Radio Broadcast Tuesday 04/12/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ P14 (04-12-22)

In Christ You Are a Saint!!!

Just like a person’s physical growth is based on proper diet and exercise, so is the Christian’s spiritual growth dependent on regular feeding upon the word of God and application of its principles. With more false teaching shifting opinions in general, confusion in the world than ever before Christian’s need a solid foundation upon which to base their beliefs, and build their lives. The word of God declares that Jesus Christ is that foundation of Truth with that in mind, let’s now take “A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ.”

Join Bob George now as he continues teaching out the Bible study booklet, A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ. Order your copy today from our online store at Shop.BobGeorge.net .

Well, the caterpillar kind of sits there and crawls around a little bit. And says, you know, my there’s something missing in my life because if I was made with a capacity to be something different than I am, then it’s probably because I haven’t yet, become what I’m supposed to, is why this emptiness inside of me. Why this longing is there, this feeling that something’s missing all the time. I crawl around I do what worms do, but there’s something missing here. You say, why would I sense that there was something missing unless I had been made by God in such a way whereby, there was available to me, something new, something different than, in other words, I was born with a capacity to be something different than what I am. And I’m aware that I don’t know what that is, but I know there’s something missing and maybe, what this God is talking about is true that what I’m missing is, I’m not what I was created to be. I’m almost there but I’m not. I haven’t reached this potential, this capacity as to what I was made to be and I don’t really like my life that much, something missing.

And so I call God back and say, God I’ve listened to your proposal and I want to be a butterfly. He says, are you sure he said? Yes, I am. I am tired of me. I know there’s more to life than what I’m experiencing and I want to be made into a new creation. And God immediately weaves a cocoon around that caterpillar and in that cocoon of some kind of a marvelous process of metamorphosis takes place. And when this process is complete, all of a sudden this gorgeous beautiful butterfly emerges. And that butterfly is called a new creature. A new creation. It will never be a caterpillar again. It’s a brand new creation and that’s a miracle. And anyone who’s ever watched that process of a caterpillar, you sit there and Marvel. That’s a miracle. Now folks to me. That was a total visual aid that God gave to us to explain. Lane. Spiritual birth is all about. Because you see folks. It’s just like I said, there are all types of Flesh in the world. You got horses. You got dogs, have cats, you got pigs. You got all kinds of things. They cannot be metamorphosized. They, they are. In other words. They’re not in a process of saying gee, there’s more, there’s something missing. I was made with a capacity to be something besides a horse. I was made with a capacity to be something different than a dog, they’re not sitting around contemplating that because they weren’t made to be anything except what they are. But this old caterpillar was created by God, built into it, with a capacity to be something else besides a caterpillar.

Right now, folks, we are identically the same way when God made this thing called man, man is created by God with a total knowledge inside that there is a capacity to be something different than what I am that. There’s something incomplete about me, and folks, that’s why we’re striving all the time. That’s what we’re looking for. There’s something missing. I need something more. I need love. So we go out and become promiscuous. I need acceptance. So we’ll go out and absolutely kill to get acceptance. And will run from one place to another to another to the business world to the church world, to the bars wherever it might be to get acceptance. I want acceptance. I want to, I want to be loved. We’ll have animals and our backyard that mess the place up, and ruin your lawn. Everything else? Just because at least you can get an animal to accept you. And I can remember a question that was asked to be, one time shortly after I became a Christian, but it was asked, what was your center of worth as a kid? And I said to her, I thought you said he was my dog, rusty. Rusty was my center of worth. That my dog is an Irish Setter. And to this day, when I go back to New Castle in Indiana, but people that know me, they say, I always remember you with Rusty. That was, that was my friend. He used to knock the door down at the house at 3:30 in the afternoon, to get out to meet me at school and we were together all the time. He was my center of want. I looked to him for the acceptance that I was looking for in life. And that was the closest thing I found, except it was with my dog. People don’t accept you that way. It’s about as good as you can get here on this Earth. You can kick them. You can do anything you want to, just keep coming back and licking you. But that’s the craving, there’s something missing inside and I’m in my own particular life.

When I got out of school while I was in school, I wanted acceptance. Well, who do I want acceptance from? Well my peers. Well, what were they doing? Well, by the time of my second year of college, they were all going out into the woods and having parties and drinking beer and quite frankly, I never drank till I was a sophomore in college. I didn’t want to drink it. No, but I never had any restrictions on that in high school. I was playing sports. I wasn’t going to mess my body with that stuff. But you see I got acceptance through being good in sports. It’s so that need was being met, in those years by what I was doing, what I was doing and then you get to school and you know, you can be a high school hero one day and be a jerk the next. When you get to college they don’t know, they don’t know who you are. So here’s this hero, you know, that is high school here, a little dinky town I came from one, hard to be one of those. All of a sudden here you are down at this great big university and nobody knows you. So, where is this acceptance going to come from? So you look for it in another way and all my buddies were out doing that. So that was the way I got accepted. To the next thing I know I was sucked into that type of lifestyle and then you get out into the business world, well how you going to be accepted? Be successful. And so, you knock yourself out at any expense in order to find success, say, why? Because there’s something missing down inside of you. There’s something, and Satan keeps telling you, this is it, this is it, this is it and I will tell you, none of those things are it.

