Radio Broadcast Tuesday 09/13/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ P80 (09-13-22)

Be Controlled by the Love of God ~ Jesus is Love

~ “And when I talk about love, love is the only thing in the world, it’s ever going to change a heart for the good. We see that we’ve we’ve messed around with that, even in psychological studies to realize the effects of, of love on a person. And God knows that he’s the one who made us and He knows what it is, and what it does for you to know that you’re loved. And so folks, when Christ is talking about, and Paul is talking about the fact of coming to know the love of God, it’s because that is the emphasis of the Christian life, not what you’re doing. But not that we loved him, but he loved us first coming to grips with that. And then letting everything be a byproduct of that. In other words, you’re controlled by the love of God. That’s what it means to be filled to the measure with the fullness of God, it means to be controlled, by the love of God. It’s not mystical, it’s the most practical thing in the world. The love of God constrains me controls me. What controlled Jesus?, the love of God, what is to control you and me? The love of God? What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit to be controlled with the spirit to be controlled by the love of God that comes only from the Spirit of God. How come? well, because love is the fulfillment of the law, love fulfills everything.”

Listen in to today’s lesson with more in-depth teaching, from the Bible study booklet, A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ, available for purchase from our online Bob George Ministries ecommerce store.

Just as a person’s physical growth is based on proper diet and exercise, so is the Christians’s spiritual growth dependent on regular feeding upon the word of God and application of its principles. With more false teaching, shifting opinions and general confusion in the world than ever before, Christians 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.

Bob George 0:44
Don’t you see that you today as a Christian are no different than an Jew? Who had said instead of receiving the righteousness that comes from God, you sought to establish your own and you stumbled over the stumbling stone, and to the people who did not work for it received it and to you who are working for it are not going to receive it? Don’t you see that your mindset is going to lead people into a pathway of an additional pathway of legalism whereby we are out striving to do for God in order to get God to do something for us. Instead of receiving what he has already done for us. Don’t you see that your desire to clean up America instead of realizing the depravity of your own flesh? And so we are out again it trying to make America cleaned when our flesh is dirty. And when we don’t understand that Bob, and we’ve got people by the 1000s, at trying to clean up America when we ourselves individually, if it was not for Christ, Jesus would have never been cleansed of all of our unrighteousness, never been forgiven of all of our sins apart from the cross of Jesus Christ, my promises, my commitments, my ethics, my morality, mean nothing to that. And we can sit out and as good as these things may sound, they are absolutely, as it says in Scripture, meaningless as it comes to suppressing sensual indulgences. And it says, Why are you returning to those basic principles of the world? Don’t do this, don’t do that. Don’t eat this, don’t drink this, why are you returning to those principles, when those principles will never make you right in the sight of God. And it makes you wonder, with the response that can take place to here’s a new set of ethics for all of us to keep and how we will flock to those things, and absolutely reject that the only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself through love. And that is not faith in me and what I’m doing or what I commit to do, or what I don’t commit to do, it’s faith in him and what he alone did on our behalf. God’s love compels us what causes the love to compel us by my preoccupied with me and what I’m doing? Of course not. It’s only preoccupied with him, and what he is doing, that’s what brings love not that we loved him. But what? he loved us first in 1st John 4:19. Why do we love because he loved us first. Well, how am I ever going to learn about his love for me when I’m preoccupied and what I’m doing for him. And I understand that to a degree because there was a time in my life as a brand new immature baby Christian that I got involved in those things. But folks, God did not intend for me to remain a baby, immature Christian, he wants us to grow up and quit acting like babies. And babies are self centered. And babies are totally preoccupied with what I’m doing. And what I’m not doing. Babies are constantly looking for a reward from mom in exchange for what I do. I took out the garbage, please give me some candy. I went to bed on time, please give me this. In other words, constantly looking for rewards. What is that? It’s it’s immaturity. It’s baby stuff. When you grow up, you’re not looking to do in order to get, you should be looking to do because it’s the thing to do. I want to walk in the newness of life because it makes sense to walk in the newness of life. I want to receive the love of God because it’s been offered to me. I don’t do to get, I get because he did. And it’s what we love, because He loved us first. And how again, as I say, How in the world am I going to be preoccupied with his love for me when I’m preoccupied and what I’m trying to do for him?

