In this insightful episode, host Bob George addresses the profound question of recognizing God’s presence in our lives. A caller from Utica seeks understanding, leading to a rich conversation exploring the difference between knowing about God and truly experiencing God’s presence within us. Bob draws on personal experience to illustrate how faith transforms when we understand God’s indwelling presence through Jesus Christ.
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George. Today we are pleased to present a special radio show featuring call-in listeners from Bob’s original people-to-people daily radio program that was on the air for over 30 years, offering real answers for real-life problems as he addresses common questions as well as the tough issues of today, directing callers to the centrality of Christ in you, your only hope of glory. We want to remind our listeners that Bob George Ministries needs your financial support to continue to have Classic Christianity Radio on the air. Please visit BobGeorge.net to find out how you can help support us financially. Let’s now join Bob as he presents practical biblical insights as he helps people experience a life of faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 02 :
We’re going to go to Utica, New York, listening on WJIV. Cornell, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. How’s everything? doing fine cornell all right uh my question was um a little earlier i heard a gentleman speaking about the uh presence of god and being able to feel his presence and know when he’s in and around and i wanted to uh actually get a better understanding of uh uh your breakdown of that because i kind of like i caught in on the last ending of it as you guys were speaking and His question was definitely pertaining to my situation. And I just basically wanted to get a better understanding of being able to understand his presence and when he’s around me and, you know, how can I recognize that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Cornell, it’s a good question. See, in my particular life, as an example, I lived for 36 years of my life knowing about God, but I never knew God. Like I know about George Bush, but I don’t know George Bush. I know about Abraham Lincoln, but I never met him. Obviously, I’m not that old. So the issue is you can know about a lot of things but never know them because you’ve never experienced them. You can know about the Grand Canyon, but when you know the Grand Canyon is when you get there and look at it and see it and explore it and all that type of thing, then you know it. And that’s the same thing with God. I had a knowledge about God, but I had no knowledge of the presence of God. And when I was 36, I had a gentleman who introduced me to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. He explained to me how God in his wisdom… had to come to this earth in the person of Christ Jesus and to walk on this earth for some 33 years showing us what true righteousness is in God and in so doing showing us our fallen state until a man sees his condition of the depravity that we experience. inherited from adam uh we’re we’re not ready for salvation so he he came to show us his righteousness and came to show us our unrighteousness and that prepares us now for where he was headed because from the day christ was born he was headed toward the cross And the reason for the cross was to be the substitutionary death, to be a sin offering for you and me, to take away the sins of the entire world. And that’s what he did there at the cross. And then through his resurrection, there’s a consequence to sin called death. And the only solution to death is life. And the only life available to you and me is the resurrected life of Christ Jesus. And that’s real. That’s Christ coming to live in you and me, which is our only hope of glory. It’s a reality of Christ’s presence living in us, of God himself coming to indwell his creation. And that’s when you begin to understand for the first time the presence of God living in you is when you know that Christ Jesus lives in you because Jesus is God. He’s God the Son who came to indwell his creation. And so the way all of that starts, Cornell, is on the day that we come to grips with an understanding of the gospel. I never had heard the gospel for 36 years of my life. I had no idea what it was. I went to church, but I never heard the gospel being proclaimed. And so I didn’t know I was lost. I didn’t know I was a sinner. I knew that I sinned, but I didn’t know what the implications of that were. I really didn’t know any of those things. until the day that i came to christ jesus and and then christ came to indwell me and then i had the understanding the ability to understand the word of god for the first time and and as a person who never had the bible open to open up the bible and had the ability to understand the word yes so cornell the whole yeah go ahead um my my next question is uh short and sweet um i i i’m a backslider in um
