Radio Broadcast Wednesday 10/18/2023

 

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.

 

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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

I tend to believe that’s what he’s talking about. You see, it’s what we’ve discussed so many times you want wisdom, the book of James says it says Ask God and I’ll give it to you. And Christ says I am your wisdom. But it says if you’re going to ask for wisdom, don’t be asking and not believing. In other words, don’t be a double minded man that’s unstable in all ways. Now that isn’t said, Well, I’m gonna get my faith on that. It’s a conviction that if Christ Jesus is alone your wisdom, then when you ask for that don’t be going to something else. In other words, if Christ is total wisdom that I don’t need Jesus plus anything, do I? And of Christ is total wisdom that I don’t need to depend upon him plus psychology or whatever else comes down the pike, nor do I need him plus man’s interpretation of something. Nor do I need Christ plus something else. It’s Christ alone that I need. So if I want wisdom, there’s one place to go. And that’s God. But it’s talking about the fact, do you truly believe that? Or are you being conned into believing, no, there’s something else? It’s like Christ says, You are complete and me and I say, Yes, I’m complete. But I need another experience. But I need another step of grace. But I need all of this. If you’re in Christ, you’re complete in Him. And if you’re complete in something, then you’re not going to get a completer. And therefore rest in your completeness. You can’t get more complete, you can’t get less complete, he’s made you complete, rest in it, walk in it by faith, because it’s true. And so it said, if you’re going to ask for wisdom, don’t ask for wisdom, believing that Christ is partial wisdom. My friends, do you realize that if Jesus was 99.9%, God, he would cease to be God. You can’t be 99.9% God, you’re either 100% God, or you’re not God. You can’t be 99.9% truth. He’s either total truth or he isn’t truth. And if this book is in total truth, pitch it out and do the best you can. Because it isn’t worth trying to determine what’s right and what’s wrong. Who in a world has the brains inherited to go through the Bible and say, Well, this is truth, but that isn’t for this over here isn’t, but that is? It’s either totally true, or pitch the whole thing out. And that’s what he’s saying, if you’re going to come to Me come to me with a confidence that I am God, I am who I say I am. I testified concerning this word that it is absolute truth. He said, My Word is truth. And therefore you can rely on it as truth. And if I have that, then I don’t need to think where else can I go to get a little information. And that’s what he’s talking about in regard to this wisdom.

So to me, I believe that when a word of God was fulfilled, and when the Word of God was given to us in its fullness, and I’m just saying, this is personally what I believe someone else might have another interpretation. If they do, you could be right. But to me, I believe that when perfection comes, in other words, the perfect word of God has been made totally manifest, then all imperfect disappears. In other words, I’m not looking anymore. I’m not looking anymore with confusion, I know where to go. And if God lives in me, he’ll interpret what it means.

Now, he said about this whole issue of spiritual gifts and the abuse of them and the overemphasis on them. And especially, and I don’t know why this is true, but he spends a great deal of time in this gift of languages or tongues. And it seems to me that it is in that gift for some reason, that pride sets in easier, confusion sets in easier, I don’t know why that is such a hang up. But for some reason it is and was and therefore Paul has to address it in a special way. And in addressing that, which he did before, he said, let me show you a better way. Don’t go around telling people that you’re more spiritual if you exercise this gift than someone else. Don’t go around telling people you’re not saved if you don’t have a gift of a certain kind. There are people today that teach you don’t speak in tongues, you’re not saved. That’s ludicrous, besides being heretical. And then there are people will say well, you’re not filled, that you’re not spirit filled unless you speak in tongues. All just equally as heretical, as ludicrous. I remember seeing a television program one time by a man who’s on television and still on television who fall flat fell flat on his face. And someone asked him one time about Billy Graham said he didn’t. Well, he’s been used mightly of God. But I want to tell you, he would have been used more mightly had he spoken in tongues. I don’t think he says that anymore. You know, I think God sort of loved him enough to buckle the knees out from under him to get rid of that kind of dumb thing. To think that there’s some kind of a gift from God that makes you more spiritual when the Bible so clearly says is everyone have the same one? No. Is everyone filled with emphasis, does that have anything to do with being filled with spirit? No, not a thing in a world, not a thing in the world. There is no exercising of a gift that has anything to do with being filled with control by the Spirit of God, to be controlled. The Spirit of God means to be controlled with the love of God. That’s why Paul tanks in, let me show you a better way. Let me show you a better way. You could speak in the tongues of men and angels, if there was such a thing, and that’s a hyperbole. That’s an exaggeration of a fact in order to prove a point. So there isn’t angel language. I guess people think you’ve got to justify something someplace down the line. I really I’m confused on why people do what they do on these type of things because it’s divisive, but we do that and most of it is just because of teaching. But if I spoke in tongues of men and angels but I don’t have love I’m a rezone I’m a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Well and if someone says speaking in tongues as an example is evidence of being filled with a spirit How could you call someone a spirit filled gong, noisy one to begin with? You know what he said you can speak in tongues he says. But if you don’t have love, you’re a noisy gong and a resounding and and a clanging cymbal. So how could it have anything to do with being spirit filled? Being controlled by love. He’s saying to you, you can exercise gifts and not be controlled by love. And if it is, it’s nothing. You can teach sermons and not have any love and it doesn’t mean a thing. You can have the gift of prophecy, you can fathom all mysteries. Can you imagine if you really had the ability to do that with your own television? You’d really be able to say I know there’s someone out there. You could have faith that could move mountains. Well, how’d you like see that on TV? Go out and say move mountain want to move. Boy that would raise some money.

