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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. 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.

Take your Bible and turn all the way over to the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews. chapter 11. And look what he says here in verse 5. Now this is talking about faith. And God is using different illustrations of Old Testament people and how they obeyed the Lord. And so obeying the Lord is because they had faith in what God said. They believed it. Verse 5 says, By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him.

For before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that come to God must believe that he is and that he is a re-order of them that diligently do what? Seek Him. So you can seek God, but do you seek Him according to the flesh or according to the Spirit, according to the revealed Word of God? You see, without this the world itself is not sufficient to guide a man to God.

He can know there is a God, He can seek all the truth that He can, but it’s not enough evidence to reveal to him what Christ did on the cross firm, how you can have eternal life. Therefore only by the revealed Word of God can a man ever find the Lord. And so without revelation a man can seek God and that’s why so many people all over the world are religious because there’s people worshiping a God they do not know.

Unless it’s the God of this Bible, they worship a false God. But are they religious? Do you think many of them are sincere? I do. But lost. But lost. Now take your Bible and turn to the book of John chapter 6, the Gospel of John. John chapter 6. But let’s look John chapter 21st, not 21st John chapter 21st, first, first, let’s look at John chapter 20. Gotta have a little fun every once in a while and that was very little fun.

But in John chapter 20, look in verse 30, so the understand a little bit about the purpose of the book and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written, get this, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name. Now some of them will tell you that God has to actually give you the faith to believe and He has to save you before you believe.

Because you see He has to give you the faith to believe. So if you’ve got the faith to believe you did that before you actually believed. It goes in a little circle. But now think about this. If a man was chosen and given faith to believe, why are miracles given that they might believe? If God already gave you faith to believe, why do you need these miracles to convince you to believe? If God’s already chosen you before the foundations of the world, well, if God chose you to be saved, is there a time when you were really lost.

Is there a time when you were really in danger of hellfire? If God has from the beginning already decided that he’s going to save Warren over here, he’s already determined he’s going to save Warren. And that can’t be changed. It can’t be altered. Has nothing to do with him. God just arbitrarily chose him. Why? I don’t know why. He doesn’t know why. But I’m so glad God chose him. Now, if God chose him, was he ever in danger of hellfire?

Was he really ever really lost then? And if he was really lost, how could he be lost? What if he died before he actually got saved? So is being chosen by God a guarantee that you will live until you really believe it. You’re talking about a can of worms. You can go and mess up your mind so easy. But not good. That you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life.

So when do you get light before you believe or after you believe? When you believe. And the reason for those miracle, he says, now, the ones that are mentioned in the gospel of John are here as evidence that Jesus is who he claimed to be. And that evidence will help you to believe. Now go to the book of John chapter six, John chapter six. And look in John chapter 6 and verse 64, Jesus said some mighty strong words. They were not clearly understood.

Those that were following Him, the multitude, had a problem and said this is a hard saying, who can understand it? They could not understand what He was saying. But Jesus says in verse 64, but there are some of you that believe not. Now do you believe that Jesus knew out of a multitude which ones believed and who did not believe. It would appear to me that He would know every individual and who believed and who does not believe. And because some did not believe, He says, this is why I made a statement because He made a statement.

And therefore He says in verse 65. Therefore said, I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father. In other words, if he believed the evidence, he’d trust Christ as Savior, he would believe on Christ. And in John chapter 6 and verse 37 he says, all that the Father, giveth me shall come to me and him that coming to me, I’ll know why it’s cast out. But they could only come because you believe.

But he knew there’s some who did not believe. So he says there in verse 66, from that time get this many of his disciples. So this shows you that you can be a disciple and not be saved. And you can be saved and not be a disciple. So you can be a disciple and not saved and you can be saved and not be a disciple. But But the best thing is to be saved and be a disciple. Now the reason for this is so important because that verse 66 from that time many of his disciples went back, walked no more with him.

So there are those who followed him and as he says they’re walked with him, but Jesus knew they did not believe on him. here in John chapter 6 verse 1 there’s a story that’s given here and I believe the story that he gives helps you to understand what he’s talking about being drawn to the Lord and who is salvation for and did he just choose a few. In verse 1 after these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee which is the Sea of Tiberius and And it’s about 33 miles around.

