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In this riveting episode of 'Real Life Radio', Pastor Jack Hibbs takes us through the profound teachings of the Book of James. This epistle, though ancient, holds timeless universality for believers today, urging us to recognize that trials are a part of the Christian journey. With an emphasis on not merely hearing the Word, but becoming active doers, Pastor Jack enlightens us on the compelling commands laid before us by James, who speaks with authority and love, guiding us toward a life of authentic faith.
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Today on Real Life Radio.
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God will allow doubt in your life. He'll allow doubt in your life so it drives you to the answer so that that doubt no longer comes up again. God will even use doubt. And that is a form of a trial.
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This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible. What if today was the day that Jesus returned? Well, that's the life-changing perspective explored in One Day Nearer by Steve Miller. And it's this month's featured resource from Pastor Jack. Now, this inspiring book helps you focus on the hope that Jesus is returning. And this book offers practical encouragement to live each day with faith, purpose, and joy. One Day Nearer by Steve Miller, available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack begins his series now called The Book of James with a message titled, Faith Well Done. Before it came one of the books of the New Testament, James was a letter sent out to those Jews who had received the gospel and had followed Christ, but they had a limited understanding of God's grace and how it works in the life of a believer. You see, these believers misunderstood the theology behind grace. You see, they thought that they could sin freely because grace could handle it, and that being forgiven only magnifies the grace of God. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that the book of James not only gives us a better understanding of God's grace, but it forewarns Christians to expect trials in the years to come, trials that produce patience, that we may be perfect and complete and lacking nothing. Now in his message called, Faith Well Done, here's pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.
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Well, why don't you grab your Bibles this morning and turn to the book of James. And we'll begin by doing a brief introduction. The book of James, he says, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James, as we begin this book, is a book written that is comprised or makes up of the general epistles. The word general epistles, the word general means actually where we get the word Catholic. That word Catholic or general means universal. It is the universal epistles, James being one of them. 1 and 2 Peter. are general epistles. First, second, and third John are general epistles. The book of Jude is a general epistle, and of course James. It means by general epistle, it means the universal teaching and doctrine. That this is a writing that was to go out to all those who claim to be Christians. And that's why even in verse 1, it says to the 12 tribes. Well, the 12 tribes weren't existing then. They had gone through the diaspora. That is, they had been dispersed throughout the nations of the world. But James, being a very good Jewish man, who had come to faith in Christ, Jesus as Messiah, was writing to all of his people. fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who were of a Jewish background. And remember, the early church was all Jewish. We forget that, don't we? We've been grafted into this wonderful salvation that God has given. We as Gentiles, God has given us this opportunity. But many of the early church were Jewish believers. And so James, being the Jewish believer that he was, writes to the tribes of Israel. Now they had again been disbanded, but they would have known, hey, this letter has come from James, one of our brothers about Christ. And we need to know that in our study because James was a guy speaking to people who knew about the commands of God. And interestingly enough, there's 108 verses in this book. And he, that is James, makes more commands. And I'm not saying they're suggestions. James is a fun kind of guy. James comes out from behind the rock and he's got a Smokey the Bear kind of hat on, you know, a sergeant cap. He's got bars on his... What do you call these things? Callers, thanks. He's a man, he comes out there and he marches, and James, just by his very wording, are you ready for this? This is not for the weak of stomach here. James says, those of you who are Christians, this is what you're gonna do. And he began to pace back and forth. You will do this, and you will do the other, and you will do the next thing, and you will do the other thing. And you might say, well, boy, that's sure hard. Oh, no, he's a perfect loving commander. He's saying, listen, if you want to have a life that is wonderful and a Christianity that is blessed, this is what you're going to do. So he's like the sergeant of the apostolic boys. Peter, he's just Peter. John, John's deep. John's very poetic. He's kind of a mystic. James, he comes up and says, all right, this is what we're going to do. Tuck in that shirt. Stick out that chest. Here we go. And our walks with God. He's all about walking with God. In fact, James, in a couple of weeks, he's going to tell us to keep our mouths shut. He's just going to come out and say, put your mouth on the back burner, will you? Notice you've got two ears. Listen twice as much as you talk. That's what he's going to say to us. He's going to really let us have it. He's talking to the Christian. You ever been in a halftime talk? This is James. He's got a ball cap on, whistle around his neck, and he's talking to the church. And I love it. The church at that time was erring in some ways, and its view was, well, we've come to Jesus. We went forward at the crusade. We got baptized. We listened to Billy Graham or watched his programs. We're saved. So it doesn't really matter how we live. And James says, oh, excuse me, it doesn't matter how you live. In fact, James is going to go on to say, excuse me, but if you do not visit the widows and the orphans, and if you do not reach out to help those that are in need, James says, don't tell me you're a believer. He says, your faith is in vain and your religion is pitiful. He's going to really let it hit the house. That's the kind of guy he is. James, this book was written between 60 and 62 AD. And it was at the end of the year 62, by the way, that James lost his life to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus. He was a martyr for Christ. This book also tells us about a faith that is well done. A faith that comes to the end of its life. experience, the end of its race, as Paul put it. And it's a faith that really accomplishes something. It's not a recreational faith. James is talking to those who really believe in God, who really need instruction and really need to be growing and maturing, like all of us. But he's gonna address a lot of things that set us back from growing in Christ. One of them is a trial or the trials of life, difficulties. If you're a Christian this morning, and even if you're a non-Christian this morning, you experience difficulties, don't you? But here's the wonderful thing for the Christian this morning. Every trial that comes into your life, God has engineered and ordained in the life of the believer. And that's what we're gonna be talking about this morning. James is talking to us about our faith being encouraged. And by the way, faith in action. James chapter 1 verse 22 is the theme of the entire book. And you all know this verse. He says, do not be... hearers of the word only but be doers of the word. Be those who do the word of God. And I thought about this for a moment and I need you to realize something and you can even go search to see if this is true. But the greatest hospitals and the plethora or the volume of hospitals worldwide, do you know who established them? Christian and Christian organizations. Did you know that? It's a fact. Even in very militant Muslim nations, the most prominent and High-end or best hospitals are Christian hospitals. Even if other nations disagree with the Christian view, they'll allow these Christian hospitals to be there because of the quality of care. What about libraries? Did you know that Christians in the last 2,000 years establish libraries worldwide so people can be educated. And by the way, if you're educated, eventually, if you use your head, you will think hard enough and long enough and you'll be a researcher and you'll be a scholar, all of us should be, to some extent or another, and you'll eventually come to the knowledge of Christ. If you use your head, if you think with evidence and if you think what is true. And based upon what the world shows us through actual science, you'll come to know God. So Christians said, hey, let's establish libraries. What do the cults do? They want to put away libraries. They don't want you to think. What does communism do? Take away your access to knowledge so they can control you. Christianity says, no, use your head, be educated and know. Because knowledge will eventually lead you to Christ. Also, Christian movements or organizations of the Christian faith, because it's a faith that does, has established humanitarian relief worldwide, even to this very hour. Humanitarian relief is going out around the world by virtue of the Christian belief. What about this? Schooling. The greatest schools in the world and the greatest schools in the United States were found on Christianity. Did you know that? Maybe you'll recognize a few of these schools. Have you ever heard of Harvard University? You ever heard of Yale, Cornell, Princeton? These schools were founded, and go back, and you can read about this. I actually had a chance to read about this. Harvard, by the way, at one time, Harvard and Yale shared the same president of the universities, and that was Dr. Jonathan Edwards. known as the greatest thinker that America has ever produced. Jonathan Edwards was an ordained pastor, a great evangelist, who supposedly preached the greatest message that's ever been delivered in America, called the sinners in the hands of an angry God. And the miraculous events that took place in New England when he delivered that message was overwhelming to the community and to the county. It went on to be produced around the world. Jonathan Edwards sat as the head of Harvard and Yale. By the way, he was homeschooled. And this man went on to be one of the greatest Christians of all time. But each one of those schools were all founded upon the Bible, and you had to have your Bible study and your grades up to maintain your other pursuits at those universities. If you were gonna be a medical student, you had to first take Bible, and it was serious Bible. You had to take Greek and Hebrew. You had to. If you were gonna be an attorney or whatever in those universities, you had to know Bible. Even UCLA, the old logo for UCLA has an open Bible talking about how the knowledge comes from God. It's very interesting. Why are we saying this? Because the book of James is about a Christianity that does, and that's what we're going to be looking at this morning. Once you look at verse 1, which is our first point, and that is there are trials in the Christian faith. Are you ready for this? There are trials in the Christian faith. How many of you are having a trial even right now? How many of you have difficulties? About 25 of us. That's better than first service. There were three of us at first service.