So you could do all that stuff that’s bigger than anything I’ve seen. You say if you don’t have love, you’re nothing. Absolutely nothing. Folks, nothing’s a big word. It means nothing. In Greek it means nothing. In Hebrew it means nothing. If I gave all I possess to the poor in other words, if I had a spiritual gift of giving and man I exercise that thing and gave it all away. If I surrendered my body to the flames and became a martyr like Joan of Arc, but I don’t have love I don’t gain anything. I don’t have anything. Then he goes ahead and explains what love is. And then Verse eight says Love never fails. Where there prophecies they’ll cease where there’s tongues there’ll be still where there’s knowledge they’ll pass away. We know in part and we prophesy in part but when protection comes the imperfect disappears. Now look at this guy’s you know, a Paul was saying here, grow up and quit thinking like a kid. Baby stuff. Babies get infatuated with noise. And they get infatuated with baby things. Not the deep things of God. Shallow babies. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish ways behind me. I took those kiddie things and put them away. I took my hobby horses, and my dolls, and I put them away. Because I’m not a kid anymore. I’m a grown up man. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we’re going to see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully even as I am fully known. And now these three things remain faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love. That’s what he is talking about growing up. Grow up and see that the greatest is faith, hope and love and the greatest of that is love. Faith, Hope and Love and the greatest of that is love. Not gifts. Grow up and see that the greatest is faith, hope and love and the greatest of that is love. It’s not gifts, not miracles. It’s love. Love is the fulfillment of the law. So it’s not what you’re not doing that’s what you are doing. Love is everything. If you’re not loving, don’t allow the love of God to flow in and through us, nothing. Well, how can I be a loving person when I’m sitting here thinking I’m better than you are because I gotta get it you don’t have? You tell me how you can live with that attitude. You tell me how you can love with that attitude that I’m spirit filled but you’re not because of the way I know I am was because I speak in tongues and you don’t or because of some other things. You tell me how you can remain in a loving attitude. You can tell me how you can remain impartial and in a loving attitude. When someone has told you that you have a language I can community Get with God that someone else doesn’t have. So in other words, you got kind of a pipeline to God and other people don’t. You tell me how you can remain in a loving attitude. You tell me how pride cannot help from creeping in with that kind of an attitude. If you can explain how you can do that, I guess I’ll probably look at the word of God differently. But I don’t know how you can do it, I couldn’t do it. I’ll guarantee you.

And so we’re into a situation where we are building and trying to, instead of seeing one another as what God says, I am the head, not you, you’re a part of this body. And there are some parts of the body that are very unsightly that you’d better not try to do without. There’s other parts of the body that are more visible. There’s other parts of the body that have different uses, but I’m gonna tell you something, if all of them aren’t functioning then you’re in trouble. And they’re in any one part any more than the other, if God made you a finger that he made to make you a finger and he says, wiggle, do what it’s supposed to do not be sitting there saying, Well, yeah, I’m doing that. But I’m not going up a storm like that nose up there. If I want to make a nose, he said, I made your nose, made your finger, wiggle. I made your nose sniff, and quit looking at what you are in comparison to what someone else is. Because all it’ll do is puff you up with a bunch of spiritual pride. To thinking that I’ve got something that someone else doesn’t have. You’ll never love that way.

