Radio Broadcast Monday 04/10/2023

Classic Christianity – The Book of John P28 (04-10-23)

What Must we do to do the Works God Requires?

~ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” ^{John 6:29}

“Well, did they get it? No, still didn’t get it. So they’re asking questions to kind of get back to where do you gotta give me some more food? But they say, Well, then, if this is the case, that you’re the one who gives us this eternal life that you’re talking about? What must we do? To do the work that God requires? What must we do? In order to please God? How many of you have ever asked that question? How many of you ever sat around saying what do I have to do to please God? I was in a meeting Friday with a group of men, they were saying the same thing, guys sitting around saying, what what do I have to do? It seems like I’m doing this, I’m doing this, but I still don’t know about pleasing God. What did Jesus say to that, folks? The work of God is this if you want to know what the work of God is, this is it. To believe in the one whom he sent. You’re gonna imagine folks, somebody sitting there saying, Lord, I don’t think you understood my question. Let me go over this again, what must we do to do the work that God requires? So now I understood your question quite well. And I’m telling you the answer to it. Believe in the one whom he has sent. Why? Because I am the way and I am the truth. And I am the Life and no man comes to the Father, except through me. That’s why the work that the Father requires is for you to believe in me. You see, we get in and say, What must I do to do the works of God. And when our churches say, Well, you need to get busy, gotta sickem for Jesus, you need to do this, and you need to be doing this. And so we’ve become a doodoo religion. And everything is doo doo.”

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Announcer 0:12
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.

Bob George 0:28
Well, let’s turn to the sixth chapter of a book of John, we’re going to pick up kind of where we left off last week. You remember that Jesus had just fed the 5000. And it says that the next day before I get into that he fed the 5000 on just a few loaves of bread, and on a couple of fish, and yet 5000 men were fed, that does not include the women or the children. And it said that they were baskets full leftover. Now this, my friends, in case we haven’t figured out is a miracle. And it is a huge miracle. But what was happening, it says, The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and the Jesus had not entered into that boat with His disciples. And you remember that after the feeding of the 5000, and the disciples going back to the other side of the shore, that was where the storm came up. And they were out about two and a half miles in the middle of the of the lake. And this storm came up, and it was evening. And all of a sudden, they see Jesus walking on water. And you remember that story. And we did. We got into that in some detail last week. And in the midst of that of walking on water, Peter decided that he ought to be able to do that as well and really stepped out of the boat and for a short season, walked on with water on his way to Jesus as he was focusing on Jesus. But he got his eyes off of his focus. And he got that onto the waves. And the minute he took his eyes off of Jesus and got it on to the circumstances of life, he sunk. But Jesus immediately picked him up and restored him.

So then the next day, this crowd was on the opposite end of the lake. And they had noticed that when the disciples left that there was only one boat and Jesus had not was not in that boat. And they had gone away alone. And then it says, Some boats from Tiberius landed near the place where the people eating all this bread, I’m sure that the news was spread with that many people are being fed, miraculously, that the news spread all over the place, and I imagine pretty rapidly. And so these people gathered there in the from Tiberius, and landed where this feeding frenzy took place. And and after the Lord had given thanks, and it said, once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into their boats, and they crossed over to Capernaum, in search of Jesus. Now, when they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? The truth is, they didn’t give a flip when he got there. What they were interested in is, do you have any more food for us? And Jesus identified that immediately. And folks, there are many times as we said, that people are coming to Jesus for what he can give you instead of coming to Jesus for who he is. And so he answered, I tell you the truth, you’re looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs. In other words, it’s almost like you negated the signs, the miracle of what happened. And all you were enthralled with is the fact that you ate loaves and had your fill. What you’re interested in is how you got your gut full. And you and in so doing, it’s I don’t care how you pull that off. That’s irrelevant. What I’m concerned about is I got my belly full. And I want more. Isn’t that the way it is? You get and you want more? Like someone asked Rockefeller one time, how much will it take for you to be happy? He said just a little bit more. And that’s the way we are in life. We gain a certain degree of success and immediately we’re looking for more success. We gain that and we’re looking for more than we gain that we’re looking for more. We’re never satisfied with what we have. We’re never grateful for what we have. We’re always looking for the more and that was precisely what was taking place here with these people. And Jesus nailed it.

