In this episode of Classic Christianity Radio, we delve deep into finding solace during life’s most challenging moments through the teachings of Jesus Christ. As illustrated by several poignant examples, whether receiving devastating news or grappling with disbelief, the conversation highlights the different ways individuals might handle adversity. Through the biblical story of Thomas’ doubt and Peter’s need for distraction, listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own responses to life’s trials and where they turn for guidance.
Put Jesus first in your life Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George. Bob’s clear, timeless teachings on the complete forgiveness and unconditional love of Jesus Christ will transform your life as you learn about God’s amazing grace. Let’s join Bob as he teaches us from God’s Word.
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Let’s imagine as an example That you’re home at night, waiting on your kids to come home. All of a sudden, the phone rings. And on the other end of the phone is a police officer. And he says, I got bad news for you. Your child has just been killed in an automobile accident. Where do you go when you get that kind of news? Who do you go to? when you’ve heard that kind of a news. Or a police officer come to your house at night and knock on the door and say, we have your son or your daughter, whoever it might be, in jail for drug usage. Where do you go when you run into those kind of problems in life? Or imagine that you’re sitting at home and one of your mates come in And say, we got to talk. Say, fine, let’s sit down and talk. What do you want to talk about? And he says, I want to talk about the fact I want a divorce. I don’t love you anymore. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I ever have loved you. And I want out. Who do you go to? Where do you go when you get that kind of news? Just where do you go? Where do you go when you go to the doctor? I went to the doctor when I was out in California getting treated for something else to get a little deal off of my wrist. And the doctor said, well, let’s take a look at the rest of you. And so he takes a look at the rest of you and he says, you’ve got melanoma. It’s one of the most deadly forms of cancer that there is. It’s a killer. And you have melanoma. What do you do? Where do you go? What do you do when you hear that? Do you panic? Where do you go? Where do you go when you wake up one morning with your husband and everything’s in great shape and maybe not feeling real good, but okay. A week later, you’re looking at him in a casket. Where do you go when you get that kind of news? Where do you go? Where do people go back a couple thousand years ago when they heard Jesus died? He died. Where do you go? I’ll tell you where you go. You go to the other end of that story. He was raised from the dead. Where do people go back… couple thousand years ago when they heard jesus died he died where do you go i’ll tell you where you go you go to the other end of that story he was raised from the dead and you go to the only place that you can go if you have any sense you see we respond in different ways don’t we to adverse circumstances and every one of us in this world are going to have tribulation Where do you go when all of a sudden you’re broke? All of a sudden your finances are gone. Or all of a sudden you have to take bankruptcy. Where do you go to get information? Where do you go for a piece of heart when you run into trials and tribulations such as that? Because guys, you got to go someplace. You might go insane, but you have to go someplace. And the issue is, where do we go? Thomas, as an example, kind of went into denial. He went into denial. I don’t believe it. Don’t tell me, Jesus. I was following him. And he was my leader. We were looking to him to take care of Israel. And so you tell me he’s died, but I’m not going to believe it unless I see it. You ever go there? Kind of denial. I’m not going to believe it. Well, what did Jesus do? Say, well, okay, dummy. He went to him and said, here I am. Put your hand on my side. And what did Thomas do then? He fell to his knees and said, my Lord and my God. He found where to go in the times of trials and tribulation. Withdrawal. Some people go into withdrawal, don’t they? We go into a withdrawal mode. The apostles kind of did that when they went hiding after the death of Christ Jesus. They were all hovered in a house together, scared to death, even for their own lives. They kind of withdrew from everything. Judas went into hopelessness after he had given the information out that would kill Jesus. He went into hopelessness and ultimately into suicide. That’s another place that some people go when they face trials and tribulations. You can go into, let’s go back to business. Let’s just get busy. Many, many people use that in order to keep depression from overtaking them. Just get busy. That was Peter. Remember what Peter said? I’m going back, let’s go fishing. He wasn’t talking about, let’s go out to the lake and have some fun. He was talking about, I’m going back to my business. I’m going to get busy. I’m going to do something so I don’t have to think about this Jesus that we loved who’s gone. So he went back to his business and got busy. What happened? Jesus appeared to him and asked him a question. Peter, do you love me? If you love me, don’t go back to your business. Feed my sheep. Or if you do go back to your business, feed my sheep while you’re doing it. Discouragement. We see the story of discouragement in Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus. We see these men going back to their home, and they’re discouraged. You can see that. We get discouraged. Let’s go ahead and pick that story up out of the Scriptures and follow this through together. The same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about everything that had happened. In other words, rehashing the events of the day. And I know when you’re rehashing it, you’re rehashing it because you can’t understand what’s taken place. I thought that this man was going to be the Messiah. I thought he was going to be the one who was going to free Israel. Didn’t happen. They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. And as they talked and discussed these things with each other, and here’s the key, guys, this whole thing, Jesus came and walked with them. You say, where do you go when you run into trials and tribulation? You go to Jesus. You go to Jesus. He’s the only one that can bring comfort to your heart in the midst of a heartache. Am I right or wrong? You can go to a psychiatrist, you can go to one another, you can look for people, but in a final analysis, the one and the only one that can bring peace to your and my heart in the times of trials and tribulation is