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

Do you want to finish the race that God has for us? I do. I want to finish the race. I want to finish the wrong. wrong. Now look there in the book of, look down in verse 14, however, right there. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. So you trusted Christ to save you. You know you’re going to heaven when you die. And you say, I’m going to serve the Lord and you start serving the Lord.

This confidence that you have, don’t cast that away. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 35 says, cast not away therefore your confidence which has great recompense of reward. Because your reward in heaven is going to be a result of the work that you do. And the work that you do is going to be a result of the confidence that you have. That confidence is what gives you boldness. You began with some confidence. You had confidence. It’s serving the Lord is going to be worth it.

And then lo and behold, you find out, I didn’t know it’s going to be like this. I didn’t know it’s going to be this difficult. If you’ll stay close to the Lord and learn he will never leave you and never forsake you He will always walk you through whatever it is. He’ll walk you through it and you’ll he’ll bless you because of it Now look in chapter four looking verse one He said let us therefore fear Less a promise being left us of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it understand this God will give us everything we need to finish our race.

But you have to grow in the Lord. You have to believe the Lord. And as you learn the Word of God and keep trusting in the Lord, you’ll have all that you need to finish the race. But because of unbelief, begin to question, to begin to doubt, you’d be surprised how easy it is to come short of finishing the course. You’re not going to have enough to finish. It’s not that God wasn’t able, as you didn’t trust Him. Don’t let the things of the world get you so sidetracked.

The thing, well, it’s not worth it. It is worth it. This life is going to be short. It’s going to be over soon. Our race is going to be done. And then no man can work. So we do what we can, why we can. And God said that He would bless us because of it. this is found, I believe, in the Word of God. Now look in chapter 10 in verse 32, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 32. And you’ll notice they had been doing some of the things that they should do in verse 32, but called to remembrance.

Remembrance. This is the reason for our memorial service, our service that we’re having today, the Lord’s Supper, remembering. But now as you started getting older, do you find yourself dreaming of the way it used to be? Remembering? Look in verse 32, but called to remember the former days in which after, get this, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of affliction. You’ve already been there. You’ve already been fighting. You were enlightened, you saw it, you realized it, and you dedicated your life.

You’re going to serve the Lord, and you begin to grow. You fought some battles. You endured the afflictions. But now, but now it’s things have changed. And so you become in verse 33, partly while you were made a gazing stock both by reproaches, afflictions, partly while you became companions of them that were so used. You saw what happened to your friends. You saw what it cost them. You become disappointed. You become discouraged. And what do you do? You think quit.

It’s not worth it. So many of God’s people have aired. Now look in Hebrews in chapter 12, chapter 12, and look in verse three. In verse three makes a statement, because as we run our race, we should consider, consider what Christ went through. Remember when Christ ran his race, he was faithful till he got to the garden. And that was it. Or was he faithful until he got to the cross? He was faithful till he died. True? How long should we be faithful till it gets hard?

Until everything is going, as long as everything is going my way. And then when things don’t go your way, then you get hurt and bitter and mean and you quit serving God. You use people. You’ll blame, but it’s you. You didn’t consider, what did Christ go through? Look what He says, for consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your own mind. Consider the one that ran His race, and this is what He’s telling us to do in chapter 12, but He didn’t quit.

He didn’t quit. He finished his course. You remember him saying the words, it is what? Finished. It was finished when he died. When do you think ours will be finished? When is our race over when you’re dead? When you die, I guess you can stop worrying about it then. But until then, you and I are called to be found faithful. Now, evidently these people in the book of Hebrews, they had started off well. They were doing everything right. But as time goes on, things begin to fall apart.

They begin to have questions. They had doubts. Also look there in verse 2. I just want to show you verse 2, I will write to him. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was sent before him endured the cross until death. He endured the cross. What is God asking us to do in door? You say it’s hard. Endure it. You get tired of doing right, tired of going to church, tired of reading the Bible, trying to discipline your life, trying to live a holy life, trying to be God.

Get tired of it. on your job you get tired of trying to be a Christian with a testimony and just… No, no. You keep fighting. You keep on fighting. There’s somebody who went before you and there we have the Old Testament saints and how many died. And we’re put to death. They died, but they were found faithful. You don’t want to be somebody who just starts well, runs well, finish well. you’ll be so glad that you did. Look there in Hebrews in chapter 13.

