Classic Christianity – Bad Company Corrupts – Part 3 – 9-16-26
~ 2 Corinthians 5-13-17
If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. And He died for all, 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 according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
When a person finally gets a hold of their identity in Christ Jesus everything changes. They realize they are a new creation in Christ Himself! We stop thinking in a fleshly sort of way and begin to have our minds renewed by the Holy Spirit Himself. We begin to see ourselves as God sees us. Perfect in His sight, not because of anything we do or don’t do, but because of Jesus Himself and what He did on the cross for us, and is doing through His Life living in and through us. And especially in this time of Great Deception, when the whole world is following after various things of satan who is excellent at stroking the flesh (me, myself and I) of all of us. We need to constantly step back and.ask are the things that I am doing, really of God, or are they the things my flesh wants to do? Because those two will constantly be in opposition to one another, and that actually is a good way of Socratically determining where something is of God or simply a stroked fleshly desire. And when you go to Him in prayer, and ask Him to reveal that to you, He will make it clear what is of God and what is of the world.
And remember, when the Lord disciplines us, it is for our good. Because no discipline feels pleasant at the time. And sometimes those discipline things occur through people too. When we are taught the proper way of thinking, or taught to ask the Holy Spirit to show us all TRUTH. Because many time we simply want people to simply give us pats on the back, which is nothing more than a fleshly desire. And if we have had improper thinking that we have been standing on, and someone points it out to us, we actually tend to want to lash out in the flesh of ours also. But learn to recognize that of ourselves, and remember, God is not counting any of your sins against you. And don’t get down on yourself either when it happens. All you can do is go from this point forward. You cannot change the past, and tomorrow is in God’s hands, and all we can do is live right this very moment in time by Faith. Learn how to apply Faith to ALL equations, including this very moment in time you are reading this.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1,2
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Pray to God:
Do you really want to know the WHOLE Truth of what is going on today?
Lord Jesus, teach me the truth of the world today and give me the wisdom to know the truth and identify the lies of the devil. Thank you God.”
~ In this message, Bob George teaches that believers’ bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that Christians, as the body of Christ, are called to live differently from the world. He urges listeners to flee from sin and temptation—whether sexual immorality, pornography, substance abuse, or the pursuit of worldly acceptance—and warns against being unequally yoked with nonbelievers in relationships. Emphasizing that satan uses fear and the desire for popularity to keep people in bondage, he points to the perfect love of God as the antidote that secures our identity as children of God. Drawing from 2 Corinthians, he explains that our present bodies are temporary “tents” and that God has prepared an eternal dwelling for believers, giving hope amid tribulation. Through testimony and exhortation, he calls listeners to genuine repentance, spiritual growth through God’s Word and fellowship, and a decisive, thoughtful surrender to Christ rather than a shallow, purely emotional response.
“And so, what the Lord is saying here to us guys is that I have made you into a brand new creation, and not only do you know who you are here, but one of these days you’re going to die. And I’ve not only secured who you are here, but I’ve secured who you’re going to be when you get out of this body. That that should be good news. I now know something. I I know who I am. I’m a child of God. I know why I’m here to be available to the living God who lives in me, to live His life through me. I know where I’m going when I die, absent from the body and present with the Lord. What else do I need to know? Those are the three things that’ll keep you going if you let it. And so in chapter five of Second Corinthians, why he deals with that issue. All of these things are to encourage you and to encourage your minds in regard to what God has done for you and me. Chapter five, we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house. Now, what is that eternal house in heaven? Did He build a three-story or a two-story or ranch or what? What is that eternal house He’s talking about, guys? What do you think the eternal house that He built in heaven is? Who is the house? You know, it’s us, isn’t it? Our bodies. So we’ve been given an eternal body, an eternal house in heaven, not built with human hands. But guys, catch this. In the meanwhile, he said, “We groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we’re clothed, we’ll not be found naked, for while we are in this tent, it’s called a tent, a temporary body, we groan and are burdened because we don’t wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. What is he saying to us in this world? You’re going to have tribulation. How many of you in this room have had tribulation in your life? I see. Look around now. Look around. Let’s come on. Keep your hands up, guys. Now, what does that tell you? Everybody is going to have tribulation. So why are we so shocked when we have tribulation? When the world, where the Bible, my my book says, in this world you’re going to have it. If you haven’t had it yet, just wait till tomorrow, kind of like the rain, Texas weather. Just wait till tomorrow.” ~ Bob George
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Announcer 0:13
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George Bob’s clear, timeless teachings on the complete forgiveness and unconditional love of Jesus Christ will transform your life as you learn about God’s amazing grace. Let’s join Bob as he teaches us from God’s Word.