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Ha!
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So for the 25 of us, we know what it's like to be in a trial. But how do you handle one? You pass it over to the guy next to you. That's what you do. It's like a potato. Get it out of here. See, that's our thinking. When hardship comes into our lives, press default. Can't I erase this? Can't I highlight it and drag it in the trash can? No. Why? Because they're designed by God. Trials are going to be part of our lives. Those of you who have recently come to Christ, let me be the first to tell you, if you haven't caught on already, there's going to be trials in your life. Some of those trials, as you've just made a commitment to Christ, there's going to be doubt. Gosh, I felt wonderful the day I gave my heart to Christ, and now I'm wondering, what am I doing? Hey, it's normal. It'll pass. Here's how it passes, though. Get your doubt absolutely dealt with by getting answers. Don't let doubt go on without being answered. God will allow doubt in your life. He'll allow doubt in your life so it drives you to the answer so that that doubt no longer comes up again. God will even use doubt. And that is a form of a trial. What about anybody who's gone to... church or out to dinner or somewhere and you come home and you notice all these red lights surrounding your house and there's nothing left but a smoldering ash heap. You left the iron on or something. What's happened? You're in the middle of a trial, friend. You're in the middle of a difficulty. Are you going to think, God doesn't love me anymore? That has nothing to do with it. He loves you very, very much. The Bible says that all of us in this life, especially believers, will suffer tribulation in this world. It's going to happen. How do we deal with it? That makes all the difference in the world.
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You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
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In verse 1, it says, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. The reason why we selected or put trials of the Christian faith as the first point is because of the name James, his very name. You can, I mean, don't do this really, but you can put your name alongside James. I mean, I was going to say cross up the name James. No, don't do that. Put your name around his name because it can be you too. It can be John, a servant of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ. How can that be? Because listen, God knows you by name. John chapter 10 says that he knows you by name. When the Lord called to Martha, he said, Martha, Martha. When he called to Peter, he says, Simon, Simon. He called Abraham, Abraham. He knows us by name. The reason why trials come to the Christian faith and to our lives is because He knows us. God supernaturally engineers trials to come into our lives. And you say, why does He do that? To perfect our faith. Can't He do it some other way? No. Well, I don't like it. That's why it's called a trial. It's too difficult. That's why it's called a fiery trial. We don't want them. We don't like them. But we can tell you this. When you come out on the other side of them, it's like, all right. It's just the pits gone through it, but it doesn't have to be the pits. And we want to change this by the knowledge of the word of God. James says, James. I like that. He doesn't mess around. He doesn't say, may the grace and the Lord Jesus be with you all from the church at Corinth. He says, James, because God knows his name. God knows your name. A lot of people don't realize this, but you know, those of us who have given our hearts to Christ, the Bible says our names are written down in heaven in the Lamb's book of life. The Bible also teaches us that Satan can know our names. We don't like to hear about this, but he can know our names and he knows maybe our names. So what do you mean? Well, remember Satan came to Jesus and said, I want Peter. Wouldn't it have been great for Peter said, you know, cover his name tag. I'm not Peter. No, Satan knew Peter's name. when the sons of Sceva were watching the casting out of demons by the apostles, they said, this is pretty cool. We can make some extra cash. Why don't we go around and do the same thing? So they went into a house where a man was demon-possessed. And they said, in the name of Jesus, and in the name of Paul, come out of this man. And they probably looked at each other and went, let's see what happens. And the man turned and looked at them. Can you imagine this man's possessed? So actually his head turned a few times and looked at them and said, what? And they said, in the name of Paul and in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, come out of him. And that demon spoke to that man and said, we know who Jesus is and we know who Paul is, but who are you? And at that, it says the demon leapt out of the man's body and onto those guys and beat them up and tore their clothes off. And the men ran out of the house naked. That is classic. Hey, when we have a prayer meeting, do the demons drive by in their little spiritual car and go, oh man, they're praying again. Let's get out of here. I hope so. If they know your name, what do they think? Oh, he's just a pure potato. He doesn't even listen. He falls asleep during half the messages. Just leave him alone. He's doing fine for us right where he's at. But what if you say, you know what? I want to be different. I want to follow God. You know, the halls of hell go, wait a minute. Hold it. We've got somebody who wants to make a commitment. Go up there and sow some doubt and wreak havoc in their lives. And God says, listen here. Nothing comes into your life unless I first filter it. Greater is he that is in you than he that's in the world. You are my child and you've been bought with a price and you are 100% mine. And if trials come into your life, they're engineered by God. Now the non-believer cannot say that. They're kind of like out on their own. with an umbrella that's been like charred with lightning, right? It's just the little metal rods. And they're standing there. God says, those of you who are believers, you're under my umbrella. Everything from the losing of a job to a sickness to, you know, death or to cancer. Last service I had a man come up and say, I have cancer. And I want to thank you with tears in his eyes for this message. Trials of life. God is there. He is going to be working in our lives. Trials will come to the Christian faith. And this is the comforting thing about it before we move on to verse 2. James comes down, so to speak, to the rapids of the river of life. And he comes over to the shore and he's in now still waters. He's got his big bullhorn. And he says to those getting ready to go through the rapids, James says, you're going to make it. You're going to come through this. We've all done it. God's going to see to it. You make it. So you just hang on. I don't feel like I'm going to make it. He says, hang on. I'm scared. I know. Hang on. The doctor just told me I've got leukemia. Hang on. We're losing our home. Hang on. The greatest thing that you possess in your life is not your home, it's not your car, it's not your job, it's not your kids, it's not your parents. It is faith in God. Your faith. When you lose faith in God, you lose hope. And then you lose your life. But faith in God. God's view toward us right now is that our faith might be strengthened. And he says, James, God knows our name. The Bible says in the book of Revelation, he's going to give us new names in heaven. Isn't that good? Some of us who have kind of goofy names. I'm not alluding to my first name, Jack. It's my middle name. Don't even ask anybody. It's top secret. It's classified information. I arrested you to know my middle name. So don't even ask. That name, thank God when it comes that day, we're going to give you a new name. I'm going to run up front. I deserve a new name with the name I had. He's gonna give us new names. He knows our names now. He's for us. And it says that, He's a servant. James is a servant of God. And I just want to point this out because it's kind of beside the point, but it is interesting to know that in the Greek scripture, it says James of the God and Lord Jesus Christ, his servant. That just simply means that Jesus Christ is God and Lord. And there's no other way to interpret it. Those of you who might be doubting the deity of Christ, James chapter one, verse one declares Jesus is God. So does Revelation 1, 17 and 18, and Revelation chapter 2, verses 4 through 8, and many other passages. Titus 2, 13 as well. But Jesus Christ is God. And all of a sudden that changes the position of a bondservant. See, the word in your Bible says servant. Some of your Bibles say bondservant. The word bondservant is the actual word doulos. In the Greek, it means that he is a bondservant of God. He has been selected. The word means selected by the master. Now, a lot of slaves in that culture were purchased out of the slave markets. But then, listen, after six years of servitude to that master, you were to be set free. That's a pretty nice program, isn't it? You weren't a slave for life. Guess what? unless you chose to be. And how do you choose to be a slave for life and why? Because many masters were very, very good masters. And what happened during that time of slavery is that you discovered that you were in a pretty good situation. And at the end of your time, you could go to your master and say, Master, I want to become your full-time servant. I want to become your bond servant. You selected me, and now I'm responding to you. At the end of this term, my six years, which is now, I'm asking you, will you take me on? And if that master decided to take that slave on, he would place his hand on his shoulder and he would make a decree. And he would say, you are now a member of this household. Just like Caesar had his household, so a master could have his household. It was, listen to this, his wife and his children. And when that bond servant came into the ranks, he might have had a wife too and children. A place was set up for them, Pay was to be given to them. They became a hired hand, but also almost a family member, to the point that a bondservant often had jurisdiction over your own children. They made sure that they went to school. They made sure that they were taught. They made sure that they were fed. The bondservant, in fact, it's not too foreign to us if I introduce the name Joseph. Joseph was, so to speak, a bondservant of Pharaoh. And look at all the responsibility he had. You see, all of a sudden it changes. When we're a bondservant of God, that sounds very low, doesn't it? Notice who you work for. You work for God. I thought I worked for IBM. No, you're ministering at IBM. Did you know that? Well, I thought I worked for the county. No, you're ministering at the county. That's where God has called you to be a witness. But you work for God. And all that you do, says the Bible, due to the glory of who? God. That's who we work for.
