Radio Broadcast Wednesday 12/20/2023

Classic Christianity – Book of Hebrews P49 (12-20-23)

God, Jesus Cannot Be Tempted Nor Does God Tempt Us

~ It is so important that we understand that God is never going to tempt us, it simply is not in His nature to do that. God cannot be tempted nor is he ever going to tempt anyone. Satan is the one that is tempts people. Jesus was not tempted by Satan. Yes Satan tempted him, but because Jesus is God, he could not be tempted by Satan. So, there are two important truths to understand here. Satan tempts us, because we are not God. Satan cannot tempt God no matter what, because Jesus is God. If you are being tempted today, it is because Satan is using the things of the world to tempt you in your flesh.

~ “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” ^{James 1:12-18}

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~ “I hear it said that when tempted, no one should say God is tempting me. Said God can’t be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. He’s not tempting you with evil in tempting you to believe a lie, which is really what evil is the opposite of truth in doing that, now, look over here where it says Jesus was led by the Spirit in the desert. And of course, you have the the little things if you put the man rights in temptations of Jesus, quite frankly, to me, that should be the temptations of Satan. So it’s showing, what Satan’s trying to do to be tempted by the devil. Now, can you be tempted by the devil? Yeah, and what is a God cannot be tempted by evil? Can you be tempted by evil? But God can’t be tempted by evil? You see, you see what’s going on there? You’re talking about the fact that nor does He tempt anyone. Everybody wants say, oh, Jesus was tempted at all point just as we are. Well, yeah, but he wasn’t tempted. God can’t be tempted. He wasn’t sitting there struggling with these things that that he was being tempted by. And for some reason, we we want to relate to that because when we go through our temp tastes a well Jesus went through him too and he understands. No you got it all wrong. That is not hope the fact that Jesus understands he is tempted just like me let’s like I was man he he you know he wanted to go get drunk too. And he wanted to go and he was man he had his lesson all over the place but he didn’t do it. Know that in the God that you have you have a God said that doesn’t bother me at all. You tempt me all you want, but I’m not gonna be tempted God cannot be tempted. And it shows that attitude here Satan came to him, said he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry. That’s an understatement. The tempter who’s the tempter God can tempt anyone? So who’s the tempter? Satan tempter came to him said, If and that word if means in light of the fact that there’s two words. And if, if that’s a conditional if and then the one in light of the fact and as much as, in as much as you’re the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. And in other words, if you’re who you say you are, I know you’re who you are, I’d say you are. But if you’re who you say you are, go turn these things into bread. You’re hungry. Jesus said, man, don’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God, quoted right back to him, what was Satan doing? quoting scripture, quoting scripture at God out of contact and you believe the audacity of him? Here you’re quoting scripture to God out of context? How did Jesus answer that? Put a crown of thorns around the hedge of thorns. Binding I bind you, Satan, name of God, he do that? Bind him up time up with something. What do you do? What do you do? Well, I quoted Scripture to him. How come? Because scripture is sharper than any two edged sword. It’s truth. Satan is the author of what? Lies what can an author of lies cannot be around? Truth So what’s he do when you tell him truth? Well, he flees from you. That’s what resisting the devil is. Resist the devil. What is it? Stand in truth and he what? Well, he will flee from you. How come he can’t stand you and either gonna get to you that people are trying to bind Satan said You sure got some poor spread? As he says, Be pretty active to me if you’re binding him up. I don’t know what happened. He didn’t stay tied very long. That is, that sounds good. See, it’s I got power. You don’t have anything. It’s all Christ. Satan isn’t scared of you at all. He’s petrified of Jesus. So the whole issue is Christ gave you His Spirit living in you. And that is the spirit of what? Truth. What do you say do use it. Why? Because Satan can’t stand it. You’re tying him up in a bind any is just telling the truth and he has to flee from you. How come because he can’t stand to be around you. That’s what Jesus did. Took him out of the holy city and had him stand on the highest point the tempo if you’re the Son of God, he said there and then as much as you throw yourself down. Don’t you remember where it’s written there? Jesus, he’ll command his angels concerning you. They’ll lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike a foot against a stone. What Jesus do, bind him up? No, he said, It’s also written don’t put the Lord your God to the test. You notice he said the Lord your your God. Satan, don’t put me I’m your God to the test. You don’t even know it. Again, the devil took him to a high mountain and showed him the kingdom of the world and their splendor. And they said, I’ll give all of this to you. If you’ll bow down and worship me. What do you say? Wow, to hear Satan. Cast you way, mind you that a pray? Quoted truth. Away from me Satan. Worship the Lord your God and serve him on your God. The devil left him and angels came and attended him. How come the devil left him? Cause he told truth. Certainly didn’t leave him because he had suddenly become strong and body been fast and 40 days and 40 nights he was weak physically, so weak that the angels had to do what? Come and attend him, but he was strong and spirit because He was God and God is truth. Now, folks, what did he do with that truth? What do you do with that truth? Is that truth available to you today? Who indwells you? Christ Jesus who is he was truth. I am the way I am what? The truth and the Spirit of God truth lives inside of you. Therefore you and I have the ability not to just be out commanding Satan all over the place and all that stuff that’s that is not in the Bible. But we have the ability to know truth and to quote truth and to stand on truth. And when we do Satan flees.” ~ Bob George

