Radio Broadcast Monday 09/18/2023

Classic Christianity – Book of Hebrews P09 (09-18-23)

There Aren’t Any Big Deals, There’s Just a Big God

~ Pride is a factor that can easily be exploited in any one of us. Pride lives in our flesh. Pride says, “I want to be number one.” It’s the same thing that is coveting. In fact, it’s the one sin that is hardly ever mentioned by any pastors and teachers today. And the reason is, because we all covet. And those who are in Christ Jesus can see it rear its ugly head in themselves and it is quite obvious in others. The self righteous people proudly say, “I’ve repented of all my sins.” No they haven’t. They haven’t repented of the sin of lying or coveting. No one has ever repented of all of their sins. And those that think they have, are proud of their acting like they have. For it puffs them up. “Look how good I am God. Look at me, I don’t do this or I don’t do that.” These people are only fooling themselves. They are lying to themselves and others. They are not walking in Truth. They think they can be just like God. And they are so proud of their efforts too. You just want to gag when you see people like this. They are hypocrites to the core, and Satan strokes that pride with the things of the world. They are given a little piece of paper that says they graduated from XYZ university. They think they are so smart and wise. They love to introduce themselves as some big deal doctor, or lawyer, or even an author. They put their title on the front of their cards, and they are so proud of it too.

God doesn’t care what little piece of paper you have been given by the world. For the wisdom of the world is foolishness in His sight. Only the wisdom of Christ Jesus will do. And only those who are in Christ, have the wisdom of God living in them. And to have the Wisdom of God, you must be born again of the Holy Spirit of God. Nothing else will do.

~ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. ^{1 Corinthians 3:18-23}

~ How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!

You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”

But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit. ^{Isaiah 14:12-15}

—–

~ “Well, he said because of that pride and that desire for coveting and pride. He said, I threw you to the earth and made a spectacle of you know, that’s what normally happens to people when they get off on that. God just takes them and pitches them out there and says, Okay, I’ll make a spectacle out of you. Do you think you’re smarter than God? You think I’d go out there and give it a wack, will let you see how smart you are. And as exactly what happens to people when we get smarter than we think we are. Well, that’s the picture there. This is Lucifer. Now what happened to him? Well, when that pride set in, he was cast out of heaven down to this earth. And it says he was there in the garden. Now back to Isaiah 14. You have fallen from heaven. This is 14:12 you have fallen from heaven oh Morningstar, son of the dawn. That’s it again is Lucifer you need some time. Look at up Isaiah. Again, if you’re in the NIV it’s around on 950 Isaiah 14:12. Okay. You have been cast down to earth who wants laid low the nation’s you said in your heart now look at this attitude. I will ascend to heaven. In other words I want to get up there. I’m gonna do that. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit in throned on the mount of the assembly. On the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. Folks, do you see yourself in these things? Boy I do I remember, I remember all of my business career, and I wasn’t a Christian.” ~ Bob George

Bible Study Booklets

Join Bob George in this chapter by chapter exposition of the book of Hebrews. Available for download the complete series on the Book of Hebrews. The Book of Hebrews is key to understanding the New Covenant.

Purchase Online at Shop.BobGeorge.net

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 0:29
And what happens to there is it says your heart became proud. And that’s the beginning is our hearts become proud. On account of our beauty or on account of our position or we can walk around as Christians feeling cocky and arrogant and prideful. It says you’re corrupted you’re and you corrupted your wisdom. You and I have been given wisdom from God God is our wisdom is that true or not? It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for you what? Your wisdom. If anyone needs wisdom, let him ask freely given to him. We have been given the ability by the Holy Spirit of God living in us to understand the wisdom of God the truth of God and let that truth set us free. And what do we do with it? Corrupt it. That’s all sin is is a perversion of good God gave us all things, what do we do corrupt it with our corrupt mind and our own pride and our own ego? I believe there is a sin back behind pride. And if you look at the heart of Satan, you’ll see that, it’s called coveting. It is an interesting thing, is that not, that that one sin that the apostle Paul mentioned when he went through his Roman seven experience? Was coveting. It happens to be the one sin. I think I mentioned before that they took a survey among all the Catholic priests of the country, and said, What is the one sin no one ever mentioned? Guess what it was? Coveting. What is coveting? Wanting something that someone else has. Wanting something that doesn’t belong to me, I want it. I want your country doesn’t belong to me. I want it I want your oil wells. Don’t blame me. I want them. I want your wife didn’t belong to me. I want her. I want your money. I want your business. That’s what competition and we glory at the feet of competition say competition is good for you. Where do you find that in the Bible? God didn’t call us to compete with one another. He said get up and work as unto the Lord and leave the results to God that eliminates got competitive spirit. Competition, coveting means I want something. I want to be where he is. Do you see that? And Christianity? Oh, sure. Oh, sure. See it in ministries? Oh, sure. Absolutely. I want his position. I want to be up there talking. I don’t know what for. I want to serve, I want to be served. I don’t want him to run it. I want to run it. Covetousness brings about pride that even caused Satan to fall, the number one angel, the one who was full of splendor given by God and we become corrupted with our own wisdom. My friends, we can take the wisdom of God that is given to us and corrupt it if we want to if our pride gets in.