As we’ve talked about so many times, guys, the law looks on the outside, Jesus came to get underneath our skin. And the reason for his ministry for three years, was not just to set an example of what grace is, but to show us what we are not. And he came to show us how we are underneath the skin. And that’s why he said the law deals as an example with the act of adultery. But I say unto you, if you look at a woman’s lust in your heart, you’ve already committed adultery. He’s looking under the skin, where we live, because we can all say I don’t do something on the outside. But he said, What do you think and on the inside, and that’s what we have to be concerned with, not just the outward act, but what’s going on down underneath the skin where we live. And folks, I don’t know about you, but if you can stand before God and your righteousness, knowing he is gonna gauge you or would gauge you by what you were thinking, How many of you would be anxious to go there? You see, we can stop the act. We can get that out. But God’s looking on our hearts. Man looks on the outside, God looks on this heart of ours. And he looks to see what’s going on. And folks, that is not bad news. That’s good news. Because the best news in the world for you and me is honest news. And until I can honestly see that in my flesh is no good thing. And I mean, come to grips with that, just like Paul did, wretched man that I am not good man that I am. At basically, I’m a good man. But saying the honest truth, that wretched man that I am in my flesh, wretched man that I am who will free me from this bondage of sin and death, and come back with a glorious proclamation. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, my Lord, He has set me free. And there is no condemnation awaiting me who belongs to Christ Jesus. Why? Because the law, the Spirit of Life has set me free from the law of sin and death. You have come to grips with truth that we needed help. That’s why Christ came to this earth. This is the whole meaning of this story in his sixth chapter of the book of John. It’s a phenomenal chapter. Of course, quite frankly, I made a chapter out of beginning in verse 25, where we are now because there’s a whole section here, that is the key to understanding who you are in Christ Jesus. And so he says, motives, what is your and my motive? Did we come to Christ to get healed? Did we come to Christ to get a miracle? Or did we come to Christ because He is able to perform the miracle. You see, Jesus is greater than the miracle. The sentence is greater than the word, the paragraphs greater than the sentence, the chapter is greater than a paragraph, and the book is greater than the paragraphs. And the library is bigger than the book. We have to understand the truth of this, my friends, that we look what Jesus did, but we don’t see he’s the one who did it. And God wants us to elevate our thinking beyond just what took place down here on a physical realm. And to look beyond that, to see the spiritual truth that brought it about. And that’s what this whole book is about. So he said, you’re looking for being not because you saw miraculous signs, you’re not even looking because you saw the miracle of this because you ate your down another step below the miracle. Don’t work for food, he said it spoils. But for food that endures to eternal life, he’s telling us guys, there’s two kinds of food. There’s physical food that’ll keep you and I alive. And in this case, he’s talking about bread and water. You can’t live without it. And you can live with them. And he’s talking about a spiritual food. And man in our minds can’t get our eyes or ears or our minds wrapped around the spiritual, we’re always thinking of the physical. So he says, Don’t work for food that spoils. But for food that endures, in other words, spiritual food, and it endures to eternal life. The kind of food I’m talking about, will enable you to endure to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you. Anybody can give you food, a restaurant can give you food. The store can give you food, the farmer can give you food, but only Christ can give you eternal life. On him, God, the Father has placed His seal of approval. And so he’s saying upon me, God, Jesus God, the Father has placed His approval.

Well, did they get it? No, still didn’t get it. So they’re asking questions to kind of get back to where do you gotta give me some more food? But they say, Well, then, if this is the case, that you’re the one who gives us this eternal life that you’re talking about? What must we do? To do the work that God requires? What must we do? In order to please God? How many of you have ever asked that question? How many of you ever sat around saying what do I have to do to please God? I was in a meeting Friday with a group of men, they were saying the same thing, guys sitting around saying, what what do I have to do? It seems like I’m doing this, I’m doing this, but I still don’t know about pleasing God. What did Jesus say to that, folks? The work of God is this if you want to know what the work of God is, this is it. To believe in the one whom he sent. You’re gonna imagine folks, somebody sitting there saying, Lord, I don’t think you understood my question. Let me go over this again, what must we do to do the work that God requires? So now I understood your question quite well. And I’m telling you the answer to it. Believe in the one whom he has sent. Why? Because I am the way and I am the truth. And I am the Life and no man comes to the Father, except through me. That’s why the work that the Father requires is for you to believe in me. You see, we get in and say, What must I do to do the works of God. And when our churches say, Well, you need to get busy, gotta sickem for Jesus, you need to do this, and you need to be doing this. And so we’ve become a doodoo religion. And everything is doo doo.

