hates our sin because it’s because it’s separated from God. So Jesus Christ who had no sin didn’t have to die, so He took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross. Came back from the dead and said if we would believe that He did it for us, He would put this payment to our account and we get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us.

Salvation is free. We have not talked about this all night. We’ve been talking about after you have trusted Christ’s Savior about a Christian running the race that’s been set before him. Because one of these days the end of the race is going to be over. We’re going to leave this world. And when we do, we will wish that we had not cast away our confidence. Because when we get to heaven, we’re going to wish we had this trust to the Lord and believe on Him every step of the way.

Let’s pray, shall we? With heads bow nice and closed, no one looking around. If you’re watching by internet, even right where you are, you don’t have to come forward. You don’t have to sign a card. You don’t have to give any money. Salvation is free. Christ paid for that. He so loved you that He died for you and said that if you believed that He did it for you, He would give you the free gift of everlasting life. That’s the best news in all the world.

If you’re here tonight and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior with His bow nice clothes, I’m gonna ask you in just a moment to raise your hand. Raising your hand does not save you just lets me know that what I said made sense to you and you say, preacher that made sense to me. Now we’ll trust Christ as my Savior. Friends, is there anyone at all? So yes, I will trust the Lord as my Savior tonight. Friends, if you’ve done it before you’d never have to do it again.

That God said He would save you and give eternal life. Is there anyone at all? Just slip it up very quickly but arrive back down. If you’re watching by the internet there’s a little line that says yes I will trust Christ is my Savior. If you would click that, it lets us know that somebody listening, watching, trust the Lord. Father, we thank You now for Your blessings. Thank You all You’ve done for us for the Word of God that You’ve given us, and help us Lord as Your children to run the race that You’ve said before us, and help us to lay aside every sin that so easily beset us that we may finish our course with joy.

Thank you for each person here. Use this message to challenge each person, to be found faithful, to run well, and to finish well in Christ’s name we pray. 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. Our 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 4081 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.