Bob George 0:29
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? Do you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God? Do you realize that, guys? Your body and my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit of God. This building isn’t the church. You’re the church. You and I are called the body of Christ, are we not? Now, who’s our head? Jesus. If we don’t listen to our head, we’re like a chicken with his head cut off, flapping around, making all kinds of noise, spreading blood all over the place, but not accomplishing anything that God wants to accomplish. It’s a warning to us. This isn’t a message to put people on a guilt trip. It’s a message of warning. And if you’re in that situation, come to your senses and get out of it. You say, “Well, I’m in a relationship I don’t know how to get out of. Well, you’re certainly different because I tell you, a lot of people figured how to get out of it because that’s why you got 50 some percent divorce rate. Somebody said I’m through. Well, it’s not been that big of a deal. Used to be this way. That’s what I wanted to do. Now I don’t want to do that. I mean, I want to serve the Lord. I will tell you, and you know that as well as I do, as children of God, you will never regret your life of serving the Lord. Never a day in your life will you regret if you devote your life to serving Him. You go out and serve the Lord, you’ll live in serve the the flesh, the world. You’ll live in regret. You live in it. It kills you. You weren’t meant for that. You were meant to live a new life.
Guys, if we’re into things that people within my voice, for all of us, if you’re into looking at porn, I’d pitch that computer out the door so fast that you can’t see straight. If you can’t stand the temptation, pitch that sucker out the door, because otherwise it’s going to destroy your life. If you’re tempted to booze, get the booze out of your house. If that’s your temptation, if you’ve got temptations, there’s only one way God says: submit yourself to the Lord and reject it and walk away from it. Can you do it? Sure, you can. Somebody look good at the office besides your husband or wife. Looks kind of cute running around there. Smiles. You know what’s amazing? How deceiving that is. At office place, you’re looking good there. You don’t go you don’t go to work in an office looking cruddy. Man, you got the lipstick on and nice smell and perfume. Got all that, and the guys look nice. So you can you can see some pretty pretty handsome people running around. You don’t know them from Adam, but they look good. That’s the lure. Better take a look, see where the hook is. You find somebody like that that’s attractive to you, get away from them. There’s your solution. Don’t sit there and say, “Oh, we’re just friends. I’ve heard that one before. We’re just friends. Sure, your friends do some funny things as a friend.
Guys. I’m just, I’m just pointing out different things in life that we’re all familiar with, aren’t we? All of us know what we’re talking about. Don’t don’t ask for any hands to be shown. We all know what we’re talking about. God doesn’t want us to live that way. It’s not that you can’t. It’s not that it may not be exciting for a period of time, but it’s not what God has for us. It’s not His best for us, and that’s why He’s saying, “Flee from it, flee from it. You don’t have anything in common with that. I can’t tell you the number of people, guys.