We were talking about as you go through life and then you get married. Maybe that, maybe that will do it. And in your courting period of time why you do kind of accept each other unconditionally, you know, after all, you’re headed towards something, you know, you don’t sit around and tell your wife that you snore and, you know, and all that kind of stuff. So I, you know, there’s only so but at any rate, you know, so you so you kind of experience a little bit of that, you know, and so you think boy, there’s just going to do it. Then you get married and then you can’t hide all of those things. So all of a sudden you still don’t have what you’re looking for.

And again, then you go to business, trying to find it there. And boy, that’s a trap because it always looks like it’s out there again. If I could just get this amount of money, would I be happy. But I remember when I got out of college, I thought if I could ever make twelve thousand dollars a year. I tell you I’d be in hog heaven and I can remember the day. I hit that I immediately was shooting for 24. The day I hit 24, as shootin for 48, it just never stops and someone asked Rockefeller one time how much money will it take to make you happy? Say just a little bit more and that’s the way the life is, is it’s just a little bit more. Just a little bit more and so you’re constantly out there looking and seeking for something and then of course, religion is presented to you. So you go to church and think well, maybe this will get it and you can get some goosebumps during the songs and maybe even get something through a message. If it’s a good one, and you think that’s going to do, it’s in so you say satisfy for church. In other words, it doesn’t make a difference who the object, what the object, of the church’s worship is, let’s just worship the church. See we’ll worship business? We worship family. All of those things become a subtle object of worship in an essence, in other words, if I worship this thing, this is what I’m looking to for my, for my meaning and purpose to life and that doesn’t do it.

Well, why is this constant seeking taking place folks? Why is man always looking for something else? Why? It’s because we were made that way. We were made in such a way, whereby God living in the man, is indispensable to the true humanity of the man. Just like the caterpillar was made to become a butterfly, given that capacity, he’ll never experience fulfillment until he reaches his ultimate capacity, and that is to become a butterfly. Man will never find meaning and purpose to life until he reaches his ultimate capacity that God created him to reach. And that is to be and dwelt by the Living God. So until man is in dwelt by his creator, the creation and in dwelt by the Creator, he will spend the rest of his life, looking for something having not a clue, what he’s looking for. When the fact of the matter is, what he’s looking for is to become complete to become what God had intended him to become. But you see the world blinds us to that truth and keeps saying this will do it. You see we keep looking living on this human plane, this will do it. And so we look for that fulfillment. The only place we have to look for is the world. What’s the world? People, places and things. And so we look forward and travel, we look for it in places. If I could just live here, boy, that would do it. I’ve had people say, if I could just move to this place. I would be happy. I say, no, all you’d be doing is moving. Even a miserable person out of this miserable place into a nice place. Now, you got a miserable person living in a nice place. Like I said, the most mysterious thing I ever saw in my life were grumpy Hawaiians. I can’t believe, how could I were a Hawaiian be grumpy? Well, because they’d be grumpy if he lived in Texas. It wouldn’t make any difference. A grump is a gruff. So, if I move, unfortunately, I’ve got to take me with me and if I’m miserable here, I’m going to be miserable there.

But we don’t understand that the world is so deceptive. It is. It is so full of trickery. We live with these lures of the world. Constantly dragging people over here. It’s over here. It’s over here. Here. And the problem is, I haven’t become complete. I was made not just to be born from Mom and Dad. That’s what the humanity of me, but I was made to be recreated, you see, and until we come to grips with that and until we come into a relationship with our God, we will spend the rest of our lives living in search.

So if sitting out there today with an emptiness inside. I’m not talking about, with a lifestyle that may be a little again inconsistent with who you are or a lot inconsistent. Not talking about that. I’m talking about, are you empty? Is there this feeling, something’s wrong? Something’s not complete? Something is missing? Folks that to me, is the greatest awareness that we can have, that maybe the reason I feel something is missing is because something is missing and if it is missing, it is the Spirit of God living in you that God wants you to come to a point in your life of stopping the search. And realizing that what you’ve been looking for all of your life is Christ. It’s to be reunited with your creator in order to become a new creation. You’re already born. Now. I want to be recreated.

