Bibleline Radio Show – 2007-02-01 – Wars and Rumors of War

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Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Hank Lindstrom. Coming to you from Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Declaring God’s love through radio and television. Providing real answers to an ever-searching world. Got a question? Dial toll free at 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. Now here’s the host of Bibleline, Dr. Hank Lindstrom. Well, good morning and welcome to Bibleline. I’m great to be with you today. Thanks for tuning into the broadcast as we come to you live From Tampa, Florida from our studios here at the Calvary Community Church or on the pastor We look forward to being with you every day Monday through Friday, and I hope you enjoy being with us as well and Thank you for tuning in and we hope that you will tune in as often as you can you can go to the internet and catch our programs 24-7 from anywhere in the world.

You might want to pass that word along. The website address is BibleLineMinistries.org.com. That’s BibleLineMinistries.org.com. And take advantage of the Internet. We have so many things there. People tell me that all of a sudden they’re discovering new things on there. They didn’t know they were there. They’ve been there, but they just didn’t know them that they were there before. So check that out. BibleLineMinistries.com www.awardgeo.com and you can get our television programs and radio programs 24-7 on the internet. By the way, we are teaching a brand new class on Tuesday nights now called Jesus is coming.

And many people signed up and were taking that class on the internet. Turned out wonderful and of course you’ll be able to get that course. Jesus is coming. 10 hours of teaching and that will be available on CD and also on DVD. You can call and inquire about that and even order in advance. We got the first two class hours done. This pass to Zee. And next to Zee, we’ll do classes three and four, not too late to actually come over if you’re in the Tampa Bay area and sit in live on the classes.

Or if you’re in other parts of the country, not too late to call in and register and get the passcode to be able to watch the classes at your leisure over and over again if you like or see it live when we offer the class on Tuesday nights from seven till nine next week will be class three and four and we’re off and running Christ is coming again and we’re having a fun time learning about that from God’s Word.

This is our television day. It’s Thursday and we were on more television at eight o’clock this morning in the Tampa Bay area. We’re going to be on at 6.30 tonight nationwide on DirecTV on channel 3.21. I always remember that by 1.23 backward. 3.21, World Harbor’s Television, and that’s on DirecTV. If you have that little dish, you have DirecTV. You’ll be able to get us every Tuesday and Thursday at 6.30 PM Eastern time. Not the same program. Each one is different.

and you can check that out. Tonight we’ll be on CTN at seven. That’s the Christian Television Network all over the west coast here of Florida. That’s channel 22, but if you have cable, it’s a different channel, wherever you look. By the way, we’re on the Hillsborough County Access Channel, which is a right house in this county where Tampa resides. And that’ll be, of course, at four o’clock this afternoon. And now we’re going on the air in Pinellas on public access TV, and will be on three times a week Monday at noon, Monday at four in the afternoon, and Saturdays at 4.30.

So you might wanna check out those times on the channel 18, Pinellas County, the Access Channel, Bright House, over there in Pinellas. A lot of things going on, and we’re excited about being able to be with you today. We’re gonna be going to the Bible for a few minutes, and then we’ll be taking your questions, You’re welcome to call in. We have a number of offer questions. A number of people asked where we were yesterday. We played a best of.

I went fishing and it was nice. But thank you for your concerns as we got numbers of calls that were wondering if I was okay. Thank you for your concern. We really appreciate all of you who pray for me and for Bibleline. And when we miss a day, we just seldom people do express their concern. Thank you very much for letting us know you care. Thank you for your call and for your concern about me. I’m fine and I enjoyed the fishing experience and it was nice to take a day and do that.

We are going to talk about the Bible. One of the most exciting things is this event called the Rapture. No doubt about it unless your head is in the sand and you’re reading the Bible. You can recognize the signs of the times are everywhere. It tells us that in 1 Thessalonians 5 that of the times and seasons you have no need that I write unto you. There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about the return of Christ and what we are to look for.

