This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s Word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. 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 prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us at 813-884-4328, or you can donate on the homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org. 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.

Alright, let’s move on to Matthew chapter 9, Matthew chapter 9 in your Bible. And we’ll cover a few things that we were looking at last class. And it’s because we have looked at a couple verses, talks about the word preserve, preserve. And we talked about, you know, ladies that used to do a lot of cooking, canning, and preserving things for down the road. If the gospel does not preserve us in this life, then I guess you could say we’re just in a jam.

And we are preserved, because if we’re not preserved, then he had to keep saving us every day. Because in other words, if he didn’t preserve us, at what point do I keep getting worse and worse and worse and worse and worse? Because my works cannot save me. So then grace has to save me, but can it preserve me? And if I’m not preserved because of something that I did, didn’t you mean my works have to keep me saved and keep me preserved?

No, we’re preserved by the Lord. And that’s scriptures that teaches that. And there’s a few illustrations that God gives concerning this. So look there in the book of Matthew chapter nine. And you’ll notice there in verse 16, no man put a piece of new cloth into an old garment for that which is put in to fill it up, take it from the garment and the rent is made worse. Now this is what can happen to you when you have a surgery.

If you know you’re cut here and you’re cut here and you’re doing it together, if it’s not good, then the stitches are not gonna hold. And it may not hold. And if a person has a shirt that they really like and it’s only 15 years old, but it’s your favorite shirt. And you gotta patch it. Well, if you put on a new piece of cloth, sooner or later, it’s gonna rip from the old piece of cloth because there’s a, there’s shrinkage and there’s spreading and so forth.

And God says, you don’t, you don’t do that. So he gives an illustration here. He says, for that which is put in is to fill it up, take it to garment and from the garment and rent or the tear is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break. And the wine rushes out and the bottles perish, but they put new wine into new bottles and they’re both are and you had a line up preserved.

Now we were just over there in Israel and they would talk to us about the wine press that they had and how they crushed the grapes and the yalabs. And so it was an interesting little Bible lesson that they gave us, but they even brought out the fact that you don’t take the grape juice and put it into old wineskins. Why? Because sooner or later that new grape juice in there after a while, it’s called fermentation. That means it moves it about.

And so there’s wine that when it moves it in the cup, God talks about stay away from it. So create a drink new wine. It’s not good to drink fermented wine. And so I don’t believe that Jesus served, you know, fermented grape juice because that means contamination. It means that it’s move it that then the cup. And so it’s not to have any sin, no leaven in the bread, so I don’t believe that there would be fermentation in the grape juice.

But anyway, when you put it in there, after a while, say it begins to ferment and then it builds up gas and gas will do what to the old bottle. So those bottles would call, they were wine skins, they’re not a glass bottle like we have. They were wine skins and so it would cause them to bust. So you put new… Grapes you into new wineskins. And if you don’t, it will destroy and you’ll lose both. Now I do believe there’s an illustration here about the new birth itself.

When you and I trusted Christ as our Savior, God did not give the old man, the old man eternal life. God gave you a new birth. And then the new birth, God gave the new birth that, and do not give the new birth. in Holy Spirit and the eternal life and we got all of that when we got our new birth. But you don’t put that into the old man because the old man is still the old man. And so in scripture you’ll find out it says put off the old man, put on the new man.

There’s two different men. So one refers to the flesh, old, and then there’s the new man which is when you trust the Christ as your Savior. God is going to eventually, because these old bodies is like the wineskin, the old one is going to bust and we’re going to get a new body. So we’ll live her how long forever in that new body that God’s going to give to us. Now I believe that is maybe a little yank-yology in here, but I believe there’s a point to be made for that illustration.

Anyway, let’s look at Luke chapter 5. The book Luke in chapter 5. Whenever I read into certain things in the scriptures, I got a subject that I’m going to be speaking on at the Grace Conference, and I titled my sermon. They won’t know what’s your title. I thought I needed a title that they let me go everywhere. So my title is How to Simplify the Complexity of Scripture. There are a lot of things in Scripture that are sometimes hard to understand.