Well, he said because of that pride and that desire for coveting and pride. He said, I threw you to the earth and made a spectacle of you know, that’s what normally happens to people when they get off on that. God just takes them and pitches them out there and says, Okay, I’ll make a spectacle out of you. Do you think you’re smarter than God? You think I’d go out there and give it a wack, will let you see how smart you are. And as exactly what happens to people when we get smarter than we think we are. Well, that’s the picture there. This is Lucifer. Now what happened to him? Well, when that pride set in, he was cast out of heaven down to this earth. And it says he was there in the garden. Now back to Isaiah 14. You have fallen from heaven. This is 14:12 you have fallen from heaven oh Morningstar, son of the dawn. That’s it again is Lucifer you need some time. Look at up Isaiah. Again, if you’re in the NIV it’s around on 950 Isaiah 14:12. Okay. You have been cast down to earth who wants laid low the nation’s you said in your heart now look at this attitude. I will ascend to heaven. In other words I want to get up there. I’m gonna do that. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit in throned on the mount of the assembly. On the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. Folks, do you see yourself in these things? Boy I do I remember, I remember all of my business career, and I wasn’t a Christian. But I noticed the unbelievable pride and coveting that was in me was unbelievable. I never realized it. I didn’t know that’s what it was I I thought it was healthy competition and an ambition see, and those things were rewarded and admired. Boy, that guy’s ambitious, competitive. Well, what does that mean? What you’re willing to rip anybody’s throat in order to get what you want. That’s what it meant, and that’s all it man, absolutely care, nothing for the welfare of somebody else, just boy blast away. It’s what I want ambitious. I can remember being in companies in the company that I was in the corporation that I was in. And I was moving up. But it wasn’t fast enough for me. And I can remember being with my district manager in Kansas City, and I will I couldn’t stand him. And he sure wasn’t as sharp as me. And, and just going home with knots in my stomach. How could they keep somebody like? that I’ll never forget. And this was with a corporation, it had nothing to do believe me with Christians at all. It’s a corporation. And I can remember one time saying to the Vice President of this corporation, and incidentally, they were coming and they were priming me for some big things, but they weren’t moving fast enough. And I had I wonderful me had to sit and work for this ding bat that you put into district manager to be my boss. And I remember talking to them one time and saying, how do you keep a man like that around? The wholesalers don’t like him. The dealers don’t like him know, the salesman like he nobody likes him. How do you keep someone like that around? I’ll tell you what this Chris this Corporation said nothing to do with Christian said, Bob, I’m gonna tell you something. We put that man at a position 20 years ago. And if you think we’re going to turn him out to pasture by a mistake that we made 20 years ago concerning him. You’re crazy than a hoot owl, he’ll retire with us. We’re not going to put him out to pasture. So I very sympathetically said, Okay, I’ll quit. And I did. And I got rid of my company car and all the insurance and all the security that I had. And I went out and I bought me an old secondhand Cadillac, it looked good, because I was gonna be a big deal. And off, I drove on my way to California to become rich and famous. Then that dumb car breaks down. And we went through some real rough times because of pride. And arrogance. Well did it end there? No, it didn’t end there. I got to California, and I can remember working for another guy. And when I was in the wholesaling business, they’re and a sales manager, this place and, and I can remember thinking, Oh, Bernie’s the dumbest guy ever on the face of the earth, how can that guy survive had been for his dad having his business he shouldn’t have me doing it. You know, I really know how to run this thing. Now as a sales manager. And I did know a lot about sales. And I knew a lot about marketing. I knew how to motivate salesmen. I knew how to get orders and all that type of thing. That’s a far cry from running a business folks. But I thought I was smart and smarter than him smarter than anybody. And so he wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted him to either. And so my coveting. What did I want? I wanted I covenant I wanted to be in his shoes. I wanted to be running the show. I wanted to be calling the shots. I wanted to be making the decisions. That’s what I want. It didn’t belong to me, but I wanted it anyway. It didn’t make a difference that he owned it I wanted. Now is that what coveting is? So he wasn’t moving fast enough and I got the opportunity to get my own business. Oh boy, here it is. I got it. Now I’m gonna be calling the shots. Man, I tell you I went in that business for 30 days and I said that Bernie was a smart dude. I didn’t know you had to think about cash flow and and and credit and getting in money and money turn over and inventory control and all that all I was concerned with was sales. Now I know why he told me not to buy all that stuff now I knew why all of these other things that guy was smart. So when I was sitting there wallowing in my own stupid pride and ego I thought I was smarter than anyone.