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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.

Announcer 0:12
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Bob George 0:28
When we have these desires, whatever they start coming, the first thing we have to do is to take a look, is this a desire that I’m after? Or is this a need? If it’s a need, only God can provide it. If it’s just a desire, it’s fleeting, it can come and go in a minute. It’s a desire of the flesh. And that’s why folks that the happiest people on the face of the earth are not ones and that’s one of the problems with a fluency is a fluency gets you to the point where you no longer live thanking God for the needs that are met. All you’re doing is looking to get desires. And it’s insatiable. You get one dress you want two you get a car you want a bigger one, you get a house you want more you get furniture than all the rest of it looks bad and you got to get new furniture all away. And after the time you get the house furnish, the thing you bought first is old looking and you got to start all over again. It is insatiable the desires of the flesh are in satiable. And when we began to Learn to give in to, and concentrate our minds and our efforts and our activities on fulfilling desires of the flesh. You’re in an exercise in futility, because it will never, ever be satisfied. So only when we realize that we live on this earth with needs, and God said, I’ll meet those needs, I will supply your needs. He didn’t say I will supply your desires. He said, I’ll supply your needs. And when we live graciously, with our minds, on the gratefulness that we are for the needs that are met in Christ, to be able to wake up in the morning, say, Lord Jesus, thank you. Not for what kind of a home is over my head, but the fact there’s a roof over my head, I have shelter. Thank you. To be able to realize that I’ve got food to eat, thank you came from God, to be able to realize that I have air to breathe. And I’ve got lungs that could receive it. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, that I have water that I can drink. Thank you. It’s meeting, not greed, not desires, that needs things God alone can meet.

Now what happens to us? Well, let’s turn to chapter one, verse 12, and James, see if we can shed a little light there. Bless it is the man who perseveres under trial. Folks, what that means is blessed is the man who doesn’t waver from his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ under trial. In other words, it’s not going to waver from it. We’re going to have trials and tribulation didn’t he say that in this world, you are going to have what? Tribulation, that he said don’t waver, Fear not. I’ve overcome the world. I’m bigger than that. And so it’s faithful. Its Blessed is the man who perseveres doesn’t waver under that in what believing truth, believing truth, when he stood the test, who received the crown of life that God has promised for those who love Him. And now when tempted, it says, No one should say God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. Now, who is Jesus? Who is he? Well, he’s God turned back with me for a moment to the fourth chapter of Matthew.