I remember very distinctly because it was one of those things that that once you see the decision made by a person, you know they’re in trouble. But a girl from a very well-known Dallas family, a very wealthy family, had come to me for counseling, for marriage counseling a number of years ago, and she said. said, “mr. George, I’ve got this guy, and and he’s just the sweetest person on the face of the earth. And and I said, “Well, does he know the Lord? Well, he’s Catholic. I said, “Well, I didn’t ask where he went to church. That is, does he know the Lord? Well, I don’t know. And so I said, “Well, I’ll tell you, I’m not going to marry you until I find out whether both of you are in Christ or not, because I’m not going to marry a non-Christian and a Christian. So the guy came in. Well, I asked him every question, and I went through everything that I’d ever learned in regard to personal evangelism, and there was nothing but total rejection. It was just, I’m a Catholic man. I’m a Catholic. Don’t talk to me about this being born again stuff. I went back to her and I said, You’re making one huge mistake. That until this boy comes to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, do not get married. And I’m for sure I’m not going to marry you. Oh, mister you don’t understand. He’s the nicest guy you ever want to meet in your life. I said, well, that may be true, but I’m telling you, do not get married if you don’t know if you don’t know the Lord. She didn’t listen. People don’t listen to that. They’re too in love, and you know when you’re in love, why your head goes out the window someplace. And so she didn’t listen. And so she married him. Not I didn’t marry him. She went someplace else, got married, and six weeks later, came into my office bruised, beat up, and he had already divorced her. Beat up, he was an abuser, but she thought he was wonderful.
Guys, we don’t know people, do we? We don’t know people until you get to know them, and and I want to tell you the chances of getting a dud are a lot less with Christians than they are non-Christian. I’m not saying total, because I’ve known some real Christian duds, but the chances are less. So by the time if you got a person who knows the Lord, you’ve had time to communicate the Lord and talk about the Lord, and time to do. Pretty good chances this is going to work. But it’s saying we’re temp. Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit of God, and I, he said, and I will look at this, guys. I will live with them. That’s a promise of God. God lives with you if you’re in Christ Jesus, He lives with you. I’ll walk among. I’ll walk among them. He not only lives with you; He’ll walk with you. And I’ll be their God, and they will be my people. And therefore, come out from them and be separate. Come out from them and be separate.
Guys, we’re in the world, but we’re not of the world. The philosophies of the world should be in total opposition to everything that you think or say. It’s not our thinking. It’s His. The Lord deals with us in many, many different ways. First of all, if I’m in Christ Jesus, I do not have to live in fear. Do you know what Satan’s biggest tool is-to get you paralyzed, fear. I’ll tell you why. If perfect love casts out all fear-not some fear, all of it-are we together on that? So you want to know how to get rid of fear? Perfect love of God. If perfect love casts out all fear, then fear casts out what? Perfect love. So. So if you don’t understand the love of God, you’re in pretty sad shape because you realize these people that I thought were going to love me perfectly aren’t doing it. They’re not. It’s not being hacked there, and now I don’t have anybody that loves me perfectly. If I can’t count on the perfect love of God, who can I count on? And so satan lives to keep us fearful. Keep us fearful. Now, how do you correct that fear? By grabbing a hold of the perfect love of God. If God be for me, who can be against me? If God’s for me, who can be against me? That way, you don’t have to fear people out there. You got people who will threaten you. You got people who will say, “I’m going to wipe you out. God’s for me. Who can be against me? I’m not going to sit around fearful of people. If you am, if you are, be cautious with them. Fear. He loves to paralyze us with fear. Fear of what? Fear that I’m not going to be accepted. That’s specially big among teenagers. Is acceptance. I want to be popular. I want to be in with the crowd. Well, I want to tell you, if you want to be in with the crowd, you’re already in bad shape because the crowd is the ones are out doing all the garbage. The crowd is not the Christians. The crowd, the Christians are a remnant. So if you want to be popular among the crowd, forget about being a Christian, because they’re not going to be the popular ones out in the world. The popular ones are the ones are out boozing and drugging and sex and all that kind of stuff. They’re the popular ones among themselves. So don’t look for popularity. If God’s for you, who can be against you? Rely on that. I used to be have an insatiable desire for acceptance, want to be accepted. I grew up that way, wanting acceptance. Until I finally came to understand that I’m accepted in the beloved, and if God has accepted me, then I don’t have to live in bondage to your accepting me, and people sometimes live in bondage to acceptance, acceptance of people, and they’ll do anything that I need to do in order to be accepted, whether I want to or not. It’s not the issue. It’s just if that’ll if that’ll cause you to accept me, then count on me. Popularity, acceptance, all of these type of things are things that put us in bondage.
