Join us as Bob George leads us through a profound exploration of faith, love, and enduring challenges with grace. In this episode, we delve deep into the nature of human responses to adversities, understanding how life’s circumstances reveal our true selves. Bob unpacks the timeless truths of standing firm in faith, illustrating how the love of Christ empowers us to navigate life’s trials without being separated from the love of God. Through personal anecdotes and scriptural insights, we come to appreciate the beauty of God’s unconditional love, which transcends our understanding and experiences.
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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And so you have to just take a look and say, well, I can’t control that. I don’t know where a person’s heart is. I don’t know where you are any more than you know where I am. I don’t know how you’d respond if you lost your mate. And I wouldn’t know until you lost him. Then I’ll find out where you’re walking. And you’ll find out where you’re walking. Whether you’re going to keep hanging in there and keep trusting Jesus and keep thanking Jesus. It’s not that you don’t hurt. But it’s the fact that you’ve got Christ on your side and that you can trust him with it. So basically, your circumstances of life don’t cause your nature. Your circumstances of life reveal your nature. In other words, I can’t cause you to be angry. I can reveal the anger in you, but I can’t cause you to be angry. The circumstances of life don’t cause your nature. They just reveal where you’re walking. You say, you make me mad. Say, no, I didn’t make you mad. I just revealed the mad that was in you. I’m a stick. I stir you up. It’s like George Reaver said, I got the most perfect wife that God could have ever given me. Been married 50 some years. Said, George, what a sweet statement to make. Why do you say that? Because he said, because everything God wants me to see about myself, she reveals. And that’s really true. And so we realize that circumstances don’t cause your nature, they just reveal it. You can’t stir up beans in a pot unless there’s beans in the pot. And if there weren’t beans in the pot, you couldn’t stir it up. And so when you get angry, don’t say you made me that way, you just revealed my nature. Are we together? Oh, no, no, that’s tough to deal with, especially when it’s your nature that gets revealed. But again, it shows you something that you’re not the one making me mad. You’re not the one doing this. You’re just stirring up and causing me to see what’s really going on inside. Now, many times when we have adverse circumstances, what is our initial response? Is it normally spiritual or natural? natural yeah very much so somebody pulls in front of you on the freeway you don’t just sit back and say oh praise jesus you may use some biblical sounding language but it won’t be that kind of language and then god gets a hold of you and the spirit begins dealing with you and if the spirit doesn’t your wife will so either one of those take place so you’re never without hope So we have to realize that in this life that you’re going to have circumstances to come and that what a pleasing thing it is to see your people walking by faith with the hope of Christ Jesus in their hearts. So it says, you brought this good news to us. Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live since you’re standing firm in the Lord. There’s the key. Are you standing firm in the Lord? What does it mean to stand firm in the Lord? Regardless of what circumstances come your way, are you walking by faith? Are you standing walking by faith? What do you mean walking by faith? Well, you’re walking by faith and truth. What is truth? Regardless of what you’re going through, Nothing can separate you from the love of God. How many of you believe that to be true? It said trials can’t. How many of you had trials? Did that separate you from the love of God? Might have separated you from your bank account. Might have separated you from your job. Might have separated you from your mate. But how many were separated from the love of God? In the midst of trials and tribulation. So regardless of what happens. What you’re saying is. Nothing can separate me from the love of God. Might have separated me from these things. I was holding on to. But it never separated me from the love of God. Knowing all these things. He says we’re more than conquerors. God loves you. More than you could ever dream or imagine. He’s got a love for you that is totally out of our realm of experience. It’s called agape love. It’s called unconditional love. I love you not if. I don’t love you because. I just plain love you. That’s God. And you can rest in that truth. You can rest in the fact that nothing can separate me from the love of God. Is death going to separate you from the love of God? No, it’s going to enable you to know in its fullness the love of God. So in essence, death for the Christian is a time in our lives when we’re going to get to know experientially the unconditional love of God totally without any interference. So that’s a promotion for us. And we must look at death in that fashion. that death is not something we can miss a person down here, but death for the person who is in Christ Jesus that is absent from the body present with the Lord, that’s the greatest day of his life, when he leaves here and goes into the presence of Christ Jesus. We have to look at death in a different way than what the heathen world does, don’t we guys? And so when you hear that you’ve got an illness or you hear that you’ve got something that could cause death, your approach to that have to be, if that happens, well, I praise God because I’m going to be absent from the body present with the Lord. For me to live is Christ. For me to die is gain. Do you believe that? Do you believe that to die is gain for us? For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. So how can I fear facing gain? And so when we’re prepared for death, we’re prepared for