And folks, it’s a form of legalism, that that is taking place today. It is just a devastating, subtle form of legalism, that as good as intentions might be it is going to be devastating to the human experience. Because when the more that man stands up and commits what he’s going to do for God, the more he’s going to be falling on his face. And before long, he’s going to give up on everything because he will say, I can’t do it. I hope to God that when that occurs, there’s someone there who will say, Thank God, you finally got it. I never said you could and I never thought you would. In fact, I told you all along that apart from me, you can do nothing. Abiding. What is abiding trying to keep God’s laws? folks come on. What how much instruction do we need that we can not obey the laws? You couldn’t obey it before you were saved, and you can obey him after you’re saved. And if you did, what would the benefit be? When Jesus said if you violate the least of these in your entire lifetime, you violate all of them. And a man who’s under the laws under a curse. We don’t live by the law today, folks. You don’t live by Christian principles. Suppose you don’t live by Christian ethics, because quite frankly, you probably wouldn’t know what if it hit you in the face? Because we develop our own ethics. We develop our own criteria for what is right and what is wrong. A Christian doesn’t live a life of what is right and what is wrong. You live your life in, am I abiding in the life of Christ Jesus or arn’t I? If I am, he will be creating the things that are right and wrong. Otherwise, I’m trying to do right and wrong in the energy of my own flesh. And guess what the outcome of that is going to be? The issue of the Christian life is, am I trusting Christ? Or aren’t I trusting Christ? The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself through love. Not Is that true, folks? Or isn’t it true? The only thing he didn’t say one of the things that kind of counts is faith expressing itself through love. It says the only thing that counts the only thing is faith, expressing itself through love.

John 14:15 If you love me, you obey what I command. Well, you see, we’d look at that and say, Oh, see there? If we love we’re gonna be the 10 commandments. No. He says, If you love me, you will obey what I command. Well, what is his command? Well, if you keep reading, he’ll tell you my command is this love each other. How? as I have loved you, what did we just say, the only thing that matters is faith, what? expressing itself through what? love. First of all, love for God. And it’s not that we loved him, but he loved us first and then love for his body, which hopefully, is you and me.

We’re talking about the Christian life, folks, we’re talking about something much deeper than going to a function or an activity, or going to church or not going to church, or you were talking about what Jesus said is, what the life is down here. The world will know that you’re my disciples, by your loved one toward another. The world isn’t gonna know you’re my disciples, by your commitments, by your obedience to the law. As a matter of fact, take a look at the people who committed to those type of things, they were called Pharisees and look what ultimately the love that came out of them when they nail Jesus to a cross. Because it’s that kind of thing that creates pride. All of a sudden, we get a group of people together, and we’ve committed ourselves to be this and to be that, you tell me how in a very short period of time, folks, how that group cannot get proud of what they’re doing and what they’re not doing. And begin to look down on those who aren’t doing and not doing what they are doing. And I’ve set these set of principles that really are the criteria for spirituality. And I’m doing that I’m so wonderful, and I’m so righteous. But this, the rest of the world out there just doesn’t have it. Folks, there is no option to that type of thing, there is no option, you will begin pride sets in and pride comes before the fall.

I don’t know how we can read the Scripture and walk around with an idea of what I’m going to do for God. I don’t know how that we can read the Scripture and think that I am going to bring honor to God in some way by what I do, and what I don’t do. God doesn’t need me to bring honor to himself, my goodness, you can just look around and see nature and bring all the honor that he needs. And that still doesn’t cause people to believe. We keep thinking that our influence is going to do something. And again, folks think about this for a moment. I want you to think about this for a moment. All of a sudden, we get a group of people together, who say that the problem with the world is that we need to be more have more integrity. And so we get a group together and we’re going to be the integrity folks. And and the reason that the world is in such a lousy condition is because we don’t have integrity. Now what is that saying? Well, what that is saying is that with the world in which we see totally going downhill in every aspect of life that the reason that it is is because this group of men didn’t have integrity. So in other words, your father’s your grandfather’s, your forefathers, all these people didn’t have any integrity. But you do. Yeah, we’re going to we’ve really got this integrity. We’re really men of this integrity. Now my father wasn’t and all these other slobs out there didn’t have any but but we’re gonna get it. In other words, we’ve just developed something new called integrity. And you look at that folks they want in the world we think about, why do we think all of a sudden we’re going to do what the Jews who were steeped in God’s laws, I mean, they knew the scriptures, upside down backwards and forwards, they had a little box on their forehead, they had it written on their doors, they knew the law better than we’ll ever know it. And they crucified the Son of God. And were mean and vindictive and prideful to the point that when righteousness was offered to them, it was totally rejected because we are going to create our own righteousness. We’re where do we come up with the idea that all of a sudden we discover this new thing, and we’re going to do it, even though obviously, the world before us didn’t do it, or the world wouldn’t be in a bad shape that it’s in. Folks, the problem with the world is called sin in case somebody hadn’t figured that out. It’s called sin. When sin entered into the world in Adam, the world fell. And the only solution to sin is not anything you and I can do. The only solution to sin is what God Himself did, when he sent his only begotten Son into this world, to die on a cross and to impute life to the dead, so that whosoever will believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life. That’s the only solution to sin. That is the only solution to a country that is nothing but a bunch of people. And we are more preoccupied with trying to save America than we are saving the people in America. And people are not going to be saved through your and my good examples. Were going to be saved through his example.