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pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Faith Well Done. We're glad you could join us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Book of James. It's a series on walking in faith by putting it into action. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. You know, keeping our eyes off of ourselves and on what would please the Lord and bring Him glory takes a special kind of determination and focus. That's why starting the day with devotions is a great way towards a meaningful and lasting relationship with Christ. But with tight schedules and hectic lifestyles, we don't always want to waste precious time searching for inspiring devotional material. So, Pastor Jack has written and provided them for us. Simply go to our website, jackhibbs.com, and click on the tab labeled Devotions. There's a new one every week, along with quick and easy access to previous devotions with titles such as The Eternal Love of the Lord, Our Awesome God, and Blessings in Abundance. You can even subscribe to Pastor Jack's devotional newsletter when you type in your email address. Again, it's available on our website, jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. You can also have access to Pastor Jack's devotions when you download the Real Life app for your smartphone or tablet. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
Today, Pastor Jack teaches that wealth can go to our heads, and affect our hearts. Having wealth is not evil, but people having wealth often exploit the poor, while God chooses the poor to be rich in faith, and heirs of His kingdom.
The post Partiality And Its Influences – B first appeared on Pastor Jack Hibbs.
Join Pastor Jack as he addresses the pervasive issue of partiality in today's spiritual journey. Drawing inspiration from James, he warns against the dangers of showing favoritism and advocates for a true understanding of God's equal love for all. This episode invites believers to reevaluate their actions and embrace the true essence of living faith, marked by love for every individual, irrespective of status or wealth.
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Today on Real Life Radio.
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James is trying to convey the fact that if we hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with partiality, we are not only blaspheming against God, but we are gross transgressors.
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This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible. Did you know there's an easy way to stay informed on the latest biblical events shaping our world today? Check out the Happening Now section at jackhibbs.com. Now, these live events feature Pastor Jack Hibbs alongside special guests diving into current events, cultural shifts, and how they align with biblical prophecy. It's a unique blend of Bible teaching and real-time analysis that helps you make sense of today's headlines through the lens of Scripture. Happening now is not just about information. It's about equipping you with the truth and encouraging you to stand firm in your faith, no matter what's happening around you. Now, these discussions are eye-opening, they're thought-provoking, and they're a great way to stay spiritually grounded in a rapidly changing world. Whether you watch live or catch up on past events, Happening Now will help keep you connected to God's Word and what's going on in the world today. Visit jackhibbs.com and click on Happening Now. Don't just watch the news, understand it from a biblical perspective. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues now with his series called The Book of James with a message titled Partiality and Its Influence. Now, before it became one of the books of the New Testament, James was a letter that was sent to the Jews who chose to follow Jesus Christ. And as new believers, James urges them not to show partiality. You see, partiality and favoritism are not Christian virtues. Our faith in God should keep us from showing partiality to the rich and powerful and inspire us to love the poor as we love ourselves. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that if we dishonor the poor, we are dishonoring God who doesn't value earthly wealth and status. It is not loving to treat one another based on how much money they have. now with his message called Partiality and its Influences. Here's pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hughes.
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All right, James chapter 2. If you grab your Bible and turn there, we'll be in verses 5 through 9. As we look to James, I can't turn to this book without seeing James in some kind of combat here. Either that or maybe a very almost patriarchal style about him with his robe and staff and very fatherly. I got a lot of responses from people asking me where in the world did I get the idea, the concept that James is the half-brother of Jesus himself. It's found in Matthew's gospel, chapter 13, verse 55, for one place and another in Mark's gospel. This is James who grew up with none other than God himself in his house. Can you imagine Jesus being born of Mary? Remember the story? Remember you heard the song, Mary Had a Little Lamb? That's all about Jesus. Can you imagine? The Bible says that Joseph and Mary knew not one another until Jesus was born. And then after that, the Bible tells us there were children born to them. At least there were two sisters. It mentions his sisters in the Greek plural, siblings, and his brothers. And we know them by name given in scripture. This James is the James that would have grown up with Jesus Christ. Can you imagine mom and dad saying, why can't you be more like your brother? That would have been a wild one. But I wonder how he was. You know, he was so incredibly natural, yet without sin, that the Bible tells us that even after his resurrection, his family did not believe. They came to faith as a result of the resurrection and following him. Jesus says, a prophet is not without honor. A prophet gets honor everywhere he goes, except in his own house. And every dad feels that every day, don't you? It's funny, familiarity, the old saying goes, breeds contempt. You can become so common with something that you lose the perspective. Roby Duke, a moment ago, sang the song about when we've been there, you know, 10,000 years and all this wonderful, all the wonderful sights about heaven and all the things that we're going to experience and the joys of being there. We'll see him. We will see him face to face. We'll touch his face. Can you handle that? Can you imagine that we will see God face I lose perspective. I'm a pastor. I'm in the word. I'm with people. I live for you. My life is with him and you. It's like this. And I can lose perspective. You would think the closer that you maybe traffic with people and deal in the things of God that, you know, the more up and the more exciting and the more you would see. And sometimes it's not true. Warren Wiersbe says in his commentaries and in one of his books that's very encouraging about on being a servant of God, he says, be careful. Those of us who are Christians, be careful that we don't treat the things that God's called us to do as common. It's so easy to do. It's so easy that you and I can begin to treat one another as common. That there's nothing special about us. Do you realize that when God looks at us, he sees us as something so special? It's such a gem. All the stuff, all the junk that's going on in our lives, all the difficulties. God is aware of them. He knows your failure. Now, if you're not a Christian this morning, your failure is ever before your face and it's in between you and your God, whom Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2 says has separated you from him. He cannot hear your prayers and he cannot save you from your sin until you turn. Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2. But when you do turn and say, oh Lord, have mercy on me. Your sins are forgiven. Jesus, I believe that you died and you rose again from the dead. And I come to the cross. And Lord, I ask you to apply your blood to my life. You've got to admit that the thought of that is extremely strange. Blood? We live in a culture. We live in an age. We live in a world where blood was... once almost a disgusting thing. Do you know how precious now blood has once again become? Blood. Listen, if you get in an accident, God forbid, on the way home, and you need a transfusion, what's your greatest worry? Whose blood am I getting? When you go in for surgery now, what does your doctor tell you to do? Drink, what, V8, drink tomato juice, drink carrot juice, build up your blood, and we'll draw blood from you so that after your surgery or during your surgery, we can fill you back with your own blood. Why? Because the risk of contamination is so great. The world is polluted, the Bible says, by sin. The Bible says we've been polluted by sin. Our thinking is polluted. Our actions are polluted. When we're religious at best, the Bible says we're polluted. And that's very offensive to the natural mind. It's very offensive to the mind that's trying to work its way into heaven. This week... We were at this outreach at this park, as I was mentioning earlier, there in Russia, and there was a priest that was there, and he was speaking on a microphone about something, about nationalism or something, and they asked us if we could be quiet for a moment. So we did. We were quiet. And they said whatever they said. I asked a Russian, I said, what is he saying? He says, I can't even figure out what the guy's talking about. And then afterwards, the priest went around and he was asking people for money now that that really got me he had a black robe black hat crossed around his neck and uh i looked over at joel and i said i'd give anything if i would have paid attention through my russian courses that i bought and paid for to go up and say to that guy what i'd like to say And let me tell you, there was not much of Christ in what I would like to have said. And he started heading towards our group with his hand out. And I said, okay, that's about it. And I grabbed Elia, one of the precious brothers and musicians and leaders there in the church. And I knew what I was going to say. And I was going to say to this guy, What God do you serve out here begging like this? This is disgusting. You have the cross around your neck and you're begging. The Bible says, our God shall supply all of our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus, to his glory. Well, that's what I was going to say. That sounds nice. I just quoted a verse, but my heart was not right. And when that guy saw me coming up and he stuck out his hand like that, I looked at him. And the Lord just so hit my heart. I've never heard God speak. You know, those of you who are maybe visiting here for the first time or maybe you're not a Christian yet or you don't quite understand, have you ever heard a Christian say, the Lord spoke to me? Have you ever heard that? Raise your hand if you've heard that. Have you ever heard, oh, the Lord spoke to me? I remember when I first heard that. Somebody said, well, you know, the Lord spoke to me. Well, what'd he say? That's scary. I've never heard God speak to me. I know he has said things to me, but not with words. It's almost like he gives you his thought, but you don't hear a thing. It's weird. And I looked at that guy and I put my finger up like this. And that guy looked up at me. He's a little guy. And he looked up. And Jesus embossed this thought in my heart. I want him for myself. And I was completely ready to eat this guy alive. And Jesus embosses upon my heart, I want him for me. I want him. Oh yeah, Lord, I want him too. Just stand back, Jesus. Hold me back, bro. I'm going to get him. I'll protect your cross, Lord. Jesus says, Jack, will you shut up and get out of the way? I want this man's soul. I love him. And it was so cool, and I was so grateful. He kept me from sinning, God did. I said, what's your name? He says, Alexia. I said, Alexia. Why are you begging? He says, oh, we have to put the dome on our church and it has to be polished and it has to be put in place so God can come and dwell in it. And we need this. I said, Alexi, haven't you read your Bible? Jesus says, this is the temple. This is where God wants to live now, Alexi. Where are you, man? Come on, get with it. He wants to live in your heart. Alexi, do you have hope? And he says, I don't have any hope. I said, well, then you must not have any joy. He said, I don't have any joy. Do you have any peace? You can't have any peace. He says, I have no peace. He's a priest. He's got all the trappings. He's got all the garb, black, robes, big cross, begging money to build a building. So God can live in it so that they might meet God. And I said, Alex, if you died today, where would you go? Heaven or hell? And he said, can you imagine this? I was shocked. He just said, I would go directly to hell itself. And Ely and I just sat there and we pleaded with this man and we gave him the gospel. And I didn't understand his response. He gave me a kiss right on the mouth. It drove me nuts. And we simply wrapped him up and we prayed that he would see and understand that Jesus Christ loves Americans, Russians, Israelis, Australians, Germans, What are you?