There are signs for the conclusion of the church age and the rapture and then there There are signs for the second coming things that will occur in the tribulation period after the rapture. And so we are seeing now a host of signs many of which are second coming signs and also we are seeing many of the signs of the conclusion of this age. I was always told and I was always taught and most of the books I have always read have said that there are no signs for the rapture and I have come to conclude that that’s wrong teaching.

I have had so much wrong teaching and I think most of us have very our lives. But if you read 2 Timothy chapter 3, it gives us a whole chapter of what we would expect in the last times for the church age. It says this note also chapter 3 verse 1 of 2 Timothy that in the last days perilous times shall come. And we are living I think in those perilous times, wherever we look, it seems in the news we’re getting really on edge about whatever might happen.

I guess you saw what happened in the news yesterday in Boston. And the big scares that kind of made us all nervous across the whole country, what was going on. And of course it was turning out to be just an advertisement ploy. But wow, they certainly had the nation on edge. And we are on edge because we know the reality of the perilous times that shall come. And you read down there, it tells us basically what you see in the headlines every day in those descriptions.

And we really are seeing, I think, the signs of the end times. And then it talks about Christianity. How then, for the most part, they would be having a form of godliness, verse 5 of 2 Timothy but they would deny the power thereof. Now the power, I take it, is the same as in Romans 1 and 16. The gospel, you know, it says there, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

And the power of the gospel is being denied or ignored today. It’s amazing to me. I was talking to a young lady yesterday and I gave her the track that I’ve written called, Am I Going to Heaven with the contemporary terms in it? And I asked her if she would look that over and if she looked it over she was reading down and I said to her, all of these are wrong answers. Now one of the answers in her mind she hadn’t told me as of yet that she had mentally noted that one.

She said, is it wrong to follow Christ? That was one of the options there for what must I do to be saved. And I said, no, it’s not wrong to follow Christ, but you’re not saved by following Christ. You’re saved by trusting Christ, His death and shed blood. And she relaxed and she really got the gospel clear and left with assurance. But you know, most people think you have to follow Christ or you have to give your heart to Christ, or you have to invite Christ into your heart, or you have to put Christ on the throne of your life, or you have to, and I have plenty of these contemporary terms, none of which can save anybody.

We’re not saved by any of those actions. We are saved when we TRUST, that Jesus died, shed his blood, was buried in Rosalie Givina dead. That’s the gospel. And you know, it says in 2 Timothy 3.5 that in the last days that they would have a form of godliness. Yes, they would maybe profess to be Christian, but yet deny the power, the means by which they are saved and become Christians, which is the gospel message. The death, the barrel, the resurrection of Christ.

And it’s incredible. I see it every day and most people will bite into the typical contemporary terms that are used today that are not the gospel. and in reality think that they’re a Christian, but not really be a born-again believer. You have to trust Christ in order to be saved. And it seems like very few preachers are saying that anymore. Everything from turning from your sin to walking the aisle, uniting with a church, doing penance, saying prayers, going to mass, church membership, and on and on the list goes of things that people are told that they must do in order to be saved.

I was up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I asked this young lady, what do you think you have to do to be saved? And she said, you have to tithe. I said, what? I’d never really seen anybody commit to that one thing. And she said, yeah. I said, where did you learn that? She said, for my preacher. He says, unless you tie, he’ll go to hell. I said, that’s incredibly wrong. Tithing has nothing to do with going to heaven or hell.

Tithing or giving to Christ is a way, as a believer, after we’re saved, we can make an investment in eternity. We can be laying up treasures in heaven and having rewards. Anyway, she wound up trusting the Lord. She says, can you wait another minute? Can you? You got a little bit more time? She said, I want to get my husband. She grabbed him. He was just about 25 feet away and brought him over and says explain that to him.