SPEAKER 04 :
I had the fire and, you know, God was in me. I felt the presence. And then all of a sudden, you know, through a processing, it just kind of like led back into the worldly actions and stuff. And I just need some guidance and some prayer and, you know, a little focus on, you know, where did I went wrong and, you know, how did I just, you know, let my hand, you know, they said, you know, keep your hands in God’s hands. And I kind of let my hand go from his hands. And I just need some focus and some inspiration to lead me back to that, you know, that presence that I felt. You know, and I just need some prayer, actually.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, actually, Cornell, that’s not what you need. First of all, the backslider is not used in the New Testament. What you did was this. You got under legalistic teaching. And you got under teaching that if you keep on sinning, God’s going to turn his back on you. And then you develop ways to turn him around, and that doesn’t work. And after a while, you give up on it. You give up on yourself. And as it says, and you felt in your own mind that you were alienated from God in your own mind because of your own sinful behavior. But it goes ahead to say, but God reconciled you to God through Jesus Christ. And you have to understand, and that’s where you get back to the fact that when God went to a cross, he went not to cover your sins as atonement did, Cornell, but he went to take away your sins. Not only that, but he nailed the law to the cross. That law is against you. All the law can do is condemn you to hell. The law cannot make you righteous. No man will ever be declared righteous in the sight of God through obedience to the law. It cannot justify you. Know that no man will ever be justified in the sight of God through the obedience to the law. The law could not give you life. Paul said if life could came through the law, then Jesus died for nothing. The only thing that the law can do is to show you that you’re a sinner. That’s its purpose was to a lost person to show you that you’re a sinner, which prepares you for the cross. And when you come to Christ, you leave the law. Look at it as a mirror. It showed you your face was dirty. But you turn to Christ for cleansing. Now, once he has cleansed you, you leave the mirror where it belongs and you enter into a new realm of life of walking in the spirit in Christ Jesus. When you keep under and people keep you under the law that keeps you under guilt, the power of sin is in the law. And so by keeping you under the law, the religious world keeps you under the power of sin. And you cannot be led by the spirit under the law. period and so what happens to you is you’re there trying to live a newness of life and still you got the religious world tearing you back to the old way of life under the law and you become a double-minded man that becomes unstable in all ways And after a while, you have to say, I was more comfortable as a lost person than I am as a saved person. I was under less conflict, loss, than I am as saved. Because you’re trying to live with one foot over here and another foot over here, and you can’t do it. You have to let go, Cornell, and you have to let go of… the past forget the past and press on to the high calling of christ jesus god never left you in all the time just like the prodigal son when he went away he never ceased to be a son he just had to come to his senses and realize that even my father’s servants are living better than i do and i’m going home and what god’s saying to you is cornell come on home come home and if you’re home be at be at home here i didn’t ask you to come home to be uptight And I didn’t ask you to come home and start digging up your past and thinking about your past. I’m telling you to come home and let’s fellowship together. Let’s have this relationship that you walked away from thinking that I didn’t love you. And that’s what you do. You begin to think, how can God love me doing what I’m doing? And God says, because I’m God and you’re not. And I never cease loving you. I never stop loving you. And you have to come to that point as the Apostle Paul where you’re saying, I’m convinced of something. And never let go of this, Cornell. And never, as the Bible says, let yourself again be under the yoke of slavery, under the yoke of the law. Do not let yourself get under that law. The law kills, but the Spirit gives life. And if you truly came to Christ, not for feelings. A lot of times, especially in the charismatic movement, I find people in that realm where they come for feelings. And I feel God’s presence. And, man, I just groan and moan to get the feeling of God’s presence. God isn’t a feeling. God is God. And God wants to appeal to your mind, not to your feelings. And what he wants you to do is to be convinced of something. Paul didn’t say, I feel that nothing can separate me from the love of God. You’ve got people, that’s all they live, is trying to feel that nothing can separate them from the love of God. Paul said, I want you to know it. I don’t want you to feel it. I don’t want you to know it. I’m convinced of something. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. And Cornell, if you can say that in your heart, I’m convinced of something. that nothing can separate me from the love of God. Trials can’t. I had them. It didn’t separate me. Tribulation can’t. The only thing that can separate you from the love of God is you separating yourself from the knowledge of the love of God, not the existence of his love, but the knowledge of it. And that’s exactly what you did. You separated yourself from the knowledge of the love of God that you entered into when you were first saved. Because when you were first saved, if you were saved, you knew full well God loved you, didn’t you? It’s the only way he saved you. God so loved you that he saved you. But we get under performance orientation and feeling orientation. And what you have to do is to get rid of that, Cornell. And you put those things behind and say, from this day forth, I’m going to study this scripture and I’m going to read the scripture and I’m going to learn about God’s love for me. So that I, like Paul, can say without question that I am convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of God. And that love will carry you through your entire life, Cornell. Your sins, no man will ever go to hell because of his sins. No, but you’re only the sin of the rejection of the son of God. Jesus said the world’s sin is unbelief in me. The sins of the world were taken away at the cross, not covered like atonement, taken away, never to be seen again. And when Jesus returns, he says, when I come back, I’m not coming to deal with sin, but I’m coming back to bring salvation for those waiting for him. Why isn’t he coming to bear sin? He’s already done it. Do we want him to do it again? I don’t want to nail him on a cross again, do you? No, we don’t. He did it once. He did it for all. And what did he cry out from the cross? He said, it’s done. It’s finished. And therefore, relaxed by faith in that truth, it’s done. There’s no more forgiveness to be executed on my behalf. I’m no longer a person who gets forgiveness. I am a forgiven person. I’m a person who is not only forgiven, I am totally loved. And I have a destiny that is secure as life itself. And I am a child of the living God. I’m no longer a Baptist or a Presbyterian or a charismatic or anything. I’m a child of God. So don’t put any more labels on me than the one God gave me. I’m a child of the living God. Yep. Sometimes don’t act like it, but I never cease to be one. I’m a child of the living God.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you for that message.
SPEAKER 02 :
Does that help, my brother?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, it did, my brother.
SPEAKER 02 :
Cordell, I’m going to put you on hold. I want to send you a copy of our book, Classic Christianity, as our compliments. And I’m going to send that to you. You read through that book, and it’ll be very life-changing for you, and it’ll just solidify some of the things we’ve been talking about today, okay?
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thanks a lot, sir. You’re sure welcome, brother. If you’ve got any more questions, don’t hesitate to call, okay?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, I will. Classic Christianity Radio is a listener-funded program, and because of your generous donations, we are able to be on the air. Go to bobgeorge.net to order A Closer Look Bible Studies. A Closer Look Bible Studies features eight in-depth books that will take you through hundreds of Bible verses. as the Holy Spirit guides and teaches you while deepening your understanding of the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. These Bible study books are excellent tools for individual or group study sessions, perfect for small or large church groups, Sunday school classes, and at-home Bible studies. Please visit bobgeorge.net for additional information on how you can join us financially and help support the radio ministry. With your prayers and support, we can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s continue now with our classic Christianity radio program. We’re going to go to Denver, Colorado.
SPEAKER 02 :
Let’s go on KLT. Brent, you’re on the air.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, how you doing, guys?
SPEAKER 02 :
Real good, Brent. Thank you.