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Bob George 13:37
Chapter 14 follow the way of love, eagerly desire, spiritual gifts and that word desire in there is putting it into practice, eagerly desire to be doing your gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. And folks prophecy is truth telling in a clarity that everybody can understand. And I think you got to understand that when you’re talking about a prophet, like a John the Baptist, what made him a prophet was he spoke so clearly it was hard not to understand him. I mean, the person comes in and says Jesus is the Way the Truth the life no one comes the Father but through him. Not a way not a truth, not a lie, but the way truth and life. That’s pretty clear in it. You have little trouble confusing. Now what did you say on that again? And there’s no other way to God except through Him to say it’s pretty clear, isn’t it? There’s, it’s kind of hard to say, well, you know, maybe it didn’t mean what he was saying. It was very clear, very audible and very clear. That’s what prophecy does. The gift of prophecy is forth telling truth, clearly distinctly distinctly so that you can understand what’s being said. For anyone who speaks in a tongue in another language in a foreign language as an example does not speak to men but he speaks to God. Now look at the context at this. Is Amy out here I wish she was on I’d like for her to come out if she’s back in the back. speaks in a tongue speaks to men doesn’t speak to men but to God. Now, if does anyone know how to speak a foreign language here? Anyone in here know how to speak a foreign language. Get up and say something to us and what language you speak. That’s good when no one here understands that get out and say something in Portuguese to us. That’s why I thought too. Okay, now, let me ask you a question. Do they want to understand what he said? I mean, it a little hard to say Amen. Hallelujah brother didn’t it to that right. little tough to do that. Now, let me ask you a question. Were you speaking anything spiritual? Okay, if you were speaking something to God, they’re good. You know, could you Can you recite John 316? Or something like that in Portuguese? Or, or say, God, I love you or something. Yeah. And let’s say he was doing that. Who would he be talking to? He’d be talking to God. Would it be talking to men? No, we don’t always say it. It’s like Bob Davis tells about this relative of his they went to the Thanksgiving dinner one time and, and they asked his relative to his to pray. And so he went down and he said, Dear God, I’m in my mumble back and it’s Amen. And somebody get up said, I didn’t hear what you said. He said, That’s okay. I wasn’t talking to you anyway.

You see if you had to be verbalizing truth, can you see the idiocy is? Can we all have a moment of silent prayer? Well, if God is only waiting, here he is, listen to your talk. Why would you ever say Let’s have a moment of silent prayer? You get what I’m talking about? What if you’re in a concentration camp someplace that they prohibited you from speaking out loud would your prayer life stop? Oh, no. I can talk up a storm to myself and to God, without ever opening my mouth. If speaking in a tongue, whether it be a tongue of Portuguese or German, or English, or angel, or whatever you’re talking about, if that made you more spiritual or did anything, what about the deaf and dumb? How would they communicate? What if you had been over in a concentration camp in Japan or whatever it was during World War 2, or whatever it could be? And somebody cuts your tongue out and you couldn’t speak? How would you talk to God? That you would not be able to talk to him anymore? Would you? Would it stop your communication with God? Of course not. So anyone who is speaking regardless how they’re speaking, if you’re speaking in a language that I don’t understand in Portuguese, I would say to him, brother, I really appreciate the fact that you can speak in Portuguese, but we don’t know what you’re saying. Can you lay all English on us? And we might be able to understand that. Would there be any need in him at all to come in and speak in Portuguese to us in this group? Not at all. And if he did, I’d probably say Would you mind sitting down we’ll know what you’re talking about. Indeed, no one understands him. he utters mysteries with His Spirit. He may know what he’s saying. That’s what uttering mysteries in your spirit, all that’s talking about is you’re you’re speaking inside spiritually where the Spirit lives. It’s like you and I sometimes talk to God at night or whatever it might be. How many times do we talk without verbalizing with flapping our lips, was talking to God. We call it under a breath. Before we knew God, we talked to ourselves. It’s our spirit, our spirit, utters mysteries. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening. In other words, if you’re communicating the Word of God clearly, in audible tones that you can understand, you’re going to be strengthened by that encouragement and comfort. That’s why you prophesy that’s when you speak truth to one another in love, which is what he said you have been called to freedom my brothers now don’t use your freedom to indulge the flesh but rather use your freedom to speak truth in love. So a person who is speaking the truth in love is strengthening encouraging and comforting, he who speaks in a language In Portuguese edifies himself he knows what he’s saying. But he pprophesies prophesies edifies the body. I hope that I’m edifying you more and what I’m saying then him in speaking in Portuguese now he got up and spoke the truth in English and we could understand it and we’d say he’s edifying us, right. Nothing wrong with him. It’s a language you speak. I’d like for every one of you to speak in tongues while you’re going to see over here in verse 22. If you look over there, tongues are a sign. Look at verse 22. Chapter 14, tongues are a sign, not for believers. But for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers not for unbelievers, tongues was a sign to unbelievers. And that’s what happened on the day of Pentecost. Was it a sign? Well, of course, what happened? Well, the apostle stood up and spoke in all of the different dialects and languages of the people who were there and communicated the gospel in languages and never learned. And people got up and said, I understand this, these people from Galilee, they’re a bunch of dumb fishermen how in the world, they learn all this. And it made them listen to the message. 5000 people came to the Lord. So it was a sign to the unbeliever. So he said, I’d like for every one of you to speak in other languages. Man, if I was gonna go to Portugal, I’d want him with me would’t you. And Paul spoke in many, many different languages, in his travels, to proclaim the gospel, marvelous gift of God. But I’d rather I’d like for every one of you to speak in tongues, but I’d rather you prophesy, folks, the thing that gets me is when people sometimes will come down and and again, I hope you’re taking us in the spirit. There are many, many sincere people who have been totally taught something contrary to the Word of God. And that’s what I’m trying to go through the word to get you to look at it yourself and to make a determination. No one’s there trying to knock somebody or make fun of somebody. It just this is what the word saying.