What do you explain that to my husband? And so I was able to explain it to her husband as well. You know, both of them were in a church where they were taught unless they tied. They would go to hell in that tragic. It’s just awful and we have so much bad teaching today. In any case, it says in verse 7 of 2 Timothy chapter 3 that they would be ever learning, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Isn’t that amazing? That they could be studying and learning, reading books, and going to church and yet never discovering the truth. We have a gentleman in our church here that I pastor. from five years old until he was 76 years old, he was active in quite a number of different churches. What a story he has to tell. But it wasn’t until he discovered us that he got saved. So can you imagine? For 71 years of his life, between five years old and 76, he was actively involved in churches but never saved.

called to me malpractice for sure. You know if you go to the doctor and he malpractice is what you die physically but if a church malpractice is you go to hell. Don’t you see that that’s far worse? How many churches should be sued for malpractice because they let you go 71 years without ever telling you how to be saved. Now that is a tragic thing. That’s one thing to die physically and if the medical doctor now practices obviously you go to court, usually it seems today, but the patient dies and everybody is really upset.

But can you imagine though, shouldn’t we get upset when somebody goes through church all their life and never finds out how to be safe? I went through 18 years of my life in church. I was confirmed and baptized, homogenized, pasteurized, capsized, and the whole nine years, but I never was saved. Thank God my sister was concerned enough about me to pester me till I finally went to the Bible study she was attending, and there I got saved. I only need to hear it one time.

When I heard that it was a gift, when I heard it was not of myself, when I heard it was not of works, when I heard it was all paid for, when I heard that I had this simply trust Christ, that John 3 16 which I already knew but I didn’t understand that whosoever believeth in Christ should not perish but have everlasting life. Wow! It was like the light turned on and I said this is incredible. This is the best news I’ve ever heard.

Do you mean to say I can go to heaven? I could go to heaven. I thought I was going to hell. Do you mean I can actually be saved? Yes indeed. The Bible said whosoever. Any one that would believe on Christ would not perish but have everlasting life. I hope you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior. I’m praying that you will if you haven’t. You could do it right now. You can say, Lord, I’m the sinner. I don’t understand much about the Bible.

But I believe Jesus died for me and paid my sin debt and full by his death and shed blood. And I believe he was buried. I believe he rose again from the dead and I trust him right now to save me. Would you do that? Oh, my friend, that’s the most important decision. decision you’ll ever make. We hear from so many who tell us they’ve done that by listening to this program. Boy, does that thrill me. I hope it thrills you as well to know that people are hearing the gospel.

So many Christian programs would very few ever address the issue of salvation. If they do, they don’t address it in a real clear way. You’re still left confused with contemporary terminology that’s not really even the gospel. The Gospel is to believe or trust. As the Gospel is the power of God, the Bible says in Romans 1 and 16, unto all of them that believe or trust. When you trust Christ, you’ve got it. I’m Dr. Hank Lindstrom. This is Bible.

I’m great to be with you today. Thanks for tuning in. I’d love to hear from all of you. Give us a call. The phone number is here at Bible and 1-800-576-3771. 1-800-576-3771. We’re going to go to Michael in Brandon, Florida and Michael, welcome to Bibleline your own year. Thank you very much. I’m right here. Turn the radio down. If you listen to the radio, it’s 20 second delay and so you’ll just absolutely probably go insane. Okay. Hello? I’m right here.

I’m talking to you on the phone. Forget the radio. Okay. Hey, sir. I believe I’m saved, but I really don’t know. This is my question. My question is that if I am saved, if I am born again and I want to go to heaven, and I know that God says that I am not alive. And if I lie up to when I die or to when Jesus Christ comes, or would I see God of heaven? If you have trusted Christ as your only means of going to heaven, then yes the answer is Yes, because you see when Christ died, He paid for all of your sins past, present and future.

So He’s paid for every sin you’d ever commit. You say, well, I haven’t even done those. But think about it. When Christ died 2000 years ago, you weren’t even born. But God saw into the future, He saw when you would be born, Michael. He saw your whole lifetime transpire. He saw every sin you’d commit yet future in your life. And He paid for all of your sins, past, present and future. That’s why he can give you eternal life at the moment you believe.