SPEAKER 03 :
What I was kind of wondering about is… You know, what’s happening over in Israel right now, how that plays into the end-time prophecies. One first part A question is, you know, we know that there has to come an economic system where no man can buy or sell without the mark of the beast. And basically the whole world runs on the dollar. Does this mean in order for this economic system to take effect that the United States economy has to be destroyed, thus rendering all dollars and all hundreds and billions or trillions of dollars throughout the world valueless? rendering the same value that, say, the Confederate dollar had after the end of the Civil War. Confederate dollars were basically, I guess, used for paper in the outhouse, but they weren’t worth anything. Are we going to see the destruction of the United States economy in order for there to rise this system of buying and selling? And the other part of the question is, and I’ll hang up and listen, is the chronological, the next thing that kind of has to happen is the breaking of the seal of by Jesus and releasing of the full horsemen to bring the Antichrist to power. Because we see that, you know, Iran is waiting for their next Ayatollah Granola, you know, their next big guy. And, of course, the nation of Israel, the Hasidic Jews are waiting for Messiah. It seems like everybody in the Christian church is waiting for Antichrist. So it sure does look like, you know, everyone is waiting for the son of perdition or that wicked one that Daniel speaks of. So kind of just, you know, and where does the rapture fit in this? And I’ll hang up and listen. I’d just like to kind of maybe get a little bit of a chronology, not when it’s going to happen, but when these events start off is the first thing, the breaking of the seal, the rise of the Antichrist. And where does that United States economy fit in if there has to be a new system of economics? Does that mean it’s kind of bad news for America? And I’ll hang up and listen. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Brent, I appreciate your question. I don’t think all those questions you have can literally be answered. As far as the United States of America is concerned, is there anything in the Bible mentioning the United States of America? Because the focal point of End Times is going to be right there in Israel. Now, does that mean the United States has been rendered totally worthless? I have no idea. As far as the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast, I believe we’re already headed toward that of being a cashless society. and we’re all using credit cards all the time and that type of thing. And, of course, then you get down to a point where credit cards can be stolen and your whole life savings could be taken away from you and your identity stolen from you. And so it’s already in effect where people are putting things underneath their skin in order to be scanned, and those will be serving as cash. there’s been a recent article on that particular thing where they’ve done research and found that the most logical place to put that is in the right hand and in the forehead, which is what’s talked about in the scripture as to where those numbers will be. That doesn’t mean a bankrupt society at all. That means a credit card type society. Now, what will that do for dollars and money? Well, if the American dollar went down, why, then all currency would go down. And so you still have to have currency in order for economies to survive. So I don’t think that it necessarily means that at all. I just do not believe that the United States will be playing a major role in this, although… It very well could be that some people believe this, and again, all of this is speculation. Some people believe that at Armageddon will be the armies of the United States of America, probably England, as well as Israel, up against the entire Arab community, the Muslim community, which is what that battle will be at end times. It’s going to be between Muslims and Jews and Christians. And that’s where God intervenes in the whole thing and creates the most bloody scene that this world has ever known. And so, yeah, those timelines are there. Is the Antichrist in existence today? Possibly. We’ve certainly had rumors, wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and those type of things down through the ages. But have they been in the consistency that they have been recently? And the answer to that is no. and has the attention of Israel wasn’t even in existence until they became a nation back in 1948, which they had to fight for, and then literally solidify that later on in the war that they fought. And so until Israel became a nation, why people weren’t paying that much attention to prophecy, but once they did, why they started paying a lot of attention to prophecy. But Israel’s right at the center of it. When you find a country like Israel surrounded by people who are openly claiming that their goal in life is to run Israel off of the face of the earth, and I look back sometimes and I think to myself, what kind of idiots are we in this country and around the world? Here are all people who are so hung up on a Mel Gibson statement, anti-Semitic statement, just hung up talking about it, just beating the daylights out of one insignificant man. when the nation of Israel is surrounded by the leaders saying, our goal in life is to run the Jews off the face of the earth. Why don’t they get their priorities straight? All they can think about is what some actor who’s made a lot of money has to say, when a drunken stupor, whether he is that way or not, I don’t know, but what’s the big deal? There’s a lot more people, a lot more big deals out there called leaders of nations that are