Folks until you walked in the shoes of a person don’t criticize the person, until you walked in the shoes. Don’t try to run the ministry. Because you don’t know anything about it. It’s like people getting down saying the vice president united states I do this not you don’t know what you do if you’re president united states, my lord Kenny, run your home, let alone the country. With pride ego, do you have all the input that the President has? No than what are we out there telling everybody what I’d be doing happy with some time? Well, if I was doing that, Bob, I do it this way? Well, you’re not doing it. You don’t know all the things I know. You don’t have the input that I know. Nor the experience. You don’t know why we do what we do. There’s a lot of things that are involved in it. Sometimes mistakes are made and sometimes they’re not. But God’s bigger than those thank God. Isn’t that true? Pride ego gets in with us. Because I know more than anybody. If I was doing it here’s how I do it. Oh, go do it. See how you like it? I don’t know why anybody ever want to be president United States? I think you have to be a little deranged even what that? I mean to think of the responsibility of that and why we want things that we don’t have. I don’t know what we do don’t want.

Click to Donate to Bob George Ministries

If you’re enjoying the Book of Hebrews, check out our website, Shop.BobGeorge.net. There, you’ll find a whole collection of messages from the book of Hebrews, as well as other DVDs, CDs and Bible studies available for purchase. That’s Shop.BobGeorge.net. Let’s join Bob. Now as he continues the radio program.

Bob George 13:25
And that’s what he was, brother, I want to rise above the stars. I want to sit on this mount this throne to the assembly. I want to ascend above the top of the clouds and I want to make myself like the Most High, I want to be the boss, I want to be this I want to be tbat. What’s the problem in this whole deal here? Can you circle where the problem is? What is it? Why the big “I”? Well, of course, Romans seven the things Paul says, I don’t understand what I do the things I want to do. Well, things I want to do when I want what’s the big problem? I I get letters sometimes from people. And when I just circle all the I’s circle, just full of them and then send the letter back and say circled are your problems. Here’s your problem. Problem has been circled. That’s true. That’s the problem. I will make myself like the Most High but you’re brought down to the grave to the depth of the pit. Now I will tell you folks, that’s what happens to us when we get too big for our boots why God says you want all this okay, go do it and see what happens. And brother I’m sure it’s had experience and seeing what happens. It’s hard out there. It’s hard out there and when that fall comes, it’s hard. It says those who see at you stare at you and they ponder at your fate. They look at you like what in the world you think you’re doing? Is this the man who should The Earth made the kingdom scramble, the man who made the world and desert new overthrew its cities who would not lead his captives or not let his captors go home. It was on and on to say what’s going to happen there. But this angel, perfect angel Lucifer, the Morningstar, through his pride and his coveting, fell, wasn’t satisfied to be serving the God to be in the presence of God, to be the number one angel to God. He had to be number one. What is their about us? We got to be number one?

I remember not too long ago, we were at a conference and and had to spend some days in between two back to back life in Christ seminars, and we were over in a resort area. And the number two ice skater in the country who had just won number two in the Olympics, was there skating. Debbie, some of you know, Debbie, and skating, the most miserable human being I’ve ever met in my life, we talked to her. And her whole deal was, I didn’t get number one. In other words, her whole life totally ruined because she was not. Number one. Wouldn’t you think that being the second best ice skater in the world would be pretty good? I mean, you’d think I’d make you happy, wouldn’t you mean, even to be in the top 10 would make it pretty happy to say, I achieved as one of the top 10 best in the world. No, I would be number one. And we get that way, don’t we? I want to be number one. Not happy as number two, not happy? And number three, I want to be number one, I want to be exalted, above all things. What is that about us? Pride. Isn’t it? Coveting desiring to be number one, it’s competitive spirit. That easy to happen? Sure. It is really easy to happen to who? All of us, folks, if it happened to you, Lucifer, the number one angel who did not have indwelling sin in him. What do you think can happen to you and me, who have indwelling sin is us? So we can come to Christ and realize who we are and him and glory in that and still be subjected to this bendable pride that gets into us. That says, I want to be number one. You see what happens to us in competitiveness my friends. It’s it’s like we do in our Christian life. We go to the high jump bar, and we put it up to three feet and we jump over it. What do we say praise God don’t need to do that anymore. What do we do? Well raise the bar. And then we put up the four feet. And we get over that. And what do we do to say Praise God, that’s great. That’s better. And most people do. No, raise it again. And we raise it again, and we raise it again. And we raise it again until some day, you get that bar to the point where you cannot get over it. And the minute you hit that point where you can’t get over the bar, what do you say about yourself? Same thing, Debbie, Woe is me. total failure. Good and do it. Folks, do you realize how many records why they have record books that are that thick is because records what? Get broken and broken and broken and broken? You can set all kinds of records today that’ll be shot down tomorrow. What price glory is that? Work all your life to be number one, and then next year be number two again. So that competitive spirit that gets into us, will devastate us if we let it.