Hebrews chapter 13. And look in verse 3. Verse 3 says, remember them that are in bonds. Some of those people were put in bonds, put into prison, persecuted as bound with them. Consider that those people who are in bonds that you are also shackled to them. Like the apostle Paul was in prison, he said, pretend like you’re in prison with me. We share this. I may be here and you may be there, but we suffer for the Lord. We’ve given up our lives so that we can see other people come to no Christ of Savior.

The price that we’re willing to pay. Do you get tired of giving money? Tired of hearing the preacher say, hey, we need money for this and we need money for this. We We need money for scholarship and we need money for the radio. We need money for this Big big big it’s all they ever do all they wanted money money money money money money Yeah, no So, is it for yourself or is it for the cause? Paul says, having this cause, we faint not.

There is a reason. There’s a purpose. And you can use whatever excuse it is that you want not to do it, not to give, find a reason. You’ll find a person, somebody who hurts your feelings as justification to leave the church. A justification me called, well I don’t like those flowers that they bought for the church. I’m not giving my money for that so you don’t give anything. God knows. You’re so holy. Have you ever heard the choir mess up?

Well, how pathetic. I’d never joined a choir like that. You wouldn’t anyway. People are looking for excuses. Why not to do something? Why not to get involved? Did you know one day we’re going to stand before God and give an account to him for why we did not do what we could have done? Should have done. And you could have based upon that. But look what says here in verse 30, as bound with them and them which suffer adversity as becoming yourselves also in the body.

You see, all believers are a part of the body of Christ. When it hurts one person it should hurt you. Whenever I hurt my finger, Betty came to me the other day and she said, Yankee, that hurts. I looked at it. Now a lot of my brother here walked up and said, feel how that hurts. You can’t feel that hurt. You see that right there? I said no I don’t see anything. It’s right there, it’s right there. I don’t need a magnifying glass.

Honey I don’t see anything right. But it hurts right there. Honey I don’t know. I’m still you know that little bitty thing that would hurt in her. She kept on until it started hurting me. But I couldn’t find out what was causing it. I never saw anything in there. But it was so small it caused pain throughout their whole body. Paul says, look, you’ve seen people go through these afflictions. You’ve seen people being put into prison. You seen people killed.

So I don’t mind this certain lord bit, but I mean, I’m getting concerned. Because you don’t want to go through things and you think that sometimes, you know, those people are really suffering. They deserve it. Probably got sin in their life. You watch, one of the days I’m going to have me a jail minister and you go, say, I’m here, it’s going to be there sooner or later. That’s It’s just no matter of time. He shouldn’t have said all those things that he said.

Yeah, when we get to heaven, you’ll probably say, you know John the Baptist, you know if you had a shut up and not said anything about that man’s wife, you’d have probably kept living. And Jesus says, no man born a woman greater than John the Baptist. Some people just don’t know who to appreciate. You ought to appreciate those people that are trying to do what’s right and serve a Lord. Anybody can blow their little flame out. But that doesn’t make your light brighter because you’re able to destroy somebody else’s character.

It doesn’t work that way. Look there in chapter 5. Look in chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. There was a time when they no doubt had a desire to study the Word of God. Now they had kind of got dull of hearing. in verse 11, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be other to explain, seeing your doll of hearing. For the time you ought to be teaching, you ought to be teaching, enough time has passed when there’s been enough time for you to learn the word and you to do something you won’t and you can’t because you still need milk and not meat because you can’t handle it.

Some people just can’t handle truth. They can’t handle what the Word of God says. Some people just get so easily offended because of truth. And so he says, you need to grow, you need to mature, time has passed. And you’d be surprised how there’s that emptiness inside of a Christian when they’re not satisfied spiritually. They try to satisfy themselves with the things of the the world or doing something active and all that thing. You can become a work of hallelujah but never really satisfy because something’s missing in your life.

Did you know that the will of God for your life is so satisfying? Walking in obedience to the Lord is so satisfying. If there’s anything that you want to do for the new year, I guess one guy says, what are you gonna do as a New Year’s resolution? He says not have any resolutions. Okay, something like a a winner probably. Now take your Bible and turn to Hebrews in chapter 12, Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 and look there in verse 4.