How many times have you said, Well, the Bible says, How many times have you heard somebody say, Well, the Bible says Paul said he wished everybody spoke in tongues. You ever heard anyone say that to you try to get promoted? Yeah. Once you read the rest of the verse. But I’d rather you prophesy. What about that one? I’d rather you prophesied rather you speak in a language that people can understand. Who who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in a tongue. In other language, unless he says he interprets, so the church edified, ain’t gonna do him any good back here, stand up and be laying on some spiritual pride speaking in language he’s never learned unless you turn around and translate what he just said to us. Now, if he can turn around and translate and say we just said to us, then I’ll be edified by that. And I say amen to that. Is that right or wrong? But I can’t say meant what he said or what he said. Is that are in mysteries to me. You speak in any spirit. They may have been talking to God, of course, he’s talking to God, you wouldn’t talk to me. Now, brothers, he says, If I come to you, and speak in languages, tongues, what good will be to you unless I bring you some revelation, what’s revelation? What it means, what God’s revealed what it means, what goods are going to do unless I can tell you what it means. Or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction. Even in the case of lightless things that make sounds such as a flute or a harp howl anything know what tune is being played list is a distinction in the notes. You can’t differentiate the notes how do you know what it is it’s like some kid gigs insane gorilla getting on that piano over there and going to just all over the place it just notes all over. There’s no distinction. Don’t know what it’s trying to do. Again, if the trumpet does not sound, a clear call who will get ready for battle? So it is with you unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you’re saying? If you can’t speak something intelligible that how is anyone going to know what in the world you’re talking about? You’re just be speaking into the air. So all you’re doing speaking into the air, you don’t know what you’re saying. God doesn’t know what you’re saying. No one knows what you’re saying.

Now if anyone has any doubt, and again, I’m not saying what I’m saying to knock anything. I’m saying what I’m saying, because it’s a clear teaching of the Word of God. And you get tired of hearing people pervert the word. I don’t care whether they’re trying to pervert it in regard to this, or trying to pervert it in regard to legalism perversion, is perversion. And there are people who want to come up and say, Well, there’s two different kinds of tongues in the Bible. There’s the gifts yell, but then there’s this heavenly language. I’ll tell you something. Paul negates that right now, undoubtedly, there are all sorts of languages in the world. Paul is not talking about gibberish. He’s talking about languages. I suppose there are all sorts of languages in the world yet none of them is without meaning, if they don’t have any meaning, they cease to be a language. There is no such thing as a language without meaning. If I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I’m a foreigner to the speaker and he is a foreigner to me, I don’t know he’s talking about

I’ll tell you, brother, you go over to you go down to Brazil, where they speak Portuguese, or assume it’s the same that language is not known by hardly anybody. That is one hard language to learn. And you can go down there with Spanish and think, Well, I’m gonna get along pretty good with Spanish, I’m gonna tell you, they don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s a hard language. And it’s the same thing if I don’t know what someone is saying, I’m a foreigner to it. So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. Like the ones you mentioned in the book of Romans. Try to excel in something to build up the church, not in something that creates pride in you.

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.

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Listen to the Salvation message today!

Stand on the firmness of truth. Don’t keep going back and forth. Thank Him that the forgiveness issue is settled.

Let’s pray together:

• Lord Jesus,
• I thank you for taking away my sins on the cross,
• never ever to see them again.
• Having done that, I now thank you for giving me eternal life,
• through your resurrection.
• I now receive that life.
• And I am going stand in the fact that I am a child of the living God.
• In Jesus Holy name I pray.
• Amen

All believers are now brothers and sisters in Christ.

John 3:3
³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

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