the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that, appeared to them today. He is always with us. We are never, as a born-again believer, having to go out and look for Jesus alone. Where is he? He’s here living in your heart and he’s your hope of glory. He is not to be sought. You’ve already found him. He lives in you. And he was now with them. They kept on walking, but it was something about him that they were kept from recognizing him. And he asked, what are you discussing together as you walk along? Kind of like saying, what are you talking about, guys? And they stood still, their faces downcast, despondent, discouraged. Guys, can you imagine being around Jesus? I mean, we are spiritually indwelt by Christ, but can you imagine being around him physically? Being the recipient of his love and his kindness and his mercy and his wisdom all the time. Can you imagine being around someone like that? Can you imagine what kind of a love that you would have for a person like that that loved you perfectly? These guys were sad and no wonder. Now one of them named Clopas asked him, Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and don’t know the things that have happened in these days? You don’t know about these things? And Jesus said, what things? Well, he said about Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. He was a prophet and powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. And the chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. There again was that wanting of the reigning Messiah, kind of ignoring the suffering Messiah, but wanting the reigning Messiah in order to bring Israel out of the bondage that they were in. And what is more, it’s the third day since all this took place. And in addition, some of our women amazed us. And they went to the tomb early this morning, but they didn’t find his body. And they came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as a woman had said, but they didn’t see him. Now, all of these men on the road to Emmaus were all a part of the gathering of the followers of Christ Jesus. He said, they were our companions. The apostles were our companions. They were all a part of the inner group of Christ Jesus. And they said they didn’t see him. And he said, how foolish you are. That’s kind of a funny statement. How foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Now, what did Jesus do? He said, guys, here’s why you’re foolish. You don’t believe the writings of God. The prophets had already written down what was going to happen to the Messiah. And he says, and now they’ve written it down, but you don’t believe it. You probably said that you believe it. We all do that, don’t we? We read the Bible and say, I believe it’s true. But then when it comes to putting it into practice, we act as if we did not have a clue what this scripture said. So he said, you’re foolish. He didn’t call you a fool. He said, you’re foolish because you’re slow and hard to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? Was it not written in the word of God that the Messiah was going to have to suffer? And in order to enter into his glory, wasn’t it written there? Didn’t you read that? Even when I was here before, weren’t we talking about these things? Boy, wouldn’t you like to have been in this Bible study? But I hate to say that, but this one would have beat yours over there. It would have been better. Yours is good, but this one really would have been something. Beginning with Moses.
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Classic Christianity Radio thanks you for your support of our online and radio ministry. Make sure to visit bobgeorge.net to order a copy of the Closer Look Bible Study Series. A Closer Look Bible Studies features eight in-depth study guides that detail hundreds of Bible verses to help you deepen your understanding of the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. A Closer Look Bible Study Guides are an excellent tool for both individuals and larger Bible study groups. Please visit bobgeorge.net to order your copy of A Closer Look Bible Studies, as well as many other wonderful books, CDs, and study guides. With your support, we can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s continue now with our Classic Christianity radio program.
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Now guys, the Old Testament was divided up by the law and the prophets and the writings. And beginning with Moses, in other words, the law, And going then all the way through all of the books called the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all of the scriptures concerning himself. Now guys, if you have any doubt at all in regard to the validity of the Old Testament, this should take care of that. This was God himself, Jesus himself, raised from the dead, appearing to these men on the road to Emmaus, who went back and verified the fact as to who he was by going to the scriptures and showing them where he fit in all the way through the Old Testament. So if we have any doubts about the Old Testament, get rid of them. If Jesus was God, which indeed he was and is… and there was any error at all in the Old Testament in the books of the law or the prophets or the writings, would he not have been obligated to have corrected them? Would he or not? If he was God and he was full of grace and what? Truth, then would he have not been obligated to correct error if there was error in the Old Testament? So we know something about our scriptures, right? The Bible is not used in the Scriptures. The Bible is not used. That word is not there. The Bible is books. What is used and what is identified is Scriptures. These are the Scriptures of the prophets and of the Old Testament. And Jesus was verifying that. Now, as they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going to go on further. But they urged him strongly, said, stay with us for it’s nearly evening and the day is almost over. And so he went to stay with his new friends. And it said then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And all of a sudden he disappeared from their sight. They then asked themselves the question, were not our hearts burning within us when he talked with us on the road and opened up the scriptures to us? The scriptures opened up to us. Guys, when you’re talking about thanksgiving, I was thinking through this and pondering through some of these things in preparation for today, and I thought, what do I have to be thankful for? And you can come up with a lot of things. I’m thankful for my family, for my children, grandchildren. Thankful for each and every one of you. But deep down in my heart, I have to say, why am I able to be thankful? Because I could have been thankful for that without knowing Jesus. But as a person who knows Jesus, what is the one thing that I’m more thankful for than anything in the