You have forgotten. You have forgotten. Things you knew, but you have forgotten. See in verse 4 he says, you have not yet resisted unto blood. In other words, you may have resisted a few things. You fought a good battle. You gave up some things. Yes, you have. Praise, praise, praise. But you’re not dead. You haven’t resisted in the blood. You’re not dead yet. How long should we fight for the Lord? Serve the Lord. It doesn’t mean everything is going to go the way.

These are Christians that God says, these are His Hall of Fame, and probably some are going to be put into the Hall of Shame because they didn’t do what God says to do. But He says they’re in verse 4, you have not yet resisted under blood, striving against sin. Yeah, that’s a difficult thing. The most natural thing for anybody with a sinful nature is the sin. Now keep from doing that which is natural and tell me there’s not a battle there.

Because you see the world sin and they’re having such fun and here you are dedicated in your life and sacrificing things that you won’t do. Yeah there’s a price to pay but our payday isn’t here. Our payday is when we get to heaven and it will be worth it all. Notice what it says in verse 5 and ye have forgotten. You forgot some. The exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son despised not thou the chastening of the Lord.

What’s going on? They begin to despise the chastening of the Lord. Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. So whenever your fate is when you lose vision, your fate you’ve passed out, your fate you’re no good. Can’t do anything. Can’t work. work can accomplish, can’t dream. All hope is God. Christians living like lost people. No spiritual maturity there. Given it all up. So he makes the statement, faint when thou aren’t rebuked of him. You see, he uses an illustration about Esau over there in verse 16, 17, who for one more soul of meat was willing to sell his birthright.

And you know how that afterwards he repented, changed his mind, peers and all the rest of it, but it didn’t help. Some things you’re going to forfeit for all eternity. You see, there’s rewards that you can have for those little test that you get daily in your life. And because you despise those testings, you despise those problems. You didn’t do what God wanted you, you didn’t stay faithful to the Lord. And God says, do you realize that your unfaithfulness is going to cost you for eternity, the reward?

Going to heaven, nah, that’s free. But what we have when we get there, they have to be earned. And this is what God’s Word is talking to us about. And this is why it’s so important. I want you to take your Bible and look there in the book of chapter 10 and look in verse 32, one more time, because I want to join it together with a couple of other verses. You see, these Christians were at the place where they had forfeited.

They had given up, lost a lot of material blessings in this life. Material blessings. So he says in verse 32, but call to remember the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of affliction. why you were made a gaze and start both by reproaches and afflictions. Partly, while you became companions of them that were so used. Now get this, for ye had, as past tense, ye had compassion of me in my bonds. Put joyfully the spalling of your goods, compassion to me in my bonds.

That’s what he’s talking about in the book of Hebrews in chapter 13 and verse because some are in bonds. He says, I was in bonds and I was in prison. But you took joyfully of the things that you had and met my need. And I believed that, can’t prove it, I believe Paul was used. But anyway, he says here in verse 34, in verse 34, for you had compassion of me and my bond took joyfully the spallen of your goods.

Knowing in heaven that you have in heaven a better and enduring substance. You knew when you started, you knew that you was going to have something in heaven that was going to be better and you joyfully you took what you had and you gave it willingly, joyfully. But now, but now, you’re getting tired of the fight, tired of the sacrifices. Some people, when they come to choir practice, you realize that they come and they had a practice every morning on Saturday morning, eight, thirty.

That’s a sacrifice. But don’t we enjoy it? I’ve heard so many good comments of the choir and how well they found the contado that we just had last month. Wasn’t it awesome? Was awesome. Did you know? Nobody had to practice, nobody had to come to rehearsal. They just showed up and did it and it all came out. I think some people think that’s the way it is, but it don’t work that way. Everything we have and everything we do takes a lot of time, takes a lot of work.

Let me ask you this. Are you along for the free ride or do you have any skin in the game? Do you have any skin in the game? Do you give to this ministry? Do you finance? Do you sing when you pose the same? That’s all standing, saying, no, I’m just joking. But do you sing? Do you give? Do you really pray for one another? Do you witness? Do you do the things you’re supposed to do? Willingly, joyfully, I’m so happy who the reason why.

look like you’ve been baptized in lemon juice. Some people say, go to church, just sit so can sour and a lot of more. But if you want to stay alive, keep serving God and God will bless you for it. Look what he says here in verse 35. He’s telling you, look, you have done it, keep doing it. In verse 35, cast not away, therefore your confidence which has great recompense of reward for ye have need of patience that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise.