So eternal life is not something he gives you after you die. He gives it to you now because he’s already paid for it. He’s already paid for all of your sins. That doesn’t mean that we should lie. It doesn’t mean you can get away with lying. In other words, the Lord will discipline you. Spank you, you might say. Might even take you home to heaven early, but he’ll never kick you out. He’ll never lose you. You are saved and kept saved from the moment you believe by Jesus himself.

Jesus says in John 639 all that the Father have given me, He says I should lose none in a way but raise them up again to the last day. So when you trust Christ, if you’ve come to Him, He will not lose even one person. So you’re stuck. You have to go to heaven if you’ve trusted Christ as your only means of heaven. But if you’re trusting in your works and you’re trusting on how you live your life, then you’re not saved.

simply trust Christ alone and then you’re safe forever Michael. So, sir, what you saying that no matter what I do, no matter what I commit to that, what I’m saying, I’m tired. Exactly. I’m saying that no matter what you do, once you become saved, you are going to go to heaven. Whereas you read in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, there’s a man there who was living in fornication with his mother and he was proud and not ashamed. The Bible says in verse 5, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that’s the body that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Here’s a man that God allows Satan to kill him, but yet he’s still saved when he stands before God. But he’s not going to leave you here on the earth to be delinquent. So if you’re saved, I would caution you not to try to live in willful sin because God is going to thank you and he might just jerk you right on up to heaven early. You’re not going to get away with it. Thank you Michael for that call and I would read Hebrews chapter 12 and especially verses 6 through 11 where the Lord says he chases every son that he receives into his family.

We’re going to go to Wayne in Lakeland, Florida and Wayne, welcome the Bible on your own Good morning. Good morning. I have a question. Recently I’ve been around a bunch of people, some Catholics, and I’d like to just tell your perspective on this. Obviously, we use evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative, however you want to characterize this, point back to the Reformation. How would you go about sort of explaining the Lord’s role when it comes to the first maybe 15-1600 years of the Church?

I think to some extent we can agree that the Lord has used the Catholic Church. We can also probably agree maybe not as Catholic, but that over those centuries, more and more bad doctrine and dogma, you know, the Church up in the Toula Reperation. But it is a good question. once fifteen hundred years of Christianity where the Catholic Church was sort of the center of that. I just wondered if you were to sort of explain what your feeling is about what the Lord did with the Church for the first fifteen hundred years of Christianity, how that relates to the reformation.

The reason why I’m asking is they did make an interesting point was you don’t not believe that there were Christians until the Reformation and of course our answer is, my answer is no, they’re obviously were. So if you would hang up just a little bit. Absolutely. There have always been believers and history doesn’t really hit you in the face with all the different groups that believe simply in Christ as Savior all down through that time. We not only have the Western Church, but you have the Eastern Church and many split-offs and branches throughout all of that time.

But the Roman Catholic Church became very powerful because it was also a political entity. And what happened is that they also controlled the governments of Europe. And when people left Europe to come to America when they said they were looking for religious freedom, they were trying to escape the tyranny of the Roman Catholic Church and the Inquisition and the hundreds of thousands of believers that were tortured and killed for saying that I believe I don’t need the church to be saved.

I can be saved by simply trusting Christ. At the Council of Trent in 1554, there were nearly a hundred enanthemas which have never have been rescinded by the Catholic Church that said that you would be punished by death if you said that you could be saved apart from the Roman Catholic Church. That was a terrible travesty. People in Europe were like rats jumping off a sinking ship trying to get offshore and find a new land to live in. If you read the preambles to the constitutions of the original 13 colonies, all of them say that they founded themselves so they could preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in freedom without religious persecution.