world? And I want to tell you what it is. I’m thankful for the Word of God. I am thankful that I’ve got a place to go to that doesn’t charge me a hundred bucks an hour, that is not leaning on its own understanding, That has not gotten its wisdom out of a psychology book. But has gotten its wisdom direct from God. And I’ve got a book that I can go to to find out what God says about me. And that I’ve got a book that I can go to when I’m in trouble. Where do you go when you’re in trouble? Where do you go? When your husband or wife dies or a child dies or you’re broke or whatever it is, where do you go? Go into despondency as we talked about? You go into denial? Or do you go in here and find truth, guys? There are people sitting in this room, I’ll guarantee you, who take this book for granted. Read it maybe when you need help. And then you see the person that says, I need help, Jesus. Where do I go? Oh, there it is. That’s nonsense. This is a book. It isn’t a fairy game. It isn’t something you stick your finger in and say, oh, there’s God’s message for me today. He’s got a message about himself. This is a book talking about his faithfulness. This is a book talking about His mercy. This is a book where you can go and get your mind and your attitude totally renewed on truth. Am I right or wrong, guys? You got a bad attitude? Then get it corrected with a good attitude. How do you get a good attitude? By going to what’s good. And that’s this book. This is where you will learn wisdom from God. that will carry you through every problem and trial and tribulation that you will ever encounter in this life. I don’t care whether you’re a child or whether you’re a newlywed or a nearly dead. This is what’s going to carry you through in life. Now, after Jesus had appeared to these men, And he had taught them the truth. And what does truth do to us, guys? I mean, is that just words or is that true? I mean, is it really, in your own experience, is that true or are these just words? Is it true that truth sets you free? Isn’t it wonderful to be set free from error? Because Do we get some air in the world? Did anyone ever listen? That’s all we get. And you and I can be set free from that. I think of the scriptures where it talks about Jesus. It says, if someone comes and says Jesus is over there or he’s out in the field someplace or he’s a vision on the wall, don’t go there. He isn’t there. Now, what does that set you free from? Racing out to see Jesus. He isn’t there. He says when Jesus comes back, the whole world will see him at once. And so he isn’t coming back in secret. Now isn’t it good to know that so that you can’t be conned? Because guys in this world, there’s a lot of con artists. And there’s a lot of people who want to con you in order to take advantage of you. And so what he’s saying, if you want to be free from that kind of error, there’s only one place to go to get to know what truth is so that you won’t be conned by error. Now they got up and they returned at once to Jerusalem and they found the eleven with them and those with them assembled together and they said, what did they say? What did they say to the guys? What did they say, guys? Can you all read? It’s what? It is what? True. It’s true. The Lord has risen. You see, they were sad because they believed he died. but they didn’t believe that he was raised from the dead. They said some women went back and said the grave was empty, didn’t they? So they agreed the grave was empty, but I want to guarantee you they were not into the fact that he was raised from the dead. They were concerned as who took the body? Where’d the body go? Now, after meeting with Jesus and getting confronted with truth, and they said, it’s true, he’s raised. He has risen and he has appeared to Simon. Then the two told what happened on the way to Emmaus and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. He has risen and he has appeared to Simon. Then the two told what happened on the way to Emmaus and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. They broke the bread. What do you suppose they saw when he broke the bread? the holes in his hands. And they recognized who this man was. While they were still talking about this, here he was going back into this room with the apostles and all of those assembled with him, saying to them, guys, it’s true. This Jesus is raised from the dead. And all of a sudden, Jesus appears to them. It doesn’t say he knocked on a door or or that he turned the knob to get in. He just showed up. And then, as always, says what I think is a riot, Peace be with you. Now, you’ve probably just seen someone walk through a wall and then say, Peace be with you. Peace be with you. Peace. Shalom. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. Now, guys, when you have seen someone, or if you would ever have been there to have seen this, a man hanging on a cross, beaten beyond measure before he ever got there, hanging on a cross, blood all over him, naked on a cross, beaten, plucked out a beard, plucked out his beard, crown of thorns on his head, blood all over him. And you’ve seen a man like this, and then put in a grave, and you know full well this man is dead. And then all of a sudden, you see him alive in his glorified body. What do you suppose you would think? I think I’m seeing a ghost. This is not what you see. When you see a man who’s dead, you see him dead. You don’t see him alive again. So they thought they saw a ghost. And what did Jesus say? Why are you troubled? And why do doubts rise in your minds? Again, what was he referring to? The scriptures. Don’t you remember what was written in the scriptures? That’s what you’re doubting. What was written. Jesus was always taking us back to these scriptures have told you what was going to happen. It has now happened. Why are you not believing the scriptures? Touch me, he said. Look at my hands and my feet. It’s myself. Touch me and see. A ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he had said that, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still didn’t believe it, they still couldn’t believe it. And guys, I don’t have any problem with that. Do you? You see something like that, you say, I see it, but I can’t see it. I can’t internalize it. It’s too much for me. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, do you have anything to eat? Isn’t that amazing? You would think, hey guys, let’s have a party. Hey, do you have anything to eat? So they took him and gave him a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and ate it in their presence. And then he said to them, this is what I told you while I was still with you.
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Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
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Put Jesus first in your life and turn your life around.