I can remember as if it was yesterday, of having the privilege a number of years ago when I was working in a church as evangelism director. And I can remember, on a Wednesday night, I shared my testimony one night, and there was an elderly gentleman there, who owned a series of men’s clothing stores. And so the pastor had asked him if he would come back on Sunday and acknowledge his decision for Christ. I had discipled him briefly prior to that time, but I remember coming there and seeing this man standing in front of me and the pastor’s at my side. And the pastor was saying to me, now, Bob, this is a phenomenal businessman. He owns clothing stores all over this city. And he knows how to get things done. Now you take him and you get him busy. And you get him working in the church, and all this and I can remember Max standing there with tears streaming down his eyes and looking up at Sam, Pastor, I don’t need a job. I need the Lord. And I want to tell you guys that day, my life was changed. That day was the day looking into the face of Max, that I made up my mind, there’s something more to this Christian life than being busy for Jesus. I don’t need a job. I need the Lord.

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Bob George 14:29
And so when you’re asking a question, what do you do for Jesus? The answer is believe him, trust in him. The very Jesus that gave his life for you is the very Jesus who gave his life to you. And the reason he gave his life to you was to live his life through you. That means that if I’m going to allow Jesus to live his life through me, I gotta get out of the way, don’t I? I got to get out of action and let him get an action on my behalf. I have to realize that if Jesus wants me to live a life of faith, and I’m gonna have to live like Jesus lived, where he said, I don’t do anything unless the Father tells me to do. And I don’t say anything unless the Father tells me to say it. And incidentally, as a father sent me, so send I you. That’s how you live your life just like a branch. How does a branch live his life? Abiding in the life of the vine. If a branch was asking the vine, what do you do, to do the work of the vine? He says, believe in me. Real simple, isn’t it. Abide in me, and I’ll produce the work in and through you, you’ll bear the fruit but you can’t produce it. But folks, you can’t do that, unless you’re indwelt by the one who produces it. That is the key Are you in dwelt by the one who produces the work because if you’re not, you got to produce it. There’s no option, you’re either going to produce it or ignore it. But if you’re indwelt, by the one who produces it, you can relax and be yourself. And quit trying to act like a Christian or a heathen, either one. And to relax and to let Jesus live his life and and through you, to be yourself. God gave you fingerprints that are unique to you, allow you to be you. And He will lead you into His path of righteousness, if you let him. Now, if you’re not trusted him, then you have no option except to be led by the flesh. But if you’re walking in the Spirit, we’re told you won’t fulfill the desires of the flesh. If you’re walking in the Spirit whose desires you gotta be fulfilling the desires of the Spirit. It’s not complicated. We’ve just made it complicated by trying to get in the way of Christ, who alone can live his life in and through us. So he said the work is this to believe in the one he has sent. And so they asked him, Well, what miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it? And believe you? What will you do? Now, guys, guess what these guys are getting that. They’re excited. They’re saying, I really got I’m just interested in what you’re saying. And I really want to know what miraculous sign that you’ll give to me so that I move to kind of like the feeding of the 5000. They’re still back to the food. They haven’t left the plate yet. They’re still back at the food. But they’re asking questions around it. Because they don’t want to just get and say, Lord, what I’m really interested, I came over here because I want fed. I don’t want to say that. So I’m gonna say all these other things we do that don’t we? And so if you’re saying what, what miraculous sign you’re going to give so that we may see it and believe you, what will you do? In other words, to show us that you’re really who you say you are. So they’re now going to explain their argument a little bit, our forefathers ate manna in the desert. As it’s written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth. It is not Moses, who has given you the bread from heaven. But it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. Now again, what’s he saying? There is physical bread. And there’s true bread. What’s gonna happen to the physical bread in due time? Going to rot. What’s gonna happen to the true bread? It’s gonna give you eternal life. Back again, he’s saying, there’s the physical. And there’s the spiritual. And I’m trying to teach you spiritual things using a physical illustration. You’re not getting it, but maybe one of these days you will. And so he’s saying Moses wasn’t the one who even fed you physically that was God doing that he just used Moses as a vehicle. But it’s my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. And who is that? Who is the true bread from heaven? Himself, Jesus. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven. And guys, if your mark your Bible, you can circle those things down. You’ll see him coming down from heaven. Jesus didn’t start here. He started up there. Jesus was eternal before all things existed was God with Jesus. He was always there. And so in the plan of God, He sent the Son to this earth and that’s what he is saying to us is the bread is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Now, guys, again, why does the world need life? Because we’re dead, you don’t give life to someone who’s alive, do you? You give life to someone who is dead. Now again, that should tell us something about our condition, to the very people, he was talking to them, as well as people that he’s talking to today. That if you are in this world, you are alive physically, but until you accept the life that was sent down from heaven, that’s Christ, you are dead, spiritually, alive, physically, dead spiritually. For the bread of God, is he in other words, the bread of God is me, Jesus, who came down from heaven. And I give life to the world. Sir they said, From now, give us this bread. I don’t I still think they get it. Whatever this bread is that you got Give, give me some of it. I don’t care where it’s a bagel or what it just give me some of it.