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You’re already a caterpillar, you’re already born. You’re already moving. You already have a life. But something’s missing. I haven’t reached my capacity. And the capacity of what God made you to be. And reaching out to Him, folks is as simple as recognizing the fact that God by His Holy Spirit is continually going through the world to every man and woman boy and girl, on the face of this worthy saying, I am your life. I want you, been looking for, I am your creator. I created all of this and I created you, man, in such a way, whereby, you have the capacity to be born again to be made into a new creation. I made you that way, I didn’t make a horse that way, I made you that way.

And for the rest of your life, you will be searching for that capacity that I haven’t reached my potential. Have you ever heard that word? Well, I want to tell you. Why are you trying to reach your potential, when what that means is I am physically ole Bob George capable of much more than what I than what I’m doing. Well, okay, then go get to be the best and see how long that lasts. Go get to be the number one ice skater in the world and see how long you last as one of those. Go be the number one ball player in the world and see how long you will be number one. So, I’ve reached my capacity. You say, great for how long, because it’s going to fade. I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. That’s great. Just wait, five years and you see, so in other words, all of that is just temporary. It’s all temporary stuff, but you see, that’s why we’re trying to always reach my capacity, reach my capabilities. All that is, is a person saying, I haven’t been made complete. Because if I am in Christ, I am complete. I don’t need to strive anymore to reach my potential. I’ve already reached it. I’m a child of the living God. Now how are you gonna improve on that? And then you say, how long is that going to be until I get ugly? I always say, you’re already ugly actually. Until I get to be a better athlete? No. Until I get to be smarter, get better educated? No. Well until I get what, look forget about getting. You’ve already got.

You’re a child of the Living God. And as a child of the Living God, He has made you complete. You are a man in dwelt by your Creator and you are now complete and Jesus put it this way, that anyone who thirst let him come unto Me and when he drinks of Me, he will never thirst again. If you’re hungry come unto Me. I am the bread of life. You will never be hungry again. Does that mean you never have problems again? Does it mean you might not have doubts again? It means you’ll never be hungry again. I’m not thirsty anymore for righteousness. I already have been given righteousness. I’m not thirsty anymore for completeness. I’ve already been made complete in Christ. I’m not ever again from the day I was born again, thinking there’s something missing, because there isn’t anything missing. It’s Him and it’s Him, and it’s Him and it’s Him.

And so, folks, what we have to come to grips with is, what is this new creation? In other words if this butterfly we’re talking about is a new creation, it’s never going to be a caterpillar again. And in the same way when we become New Creations in Christ, we’re never going to be what we were before.

Now, as we talked about in past lessons. Who were we, when we were born into this world in Adam called a sinner? Who am I today? I am in Christ called a saint. Now, isn’t that something I was not a sinner because I sinned anymore than I’m a saint because I don’t sin. I was a sinner because I was born that way. I’m a caterpillar. I’m not a caterpillar because I crawl. See, I’m a caterpillar, I crawl because of a caterpillar. I’m not a butterfly because I fly, I fly because I’m a butterfly. You see that’s all connected with your identity.

And so second Corinthians 5:17 says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, no longer in Adam, but in Christ, you are a new creation. The old has gone. In other words, you’re no longer a caterpillar and the new has come, you’re now a butterfly. Now again, Bob if, if an old man, in other words in Christ, in Adam rather, I’m called a sinner and now I’m in Christ. Do you call yourself an old sinner saved by grace anymore? I’ve asked people how many of you have ever walked up to a butterfly and called your wife or husband over and said, hey honey, come over and look at this good-looking converted worm. I mean, man, this is a fine-looking converted worm. Go into a Christian bookstore and say, do you have any converted worm necklaces in here? The answer to that is no. What, why don’t you call this thing that flies this beautiful thing, why don’t you call it an old converted worm because it’s a butterfly? I say, why do you call it a butterfly? That’s what it is. How’d it get to be one? It was converted, but now it’s something new. New.

Now, we walk around as Christians, calling ourselves old sinners saved by grace. I’m just an old sinner saved by grace. See, you look like an old sinner saved by grace. You see, how could I be like a butterfly? Say, what are you? I’m just an old worm saved by grace. No, you’re a butterfly. How’d you get to be one? I was an old worm saved by grace. You see a new identity. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Now, why would you want to identify yourself as a new creation as an old one? So I’m not an old sinner saved by grace. I’ve called you now a saint. How do you get to be one of those? I was an old sinner saved by grace and the new creation.