It’s complicated. And there’s a lot of them. And that’s what causes a lot of people, a lot of problems. Well, I want to teach you how to simplify the complexity of scripture. And so I believe those scripture we just looked at is a little complex. And I don’t believe that does it means just a story about, you know, here’s a wine skin and there’s some grape juice and There’s a point there. There’s a purpose there. And I like digging for that reason behind the words.

So I’m not saying I hid it perfectly every time, but most times I think I get them close to right. But here in the book of Luke in chapter 5, Luke, what he says here, this is also a similar verse, but explained the same thing just a little differently. Verse 36, and he spake also a parable unto them. No man puteth a piece of a new garment upon an old. If otherwise they both the new making, then both the new making, making the rent and the piece that was taken out of the new, agree if not with the old.

And no man puteth the new wine into old bottles. Even the new wine will burst the bottles and be spilled in the bottle shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straight way or immediately desireth new, for he said the old is better. When you trusted Christ as your Savior most people tell me I never had such trouble until after I trusted the Lord because now you’re trying to walk in new shoes and the old shoes feel better.

In other words the way that I’ve always done it the habits that I had the what my character was. Well, it’s easy to keep living the same all the way. But you know, you shouldn’t. So you have a problem trying to learn a new way to walk, learning to trust the Lord. And so I believe there’s a lot of spirituality that’s found in these books. Now take a Bible and just look over there quickly in the book of Matthew and chapter three, the book of Matthew and chapter three.

Now, there were people that were there in Jordan, and believe it or not, we actually went to the river Jordan. Oh, it’s a big old wide river, something to like the Mississippi. No, it’s two of them could fit in this room going that way. It’s not very wide at all. Were you surprised, Jesse, when you saw it? Yes. So, here in the book of Matthew in chapter 3, notice what he said in verse 5, then went out to him, talking about John the Baptist, Jerusalem and all Judea and all the regions around about Jordan.

And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, oh, generation of vipers. What’s a viper? That’s a vampire? Snakes, all right. snakes. Who had warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth, therefore, fruits, meat, or fit for repentance. In other words, it’s like I want to hear your testimony. Why do you want to be baptized? Why did you come here?

What’s it’s all about? Sad you see, you didn’t believe anything miraculous in the Pharisees. All they did was, well, they were jealous and hypocritical and so self-righteous so they didn’t have any sense to confess. But he says, something’s going to happen. In verse 10, Now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which brings forth not good fruit is hewed down and cast into the fire. So we’re talking about the ax is going to be laid to the root of the tree that doesn’t bring forth good fruit.

Every tree and get an ax. Then he says in verse 11, I indeed baptize you with water under repentance, but he that cometh after me mightier than I mighty the knife, who shoes I am not worthy to bear, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” Now when somebody asks you if you want the baptism of fire say no, baptism of fire is hell. Now Pentecostal just loved this verse because they talked about getting the baptism of fire.

Well you can have it if you want. Then he explains what he’s talking about. In verse 12, whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the Garner and he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Does that fire sound like a baptism of fire that you want to have? No, that’s for the wicked. So there is a promise that God is going to cut down every tree that does not bring forth good fruit.

Now look there in chapter 7. Carrying that one little thought on over here to Matthew chapter 7 helps you to see the two Nature’s again. Remember the two natures is one of the biggest keys in understanding the gospel, or I should say the Christian life. And here in Matthew chapter 7 when he makes the statement, in verse 17, even so every good tree, bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.

Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth Good fruit. In other words, it’s one way or the other. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Two kinds of trees. And is either good or it’s bad. You think, well, a bad tree can occasionally bring forth good fruit. No? Well, a good tree might every once in a while bring forth some bad fruit. No, no. Not one single bad fruit, or not one single good fruit on the bad tree.