SPEAKER 01 :
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
SPEAKER 02 :
And James is trying to convey the fact that if we hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with partiality, We are not only blaspheming against God, but we are gross transgressors. Listen to the hint. I'll be giving you the end up front so you can deal with it all morning long and get over it. In verses 5 through 9 of James chapter 2, there's a hint of the devilish and demonic powers of separatism and partiality and favoritism that destroys, which leads eventually to, and Satan shows his greatest colors with, something called anti-Semitism, which is growing in the earth at an incredible rate. Did you know hatred for Jews now is rising? Is that a peak now? It's rising again. It's a sign of satanic influence. Read your Bible. Understand it. Be careful. Watch out. There was a time when the church believed they were helping Hitler for the right cause. Let's read our Bibles. Let's be careful about this thing about partiality. We think it can be so maybe benign and not so dangerous. No, when a black person is put outside because it's for whites only or vice versa, or when you walk into a hotel in a foreign country and because I'm an American, And only why, because of the power of the dollar, I'm allowed into a hotel when maybe a Russian friend has to stand outside the door. That is sick. That's perverse. And yet a culture builds itself up on that. We're a five-star hotel. With just my face. The thought is implied. He has money. He's from the West. Let him in. But this one, he's from Russia. He stays out. You say, well, you know, maybe that's a business deal. Listen, it's in the human heart. And it's wrong. And James is going to talk to us about it. And it's terrible. He says in James 2, verse 5, he says, listen, my beloved brethren. And the word listen in the Greek implies that we're not listening. It's something that we're not normally doing. So he says, listen, my beloved brethren. Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you are really, or if you are to really fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as a transgressor. Very important thing, and we'll look at several points regarding partiality and its influences. It's something that we have to fight against as a people. We have to be careful because it's something that somehow strokes the flesh. If we can somehow get into that group that's exalted, then all is well. And maybe none of us suffer from that. But have you ever seen it? Maybe some of you have. Very alarming. It leads to a spiritual issue. That is the fallen nature of man. The Bible tells us that we are justified today, you and I, if we put our faith in Jesus Christ. If we've put our faith in Jesus Christ this morning, you and I are justified in the sight of God. Completely saved. if we put our faith. This man asked me, he said, I want to believe in God. This thing about faith, it seems too easy. He says, I can look past all these things. I can look past this tree. I can look past the clouds. I understand that God must exist, but doesn't he demand more from me than just belief? And I told that Russian man, I said, you are so wise in your question. You are so bright. And I went over and I grabbed this little stool that was being used for the Congas or bongos or whatever you called them and I sat down on it And I said this is what the word means I said to sit down And I said that word trust and have faith in Christ is not to just talk about it It's to sit down on Christ to put your weight down and know he's gonna hold you up That's Jesus And he said, got it. Thank you. And we prayed. A child understands that. This little child, there's a child in between services and the... Sunday school teacher had a hold of this little baby. She says, you know, as long as I'm holding this baby, he is fine. But the problem is, he is a giant, this kid. And I am so tired of holding him, but he's happy as a clam if I'm just holding him. And I'm tired, and I'm jet-lagged right now. And I thought, you know what? I'd like to have somebody hold me like that right about now. Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't that be great to be that little... Of course, somebody has to be like 25 feet tall to hold us like that, you know, in relation to scale and ratio, you know. Rest, sitting down, putting faith, justified. 1 Peter 1.18 says, knowing that we were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold. Praise God for that. From your aimless conduct received by the traditions of your fathers. He was speaking to religious people. He's not talking to some drunk, drug addict, prostitute, brawling bum. He was talking to a very religious people. He's redeemed us from the traditions of our fathers. But with the precious blood of Christ, he has redeemed us as a lamb without blemish and without spot. We're justified. In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, the Bible says, for by, let's hear it, for by what? Grace. You have been what? Saved. Through faith. That is not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should... We were walking down Nevsky Prospect. That's the Champs-Élysées of St. Petersburg. They're the main avenue. And we were heading off to the bank. We were going to pay the bill for the hotel and all that stuff. And so Dima and I were walking along. And these two precious, they're obviously from Utah, Idaho region, two precious LDS missionaries go walking by. And I said, Dima, did you see those guys? Let's pray for their confusion. I always do that. Lord, I pray that you confuse them and bring them to faith in you. And he says, where, where, where, where? I said, white shirt, black tie, dark pants, badge. Didn't you see it? He said, no, I didn't see it. I didn't see it. And I said, you know, we're going to do a U-turn. And we did a U-turn and we followed them. And got up to them and I said, excuse me. And they turned and I said, do you have a Bible? And one said, Russian or English? And the other one said, no, we don't have a Bible. So they had a little thing between the two of them right then. And so Demas says, well, I have a Bible. So he pulled one out of the back of his pocket there. And this precious Mormon missionary says, I don't want a Bible bash. And I said, you know what? We're on our way to do business somewhere, and I have to go to the bathroom very badly. We don't have the time. I just want to ask you a question. Can you read to me Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9? And he said, in Russian or in English? I said, both. I'm American. He's a Russian. So both of you guys read it. And they read, he read, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that is not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. Not of works. Lest anyone should. And Dima couldn't take it anymore. And he said, boast. It's a boast, it's a boast. You see, it's free. Those precious guys, they're trying to work their way in. And they looked, they read that verse, they looked. And the younger one looked at the one that read it. And I put my hand on the guy's shoulder and I said, what are you believing in?
SPEAKER 01 :
pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Partiality and Its Influence. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Book of James. It's a series on being doers of the Word of God and not just hearers only. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, hey, everybody. This is Pastor Jack here, and I want to encourage you to get a great book. Now, listen up. I know there's a lot of books out there, and we certainly do push a lot of books on this program because we want you to grow, and you should have a great library. Well, listen, One Day Nearer is a book written by Steve Miller, a dear friend of mine and a great author, and here's the kick. It's a 365-day book. devotion, one for every day, and all of it is themed around being prepared to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, how to be looking for him, how to be walking in light of his return. What are the scriptures that should encourage us? All of this in this fantastic book, One Day Nearer, by my good friend Steve Miller.
SPEAKER 01 :
Get a copy for yourselves, please, and grow. One Day Nearer by Steve Miller, available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash realradio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
Join us as we journey into the heart of Christian teachings with Pastor Jack Hibbs. In a world often divided by wealth and social status, this episode highlights the teachings of James, reminding us of the spiritual dangers of favoritism. Pastor Jack shares personal stories and biblical insights to challenge our preconceptions and guide us towards a more authentic, faith-driven community. Tune in to discover how you can live out the values of love, inclusivity, and impartiality in your everyday life.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today on Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 03 :
Remember, you are a Christian first, friend. And Christians should be out there. We all should be open-armed to the world if they're poor or rich. And how much more so in the body of Christ. Showing partiality destroys.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible. What if today was the day that Jesus returned? Pretty good question that changes everything about how we live. In a world filled with distractions and uncertainty, One Day Nearer is the book by Steve Miller. It's this month's featured resource from Pastor Jack Hibbs. It invites you to refocus on what truly matters, living with the hope of Christ's return. Now, this powerful book offers biblical insight and practical encouragement Helping you approach every moment with faith, purpose, and joy because each day, no matter how ordinary it seems, brings us closer to the extraordinary reality of eternity with Him.