I hear it said that when tempted, no one should say God is tempting me. Said God can’t be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. He’s not tempting you with evil in tempting you to believe a lie, which is really what evil is the opposite of truth in doing that, now, look over here where it says Jesus was led by the Spirit in the desert. And of course, you have the the little things if you put the man rights in temptations of Jesus, quite frankly, to me, that should be the temptations of Satan. So it’s showing, what Satan’s trying to do to be tempted by the devil. Now, can you be tempted by the devil? Yeah, and what is a God cannot be tempted by evil? Can you be tempted by evil? But God can’t be tempted by evil? You see, you see what’s going on there? You’re talking about the fact that nor does He tempt anyone. Everybody wants say, oh, Jesus was tempted at all point just as we are. Well, yeah, but he wasn’t tempted. God can’t be tempted. He wasn’t sitting there struggling with these things that that he was being tempted by. And for some reason, we we want to relate to that because when we go through our temp tastes a well Jesus went through him too and he understands. No you got it all wrong. That is not hope the fact that Jesus understands he is tempted just like me let’s like I was man he he you know he wanted to go get drunk too. And he wanted to go and he was man he had his lesson all over the place but he didn’t do it. Know that in the God that you have you have a God said that doesn’t bother me at all. You tempt me all you want, but I’m not gonna be tempted God cannot be tempted. And it shows that attitude here Satan came to him, said he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry. That’s an understatement. The tempter who’s the tempter God can tempt anyone? So who’s the tempter? Satan tempter came to him said, If and that word if means in light of the fact that there’s two words. And if, if that’s a conditional if and then the one in light of the fact and as much as, in as much as you’re the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. And in other words, if you’re who you say you are, I know you’re who you are, I’d say you are. But if you’re who you say you are, go turn these things into bread. You’re hungry. Jesus said, man, don’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God, quoted right back to him, what was Satan doing? quoting scripture, quoting scripture at God out of contact and you believe the audacity of him? Here you’re quoting scripture to God out of context? How did Jesus answer that? Put a crown of thorns around the hedge of thorns. Binding I bind you, Satan, name of God, he do that? Bind him up time up with something. What do you do? What do you do? Well, I quoted Scripture to him. How come? Because scripture is sharper than any two edged sword. It’s truth. Satan is the author of what? Lies what can an author of lies cannot be around? Truth So what’s he do when you tell him truth? Well, he flees from you. That’s what resisting the devil is. Resist the devil. What is it? Stand in truth and he what? Well, he will flee from you. How come he can’t stand you and either gonna get to you that people are trying to bind Satan said You sure got some poor spread? As he says, Be pretty active to me if you’re binding him up. I don’t know what happened. He didn’t stay tied very long. That is, that sounds good. See, it’s I got power. You don’t have anything. It’s all Christ. Satan isn’t scared of you at all. He’s petrified of Jesus. So the whole issue is Christ gave you His Spirit living in you. And that is the spirit of what? Truth. What do you say do use it. Why? Because Satan can’t stand it. You’re tying him up in a bind any is just telling the truth and he has to flee from you. How come because he can’t stand to be around you. That’s what Jesus did. Took him out of the holy city and had him stand on the highest point the tempo if you’re the Son of God, he said there and then as much as you throw yourself down. Don’t you remember where it’s written there? Jesus, he’ll command his angels concerning you. They’ll lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike a foot against a stone. What Jesus do, bind him up? No, he said, It’s also written don’t put the Lord your God to the test. You notice he said the Lord your your God. Satan, don’t put me I’m your God to the test. You don’t even know it. Again, the devil took him to a high mountain and showed him the kingdom of the world and their splendor. And they said, I’ll give all of this to you. If you’ll bow down and worship me. What do you say? Wow, to hear Satan. Cast you way, mind you that a pray? Quoted truth. Away from me Satan. Worship the Lord your God and serve him on your God. The devil left him and angels came and attended him. How come the devil left him? Cause he told truth. Certainly didn’t leave him because he had suddenly become strong and body been fast and 40 days and 40 nights he was weak physically, so weak that the angels had to do what? Come and attend him, but he was strong and spirit because He was God and God is truth. Now, folks, what did he do with that truth? What do you do with that truth? Is that truth available to you today? Who indwells you? Christ Jesus who is he was truth. I am the way I am what? The truth and the Spirit of God truth lives inside of you. Therefore you and I have the ability not to just be out commanding Satan all over the place and all that stuff that’s that is not in the Bible. But we have the ability to know truth and to quote truth and to stand on truth. And when we do Satan flees.