We want to be paid upfront. God said, now you do the work and then you’ll get the reward. You used to believe that, he said. What’s happening? Why do you want to go back into Judaism so that you don’t have to be under the afflictions and the persecutions and there’s a lot of lessons you can get from the book of Hebrews. It’s an awesome book. But as you know, we don’t have time to get into all of it. But let me close in the book of Hebrews and for this morning with these verses, look there in chapter 2.

Chapter 2, where he’s right into the believers and he makes his statement. He says, in verse one, therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time, any time. Now we’re in the future, any time. We let them slip. We let them slip. It’s so important to keep believing what you believe. The devil is always working on your mind. I had a lady who emailed me the other day and she says, Pastor, you have got to help me.

I am in such mental disturbance. I was on the internet and I heard these preachers say, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I am all confused. What should I do? I sent that email over to Peter. I said answer that person’s letter and I thought, get off of them, listen to them, nuts out there. telling you a thing contrary to what you’re learning the Word of God.

But they won’t. They’ll listen to the wrong things. I’m so mentally disturbed. Why? I just listen to the preaching saying you can lose your salvation. What the? Don’t listen to Him. Listen to what the Word of God says. And it’ll make so much more sense. Look up here. What I want you to see there in this verse 3, the verse 3. shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? This salvation that we have been given to us, it is such a great message.

Our whole Christian life is about this message, this so great salvation. Do you want to let that slip? The lost man depends upon us. We have been entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak not as pleased in men, but God which try at the heart. That’s why I want you to give that fruit may abound to your account. That’s why I want you to be faithful to church and pray for one another. Do all the things that’s right.

I’m not going to reward you. Don’t you expect anything from me. You’re not going to get it. God is the one who’s going to pay you. You’re serving Him. It’s between you and the Lord. I’m just trying to tell you what He told me. What I saw, I think it’s worth sharing. I have to learn how to think and I want you to think the same way. We’ve begun a good fight. Done a lot of great things in the first five years that I’ve been here.

It’s been awesome. I guess we can all quit now, right? Or do we dig in our hills and do more? and keep working and planning and praying and giving and going and doing all the things we’re supposed to do. This hand represents you and me. The wall represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us, hates our sin. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. But God loves us, wants us to go to heaven, go to heaven, we have to be perfect as righteous as God and nobody’s perfect.

We have all sinned. Because of sin we can’t get in, so God says you can’t earn eternal life. You can’t work your way to heaven. That’s why we needed a Savior. This hand represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into this world and brought this so great salvation. You see, He loved this. He hates our sin because our sin separates us from Him. See, He doesn’t have any. He hates and despises sin. But He loves us.

So He took our sins and paid for it on the cross and came back from the dead. And God said, if we would believe He did it for us, He would give us as a free gift of our lasting life. And we get to go to heaven, on what Christ did for us. It’s a free gift. It’s free. So going to heaven is a gift. What you have when you get to heaven, rewards and things like that, that’s going to be a result of what you did for Him.

Me going to heaven is a result of Him loving me. My rewards is a result of me loving Him. You’ll see, I don’t have to get rewards because I don’t have to love Him. He didn’t demand that I had to. He desires me to. And love should respond to love. And we love Him because He first loved us. That’s all true. So the question is, do you love Him? Do you love Him? Do you love Him enough as His child that regardless of what happens in life, regardless of what people do, regardless of circumstances and trials and testings, you’re going to keep serving the Lord.

You want to finish your race with joy. Finish it. Finish well. Let’s pray, shall we? With every head bowed and every eye closed and no one looking around, I pray that you will trust Christ as your Savior. And if you will trust Him right now, God said He would save you and give eternal life. And as a child of God, you can know that you’re going to heaven whenever you die. Is there anyone at all before we close? Yes, preacher, that made sense to me.

And I will trust Christ right now, as my Savior. Would you just slip your hand very quickly and put it right back down? And what all? I’d like to know. Just like one prick for you. Our Father, we thank You so much for Your goodness to us. And Lord, we know that You came into the world and went to the cross, endured the shame of the cross. But You finished the job. You were faithful to the end, came back from the dead.

Help us Lord to consider this. When we get a little faint and weak, help us not to despise the chastening. When we’re told no or be rebuked, the Father help us to be faithful until the end of Christ and 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 Paulus 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. Tada can meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.