SPEAKER 03 :
It's a 365-day devotion, and all of it is themed around being prepared to meet the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 02 :
Don't just get through your days, live them. with the anticipation of what's to come. One Day Nearer, it's our book of the month. It's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called The Book of James with a message titled The Folly of Favoritism. Now, before it became one of the books of the New Testament, James was a letter that was sent to those Jews who chose to follow Christ. And as new believers, James wanted them to know the dangers of favoritism. You see, in Christianity, there is a great danger in showing favor to the wealthy. And they're not to be shown any sort of preference because of their money, while the poor are shown less respect simply because they lack wealth. Now, in his message called The Folly of Favoritism, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're sitting here in the church in the early days, a bunch of Jewish believers who had come out of Judaism and have made Jesus your Lord Messiah. And then also in the church, there were a bunch of slaves, Gentile slaves. That's what made up the church. The Jews had been kicked out of their families and out of their jobs. They didn't have any money. And the slaves, they had nothing. That was church in the early church. Rarely in the early days were nobility coming to faith in Christ. Now James is saying, and it must have happened there in that time, James says, into the church walks a man of noble character. or wealth in his blood, and he comes in. And if the ushers or the people or the entire church corporately together says, ooh, look, you have just begun to sin, you and I both. That guy, he's what? No kidding. Wow. Don't tell me you don't do that. You may never say it out loud, but it's in your head. Jerk, I find that highly offensive. Oh yeah, watch this. Let's say you know that Mr. J just gave a million dollars to Calvary Chapel, which he didn't, whoever Mr. J is, I'm making this up. And we would like to be showing our gratitude and gratefulness on this Sunday. Mr. J, will you stand up please? He's just given a million dollars to the building project. Let's, oh, let's remember to praise the Lord. Now, you might say, well, you know, okay, fine. Just as Mr. J leaves the sanctuary, he's parked by you. I want to see what kind of car he drives. That's in your thoughts. What kind of car does he drive? Look at his shoes, man. Those are nice shoes. That guy, that's the guy. Honey, did you already say that's the guy? That's right there. That's the guy. Gave him a million bucks. It's a little building project. Let's follow behind him with a net and see if anything falls out of loose change or anything like that. You think like this. That's the guy. Oh, you're Mr. J? You're the one that gave... I mean, yeah, come on in. It's in your mind. You know it's true. Mommy, what are you looking at? That's Mr. J right over there. See him? It's twisted. It's us. It's our nature. Oh! Now, there's reports. It's funny, because this just proves the point. There's reports. There are reports that Jim Carrey has been attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. Really? I think we're going to go. Maybe we'll see him. In fact, let's just cut the service. Let's go see if he's there. I remember when Bob Dylan used to go to Calvary Costa Mesa. Did you know that? He came, but his people didn't, it wasn't communicated clearly. And Bob Dylan, somebody assumed that his people, that in his entourage, that somebody would save him a seat. That didn't go well with Pastor Jack. We've had men known for their political careers come in here. What if Pete Wilson would come in here and there's a sign that says reserved seating right here? And you've parked and you've done your thing. You've checked your trial. Then you've come in here and you sit down and you want that seat. You walk in here and it says reserve seating. And then you see Pete Wilson come in and he sits down. I think that stinks. I think Pete should find his own seat. Why? You know what? He's a minister ordained by God. He's governor because God said so. That's why. You see, only in our minds does it exist. Listen, a man comes in with rings and apparel. The word in fine apparel means in bright colored clothing. This man, don't get me wrong, this man who's well-to-do, he's not flaunting it. He just happens to be from that background of life. Can you blame him? Are you supposed to fault him for this? You don't dare do that. God has blessed this man or this woman. You'll become envious and jealous of them. You're worse. The man comes in. He wants to worship the Lord. The woman comes in in her incredible apparel. She wants to worship the Lord. She doesn't know yet that she should maybe dress down. She comes to Calvary Chapel. People wear tank tops. People wear shorts. People wear suits. People wear dresses. I want to hear about God. I want to have Jesus as my focus. I want to hear what's happening. Why do people care about the Bible? I want to know. And somebody walks in and they sit down in all of their sincerity, though they may have $25 million, and everybody around them is going, ooh, ah, mm-hmm, mm, wow, mm, well, who needs them? And they get from one end of praise and honor to the, oh, who needs those kinds of people? Hey, your heart's wrong. God looks at them, and he looks right past all the robes, he looks right past all the rings, and he sees the heart in there that's just like your heart and my heart's. And we need to be doing the same thing for the cause of Christ. Paul said, I'll make myself to be like any man that I might win some to Christ. That means if Paul was going to go preach a message in Hollywood, you know what he'd do? He would take his robe off and put on finer apparel. Why? To impress them. Here I am, Paul the Apostle. Read my books? Huh? Huh? No. Paul would come in and he would say, okay, let's open the Bible. He would blend in. When we go to various parts of the world on evangelistic outreaches, we always make it a point. You know what? The country that we're going to this time, leave your jewelry at home. Don't wear anything more extravagant than a printed or clean type of button-down shirt. Don't wear anything more attractive than that. Why? So we blend in. Paul says, man, I'll do that. I'll do anything. Why? His motive was Christ. His desire was to preach Christ. His desire was to win people to Christ. But if you have a church standard that keeps people out, then how terrible has that church become? The dangers of shown partiality, the dangers that partiality causes... to the cause of Christ is so often rooted and grounded in appearance. The second thing is that it's the attitude. It says in verse three, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes. Pay attention, the word means to look at them with awe and envy. Listen to this. During the Roman days, and I think it continues to this moment, and you'll know why in a moment here. In Roman days, if you were gonna go to a very awesome public event, or you wanted to meet someone who was in the higher levels, you could take an animal or some collateral, could be a child, and you would take them as collateral to a treasury. And you could take them to the treasury and they would hold your child or your animal till you came back. And they would put rings of gold and silver on your hands. And you would be decked with fine apparel because you're going to go to the ball. And you'll walk in and you've got all this stuff. And everyone's head's supposed to turn. You see people at the mall, they'll do this. They'll go in the store and they come and walk in and say, I'm so depressed. I'm going to go shopping. And they look at this dress on the rack and then, or for us guys, it could be a shirt, whatever. And they go in there and they put it on and then they come out and they go like this. And watch, if they like it, they go, I'll take this one. And they walk out of the store different. Why? They've been changed. There's an outward thing that's been placed upon them. Has it changed the inside at all? Only temporarily. By what? Appearance, which affects the attitude. The appearance changed the attitude. I look nice. So I'm going to act nice. You see? It's human nature. Now in Rome, In Roman time, in the empire, you would put all this stuff on and you would go to a ball or whatever it is, and here's the deal. You would go there to impress people. You would act different because you're dressed different. And people would go, who is that? Who is that? It's like a Cinderella thing. Now listen, guess what? It's from that practice that we have now in this day the term costume jewelry. It's different now because costume jewelry is junk, right? It looks like something. Well, in Rome, if you were nothing, you put on something and you went disguised as something because something was on you even though you were a nothing. Costume jewelry earlier meant that it built you up even though you were a fake. James is saying if somebody comes into the church Don't show them partiality by giving them the best seat. Give them seats just as the poor men because we're all the same on the inside. God has blessed the rich man or the rich woman. God has blessed them. And we're not to despise it. We're not to elevate it. We're to deal with it knowing the Lord has been good to them. Blessed be the name of God. And give God the glory.