And so, what the Lord is saying here to us guys is that I have made you into a brand new creation, and not only do you know who you are here, but one of these days you’re going to die. And I’ve not only secured who you are here, but I’ve secured who you’re going to be when you get out of this body. That that should be good news. I now know something. I I know who I am. I’m a child of God. I know why I’m here to be available to the living God who lives in me, to live His life through me. I know where I’m going when I die, absent from the body and present with the Lord. What else do I need to know? Those are the three things that’ll keep you going if you let it. And so in chapter five of Second Corinthians, why he deals with that issue. All of these things are to encourage you and to encourage your minds in regard to what God has done for you and me. Chapter five, we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house. Now, what is that eternal house in heaven? Did He build a three-story or a two-story or ranch or what? What is that eternal house He’s talking about, guys? What do you think the eternal house that He built in heaven is? Who is the house? You know, it’s us, isn’t it? Our bodies. So we’ve been given an eternal body, an eternal house in heaven, not built with human hands. But guys, catch this. In the meanwhile, he said, “We groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we’re clothed, we’ll not be found naked, for while we are in this tent, it’s called a tent, a temporary body, we groan and are burdened because we don’t wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. What is he saying to us in this world? You’re going to have tribulation. How many of you in this room have had tribulation in your life? I see. Look around now. Look around. Let’s come on. Keep your hands up, guys. Now, what does that tell you? Everybody is going to have tribulation. So why are we so shocked when we have tribulation? When the world, where the Bible, my my book says, in this world you’re going to have it. If you haven’t had it yet, just wait till tomorrow, kind of like the rain, Texas weather. Just wait till tomorrow.
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Bob George 15:48
In this world, you’re going to have tribulation, so we shouldn’t be surprised when it has. But it says, “Fear not. What do you say? “Fear not. I have what? I’ve overcome the world. So, in other words, you may have tribulation in this world, but there is a way in which you can live in this world and overcome it when you got your mind where it belongs, and that’s on me, and you’re trusting me with your life and with the results of your life. Because guys, whatever you are going through or have gone through, there is a way out, isn’t there? There is a way out. I think of Dave Boyer, who will be here for our anniversary, and some of you have heard him and know about him. But Dave was a young guy. In fact, he about he is my age. Auditioned in New York for the Arthur Godfrey program. Now, if you know who Arthur Godfrey is, well, you’re older and dirt like me. But that was the most popular television show going at that time, and both of us auditioned at the same time for that program. Didn’t know each other, but Dave went on into the entertainment business, and ultimately, because he’s got a beautiful voice and a great presentation, so he was there with the Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Now I know some of you’re saying, “Who they? And some of those big guys back then, big entertainers back then, in the clubs, and he was right in there with with that group. And his dad, his grandfather, his brothers, all of them missionaries and pastors. He was the only rebel in their whole family, and he went that way. They went the way of the Lord. He got involved in drugs, got involved in alcohol, women, everything that the world says is so attractive. To the point where he was out on a railroad track one day, standing in the middle of the railroad track, waiting on the train to come and kill him, trying to take his own life, couldn’t take it anymore. And udder desperation, saw a payphone and went and called his brother. And his brother said, “Dave, stay where you are, and a brother went to him, found him, took him into the church, and they prayed all night long. And he came out of that church the next day saved. He left that whole world. He was tied in with a mafia, where one day, as he said, he was smoking a cigarette, and Skinny, whoever his last name is, came in and jerked that cigarette out of his mouth and said, “If I ever see you with another cigarette in your mouth, I’ll slit your throat. You preserve that throat. He was tied into the mafia. When you’re into the mafia and you leave it, they kill you. He was featured at one of the major nightclubs in Atlantic City, owned by the mafia, featured vocalists at that time. And he went back to him. He said, “Skinny, I’ve come to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and I’m not going to sing anymore in the club. He knew full well that could mean instant death. Skinny was so taken by his testimony that he said, “What can we do for you? He said, “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. You prepare all your Christian songs, and we’ll just gather, fill the nightclub full of people, and you come in and sing to us one night. And in about two months, that’s exactly what took place. Packed out the biggest nightclub in.” In the place, packed it out with people, and Dave shared his testimony, and sang songs about Jesus, and been singing them for all these years. There’s a guy made a decision. He could have gone. He could have stepped on the same way he did, and be dead today. He says, “If I if I had, I’d be dead. I had lost his wife at that time, and everything. Now they’re all back together. Everything is is is new. Everything’s a new situation. If any man be in Christ, he’s a new creation. That can happen. Some of you have testimonies of your own life where that type of thing has happened. And guys, if anybody be in Christ, he’s new. I’m saying to you, is what do you do?