Now look what it says so back to back to James. When tempted, then no one should say God is tempting me For God cannot be tempted by evil, just impossible couldn’t have been tempted by it. Do you understand what I’m talking about? He could be tempted but he didn’t tempted you understand the tempter comes and tempts you, but he couldn’t be tempted. Because we’re tempted, it says, By evil. Nor does He tempt anyone with evil. Well, what happens to us each one of us is tempted, tempted, when by our own his own evil desire. What’s wrong with us? Evil desires live in us. Is that true? Do you have any evil desires? Or oh, well, perfect. evil desires are in us, folks. It’s in our am station. If they’re people come in, say, How can I be a Christian? Do these? I don’t even understand that. You could ask that question. You’re a Christian, aren’t you and you’re doing it. I’ll take care of that question. We are tempted by who? Who’s the originator of all temptation? Satan. We had a call the only a day when you worry are you being tempted? If you’re thought of that, what are you being tempted to do? Worry. Is what is the opposite of worry? Faith. What is it that pleases God? Faith, then who originates worry? Satan outside of you, tempting you so suddenly that you don’t even know you’re being tempted. Because worries so natural to us that couldn’t be God doing that. That’s just me. No, it isn’t. That’s Satan tempting you not to worry, but to stop trusting God.

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Bob George 13:23
Now folks, if this truth of the Word of God was designed to set us free, then it says, Let it do. So. If you know the truth, the truth will set you free. And if the Son sets you free, and it says you shall be free indeed. Now that’s why James then said don’t be merely a hearer of the word. In other words, respond. You deceive yourself by merely being a hearer. I’m studying the Word to get to know the word. I’m starting to get the word we’re trying to be a worder. We’ve got to study to get the word so I can tell everybody about how much I know about the word. That No, you’re gonna deceive yourself for that. You study about him in order to respond to him. In other words, put it into practice. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but doesn’t do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and looking at himself goes away and forgets what it looks like. Sometimes that’s a blessing. But if your face was dirty, and you looked in the mirror and saw your face dirty, and walked away, after a while, you’d forget what you saw. And you’d be walking around the dirty face, said Now the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and that’s the law of love, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he’s heard and doing it he’ll be blessed by what he does. Now, folks, when we’re talking then about the Word of God, I want us to see and what we’ve tried to do is to establish the foundation that the whole dependency that we have on the Word of God is totally around the person of Jesus. Everything we do is around that. Everything. As I said, that’s not an argument on creationism. It’s an argument on Who do you say that I am about? Jesus? Who do you say he is? That’s the issue. And don’t let anyone get you off of it. That is the issue, isn’t it? And the reason our country schools and everything else are into what they’re doing is not because they’re not religious, who would care where they were not. Because we’re not in Christ. We haven’t focused in the Christian world hasn’t focused, we’ve allowed ourselves to be into every issue that comes down the pike. The Word of God told you and me that we are ambassadors. And he said, as an ambassador, the job of an ambassador is to what? Represent your country where? So yeah, someplace else.