SPEAKER 02 :
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
SPEAKER 03 :
Verse 4. Have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? The word evil thoughts is to have the thought of repulsiveness or disgust. Have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with disgust? You are disgusted at the poor man who might smell or be dirty or be a street person who's come into church. You're disgusted. But to the rich man, you think different. It says also the word partiality. It's a different word found in verse four than it was found in verse one. And this word is to disgust. withdraw from one, to fold up and to put away and move from the poor man or from the one who might not be the beautiful one. It is to form a clique. It is to form a club. We are the rich or we are even the poor. We are the cool. You see, it's to form this thing, if it's good or bad, esteemed or rejected, it's to form a clique. It's wrong. It's repulsive. It's evil. And we must know that we have accountability that we must give an answer to in the end. A reaction. Somebody might say, well, we're the jock group or we're the goth group or we're the punks or we're the... No, it's wrong. Christians don't do that. You can be a punk and be a Christian. You can be goth and be a Christian. You can be a skater and be a Christian. You can be a surfer and be a Christian. Just don't make your surfing and your surfing paraphernalia the hip thing, that if they don't have the stuff, then they're not of us. Remember, you were a Christian first, friend. And Christians should be out there. We all should be open-armed to the world if they're poor or rich. and how much more so in the body of Christ. Showing partiality destroys and devastates. You can close your Bibles, we're done. I wanna leave you with this story. Partiality hurts people. Remember when you were not chosen to be on the kickball team or the soccer team or the basketball team? Remember if you were the last one or one of the few? Did you ever hear the words, well, I guess we'll take her, or I guess we'll take him? You know, you laugh about it now, but didn't it hurt then? Christians are concerned about that happening again in the lives of people, that it not happen. Ever since I was born, up into the age, I think, of about 22 or something like that, I could not speak well at all. I stuttered severely. I don't think I speak well now. I mostly confuse you guys more than anything. But I used to stutter so bad. I remember when I wanted Bobby Schroeder or Bobby Kelly to come out and play, I would say, That's how I talked. If you ever had a severe stuttering or speech problem, it hurts right here. I'm pointing to it. It hurts right below your heart and right above your stomach. There's a pressure when you're stuttering. It's very painful. It physically hurts. And if you've never had the problem, then you don't even know what I'm talking about. Physically hurts to stutter. And boy, was I popular. Oh, here comes Jack. Hey, Jack, say something. And they would laugh their heads off. I remember getting invited to some parties in junior high. And I thought they invited me because they liked me. They invited me because I was part of the joke. So that they could hear me laugh. I had a teacher in the fourth grade bring me to the front of the class and have me stand on a desk and try to read chapter one of our book. And she laughed. Man, she laughed. Listen to that. Oh, man. Listen, the class is roaring. I went home and I stuck my finger in my mouth and threw up. And I told my mom, Mom, I can't go back to... School, I'm sick. After seriously one week of sticking my finger in my mouth at lunchtime, because we lived across the street from the school, I remember one day when I came home at lunchtime and my dad was never home. He was home that day. And I did it again because I could not go back to that class. And I remember then my dad sitting me on the counter saying, what is wrong? And I remember just dying. I hadn't cried for so long, but it was all pent up inside, and it all came out then. And man, I got to tell you, maybe today that's why I kind of go nuts when I see somebody in a severe underdog position. I can't handle it. I don't care if the guy's nine feet tall and he's beating up a four-footer. I'm going to jump on that nine-footer just because it's wrong. It's wrong of me. But I so relate to somebody who's the underdog. And man, I tell you, it killed me And when I got into high school, you know, you see a nice girl, you want to ask her out. You know how many dates I didn't go on? Can you imagine? You know how peer pressure is so tough? Can you imagine going up to a girl? Hi, would you, you, you, you, you, you, you, forget it. You know what? I'm going to tell you something personally. Looney Tunes, the cartoon, when I was little, I hated Porky Pig. No, I'm not kidding. I hated him because he reminded me of my pain. And I remember getting saved in 1977. And it was somewhere around 1982 when we were in a small group setting at Calvary Costa Mesa of only about 700 people after a Thursday night service. And I remember as I was praying, Lord, if you'll just heal my tongue. I would love to tell people about you. That was in my head. The moment I said that, somebody way in the back said, there's somebody here praying tonight and they're saying, Lord, if you just heal their tongue, they want to give their tongue to the Lord and they want to speak for you. The Lord's going to heal you. You just study the word of God and that's the word to you. Well, I don't know what people thought in that room, but I turned to Lisa and I said, that was mine. That was God speaking to me. I didn't say it that clearly. But I remember one night there was a girl sitting on Lido Island in the bridge, the overpass, and she was sitting right there underneath the streetlight and I stuttered and I felt God say, share with her now. And I went up there scared to death with my Bible in my back, stuck between my belts and my pants and I pulled it out and I walked up to her and I said, excuse me, but you're probably gonna think I'm nuts, but I'd really like to share Jesus Christ with you. She goes, yeah, I'd like to hear. So I shared Jesus Christ. I didn't stutter once. And I went back to my friends and Lisa was there with some others and I said, I didn't even stutter. I just shared the Lord, I didn't even stutter. And I remember Mark going, you're not stuttering now. And I got to tell you, all my life, I was set off to the side. Partiality, I know what it feels like. Maybe some of you who have been on the top team and the top place and the top money and the top whatever, you know what, maybe you need to know what it feels like. If you want to spare yourself from pain, just trust the word of God and know that it hurts. I'm praying that this church looks out after the underdog. And if you see somebody, you don't even know their status in this life. You know what? The fact is you just don't know them. May you make it a mission to get to know them. Then you say hi to those you don't know. Because there's people in here like I used to be who are scared to death to speak because someone's going to laugh. And I thank God for it now. And friend, if that's where you're at this morning, in some way or another, I got news for you. Jesus Christ, he's called the Redeemer. He took the pain of my past and turned it into boldness. And I got to tell you, I love you, but I don't care what you say anymore. You can say whatever you want about me. You understand something? I found one 20 years ago who loves me as I am. And he's nuts about me. And I can go up to people and tell them about Jesus. Then they say, what are you, some kind of a freak? Yes, I'm a freak. I love God. He's crazy about me and he's crazy about you. I don't care what people say because the one who matters said it all. I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn you. That's all I need to hear. How about you? Let's pray. Father, we come to you and we are so glad that you are such a wonderful God who doesn't judge according to the standards of men. We thank you, Lord, that you are the one who fixes, repairs, redeems, polishes up, and sends back out into the world, able to be used by the master himself. Thank you, Lord, for allowing this wonderful truth to be housed in earthen vessels like we do. We pray, Father, that you might minister to one heart here this morning, that they don't have to look for the acceptance of their friends anymore, but Jesus. And Father, I pray that they would choose you in this life. We ask it in Jesus' name and all God's people said, Amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called The Folly of Favoritism. Glad you could be here with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Book of James. It's a series on being doers of the Word of God and not just hearers only. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
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So as you heard from our broadcast, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And if you'd like to know what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life personally, we would love to help you out with that. Go to jackhibbs.com slash know God. That's K-N-O-W God. And there you'll be guided through what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life and the freedom that you'll find in knowing God. Don't miss out. That's the Know God tab at jackhibbs.com.
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Pastor Jack, let me read you this letter real quick. It comes from Noelle. She says, Hi, Pastor Jack. I'm Noelle, and I go to high school in Minnesota. Now, as you probably know, being a high schooler in the 21st century is rough, and she put rough in capital letters, especially when you're a Christian. She says, I've struggled for a while connecting in my church, just not growing in the Word. I'm very grateful to have found your talks since they've challenged me to live out my faith at school. Wow. Thank you for letting the Lord work through you and for not shying away from controversial topics that need to be brought into the light.
SPEAKER 1 :
Wow.
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Noel says, God bless. Wow. Isn't that great? This is coming from a high schooler.
SPEAKER 03 :
Listen, I'd like to get that kind of letter from a full-blown adult.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow, God bless her. Noel, listen, if you're listening right now, yes, I agree. And... Life is, first of all, tough in this world. And so that's why from an early age and for you at the age that you're at, to say the things that you said in your question and in your comment— already tells me you're light years ahead of the game. Because you identify, you see, wait, this is tough. This is hard. I'm trying to live my life out for Christ. Noel, I'm doing the exact same thing you are. I'm literally doing the exact same thing you are right now. I'm 67 years old and I couldn't agree with you more. We'll do it together with Jesus, right? In the word of God.
SPEAKER 02 :
I'm coming with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And you're not alone. Every one of God's kids, say exactly what you're saying and feel what you're feeling. But by God's goodness through his word, we get to power through that. He'll take you through. He won't stop. So you can be very confident, Noel, that God's going to finish what he started. And if we don't get to see each other in California or Minnesota, We'll see you in heaven.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, you know, if you'd like to drop a note of encouragement to Pastor Jack, that'd be awesome. He'd really love to see what you have to say about him and how his ministry's affected your life. So please do that. Go to the Connect tab at jackhibbs.com. That's the tab labeled Connect at jackhibbs.com. Did you know that along with the radio program, Pastor Jack also has a TV show with more of the Pastor Jack Hibbs content that you like. It's called Real Life TV. If you enjoy Pastor Jack on the radio, you're going to love him on TV. So check out your local listings or visit jackhibbs.com and catch the latest episodes. That's jackhibbs.com. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
Join us as we delve into a powerful message about maintaining equality and resisting the natural human tendency towards partiality. By examining James' letter to early Christian believers, Pastor Jack sheds light on how partiality can damage the cause of Christ and obscure our spiritual vision. This episode encourages self-reflection while providing practical guidance for living a life centered on true Christian values.