For if we are going to identify ourselves by what we do, then, why shouldn’t we identify ourselves by what we think? Because what we think, and what we do, the only difference in those is what we do is seen, and what we think is known by you and by God. And that’s what it says, man looks on the outside, God looks on the heart. But see, we’re so quick to judge, aren’t we? Because we observe people by outward actions and we never think about what’s going on inside their heads, and it’s so but, but you see, Jesus came to define that, didn’t He say that the law says, and this is an outward act that you commit adultery, that’s a sin. That’s an outward act that someone does. But He said, I say that if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, in other words, you’re lusting. And that’s in your heart. Why it’s the same as committing adultery. The law says that you should not kill. That’s an outward act. But I say, if you’re angry at your brother, you’ve already killed them. That’s an inward awareness. And you see what God is saying to us, is man’s going to look on his outside and they’re going to judge you on this outside, but I’m looking on your heart. Now, knowing therefore that God looks on our heart, how could any of us ever call ourselves anything other than Sinners, knowing what God knows what you think? Is there any of you out there that would be alleviated from that designation? I don’t think so.

So you see the word sinner is not based upon what you’re doing. It was a designation of your condition. So you’re not again, you’re not a sinner because you sin, you sin because that’s who you are. That is a natural thing for you to be doing and if you’re and if you are not sinning, it would mean you would never be thinking a sinful thought. According to God, now not according to man. But according to God, and I don’t think any of us could ever claim that.

You can be hard on your body and you can even be disciplined in your body. You can keep yourself from drinking and smoking and chewing and all that kind of stuff if you want to. But the fact and you’re going to live a better life that way and it’s not going to be as complicated. There’s no question about that. It’s more profitable. But you see what’s going on down under the skin is what God’s looking at. So there’d be no way for anybody to ever sit around as a Christian or non-Christian and say that I’m not a sinner, if a sinner man that you thought sinful thoughts, because sinful thoughts and sinful deeds to God are one of the same and He’s the one who came up with the word to begin with. So, we have to come to grips with that, folks. And when you do come to grips with that, it’s like, let’s like, Amy said, aren’t you glad God didn’t make us with a bubble head and people could see in? And me that’s for sure.

And, we put different criteria upon ourselves. You know, I see so many times, people will say, well, should a pastor be doing this? Or should an evangelist be doing this? It’s like I said, we’ll wait a minute, should people sitting in a pew be doing this? I mean, God doesn’t sit down and say, pastors, you shouldn’t be doing this, but it’s okay for the congregation to be doing this. Is it okay for a pastor to slander people? Well, is it okay for the congregation to slander people? I mean, God isn’t sitting there saying, well, is it okay for you, but it’s not okay for you? But if you’re talking about as a child of God, that’s not profitable. It’s permissible, but it isn’t profitable. Neither is consistent with their lifestyle, to be going around, slandering people and trying to destroy people when Christ came to give us life. And we say, I want to kill them, but Christ came to give me life, but I’m in Christ. That’s a contradiction of terms. So, we have to understand those. We have to come to grips with those types of things that God is looking at, things different than we’re looking at them. And so, we want to put all these standards on pastors and deacons, and elders and all this type of thing as if because you got a name on them, that anything has changed inside.

Amy and I were having breakfast the other day and a couple policeman sitting in there, with their uniforms on and I said they’re looking at them and thinking to myself isn’t it strange how all a person has to do is to put on a blue uniform and a badge and people get the idea there’s something different than you and me? They’re trained in a different capacity, but they’re no different. It’s just a human being with sinful thoughts the same way they do. They can lie, like anybody does. They can cheat like anybody does if they wanted to. Just cause you put a uniform on, doesn’t change a thing.

You get a degree and you’re a doctor. Did they make you down under the skin any different than anyone else? Not a bit. You got a degree to call a lawyer. Are you any different than anyone else? Well, maybe worse sometimes, but I’ll show you you’re not any different than anyone else. You’re just a person that’s an occupational degree. But we have this thoughtful boy, they’re different. So you get, call a pastor and say, oh, he’s different. No we’re no different than anyone else. We can think the same lousy thoughts do the same lousy things. And the criteria for us shouldn’t be any different than it is for anyone else, but we want to sit there. It’s a lot easier to sit back so that pastor should be doing. That’s okay for me to do it, but it’s not okay for him. Folks, that’s not scriptural, not in any way shape or form. Because that’s not even your designation. A pastor, lawyer, doctor, housewife, businessman that’s not good. The way God sees you, He sees you as either a child of God, saved, or a sinner, lost. And so you see how important it is for us to come to grips with the truth of these identifications.

Now, let’s take a look at Ephesians 1:1, how Paul addresses people. He says Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the Saints in Ephesus, the faithful and Jesus Christ. Now, they wonder why Paul didn’t say Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to all the old sinners saved by grace in Ephesus. You wonder why he didn’t say that? Because they’re not old sinners saved by grace. They’re called Saints. Now you see, we look at, say to someone walking around holier-than-thou now, and again, a saint isn’t a saint because of the way he behaves any more than a sinner’s the sinner because the way he behaves, it’s a designation. What it means is you are in Christ. You have been made into a SAINT.

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.