It’s eight miles wide and it’s 13 miles long. So whenever you hear about the disciples who got in the ship and they were gonna go cross, they had a long way to go. And they didn’t have motors on those ships either. But it says, and a great multitude followed him. This is that great multitude that Jesus is talking about a little bit later here. That many of them went away. And the reason is because Jesus knew their heart, he knew who believed, who did not believe.

And he says, you didn’t follow me because of who I am, but because I put bread in your tummy. And that’s mentioned there in verse 26, look at it real quick. Jesus answered them and said, barely, barely, I said to you, you seek me. See, they’re unbelievers, but they sought him. Jesus is God, but then they’re not believing that he is God, But… They did seek him, but he also told him, he says, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves and were filled.

And maybe they’re still hungry once or more, because this was the next day. See there in verse 22 of the day following. Okay, another day, I’m hungry again, but go back there to verse 2. because they saw his miracles, which he did on them that were diseased. Jesus went up into a mountain and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, the Feast of the Jews, was nine. Jesus then lifted up his hand. So a great company come unto him.

He said unto Philip, When shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this he said to prove him, for he knew, himself knew what he would do. But Philip didn’t know what he was going to do. But the Lord knew what he was going to do. Isn’t it interesting that of all of these disciples that he had, who’s the one that he asked this question? It was Philip. Philip got to see in the following verses at least three miracles.

But you’ll notice over there, hold your place right there and look in chapter 14 of John. And you’ll notice that when Jesus says, be not afraid. He says, you believe even God believe also in me. My father’s house or many mentioned if it were not so, I would have told you. He said, but I go to a proper place for you that where I am there, you may be also. And he says, I’m the way, the truth and the life.

No man comes unto the Father, but by me. Well, and then Philip had a question. See there in verse 8, Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us. Jesus said unto him, have I been so long time with you yet has thou not known me Philip? He that have seen me have seen the Father. How sayest thou then showest the Father? Believe us not thou that I am in the Father, the Father meet the Word that I speak unto you.

I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he dwth the Word. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very Word say, didn’t you just see what I did? Don’t you remember when I asked you that question? they would have gotten to feed all these people with. Now go back there to verse 7 of chapter 6. Philip answered him, 200, Pennyworth, and bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

Now notice the goal here was to provide bread and all the people that were there. Do you believe that Jesus was supplying bread for everybody there or only for a chosen few? He was supplying bread for everybody. In other words, they said there’s only enough for a few. Well that’s like some people who believe that Jesus Christ went to the cross and only died for a few, paid only for their sins and there’s not enough grace to go around.

You see, if there was a thousand people in the world that’s all there was. If God is so good and God is so great, couldn’t He have, if Calvinists are true. Couldn’t he have gone ahead and just give all of them the faith to believe instead of this giving it to a few people to believe? If God could choose without being a respecter, but why didn’t he just choose everybody? Well they don’t know we can’t understand the freewill of man and the sovereignty of God.

Then they ought not be preaching, I don’t have a problem with it. I haven’t got one problem with it. I believe that God in His sovereignty simply chose to give man a free will. Now what’s the problem with that? Well, if you just can’t do that because a man’s dead, the man can’t have a free will. He can’t cheat, why? He’s dead. In the cemetery, yes. Go over there and preach your message. But anyway, but here now He’s going to provide bread for everybody that’s there.

And I believe there’s a reason for it. But anyway, he says in verse 10, make the men sit down and there was much grass in the place. So the men sit down in number about 5,000. Jesus took the loaves and when he had given things, he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to them that were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be like, did he have enough for everybody?