Well, if I’m in Christ Jesus, I’m a new creature. That means I’m a babe in Christ. Now, what do babies have to do to live? What do babies have to do to live? They got to eat. We’re called the milk of the word. Get into the word of God and start eating. Start taking in the truth of the word of God to get to know this Jesus that has come to live within you. And then you grow. And after you grow, what do you start eating? Well, you eat some meat. So what’s that mean? I’m maturing. I’m growing, and get to know the God that lives in you. You start fellowshiping with other believers, start fellowshipping with other people who know the Lord and who have an interest in the things of God. I’m not talking about just saying, “Yeah, I know Jesus, but I don’t have any interest in talking about Him. I just wonder sometimes: Do you really know Jesus, or was it just talk? Because, guys, I’ve seen a lot of that too. I’ve seen an awful lot of, you know, especially I saw that with young people of big altar call, and you come down, the kids all gather around, and they cry over each other and everything else. And the next week, you back down again and crying over each other again, and nothing real.
When I spoke at a youth camp a number of years ago, I spoke to those kids. Said, “Look, kids, I’m not going to be talking about an emotional experience. I’m not going to be calling you down to be crying over each other. You all are smart enough to think, and I’m going to tell you something to think about, and it’s going to be about Jesus. And when I’m through, you’re going to make a decision whether I want to walk with Jesus or walk in the world. I don’t care about the emotional experience. It’s not important at all. What I want you to do is to think with your minds and to let God touch your heart.
Guys we’ve taken Christianity many times, kind of flippantly, because it is fun. Christianity is fun. It’s fun singing songs and being believers. But many times we can just take it for granted. Well, this is just kind of norm. No, it isn’t norm. Jim was telling me about going out to What is it? Shakespeare in the Park, where you go out and take lunch and lay a blanket down, hear Romeo and Juliet. It’s only one problem: people are out there with Mohawk hairdos, baggy clothes, men dressed up like women, all kinds of lewd stuff going on. Said they got up and left in the middle of it. I don’t blame you. That’s the world. It’s rotten as you can get. And guys, we need to be praising God every day of our lives for pulling us out of that. So don’t play with it. We’ve been pulled out of it. Don’t play on the periphery. Be separate. That’s what God’s called us to.
Let’s pray together. Lord Jesus, you said in your word that I will be a father to you, and you’ll be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, come out from them and be separate. If anyone sitting in here today who’s had a struggle in their hearts may have gone off, listen to what the Word of God says. It says, “Come back to your senses. It doesn’t say I’m going to beat you to death. It says, “Come to your senses. You know better. You know that what you’ve been doing has created fear, anxiety, heartache. Come to your senses and stop sinning.” Don’t remain ignorant of God, but get to really know Him. But to make a decision this very day, I am tired of living the life I’ve been living. I’m sick and tired of it. I’m sick and tired of lying, deceiving. I’m sick and tired of doing things that I know are contrary to who I am as a child of God. And I’m ready to repent and change my mind and to get back where I belong.
If that’s your heart’s desire, will you just at this very moment talk to Jesus and to be able to say, “Sweet Jesus, thank you for your love and your mercy to me and your kindness, and I once again surrender my life to you, to be your child, and to walk in the newness of life that has been given to me in Christ Jesus. Not to be like the world. I don’t even want to be like the world. I want to be available to you, and if that’s a sincere desire of your heart, God has looked down upon you, and He said, “I will be your Father, and you’ll be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. We pray these things and thank you for them, and trust you to complete the work that you began in us. For we pray it in Christ’s holy name and for His sake. Amen.
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, and praise the Lord. Amen.