And that’s why they wanted a separation of church and states so that the state would never become the church again and the political power that Rome was in Europe where the person had no chance because the government was siding with Roman Catholic Church and persecuted the genuine believer. He certainly was a dark hour, but God of course always had the truth out there and there were men that brought the truth to light and that was the Reformation which obviously was a wonderful exposure of the gospel to the people and the translation men of the Bible into the language of the peoples by men like Wycliffe and others that followed even Martin Luther translating the whole Bible into the German language so the Germans could read the Bible in their own language.

It was an exciting time as far as God opening up the light of the gospel to people. But it was a bad time and Roman Catholicism suppressed the truth during all that time and that’s why we call those Middle Ages the Dark Ages because they were spiritually dark ages where the truth of the gospel was suppressed. And I’m glad that we are able to get into our Bible for ourselves today and read them and proclaim this wonderful message in freedom.

Hallelujah for that. But many people in many countries, there are other religions today that suppress the gospel and they don’t want it to get out and they keep people captive. You know, talks over in Timothy about the devil. snaring people and getting them in a snare where they are captive at his will and it says that we need to pray that they could discover the truth and have that change of mine which brings about salvation. Thank you so much for tolling in.

We have Betty in Tampa, Florida and Betty, welcome to Bibleline You’re on the air. Good morning Pastor Hank. Good morning. What you’re talking about about the people being chased out of Europe to come here, part of those people were French Protestants that were chased out into Germany and they were called the Huguenots. They very seldom hear about them, but they did come here to Florida and they were up in St. Augustine, or Jacksonville actually, in St. Augustine, that general vicinity.

And then down further south of us that the Huguenot came to from Europe. Amen. And you know, this was some of the first settlers. I see in August, it was the oldest city in America. And those were the places where the first settlers came to this country. Right. Absolutely. Well, thank you for sharing that. It’s been a bit of information. A lot of people don’t study history anymore. Well, I happened to be married to a Huguenot family. That’s how I found out about that.

I have a question for you please. It has nothing to do with what we’re talking about right now. Ask it quick. I might have to answer after a break because I’m coming up so tight on the break here. What is the Hebrew meaning for the name Shechem? That’s the refuge city. Okay. We’ll have to catch that after we get back from this break. Thank you so much for calling in. Thank you. And here we go to our break. Stay tuned.

We’re going to be back for a second half hour. Don’t go away Bibleline will be back in a moment. Give us a call at 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. Well, it’s so great to be with you today. Thanks for tuning in to Bibleline. We appreciate you so much. And appreciate all of you that pray for and support Bibleline. We are listening and supported. And if you haven’t given a gift to Bibleline, would you give one, please? We can certainly use your help.

Here we are in the month of February now. And maybe you could give a gift this month to Bibleline. You could do it by credit card over the phone. You can also do it by mail. And I hate to ask for money. I really do. If I didn’t need it to be able to keep Bibleline going, I would never say a word. But it’s really God’s plan. Because when we partner, you’re going to share equally with us in the rewards.

That has got to be an offer you can’t turn down. You know the Bible tells us that when you give to the things of the Lord that He gives a 10,000% return, Matthew 19 talks about that, 10,000%. Now tell me, where can you make an investment where you get a 10,000% return? I don’t know of any but the Lord. The Lord says you get a 10,000% return. So a wise investor will lay up treasures in heaven where they’re going to be around forever and ever, but also to have the 10,000% return.

That attracted me a long time ago. I said, I need to start investing in heaven. And if you give to a ministry that is proclaiming God’s word and people are getting saved and challenged and going on into Christian work, which Bibleline is doing all of that, and reaching out to a world that needs to hear this wonderful message and we have people getting saved as a result. I believe you’re going to be a wise investor if you give to the Lord through Bibleline.

And you’re going to be a partner with us and that’s a real partnership where you’re going to share whatever I will receive and whatever our workers that will receive as a result of what we do here in getting this cosmonet, you will share equally with us. It’s got to be exciting. I wish I were running the obesity puzzle poll. I would have invested everything in his ministry. I would love to have the fruit that Paul had. A crew.