Where our sins abound, the Bible says grace did much more abound. And that’s the verse in the Bible somewhere. Somewhere around Romans chapter 5 maybe. But there’s enough grace to go around. It’s not just a story on, you know, there were some people that were hungry and so he provided a miracle. Not believe everything Christ did was teaching truths. Teaching something that’s more than meets the eye. And so he says there in verse 13, therefore they gassed up. them together, filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”

Now, if somebody didn’t eat, wouldn’t that have been their choice? God offered it. Did not he miraculously did this miracle and it was the disciples that passed it out? And that’s what he called them into going to all the world and preached to God for every… He’s the living bread from heaven that came into this world to satisfy him. Now, in verse 15, 15, when Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

So he went by himself up to the mountain. And when Eden was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea and entered into a ship, went over the sea in the Capernaum. So now remember, they were in a place called Tiberius, close to that area, but then they’re going to go up there to the north part where you have Capernaum. Now, there was a curse put on the place of Capernaum because God said he did not many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.

But anyway, that’s what they were headed. And he says here in verse 17, in into a ship, went over the sea to Capernaum and it was now dark and Jesus was not come to them. Jesus went up to Mount. They got in a boat, started across the sea. And the sea rose by reason of a great wind that blew miraculously. Got it and didn’t do it. So when they had rode about five and twenty or thirty for longs, about three miles, they see Jesus walking that would have put him in the middle of the sea because he’s known seven miles.

Wide, fourteen miles long. So I turned the middle and he says, be not afraid in verse 21, then they willingly received him into the ship and you ought to the land in the next word immediately. The ship was at the land whether they went. In other words, they arrived on time. Is this a miracle? I was considered this a miracle because he gets in the boat immediately they’re at the land. Now there’s something else that happened here. How did Christ get there.

The day following when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there saved that one wherein to his disciples were entered and that Jesus went not with the disciples into the boat so they saw the boat and they saw the disciples going to boat and leave but Jesus went up to the mountain so now they want to know hey let’s get into boat and go over there too? Well, didn’t he get there?

How did Jesus get here? Say that one, weren’t you His disciples were entered? And that Jesus went not with the disciples into the boat, but that the disciples were gone away alone. Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberius nigh unto the place where they did eat bread after that the Lord had given thanks. When the people there saw that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples they also took shipping and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when cameest thou?

I’d want to know how cameest thou. How’d you get here? How do you think he got there? Well, he took the boat. He ran all the way around it. They considered that. That could have been a miracle. Remember, the things that Jesus did was to to convince people to believe that what he said was the truth. And he says, you seek me because, he says not just because you saw the miracles, but because you didn’t eat the loaves and were filled with satisfy you.

He says, there’s something more, something better than the physical food of this world. So now he uses that to talk to him about the real bread from heaven. Talking about the bread, and that’s why he says in verse 29, this is the work of God that you believe on him whom he have sent. They said in him verse 30, oh, what signs show us thou then that we may see and believe thee? What do you work? Where have your eyes been?

You saw the feet in the thigh of the tongue, don’t you believe? Look what I’ve done. Well, how much more evidence do you need? You know what? Even in the Gospel of John, it says, blessed are those that believe that have never seen. Isn’t it great if you could have saw it and you believe it? But I wasn’t there, I never saw it. But I still believe it. I believe whatever God says in this book. And I don’t have any problem with it.

But my faith is in what the Lord says. So they wanted to know. They said, we got bread that came down from heaven. He said, yeah, yeah, yeah. They’re dead today too. They ate that bread into wilderness, that manna. He said, but I’ve got some bread that if you eat this bread, you will never die.” That was too hard for them to understand. So later he told him about eating my flesh and drinking my blood. Well that’s what he told him to do too.

See there in verse 51, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever and the bread that I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world, life of the world. Well if it was only for those few that he was going to choose, they wouldn’t have to be for the life of the whole world. But I believe that Christ died and paid for all the sins of all the world so that all the world could have this living bread that came down from heaven so that he could have as a free gift everlasting life.

And so he says that when you believe, he said, I’ll never cast you out and I’ll never lose you. You see, look there, for example, in verse 36, but I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not. You had the evidence, you’ve seen me, you’ve seen my works, you’ve heard my words, and you will not believe. It doesn’t matter what he says or what he does, they will not believe it. So that’s why at the end of this chapter, he knew who would not believe on him, and those who did not believe.