wanting to run you off of the face of the earth that you ought to have your attention on instead of being anti-war and anti-George Bush for trying to create an atmosphere in that part of the world where Israel will be safe. And you can come up with all kinds of reasons for going into the different places of that. But the final analysis, the reason is to keep Israel safe if we can. And so and the very people that he’s trying to keep safe are the ones who are griping and complaining all the time about the president. along with many others. And so it’s strange to me how that we so easily get our attention off of the real problem and onto some nitpick and remark that some actor made. But at any rate, that’s beside the point. But Israel is surrounded right now by countries that have one goal, run them off the face of the earth. If Israel did not have the technology that they have and the war machines that they have, they’d be goners. As someone wisely said, this is very wise, that if Al-Qaeda laid down their arms and the enemies over there in Lebanon would lay down their arms, there’d be peace. If Israel laid down their arms, they’d be taken over immediately. And so the reason you don’t have peace is because everybody’s looking, what’s the root problem? Very simple. People who, in their perverted religion, want to run the Jews off of the face of the earth. There’s the problem. It’s not politics. It’s that, that a whole group of people… want to run Israel off the face of the earth. Now, why? What’s wrong with Israel? It’s a fine country. It’s a wonderful country. It exceeds in technology and has built that country into a beautiful land. Why? Well, they hate the Jews. Well, why do you hate the Jews? Well, just don’t like them. Don’t like the way they act. Well, is that justification for wanting to kill them and run them off the face of the earth? Let’s say that was true. And so what you have is hatred. And you have hatred in the hearts of those people that has been fanned by a perverted religion. And there’s the root. The root of the problem is not the government. The root of the problem is not politics. The root of the problem is religion. A religion, perverted as it is, with a goal of hatred toward religion. The Jews and hatred toward Christians and hatred for everything that they stand for, namely, number one, democracy. There’s your problem. Is that ever going to get solved? Unless you can get in there and get people’s minds changed and young people’s minds changed and youth’s minds changed and are being brainwashed every day of their life to hate the Jews and to hate Americans, you’re going to have it for centuries. There’s the problem. Until that thing is changed, you are never going to have peace in any part of that country, period. Quite frankly, are you ever going to have peace there? Not until the Prince of Peace returns. Never. Until they look upon the one whom they pierced and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Until that time, you’re never going to have. You can have United Nations. You can have bombs. You can have negotiations. and all that type of thing, it isn’t going to work. And so you have people in this country who are anti-war. Well, who isn’t anti-war? But what are you? Anti-preservation? Are you anti-preserving your land? Are you anti-having to defend your land? If someone is saying, I want to come and take it over, are you anti-resistance? What are you, a wimp? We have people that are just wimps. That’s all I can say about it. Just total wimps. Don’t know any other word to put on it. Wimps. That if somebody was coming into your house and wanted to take it over and kill your wife and rape your kids, just say, come on in. Come on in. Let’s negotiate and let’s be nice with each other. And so, Bob, I don’t know. I’ve probably gone long overdue in this type of thing. Probably gone on too long. It really is not… What we’re talking about, it is biblical because it does have to do with Israel. But it’s my deep conviction that this problem is never going to be solved until the Muslim world comes up to the point where they stop the hatred of all people, come up to the point where they no longer have a religion that says we’re going to turn the whole world into Muslims. Until that is stopped, until that is reversed, you’re going to have war. With the Muslims. Period. Let’s go to San Diego, California. Very quickly. Angela, you’re on the air. Very quickly.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, I am.
SPEAKER 02 :
Angela? Yeah, I’m sorry. We just ran out of time with my gabbing here.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 02 :
Go ahead and ask your question real quick, Angela.
SPEAKER 05 :
I just wanted to know about praying out loud. Is that something that we shouldn’t do or it doesn’t matter? Because you mentioned that God is here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Of course it doesn’t. Doesn’t make any difference. Otherwise, why would you ever have silent prayer?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, why do we have, like, church gatherings and praying groups with each other?
SPEAKER 02 :
Nothing wrong with that at all. That’s for one another’s benefit. You know, remember when Jesus prayed, he said, God, this is not for your and my benefit. It’s for their benefit that they hear me praying. So it’s good to pray among one another so that people can hear what your heart is. But God’s listening to our hearts.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, great. That answers my question. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good, Angela.
SPEAKER 01 :
Good to talk to you, sweetie. Thank you. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another, and praise the Lord. Amen.