life. And until we’re prepared for death, we are not prepared for life. And so that’s all a part of standing firm. It’s all a part of bringing the good news about your faith and love. And that’s all this life is down here, guys. He says the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through what? Love. What is God looking for from you and me? Love. Love does not criticize one another. Love is kind to each other. Love is encouraging to one another. That’s why he says up here in verse 12 that I came to you encouraging and comforting and urging you to live a good life. See, not urging you to get involved in all the garbage of the world, telling everybody how much fun that would be, but to encourage people to know if you want to be blessed, you’re going to be blessed by living a good life. Amy and I were talking about that the other day that by the grace of God, and I have to say by the grace of God, that Amy grew up to survive. Her life was a life of survival, even up to the point when I met her when she was 20 years old. They lived to survive. They didn’t live for luxuries. They didn’t have any. They didn’t have money for anything. She never had roller skates. She never had a bicycle. She never had anything except clothes on her back that were given to her by goodwill or something. And so the issue is that she didn’t have time for foolishness in her head. She was living to survive. Now me, well, we don’t need to talk about that. You could just take the very opposite and you’ve got me. I didn’t live to survive. We lived for pleasure. We lived for fun and games and whatever else was around. And so the issue is that she lived a life that was pretty sheltered because of the circumstances that were there. Well, going through those circumstances, probably in her heart, she’d be saying that this is kind of tough, although they kind of accepted it. This is just the way it is. I think her mom’s expression, it has to be so. And so that’s how she grew up. And so met me when she was 20 years of age. I guess God wanted her to get some experience and to learn to walk by faith or whatever it was. But she’s lived a pretty, what you and I would call a decent life. It hadn’t been a big sinful life. She hadn’t been a drinker or a smoker or running around with men or anything else in her life. And she was talking the other day that, you know, maybe I should have had more experience. Maybe I should have had this. I said, honey, are you out of your mind? Praise God for the fact of the kind of life He gave you. I’ve got to praise Him for the life He gave me or let me have, and I’ll guarantee if I’m capable of doing that, you sure are. Because in the final analysis, When God looks at all of us, even though morally her life was certainly up here where mine was down here, from God’s standpoint, we’re all here, same level. And all of us were the same. And therefore, we do not have the ability to look upon people and say, oh, thank God I’m not a sinner like they are. You know, that’s what makes God sick. And one of the problems many times that you run into if you’ve led somewhat of a decent life is there’s a tendency for judgmental spirit and that’s where God begins to convict you on those kind of things. But what he’s going to do is neutralize all of us down to the same level of saying, there for the grace of God, go I. There for the grace of God, go I. See a guy out on a street, there for the grace of God, go I. See a person who’s An alcoholic, there for the grace of God, go I. Drug addict, there for the grace of God, go I. That’s when you understand, guys, that in God’s economy, none of us are pure in heart. None of us. And that’s why we’re able, hopefully, able to recognize the truth of that and to reach out with compassion to people rather than then in judgmental spirit to them when you i think of how easy it is to say things sometimes to people that you don’t mean how many have ever said done that said something to somebody you didn’t mean it at all but it was taken the wrong way how many of you is it oh okay all of us that’s good That happened to me the other day in a conversation we had with Richard. And I said something, and I was trying to make a point, but it’s kind of a stupid point, I guess. But I didn’t know it, but I really hurt his feelings. And so he called the next day and said he wanted to talk, and he sounded serious. And so I said, well, I wouldn’t plan on coming over, but I’ll come over. And so we came over, and he just opened up his mouth and told me how that hurt. And I just collapsed like a little pussycat. I felt bad all weekend because I’d said something to hurt somebody. I didn’t intend it at all, but it hurt him. And it really made me feel bad to think that you said something. You didn’t mean it, but you said something to hurt somebody. Now, if he had been mad, I’d have been mad. I mean, if he would approach me in anger on something, why, then I’m going to respond to him in anger. But when you’re sitting there and saying, hey, that hurt. Gee, if you hurt somebody, you want to put your arms around them and say, I’m sorry. Isn’t that truthful? So we can say things. We’ve had people there in the assembly that somebody said something to somebody and they got their nose out of joint and off they go. Well, I don’t know where they’re going to land, but wherever they land, somebody’s going to be in trouble where they land because that attitude is going to go with them. You can’t escape yourself by leaving here. You’ve got to go. And so the issue is that we need to look at these kind of things and to stand strong in our faith and to stand strong with the idea that we’re not here to criticize people, we’re not here to put people down, but to encourage one another. families that encourage one another become very, very strong families. Where ridicule is prevalent, it weakens you. And so if you want to help somebody and to be looked upon as a helper and encourager, then encourage one another. And God looks at those things and says, well done, good and faithful servant.