People say and I’m just throwing out examples, that examples on our book doing quite well as far as the markets concerned. They will How many books do you want to sell? I don’t care. I didn’t care when I wrote it. If you feel God wants you to write something, write it and leave the results to God. Sell five copies 5000 copies 500,000 copies so what. If it weren’t for the fact that that is a message getting out into people’s hearts I wouldn’t give a flip if we sold five copies. There’s no glory in being a author. People walk around time I’m an author. Gag. Yet we desire that recognition go out to the Christian booksellers convention you see people out there scrambling to try to be number one. For what? We think we’re a big deal you’re only a big deal and a little small of influence that you aren’t we think we’re smart. What are you smart in? People say sometimes that guy’s smart. Say what in? Sure isn’t smart in everything can be a brilliant doctor and does a cluck law. Or vice versa. You can be a brilliant scientist know nothing about God, How smart are you? So we all just have our own little realm and this world that we live we, we get up and and whatever talents God has given you get up in the morning and work as unto the Lord and leave the results to God. What’s the results gonna be? I don’t know. I don’t care. That’s God’s business. That’s what Jesus said live one day at a time. Christ didn’t even care how many possessions he had he died, the only thing he had was a cloak. And they gambled for that, they even wanted that coveting at the cross. Right there at the cross was coveting again, gambling for his coat. What he’s saying to us is that pride, and that coveting spirit that was in Satan, is still present and can get into any one of us. It’s the one thing my friends that you and I have to protect ourselves against all things, is pride.

Let’s turn back to Job. The 38th chapter. Where the Lord was speaking to Job about this very thing. For we get to thinking we’re really something. We finished off there in verse seven, just let’s go down to verse eight. And we’ll see how God dealt with this thing called pride, who shut up the seas behind doors. And when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it, and set the doors and bars in place. When I said this far, you may come and no farther. He’s talking about the ocean. Here’s where you’re proud waves halt. Who said that? Where were you, man when I did that? Where were you when I made the ocean and told them when to stop and when to go back? Were you there? Did you Did I consult with you to find out? That’d be okay to do that? I don’t think so. Have you ever given orders to the morning, rise sun or shown the dawn its place? That it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it. The Earth takes shape like clay under a seal. And it features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied they’re light, and they’re up and they’re up raised arm was broken. If you journey to the springs of the sea or walk the recesses of the deep you ever done that? You ever walked on the bottom of the ocean? Have the gates of death been shown to you? In other words, have you walked into the presence and seeing the gates of death? I don’t think so. Have you ever seen the gates of the shadow of death if you comprehended the vast expanse of the earth tell me, if you know all this. What is the way to the abode of light? How do you get there? And where does the darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know where you are already born. You’ve lived so many years. It’s unbelievable, you talked about sarcasm brother. Have you entered the store houses of the snow? Or seeing the store houses of the hail? Have you seen where I store all that up, you ever gone in there into the snow storehouse? Or the hailstorm house? Have you gone in there and observed them which I reserved for times of trouble for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed? Or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Where do you go to find the source of those things? Who cuts the channel for the torrents of rain and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no man lives a desert with no one in it? To satisfy desolate wasteland and to make it sprout with grass? Does the rain have a father? Who father’s the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? When the waters become hard as stone when the surface of the deep is frozen? Can you bind the beautiful, loose the chords of the orine? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons? Or lead out the bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the Heaven? Can you set up God’s dominion over this earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you here we are? Who endowed the heart with wisdom? Or gave understanding to the mind? Who did that? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over water jars of the heavens? And when the dust becomes hard and the clouds of the earth stick together? Do you have to pray for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions? When they crouch in their dance or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven? When it’s young cry out to God and wonder about for lack of food? Said what in the world? Do we as man have to get pride pride on what is there in this earth that we want to possess that is that important, in light of eternity?

Announcer
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 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 in praise the Lord. Amen.