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Bob George 14:08
And it says we point people to him and what he did for me, that is what’s going to save America. Now when that is reversed. And I think my example is going to save people guess who I’m going to be preoccupied with? And guess who I’m going to be thinking about all day long to see if I’m being the influence that I ought to be? Instead of realizing no, what is that what it says in the scripture, keep your eyes upon me. I think it says Turn your eyes upon Jesus, and to look full in his wonderful face. He is the author and perfecter of our faith and religion in every form, turns and shifts the eyes off of him and what he is doing on to me and what I am doing. And folks, I know that these things sometimes can be critical, but it has to be critical if we’re going to stand for truth and this is truth in regard to what the Word of God has to say. So when it talks about if you love me Obey my command. And my command is this to love one another. And we were told that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Why then, we have to realize that now I have been commanded to do something. That is an absolute impossibility for me to pull off in the energy of my flesh.

And that’s why we substitute everything for love. We substitute integrity for love. We substitute morality, for love, we substitute what I am doing, and what I’m not doing for love. We substitute commitment, for love, we substitute our promises for love. I want to tell you something, folks, a promise will never keep a man faithful to his wife, I will tell you something else. A marriage license will not keep a man faithful to his wife. If a man standing before his wife, and standing before his minister, and standing full in front of his probably parents and best man and best woman, if all of that promising to honor and obey to be faithful to the end, if that commitment that promise in front of that group of people isn’t gonna keep your faithful, then why do you I think you and me sitting together is going to keep me faithful. And I promise to be faithful naming. It’s idiocy, folks, we have to come to grips with the fact that no promise no piece of paper will keep you faithful to your wife, love will keep you faithful to your wife, period. And that love has got to come from the source of love. And that is Christ Jesus. Oh, I want to tell you that I know a few other things that will keep you from that fear will keep you from will keep you faithful. But that’s not a faithful in your heart. That’s only faithful in your behavior. I know living in a small town as I did in Indiana, you didn’t see a whole lot of that type of thing going on. Because if you blinked your eye, your next door neighbor knew it within five minutes why the whole town knew it. So there was a lot of fear factor there that might keep you on the outside. But what did Jesus say guy Man looks on the outside. I’m looking on your heart. And faithfulness truly has to start in the heart. Bob. Faithfulness is something that comes internally God has to build that into us. There is no marriage license that can do that. There is no commitment to you or to me even to your own wife. I mean, if your commitment to your wife isn’t any good, why do I need to sit around with you and commit? I mean, that’s, that’s what’s taking place today, this type of a mindset. And again, I understand it agree that the good intentions but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And we’re going to have to realize that when he says that I commanded you loved one in the world will know you’re my disciples by your loved one toward another, that we’ve said I can’t do that kind of love. So I said, Well substitute something Satan comes along, says substitute something else for you will be loving, if you witness will go witness, therefore you’ll be loving, your loving if you pray, so therefore, go and pray. So you’ll be loving. Let’s see, it’s loving if you go to church, so therefore go to church and therefore you’ll be loving. It’s, it’s loving, if if you take your family on a vacation, and go hunting with your kids, so therefore, go do those things and therefore you’ll be loving.

And Bible said that I don’t see anything about that in Scripture. Here’s what I do see in the Scripture as to what love is. And folks, all this does when it shows what love is, its patient. It is always kind. It is never envious or jealous. It is never boastful or arrogant. It says love never acts on becomingly. Love never seeks its own. In other words, it doesn’t seek its own way. Love is never easily provoked. Love never takes into account a wrong suffered. In other words, it keeps no records of your wrongs or other people’s wrongs. Love never rejoices and unrighteousness never love always rejoices with truth. Love bears all things. In other words, if someone hits you on the cheek, you turn the other. If you’re persecuted, you turn around and say bless you, brother. It believes all things. In other words, it always is thinking the best of others. If you hear a rumor about somebody, never would your heart ever say I believe that it would always say I do not believe that. I am going to think the best about a person until it’s absolutely proved otherwise. Love always hopes the best. And love endures all things.

As we go through the definition of love folks, and because of how deeply I feel about the subject that we’re talking about. I cannot overemphasize enough for folks, the the depth of my concern in my own life and in the life of the, of the Body of Christ that talks about it the last days that there will be a delusion. We talked about the other day about the, the fact of being a philosophical delusion that we are. In other words, we’re conned. It’s the same type of thing. Paul said, Who’s hypnotized, you cast an evil spell upon you. In other words, we become hypnotized by the philosophies of the world, rather than the truth of the Word of God.