Turn with me just for a minute back to second Corinthians, verse, chapter five. Let’s begin in verse 11. Since then, we know what it is to fear the Lord. And what that is it just to be until in awe of him, that doesn’t mean to sit around, you know, dodging him, just realizing he’s the Lord. We try to persuade men. What we are, is plain to God. And I hope it’s playing to your conscience. We’re not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you the opportunity to take pride in us so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen, rather than what is in the heart. If we’re out of our mind, it’s for the sake of God. And if we’re in a right mind, it’s for you. For Christ’s love compels us because we’re convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves. But for him, who died for them and was raised again. So from now on, we regard no one, from a worldly point of view. I don’t want to regard anyone again, from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in that way. We do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come, all of this, all of it is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us this ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ in Christ, not counting men sins against him. And he is committed to us this message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors. as though God were making his appeal through us, we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. How come? Because God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin, for us, for you, for me, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God. Folks, as he said to us here, we are Christ’s ambassador, we live in a political age. If you were an ambassador, to Russia, or to France, let’s say who would you be representing over there in France? The United States of America as an ambassador to the United States of America, living in France. Now, first of all, if you’re an ambassador someplace, your citizenship is someplace else, isn’t it? In other words, I’d have my citizenship here in America, but I’m serving living as an ambassador over in France. I’m living there, but my residence over there. But I’m an ambassador, my citizenships back over here. But I’m in France, but I’m not of France. Now, where did he say your citizenship is? Where does it say in heaven. It says you are citizens of heaven. Now if your citizenship is in heaven, what are you doing here? Well, you’re an ambassador in a foreign land. Isn’t that what he says? It says you are in the world. But what does it say? Don’t be of it. You’re in it. But you’re not all of it. Go to France as an ambassador, but don’t fall in love with it. Because if you fall in love with France, you’re not going to be in love with America, and you can’t serve two masters. If your citizenship and isn’t heaven, are we in love with the world? You’re not supposed to be. But if you don’t know where your citizenship is, and that’s the only place you are, that’s where you live, and we may as well get in love with it, it’s only when you understand where your true citizenship is. That is what enables you to respond again to that citizenship instead of this one down here that, quite frankly, is just temporary, in where you belong. It says you and I are ambassadors, which means we are representatives of the kingdom of God here on this earth. We’re Christ ambassadors. We implore you as Christ ambassadors, he says, Be reconciled to God quit walking around like you’re not reconciled, be reconciled to Him, understand something God was in Christ reconciling you unto Himself, not counting your sins against you walk in that walk in it. Now, if you are an ambassador to France, is it your job to go over and picket Moulin Rouge? Is it your job to go over and tell all the Frenchman of the evils of wine drinking? Is it your job to go over to France and to and to march and to and to all that kind of stuff and try to let’s let’s see if we can get the French government to change their policies? Is it your job to do that, as an ambassador? Whose job is that to try to do that? But it’s a French people’s job. They’re in it and of it. So they want to get laws changed. Let the French people get that stuff done. That’s their world. They’re in it there of it let them handle that. It’s not my job to do. Can I have an opinion? Why sure, I can have an opinion. But it’s not my job to change their laws. Is it my job to go over there and say, let’s see if we can organize a bunch of these Frenchmen. And we’ll march on France will march on Paris over there. And we’ll show how strong we are. And how many people agree with me in regard to this issue, because what they’re doing is evil. Not evil, evil.

Folks, when do are we as Christians? When are we going to believe this man called Jesus? Who said that being angry in the sight of God is the same as murder. Do you see anybody marching on being angry? No, I just see a bunch of angry marchers. When are we going to believe that inside of God adultery as an example, is as much of a sin as murder. In it all in the same lineup. And that looking at a woman with lust in your heart is the same as being angry both of them one is murder. If you’re mad, that same as murder, if you’re lusting, it’s the same as adultery. When are we going to learn from God’s standpoint? They’re one of the same. And if you’re going to pick it on something, why don’t you pick it on adultery? That’s where abortion comes from. I mean, you wouldn’t have abortion if you didn’t I believe I’m correct on that. I think my facts are right on that. I believe I still know where babies come from. Why is one sin worse than another? It isn’t in God’s standpoint. It sure is in a self righteous. The self righteous they’re going to always get mad at the sin that they are not committing. But we’re so dumb. We don’t even know what sin we are committing. Because lust is the same as murder. When we gotta learn that or do we ever want to? Well, we really don’t want to because it see I can’t get involved in a movement that way. And I have these firm convictions. Where’s our firm convictions about him?I’m not saying one way or the other. I’m saying that we had counseled I personally have counseled with hundreds of girls who were pregnant out of wedlock. I don’t know one of them that had ever gotten an abortion and I’ve never told her what not to do. People say are you pro choice? Are you pro life? I’m both. How could you not be pro choice and be a Christian when God gave you a free will? You tell me how that could be. I’m not talking about laws. The laws there brother obey it. I’m also pro life.

But I’m an ambassador and this earth. I’m not a citizen. And I’m gonna let someone else fight out that issue. And I would spend my time doing what God told me to do and what God told you to do and that’s proclaim Him and be an ambassador here on the face of this earth telling people that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not counting your sins against you. That’s our job. France’s job and their citizens is to change their laws. The ambassador’s job is to represent his country. That right or wrong? You see, Don’t you wonder why we get so excited over issues and are so blase over the issue. Christ there is only one issue. Christ. That’s all.

Announcer 27:11
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