Jesus declared, I am one of the seven great I am, I am the bread of life. I am your sustenance. I am the one that you can live on. And he who comes to me will never, ever, ever, ever grow hungry. You can eat bread. And in a few hours, you’re hungry again. When you feed upon me, you’ll never be hungry again. Every desire of your heart will be satisfied, in Me. Is that true guys? Is that true in your own life? I look for things on my life. And I’m always looking for something, aren’t you? Always looking for something. Something’s missing. Then when you come to Jesus, you found what you were looking for. And when you found what you’re looking for, you’re not out looking anymore. They’re not there to look for. You see, people are seeking the Holy Spirit. there isn’t anything to seek in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God already looks in you lives in you. And if somebody lives in you, what are you seeking him for? We’re not seeking the Father. Jesus said, I am the Father of one. If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father, what are you seeking the Father, for? If you have me, you have the Father. Well, I’m seeking an experience just like they were. Give me some more bread. He said you wouldn’t believe me. Even if someone came from the dead. And you don’t believe Moses, either. If you believe Moses, you would believe me because he wrote about me. And so the whole issue is that Jesus is our life. He’s identified as the bread of life, I’m your sustenance and he who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me, will never be thirsty. And folks, it isn’t the case, you can seek a deeper relationship with Christ. But you’re not going to seek it through another entity. I’m not going to get a deeper relationship with Christ by seeking the Holy Spirit or by seeking the Father or by seeking an experience. I’m going to get a deeper relationship with God by seeking Jesus to get and what do you mean seeking Him getting to know him, I don’t need to look for him. He’s here. He lives in my heart. And he’s given me his word. So everything that I need to grow in my knowledge of Christ, Jesus is in my heart, in my eyes and my ears in the book that he gave to us. So there anything to seek. Just begin to access what he’s already given you. But as I told you, you have seen me, he says, and still you don’t believe. I’ve told you that I am the sustenance of your life, that I am the bread of your life, I am the water of your life. And if you come to me, you’ll never be thirsty or hungry again. But then he says, as I told you, you’ve seen me and still you don’t believe. People are standing looking into the face of God Himself. And did not believe.

So I said, Blessed are those that have not seen that believe. How could you be looking into the face of Jesus? How could you see the miracles that this man has done and turn your back on it? Well, I guess the same way that you could I can take you out to a location and show you the most magnificent sight and one of them in the entire world. One of the most magnificent sights you’ll ever see in your life and you’ll never see it. Go to the Grand Canyon one of the most beautiful sight you’ll ever see in your life, and you’ll never see it. How? Just turn your back on it. That’s all you have to do is turn your back on. And you’ll never see one of the most magnificent sights you’d ever see in your life. Just turn your back on. And it’s the same thing with Jesus. All you have to do not to see Jesus, just turn your back on it.

Now, folks, we’re going to deal with some things here. Remember, God gives grace to who? The humble, but he resists who? The proud. What does the proud do? Turn your back. Why? Because Jesus came to give us what? Grace and Truth. The prides prideful, says, I don’t need your grace, and I’ll figure it out myself. I don’t need truth. As a matter of fact, don’t you understand I’m educated, I don’t deal in absolutes I deal in relativity? There are no absolutes. And for that I’m absolutely sure. I deal in relative things. I’m broad minded. I’m tolerant. I believe in many ways to God. I believe in all kinds of things. I don’t need your truth Jesus, your narrow minded, you’re bigoted. I don’t need your truth. You’re dogmatic. I hate dogmatic people. I wish that I could balance my checkbook with two plus two equal five and been able to do that, but wish I could. It’s too dogmatic. I don’t like those things. I like relative things. That’s more intellectual. Hit me in the face with truth and say, Well, maybe, maybe. How much evidence do you need?

Thank you so much for tuning in to Classic Christianity, with Bob George. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We truly hope that today’s message has inspired you to walk a life of faith in the Lord, find more information online at shop.BobGeorge.net. There you’ll also find available CDs, DVDs, and bible studies available for purchase. It’s through your help that we are able to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.