SPEAKER 03 :
Today on Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 01 :
As Christians, when you and I go out into the community, are we in such a way, are we holding the faith of Christ with the heart to evangelize the world? Or are we holding our faith as Christians to associate with a certain group? We need to judge our hearts, ourselves. We need to be careful because we'll ruin what God wants to do through us.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible. Looking for real answers in real time? JackHibbs.com is your go-to destination for resources on faith, world events, and everything in between. Explore Happening Now, where Pastor Jack Hibbs takes a timely, no-nonsense look at today's biggest issues, blending biblical insight with the latest headlines. Now, whether you're curious about the world around you or you want guidance on a personal level, Pastor Jack has you covered. And by the way, don't miss the Real Life Network. It's packed with relatable, family-friendly content that really speaks to everyday challenges and triumphs, offering something really valuable for every member of your family. Now, if you're new to the faith, you want to refresh your perspective, start with that tab that says Know God, an accessible, welcoming space to learn and reflect and find your footing. Now, whatever your path, jackhibbs.com has the tools and the insights and the encouragement that you need. Tune in, log on, find something real. Once again, the website jackhibbs.com. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called The Book of James with a message titled The Folly of Favoritism. Now, before it became one of the books of the New Testament, James was a letter that was sent to those Jews who chose to follow Christ. And as new believers, James wanted them to know the dangers of favoritism. you see in christianity there is a great danger in showing favor to the wealthy and they're not to be shown any sort of preference because of their money while the poor are shown less respect simply because they lack wealth so today pastor jack teaches us that partiality damages the cause of christ We often rush to judgment based on appearances. When we meet those who appear to be wealthy, we gravitate towards them in hopes of benefiting from their riches. Now, in his message called The Folly of Favoritism, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
SPEAKER 01 :
I remember walking into Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in June of 1977. I didn't go there for the right motive, I'll tell you that. I walked in there with the wrong motive. I didn't even know it was a church. They didn't have a cross out there. What's a dove anyway? It's like some, you know, bird farm or what was this thing? I didn't know what it was. I've never known. Walked in there, sat down. Oh man, there's like 3,000 young people. My, this is cool. And I got to tell you, I drove my car up there and I was making a lot of money and I'm thinking, you know, well, this is great. People have Bibles. That's kind of weird. No, well, anyway. And I was doing great monetarily. I was young. I had money. Things were happening. And hey, I had the world by the tail, I thought, until Greg Laurie got done with that message that night, and I found out the world had a bite of my tail is what was going on. And the fact of the matter was, when he got done preaching a message that night on Revelation chapter 20, verse 11, which is about hell, I got saved at the end. I knew I was in trouble. Greg Laurie said, if you're doing this, doing this, doing that, and doing the other, you're not going to make it. And I said, aye, aye, aye. And I got up and I went forward. And I got to tell you, when I first sat down, I'm thinking, this guy playing the piano, why doesn't he get a haircut? And then from my seat, I could tell that he had no shoes on. And in fact... In this one song that he was singing, you put this love in my heart, he drug his toes across the keyboard. He had an Afro out to here. And I thought, this is a sick guy. And then when he got done, this guy comes out and they, welcome Pastor Greg. Pastor Greg? What am I in here? This guy comes out with hirachi sandals on. I don't know if I'm saying that right, hirachi, or however you guys say it, I don't know. But he had sandals on. And he had a hang ten shirt on with the big feet. Remember when I said hang ten? And he had long hair and a big full man shoe. And he went down like this. That was Greg Lurie. And he was a hippie. And I'm thinking, this place is nuts. And Greg Laurie goes, let's give Keith Green a wonderful welcome here. You know, that was the guy, Keith Green. Everyone goes, oh, you know, this is nuts. I got to tell you, if I would have known in advance there would be this Afro bearded maniac playing on the keyboards and a hippie giving a message from the Bible, I wouldn't have gone in there. Because my concept of church was stained glass, steeple, robes, sleeping, boredom. And I was terribly convicted, but guess what? I was there on Thursday night. I was there Saturday night. I was hooked. Because it wasn't the focus of the things, it was the focus of Jesus. He was the issue. He was the glory. In James 2, 1, the Bible tells us here in the original that we are not to hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory. with partiality. Jesus is the glory. It is him. He is the one. He's the bread of life. He's the light of the world. He is the living water. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. He is the glory. Colossians 1, verse 27 tells us that it is Jesus who is the glory. Hebrews 1, verses 1 through 4 tells us that Jesus is the expressed image of God, his glory. The glory is Jesus. You see, partiality undermines and robs God of his glory. Partiality is dangerous. It doesn't only undermine the faith, it steals and robs the glory from Christ. Well, how does that happen? Because if you and I have someone as an idol, on the throne of your heart. Well, I don't have an idol but God. Well, let me clarify it this way. Who do you think about the most? That's your idol. That's the definition of an idol. Whatever occupies your attention. If it's not Jesus, it's an idol. Whoever's on the throne is our God. And when we give someone, because of partiality, attention, worship almost. I mean, it's like they're up there. We've knocked Jesus down. We've put them up, enshrined them, and we pay them the attention. We'll come to this more clearly in a moment, but the fact is it's dangerous. It'll destroy a church if somebody idolizes somebody in the fellowship. If the pastor is being envied by people or idolized by people, that's why it's very, very dangerous for a minister or an evangelist or somebody who's in the public eye. I think it's very, very dangerous for them to be driving vehicles that are outside the realm of the congregation or to be wearing clothes outside of the realm of the congregation. I got to be honest with you. If you come over to my house, and this is not to puff me up at all, You see what I'm wearing? This is dressed up for me. I spent 12 years wearing a tie, and I'm out of that thing. This is dressed up. This is Sunday. But I got to tell you, in several hours from now, I'm going to have my thongs on with my shorts and a tank top. Oh, that's the way I would come here if I could. As Christians, when you and I go out into the community, are we in such a way, are we holding the faith of Christ with the heart to evangelize the world? Or are we holding our faith as Christians to associate with a certain group? We need to judge our hearts, ourselves. We need to be careful because we'll ruin what God wants to do through us. You know, a church can become like this. Church can be stuffy and it can become cold. I'm sure that when the church started, it didn't want to have a goal like that. Well, what's the vision of this church? Well, in about seven, eight, nine, ten years, we'll become the most snooty, uppity bunch of people in the community. That's what we want to do. No, I'm sure it's not that way. It just kind of happens. Little fellowship, hardly any money. It's humble. You watch, boy, as a pastor, you're watching every little penny. You got to just make sure, you know, we can get that cheaper across the street. Let's go over there. You'll watch everything. Then a church grows. More money comes in. You're able to get seats. They're not metal anymore. They got padding on them. Beginning of the world, money's coming in. You don't have concrete floor anymore. You put carpet down. You have air conditioning. You gotta be careful. It's not wrong to have a more comfortable place to worship, but what happens is, does your heart become too comfortable? Do you become sleepy in the hearts? Does the ministry slip into this thing about, well, you know, let's get this, let's get that, let's get the other, and you got a warehouse of junk that you're not even using anymore because of silly decisions? Listen, be careful. You can quickly, as a church, enter into the realm that we've made it, we've somehow arrived. Well, you say, yeah, I knew a church like that, or I go to a church like that, or whatever the case might be. Listen, the danger is it started out, are you listening? It started out with a heart. That's where it started, in a heart. And it undermines the faith of Christ and it robs the glory. It robs the glory. In Matthew 25, verse 31, the Bible says, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on his throne of his glory. It's very important that we realize that. So the dangers of showing partiality in verse 1, number 1, is that it undermines the faith of Christ. Number 2, it robs the glory of Christ. The third thing we see in verse 1 is that partiality hides the truth. from our view. It hides the truth from our view. If you and I are partial, and we are, did you know that? That's what James is telling us. Every one of us are partial. We show favorites toward people. Maybe it's we only listen to them. Maybe somebody can be telling you one thing, and somebody comes up and says exactly the same thing, but you receive it from them and not from the other. That's partiality. They say exactly the same thing. It's not that they say something different. Exactly the same thing. Why did you receive it? Because you hold them in a place. The same flip-flop of that is somebody can say something about someone that you can receive from and then no longer you can because you've received the view of partiality. It messes up the way we think and see. Do you understand? Do you see how that is? Somebody can walk up and now I'm going to think about a name that nobody would have in this place. I would say if somebody came up to you and said, did you know that Hephzibah... Ma'am, I'm sorry. No, I'm kidding. Did you know that Hephzibah was a prostitute before she came to Christ? And then 10 minutes after that, somebody comes back or maybe it's the same person says, I'm sorry, did I say Hephzibah was? Oh, it was, you know, some other name. What are you going to do for the rest of your life when you hear the name Hephzibah or see Hephzibah walk in the church? Oh, nice to meet you. And you're mine. Hi, nice to meet you. It's good to see you. She was the one that was confused and labeled a prostitute. That's in your head. Oh, did you hear that? John is a... And then it's not true. It's in your head now. It's in your heart. It pollutes the way you see. You and I fight this. You and I don't fight it enough. Because you and I will hear something from someone and we will form an opinion before we ever go ask if the person that's being discussed, if it's true or not. It goes all around town, but you need to go to the person and say, you know, so-and-so said this, is that true? Why? Because in your own heart you can form an opinion and it skews the way you think. You'll become partial to either reject them or if it's positive in a twisted way to accept them. He's got money, I like him. It's dangerous, it destroys a church. Partiality skews or hides our true view. It's damaging, it's dangerous.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