So how do you explain that? Well, most people can’t. And so that’s why they have to look at your life and if you do this and it’s not right, then that’s the sign you’re not saved. That’s where they get it from because it makes sense. If you’re good, you got to do good. And if you’re not, then that’s the sign you’re not really saved. You’re a bad tree. Remember, he says you’re going to cut down every tree. Now there’s only one tree that was ever born into this world, grew into this world that had good fruit on it.

What tree was that? He shall grow before Him as a tender plant. And that’s Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only good tree that came from a good root and had good fruit. All the rest of us born in the world are bad trees. We bring forth bad fruit because we have a bad root. So how many of us bad trees are going to be cut down? All of us, because we’re all bad trees, we’re all sinners. Every man who sends dies, Jesus didn’t have to die because he was a good tree with good fruit.

So when he’s talking about Bakker and Matthew, many people read that but have no clue as talking about Matthew chapter 7. But it is talking about Matthew chapter 7 and he said that He’s going to cut down every tree that doesn’t bring forth good fruit. That’s everybody. So now, when you get up there, you can know. And that’s the two natures. And it’s mentioned over and over again. And even in Matthew chapter 12, I’ll talk about that, but we won’t take the time to look at that right now.

Now take your Bible and let’s go to book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. First 1 Thessalonians 5. Is Jesus coming again? Yes, he is. Yes, he is. He is coming back. But in 1st, thessalonians chapter 5, it tells us an awful lot of things that you and I as Christians are supposed to do. And because in chapter 4, it talks about the rapture. In the first part of chapter 5, well, it talks about the tribulation period and the wrath to come.

And we are not appointed under the wrath. If you look there in verse 9 of chapter 5, we’re not appointed unto the wrath of God, which is coming upon the earth. Because God’s going to take us out of here first. So look in verse 10, who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. In other words, whether I’m alive when He comes or I’m asleep, I’ve died before He comes. I’ll be with the Lord.

And so He says, wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also you do. In other words, you’re doing it, just stay at it. Just keep doing what you’re doing. A lot of times I have to tell people. So they ask me, how do you think I’m doing? They say, you’re doing good. Just keep doing more of it. Just keep doing more of the same. You’re faithful, just stay that way. And so then he says in verse 12, and we beseech you brethren to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and it monies you and to esteem them very highly in love for their works sake and be at peace among yourselves.

In other words, how are y’all supposed to look at me and Jesse and Dr. Paulson and Steve and how are y’all supposed to look at us? It’s deemed them very highly. Doesn’t that, isn’t that what he says? For their works sake, you don’t want to say and do something that would discourage would you? Would you want us to get so… nobody loves us? Nobody ever gives us a compliment? I quit. Do you want us to quit? Well if we quit, who’s going to take our place?

Somebody better? Stronger? Who are they? Where are they? So he says, esteemed them very highly. And he says in verse 14, now we exhort you brethren, warn them that are unruly. This is too brethren. Is it possible that we could have people that are unruly. Can a Christian be unruly? Well, we’ll move right along. Comfort, the feeble mind, we got anybody feeble minded around here? We won’t go there. We don’t need to go there. So I wrote somebody a little note the other day because she had complimented us on our 58th anniversary and she says it’s hard to believe that we became friends over 50 years ago with Antflor Bob Cud.

And I said, yes. But when we both become senile, every time we meet we’ll be new friends. Anyway, she wrote some smart answer back if I can’t remember what it was. I can’t remember. But anyway, and to be patient toward all men, be patient toward all men. Why? Because, you know, the older we get, it seemed like we get more nervous. We don’t know really how to take some people. And we need to be patient with people who are now where we once were.

Have you ever noticed that the older you get, grandkids can get on your nerves? Now you love to see them go. I mean, you come. And you love to see them go. But they can, you know, just get under your skin sometimes because they just never let up. And sometimes they want you to do things that you can’t do anymore. You don’t like, buy a horsie back. I used to rassle with the kids and I was rassing with all three of my kids at one time.