And when I talk about love, love is the only thing in the world, it’s ever going to change a heart for the good. We see that we’ve we’ve messed around with that, even in psychological studies to realize the effects of, of love on a person. And God knows that he’s the one who made us and He knows what it is, and what it does for you to know that you’re loved. And so folks, when Christ is talking about, and Paul is talking about the fact of coming to know the love of God, it’s because that is the emphasis of the Christian life, not what you’re doing. But not that we loved him, but he loved us first coming to grips with that. And then letting everything be a byproduct of that. In other words, you’re controlled by the love of God. That’s what it means to be filled to the measure with the fullness of God, it means to be controlled, by the love of God. It’s not mystical, it’s the most practical thing in the world. The love of God constrains me controls me. What controlled Jesus?, the love of God, what is to control you and me? The love of God? What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit to be controlled with the spirit to be controlled by the love of God that comes only from the Spirit of God. How come? well, because love is the fulfillment of the law, love fulfills everything. Like I said, no marriage contracts going to keep a man faithful, only love’s gonna keep them faithful. And so when and when we take a look at God’s definition of love, we realize there isn’t anything in our humanity that can create that all the time. It has to come from God, it’s it, the source of love, is not us. It does not come from us. The source of rain does not come from the earth, it comes from clouds. You don’t get rain out of the ground, you get it out of clouds, and we have to reel that’s the source of rain. And so it’s the same thing, the source of love is Christ alive, living in you individually, which is your only hope, of glory. So you say I want to glorify God, that’s how God is glorified is Christ Jesus living in you.

Now, we talked about what love is patient and kind. And I want you to sit down and think to yourself, folks, now this is what God said, Did he not this is the only thing that matters, Faith expressing itself through love. So I want you to promise I’m going to always be patient with you. And I’m going to promise you that I’m always going to be kind to you. And I want to promise you, I’ll never be jealous and envious of you. Wives, I want you to promise that to your husbands, I mean, and husbands to your wives that ought to be that ought to be the most natural people to promise these things to. And then I’m going to promise that I’ll never be boastful and I’ll never be arrogant. Never be prideful. In other words, I will never act, I’m becomingly to you, I will always consider your feelings over and above myself at any cost. I promised that. And I promised that I’ll never seek My own in life with you. In other words, honey, I will never insist on having my own way or my own rights. I’ll spend the rest of my life I promises to you looking out for your interests only. And honey, I will tell you nothing. But I promise you, I will never be provoked at you. In other words, I promise you that I will never be angry with you. I will never be touchy with you. And I will never be quick tempered with you. And then after that honey will promise you something else. I will never remember any of your wrongs. I mean, you can do all kinds of wrongs to me, and I’ll never hold it against you. I’ll never hold a grudge against you. I will maintain a forgiving spirit. And I will keep no records of your wrongs at all. I promised you that. I want to promise you another thing. I will never rejoice and unrighteousness in other words, I’m going to all my life, view sin as God sees it. And I’m never going to be glad over someone else’s mistakes or their sins, including yours. I’ll never say I told you so. Because I just would never do that. And I’m going to promise that I’m always going to rejoice with truth. In other words, I’m going to rejoice always in what he says about me and everybody says about you, and, and I’m just going to rejoice in truth, I’m going to bear with you forever. In other words, I’m going to endure any hardship for your good. And I’ll carry your burdens as long as I live, I’m going to always believe the best about you, I promise to do that. I promise to hope the best for you, I promise to endure with you forever. In other words, I’m going to go through any trial or span of time with patience and thankfulness. For the sake of Christ, and as I promised, do every one of those. Now folks think about it for a moment. How do you think you did? How do you think how long do you think that would last? Honey, I’m gonna be patient with you for the rest of my life. Because, folks, that is a source that has to come from God. Now, do you see the contradiction? God says, this is the kind of love that you are to have for one another. I want you to love as I have loved you. Can you see now why the Christian world has said I can’t do that. So I got to make up some new definitions of love. And as we’ve talked about before, all you have to do to get off is redefine something. And then you can rename it and you can redefine them. So So I say, Well, this is love, but it’s kind of my kind of loves. And so I’ll read define it now. And love is witnessing love is this love is this love. It says no, no, no, folks, the Bible is not changed. Love is what it says it’s always patient. It’s always kind. It’s never jealous or envious. It’s never boastful or arrogant. It never acts becomingly. Never seeks its own. It has never provoked, never takes never takes into account the wrong suffered. In other words, it never keeps records of a wrong. Never rejoices in unrighteousness always rejoices in truth, it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things endures all things. That’s what love is.

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.