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Well, Paul goes ahead to say, How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day, we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. If there’s something that is lacking in your faith, we want to be there to help supply that. Now, may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. He’s asking God, clear the way so that I can come and visit these people that I love. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other. And for everyone else, just as ours does for you. Folks, he wasn’t talking to people that I’m sure in his own mind he perceived as perfect or always did the wonderful things or said the wonderful things or whatever it might be. But he talked about people that knew the Lord and he loved in Christ Jesus. May he strengthen your heart so that you’ll be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all of his holy ones. Now, guys, here is the beginning now of basically what this book is all about. These first three chapters, basically, where God’s encouraging people, it’s kind of a way and a means of dealing with people. where you’re going to encourage them. You’re going to talk about your love for them. You’re going to talk about their faith. You’re going to encourage them in those things that are encourageable. Do you understand that? A person might have eight bad points and two good points. He says, if you’re going to solve anything, deal with the two good points. And always find something good that you can say. And many times it’s said, if you can’t say something good about somebody, don’t say it. How many of you would like to live that way? That you never said anything bad about anybody? How many would like to live that way? How many do? Our tongues is our worst enemy, isn’t it? And we’ve got choices on that. I’ve got choices as to whether I’m going to say something to encourage somebody or something to maybe kind of show them who’s boss. You know what you’re talking about. But we always choose the wrong choices on those things. He says, if you can find something good, encourage them with that. If you find anything that’s good or worthy, concentrate on those things with people when you’re dealing with people. So these first three chapters, you’ve seen Paul following that truth and principle. I’m complimenting you on your faith. And now he’s going to deal with end times. He’s going to be dealing now with the fact that I want you to be in a situation of being holy and blameless in the sight of God when the Lord Jesus Christ comes with all of his holy ones. Now he’s talking about the return of Christ. And remember when we started this study, that the reason for the book was the fact that Paul had announced and talked about the coming of Christ. And the Thessalonians were saying, well, praise Jesus. So he’s coming back and he’s going to restore the world. And that’s right. Well, shoot, let’s sell our businesses, sit around on the hill and eat bonbons and praise Jesus. And he was saying to his, hold on a minute, guys. You don’t know when the Lord’s coming back. Go out and go to work. Go live your life. Don’t sit back waiting on the Lord to come back. That could be a part of your life, anticipation that the Lord is coming back. But you don’t know when he’s coming back. Well, of course, that was 2,000 years ago. So they’d have had a pretty long wait on the hill. But that’s what he’s saying is go out and live your life. That’s what we’ve talked about many times in end times teaching. People love it because you can kind of get away from having to live your life today. If I can sit around and be preoccupied with Jesus is coming back, I don’t have to think about how to get along with my wife today. But I sure know about Jesus coming back. Well, I think you have to know that, yes, there is the fact that Jesus is coming back. And there are end times. But in the meantime, I got a life to live right here. I got people to… Ask God to give me love for today. And we’ve got a life to lead. So he’s got to deal with this truth. And when we come back, we’ll be dealing with that next week. But remember this statement. Strengthen your heart so that you’ll be blameless and holy in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, again, presence, blameless and holy. Hebrews 10, 14. By that one offering… He made forever perfect in the sight of God all of those who are the holy ones. When he’s talking about so that you’ll be blameless and holy in the presence of our God, has he already made you blameless and holy in his presence? He’s already done that, hasn’t he? What does he want us to do with that information? If