And they start tickling me and then when they tickle me I don’t have any strength. I just start laughing and I can’t, I don’t have no strength. And so they just love it. And so little Eddie when he was real small, the only thing he did is he just jumped up and well him and trained, they just got my thumbs and they just thought it would be so fun just to just bring them back. I screamed. They grabbed my thumbs and laid them back and they don’t think they can hurt you.

They hurt me. To this day I’ve got off-righted pains in these joints where they laid them back. And they just laughed and I thought, I thought, did kill me if I could get away with it. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s it. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. All right. Okay. All right. Okay. But they came a time when they got, you know, all three of them were teenagers. We had to stop this wrestling business because they could pin me.

When you get three of them on you, that’s nowhere to go. So that’s fine. There’s some things that we don’t do anymore, you know. And I remember one time I have a picture where we went up into the mountains and I wanted to teach my kids about Abraham. And so I, there was a table there where hunters had been there. And this is a no table, but it was strong enough, and they used to do cut up their meat on it, and it was all dried, everything was gone.

So I told Trina, I said, get on here. I can’t say she jumped up there, but she got up there. And so I had my honey knife, I had my knife. And I raised it up, and she didn’t stay there. I should have tied her down, but I didn’t do it. But just to try to give it, now I wouldn’t do that today, because somebody would probably think that I’m trying to kill my daughter or something, you know. But anyway, but I would take him up into mountains, and I was, you know, I would trust them.

Well, we’re gonna camp out overnight in the top of a mountain. We packed in. We carried our tent, sleeping bag, toilet paper, you know everything it’s you’re gonna need up there, sandwiches, well we got up there it started raining on us. And when it rained we hadn’t got everything set up and so we finally got the tent up got inside and sleeping bags were wet. Told the paper was wet, the bread got wet that is not the way to go camping, not on the first night.

And I want to have a wonderful experience with my kids. Yeah, they never forgot it all right. But you know, you learn to forget some things and go on and serve the Lord and God to be patient with all men. Even though people are adults, they’re not all on the same level of spirituality. Some people can do very well as long as there’s nobody putting pressure on them or stress. In other words, if everything is cool, they’re cool. But if they have any kind of pressure put up on them, they could turn on you and next thing you know they’re looking for a hangings month’s news.

They’re ready to the lynch you already. So you have to be careful. Look what else he says here. Oh man, I only got a couple minutes left. And so he said in verse 15, see that none render evil for evil unto any man. But ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves unto all men. believers, two unbelievers, and then notice what he says here. In verse 21, prove all things. That means it tests everything. How fast that was just good.

The reason you read and study the word of God is to learn discernment so thatpecially you can say this is good, this is not. That’s bad. And so this is wise, that’s okay, but as he says in Philippians chapter more excellent things. Then he says here in verse 23, and the very God of peace sanctify you holy. And I pray that your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that everything that you do in this body that we have doesn’t mean that you live a perfect life but you can live a blameless life.

In other words when you do something that you shouldn’t do, you can always, I’m sorry, confess your sin one to another. You can talk to the Lord about it. And this is why Paul says that he was concerning the law. He was blameless. Means whatever the law demanded, he did. If there was a sacrifice he had to make because of what he did wrong, fine. That mean he was perfect under the law. But he was living a blameless life.

So you can blame him because he took care of that which he did that, maybe not right. You and I are supposed to do the same thing. When we wrong somebody, The first thing you should say is, I’m sorry. And those are the hardest words in the world because that means I have to admit I’m wrong. And you know I’m not wrong and you’re never wrong, right? Everybody else is wrong, but not us. But this is what God wants us to do.