And that’s why he says, those who do believe, he said, I’ll never cast you out, and I’ll never lose you. Down here, he makes this statement in verse 40, And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeeth the son and believeeth on him may have what? Everlasting life. Everyone. So it’s up to the individual. They can have evidence. And even when we present the gospel to a person, we’re trying to give them evidence, a reason to believe because we can take the evidence of what God’s Word says and use that evidence.

all have sin, there’s evidence to prove that is true. We all die. Well, there’s evidence that is true. And so you go right down through and tell, this is what God says. This is what God says. And God said, if you’ll believe it, you can have everlasting life. And there’s people that wanna mutilate the gospel of Jesus Christ says it’s not for everybody. God doesn’t love everybody. Yes, He does. And He’s willing to feed every person. He did the miracles.

You see, if He’s gonna handpick the people want to say, he don’t have to do anything for them extra, just give him the faith to believe. I never saw any miracles. I don’t need all of that. I heard the word. That’s good enough for me. I trust Christ as my Savior. Let’s see if he’s going to hand me. I’ve got to do a miracle to try to convince you to believe. Well, if he gave him the faith, I believe what’s the problem?

See, that philosophy is not true. It is a lie. And if a person believed that God gave them the faith to believe. And the only way they can know that they really believe is that their life must match up to the discipleship of the Bible. And if you don’t really live it, then you really didn’t get the faith you claimed to receive. So the only way you know you really believe is if you live it. So now which one is it gonna be that you put your trust in, your confidence in, know that, oh, I know I’m really saved is somebody who’s looking at their works as the evidence of their salvation.

And that’s the wrong evidence. God never gave your life the way you live to be the evidence or the proof that you are a believer in Christ. I’m supposed to trust in the evidence God gave. He gave His Word. If I believe it, I have it. That’s all the evidence that I need. A lot of wonderful thoughts down through here, but we’ll never cover them all. But I think you get my drift. You get my drift. This hand represents you and me and everybody in the world.

The Bible says that God so loved the world, but we have all sinned the whole world. And because we’ve all sinned, we’re all condemned. We all have sinned against God, the whole world. God made the world to convince the whole world that God is real. And therefore we are going to be responsible and God has given us evidence and we should believe that evidence. God loves us, hates our sin. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in hell.

But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven. They go to heaven, we have to be perfect, it’s righteous as God. And nobody in the whole world is good enough to go to heaven. We see, we, because of our sinful nature, take the evidence and we still can’t find God until somebody brings to us the revelation because you can’t come to trust Christ as Savior just by seeing the stars at night and by looking at the beautiful flowers and the beautiful sunsets.

And all those things you might be awestruck by His power and His majesty and all that, but you will never know the Lord except through Jesus Christ. And that’s only by revelation. So the Bible says we cannot save ourselves. We are all like sheep. We go astray. seek our own way. Even when it comes to seeking God, we want to seek God our way, do our own thing and so on. This hand represents Jesus Christ, He’s God in the flesh.

He came into this world because He loves us, the whole world. So when He took all the sin of the world, He didn’t take part of it, He took all the sin of all the world, paid for it on the cross, Came back from the dead and said the only thing we have to do is Believe he did this for us. He that believe it hat present tense right now hat Ever lasting life Best news in all the world.

Let’s pray shall we? The heads bow nice clothes. No one looking around if you’re watching by internet tonight I pray that if you have never trusted Christ as your Savior that you will see and understand by the things that were shared tonight. God loves you. And when He died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world, that included you. And that He wants you, He loves you, He desires you. He wants you to go to heaven, to be with Him for all eternity.

The only thing you have to do is where you believe that He did that for you. And if you believe that He died on that cross and paid for your sins, He said He’d give you everlasting life as a free gift. gift, would you trust Him? If you will, right on the screen says, yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior. We’d love to know. You don’t have to, but it just encourages us. Our Father, we thank You so much for the opportunity we have to come before You.

We pray, Lord, that You’ll be done in our lives, knowing that we have been given the power of persuasion. Help us to use the evidence that You’ve given to us and all the power of the gospel to explain to individuals what you did for them. And that is for everybody. Bless our church and also Lord for the radio, Bible study, or just so many things going on. Just pray for wisdom. Give us a good Sunday this coming church service and just pray your will to be done with us there.

Help us get everything done that we need to continue bless us in Christ that 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. 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.