he said, I’ve made you holy and blameless in the sight of God, what does he want you to do? How does he want you to respond to that? Do we need to go around the tables and see? Come on, everybody. How does he want you to respond to that? Believe it. Isn’t that tough? Believe it and rest in it. So someone comes up to you and says, you call yourself blameless in the sight of God? That’s wrong. No, it isn’t. Didn’t deserve it. Didn’t earn it. It’s a gift. It’s called grace. Legalist comes in and says, no, you got to work for it. No, you got to do this. No, no, I’m sorry. It’s called grace. That’s what it means to stand tall, to stand firm in the grace of God that he’s given to us. Don’t be wavered by what people say or what you think or even what you think about yourself. Because if we all were just honest with ourselves and be honest with yourself, don’t have to let anybody else know what’s going on underneath the skin. Just you and God. How many of you would say that on a daily basis you can just stand there saying, Lord Jesus, aren’t you glad that I’m holy and blameless because of what I’m doing and what I’m thinking? I don’t think so. But you see, in spite of that, God says, I want you to stand firm in something that I have made you what you cannot make yourself. I’ve made you set apart and I’ve made you blameless in His sight. How did He make you blameless? The cross. Where there he who knew no sin… became sin for you and me how come so that we could become the righteousness of god in him i made you that way how do you make you holy by that one offering forever holy forever present forever perfect in the sight of god those he made holy set them apart and so he wants us to walk by faith in that truth so next week when we come back we’re going to be talking about The end times. And when we do, I think you’re going to hear some things that I don’t think you’ve maybe heard before. And maybe you have. But there’s a lot of teaching on end times that does not make sense to me. We’ll cover that next week. I do know something. You have to deal with what you do know. There’s one thing I know that it’s not even up for interpretation. Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God. How many of you know that passage of scripture? How many of you believe it’s true? Now, if it is true that flesh and blood is not going to inherit the kingdom of God, then I want to ask you how you think flesh and blood is going to leave here at the rapture and go into the presence of God. Have you ever thought that through? Are we together on that? How is this body going to go from here into the presence of God if flesh and blood is not going to inherit the kingdom of God? So, it ought to be an interesting study, don’t you think? And some of those questions are what we’re going to ask. And some of those questions I think we’re going to go through today. And we’re not going to do it dogmatically because, quite frankly, I don’t care one way or the other. If God wants to turn this into a vegetable and send it in there, that’s all right with me. But the issue is that what we want to do is to come down with some logic, some divine logic, as to whether or not what we’re being taught about at this end times is really the way it’s going to be or whether it isn’t. And then you can say, well, it really doesn’t make any difference one way or the other, but this is where I believe that I’m going in my mind. So next week we’ll start on that. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for us. Well, let’s pray together. Father, we want to thank you for the Lord Jesus, for his love for us, his life in us. Thank you for this word. My goodness, if we didn’t have the word of God in our hands, we wouldn’t know anything. But we do thank you that we have you, Jesus. Bless this group. This group of believers, people are growing to love you. Continue to work in their hearts, in our hearts, to love you more. To put aside our own ideas and quit trying to always be right. To realize that the only place in the world that we can claim to be right is when it pertains to you and the Word of God, not the opinions of man. So why do we argue so much over things that can’t be verified by you? Why are we so insistent upon being right instead of being loving? So Father, work on our hearts. Continue to grow us. Teach us to say no to unrighteous thoughts and actions. And to live a self-controlled, upright life. As we wait for the return of Christ Jesus our Lord. We pray these things in Christ’s name.
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And for his sake. Amen. 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.