Anyway, He did request in verse 25, brethren, pray for us. Pray for everybody all the time. We all need a little prayer. Some of us lean more. Look up here, this hand represents you and me. The wall represents sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. He hates our sin, but He loves us. And for us to pay for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. God doesn’t want us to go to hell. He wants us to go to heaven.

And to go to heaven, yeah, we’ve got to be perfect. And nobody’s perfect. But because we’ve all sinned, we’re all condemned. We’re condemned to an everlasting fire in hell. And so God says you cannot save yourself. You can’t deliver yourself. This hen represents Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord God in the flesh. He came into this world because he loves us. He hates our sin, but he loves us. You see, our sin separates us from God. So what Christ did was He took the way that which separated us from God.

He took our sins, paid for it on the cross, and came back from the dead. He said, if we would believe He did it for us, He would put the payment to our account, and we get to go to heaven on what Jesus Christ did for us. If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, I urge you to trust the Lord today, not tomorrow. Today, this is urgent. I had a man tell me one time, not now. I said, would you do me a favor?

He says, sure. I says, don’t die. He says, I can’t control that. Point well taken. Can’t you see why you need to trust the Lord right now? Because you’re not guaranteed another minute. But do you understand the consequences by rejecting Christ as your Savior? It’s not just a little game we play. To reject this payment Christ made, you’re rejecting Christ, you’re rejecting God, you’re rejecting His love, you’re rejecting His salvation. And there’s a great consequence for doing so. Let’s pray, show Him.

him. There he hid and bowed in every eye closed and no one looking around. If you’re here this morning and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, I urge you to do so. If you’re watching by internet, you can do it right where you are. You don’t have to walk an aisle, sign a card. You don’t have to give any money. You don’t have to do anything. Salvation is the gift of God. It’s free. All he wants you to do is believe that when he died on that cross, he died for you.

He paid for your sins so that you wouldn’t have to pay for them. So if you’re here today and you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, I hope you see the urgency of doing so. The road to hell is paid with good intentions. Always intending to, but just maybe you haven’t done it yet. Maybe you’re getting your last warning. So in just a moment I’m going to ask for raise your hand. Raise in your hand doesn’t save you. Just let me know that what I said made sense to you.

You’re sitting pretty to that made sense to me. I want to know I have eternal life and I want to know that I’m going to heaven when I die. not like for you to pray for me. Friend, I’d love to do that. So in just a moment, I’m gonna ask you to raise your hand. It’s just to let me know. I’m gonna embarrass you. I just want to say yes, preacher, I will trust Christ right now and want you to pray for Him.

We’ll just slip you in a very quickly, put a right back down and we’ll talk. And we’ll all just slip it up very quickly. I will not have you embarrassed or have you forward or doing things until you. And we’ll talk. That means that everyone of y’all in this room, If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, take this thing seriously. Find out those in your family. Talk to them. Ask them. Do you know you’re going to heaven when you die?

You’ve got to have that urge and debt compassion that they know you really love them and you really care about them. Not to say anything does that mean you don’t really care? Make it a point of your life that this is what my life going to be about. Father, we thank You so much for all You’ve done for us. We thank You for this time together. We thank You for the ministry You’ve given us and for the souls that have been reached and for the people here to give and sacrifice and work so hard.

We thank You for Your watch, caring, loving all Your provision. We pray that the donations that people give would be sufficient to take care of the needs that are coming. We thank You for the Christ’s name, Amen. Men reserved the last Saturday of the month for the Iron Sharpen’s Iron Men’s Bible Study and Breakfast at Calvary Community Church. Join us at 730 for a home-cooked breakfast. Then, at 8am, the featured speaker of the month will present a one-hour classroom style Men’s Bible Study in a relaxed atmosphere where questions and dialogue are welcomed.

The scripture tells us that Iron Sharpen’s Iron and this Men’s Bible Study is open to those of all levels, whether new believers or mature Christians. The Iron sharpens Iron men’s Bible study and breakfast. Don’t miss this mupply opportunity for fellowship and the study of God’s Word. 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.