SPEAKER 01 :
in acts chapter 10 verse 34 remember peter goes to joppa he remember he's the apostle peter jesus has long been ascended into heaven the holy spirit's living inside of peter it's so amazing acts chapter 10 there peter is in joppa and remember he's hungry he's very hungry remember he goes on top of the roof on that beautiful little sea town he goes on top the roof And he's going to catch a nap because they were probably cooking lunch down in the house. And being on that part of the coast there, they're probably cooking fish tacos. I'm sure they were cooking fish tacos. And Peter's there waiting. He's waiting. He falls asleep. He's hungry. He falls asleep. That's a good way to pass the time when you're hungry is sleep it off until they wake you up and say, it's dinner. That's a little thing that I do. So he's there sleeping and in his sleep, the Lord descends in front of him a big sheet and Peter looks inside the sheet and he sees all unclean things that God has created. Well, Peter was a Jewish boy. Peter is hungry and he's Jewish. No problem. But then he looks in the sheet and there goes a lobster walking by. There goes a pig, goes right by in his dream. There goes a snail, goes right by. There goes whatever's unclean, goes right by. And Peter's looking at and he's thinking, boy, am I hungry. What? I'm a good Jewish boy, so I can't eat pork chops today. And the Lord says, Peter, stand up, kill and eat. I like how the Lord speaks to men. Stand, kill, eat. Stand, kill, eat. Peter goes, no, Lord. Lord says, stand, kill, eat. Peter goes, no, Lord. The third time, in a vision, the Lord says, Peter, stop it. Get up, kill it, and eat it. Don't call anything that I've made unclean. Kill and eat. And then Peter in Acts chapter 10 is saying, you know what? I perceive that God wants to save Gentiles too. Could it be? Peter was thinking with partiality. The Jews thought in those days that Jews were the ones to go to heaven and Gentiles were made to be presto logs for hell. That's what was taught by the chief rabbis. It's true. The chief rabbis believed and they taught that Gentiles were going to be presto logs for hell's flames. We just stoked the flames of hell. That's who we were. And Peter goes, God is saying that he even wants Gentiles to be saved. I've perceived this. It was like a major revelation to Peter. Isn't that amazing? You see how he even had partiality in his heart? And you and I struggle with it every day. We'll see how much in a moment. The second point is this. Partiality damages the cause of Christ. Partiality damages the cause of Christ, verses two through four. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings and fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and you say to him, you sit here in a good place. And you say to the poor man, you stand there or you sit here at my footstool. Have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Verse three says, Partiality damages the cause of Christ, first of all, jot it down, by appearance. Appearance. The appearance, it affects the way we see things. The appearance. Look what it says. For if there should come into your assembly, the word assembly, actually in Greek, is the word synagogue. That's Greek, synagogue. It's the synagogue. The early church met in synagogues. Synagogues had worship with the Jewish community on Saturdays. And according to church history, the early church used the synagogue on Sunday mornings because that's when they could rent it from the local rabbi. So they would use the synagogue. And James uses the word synagogue here. And so they come together, he says. And in your gathering comes one... Listen, the Greek word... In comes one who is golden fingered. In those days, when someone was very wealthy or of nobility, they wore rings on their fingers, brother. I mean everywhere. They had rings. They could move their hands like this, but the rings were... separated at the joint so the knuckles can move. Their hands were covered in jewelry. Listen, this will make sense to you in a moment. You ever seen a movie where they have even jewelry from the wrist up to the elbow? And then from the elbow up to the shoulder, like the Pharaohs and really big guys you've seen in movies, you know, Charlton Heston, all that kind of stuff. Have you seen all that? That was a show of power and of wealth and of education. Now listen, you're sitting here in the church in the early days, a bunch of Jewish believers who had come out of Judaism and have made Jesus your Lord Messiah. And then also in the church, there were a bunch of slaves, Gentile slaves. That's what made up the church. The Jews had been kicked out of their families and out of their jobs. They didn't have any money. And the slaves, they had nothing. That was church in the early church. Rarely. in the early days were nobility coming to faith in Christ. Now James is saying, and it must have happened there in that time, James says, into the church walks a man of noble or wealth in his blood, and he comes in. And if the ushers or the people or the entire church corporately together says, ooh, look, You have just begun to sin, you and I both. That guy, he's what? No kidding. Wow. Don't tell me you don't do that. You may never say it out loud, but it's in your head. Jerk, I find that highly offensive. Oh, yeah, watch this. Let's say you know that Mr. J just gave a million dollars to Calvary Chapel, which he didn't, whoever Mr. J is. I'm making this up. And we would like to be showing our gratitude and gratefulness on this Sunday. Mr. J, will you stand up, please? He's just given a million dollars to the building project. Let's remember to praise the Lord. Now, you might say, well, okay, fine. Just as Mr. J leaves the sanctuary, he's parked by you. I want to see what kind of car he drives. That's in your thoughts. What kind of car does he drive? Look at his shoes, man. Those are nice shoes. That guy, that's the guy. Honey, did you hear what he said? That's the guy right there. That's the guy. Gave him a million bucks. He's on a building project. Let's follow behind him with a net and see if anything falls out of a loose change or anything like that. You think like this. That's the guy. Oh, you're Mr. J? You're the one that gave, I mean, yeah, come on in. It's in your mind. You know it's true. Mommy, what are you looking at? That's Mr. J right over there. See him? It's twisted. It's us. It's our nature. Now, there's reports. It's funny because this just proves the point. There's reports. There are reports that Jim Carrey has been attending Calvert Chapel Costa Mesa. Really? I think we're going to go. Maybe we'll see him. In fact, let's just cut the service. Let's go see if he's there. I remember when Bob Dylan used to go to Calvary Costa Mesa. Did you know that? He came, but his people didn't. It wasn't communicated clearly. And Bob Dylan, somebody assumed that his people, that in his entourage, that somebody would save him a seat. That didn't go well with Pastor Jack. We've had men known for their political careers come in here. What if Pete Wilson would come in here and there's a sign that says, reserve seating, right here. And you've parked and you've done your thing, you've checked your trial, then you've come in here and you sit down and you want that seat. You walk in here and it says, reserve seating. And then you see Pete Wilson come in and he sits down. I think that stinks. I think Pete should find his own seat. Why? You know what? He's a minister ordained by God. He's governor because God said so, that's why.
SPEAKER 03 :
pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called The Folly of Favoritism. Glad you could be here with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Book of James. It's a series on being doers of the Word of God and not just hearers only. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Hey, Pastor Jack, there's a pretty cool book that you've actually read. Yeah. I've peeked at it. It's One Day Nearer by Steve Miller.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. You like it? Listen, I love it. I'm encouraging everybody to get their hands on this. That's why it's being featured with us right now, Davey. One Day Nearer. It's a daily devotion. Here's what's cool about it. Anticipating the Lord's return. It's 365 days of... Scripture verses that walk you through how the believer should be living with the expectation. You know, throughout the theology of the Scriptures, the believer is to be waiting constantly. The Bible makes it clear. Jesus even makes a strong argument how in the parable of the ten virgins, they were to endure waiting for His imminent return. They didn't know when He was coming, but they were to be prepared for His coming. And this is actually a great book because it keeps you every day in the mindset that today could be the day, or this year could be the year. And somebody might say, well, nobody knows the day or the hour. Of course that's true. Nobody knows the day or the hour. The point is this, friend. Every day that you get up, you are one day nearer to the return of the Lord. And this is a great book. Steve Miller is a friend. He is a great author, and he has put out a great book. Please get your hands on it, everybody. You will not be disappointed, I promise. Make sure you make it part of your 365-day experience with One Day Near with author Steve Miller.
SPEAKER 03 :
One Day Nearer by Steve Miller. Available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
