In this compelling episode, Pastor Jack reminds us that true Christian maturity lies in not just knowing about Christ, but truly embodying His teachings. Through vivid storytelling and relatable examples, we see how spontaneity can lead to downfall, and how alignment with God’s will is found in scripture and prayer. Pastor Jack emphasizes the importance of making decisions backed by scripture rather than emotional conviction, urging us to deeply root our lives in the word of God as we navigate the last days.
If you are going to make a decision, have scriptures in context, verses, chapters, take it before the Lord and pray and have God confirm it. Until He does, sit still.
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. The cross. For a lot of us, it’s just a symbol that we wear around our necks, right? Display in our homes or maybe hang from the rearview mirror. But what if instead of being a decoration or accessory, the cross motivated and shaped the way we live every single day of our lives? What if it wasn’t about hiding or minimizing our sin, but actually crucifying it in order to move forward in the freedom that Christ offers? Born Crucified, it’s a book by Ellie Maxwell. In this book, you’ll discover what it truly means to live in a cross-centered life. This short but very powerful book is a classic for every Christian’s library. It reminds us that the cross isn’t just a symbol. It’s the key to victory over sin and the power to serve God effectively. Now, if you’re ready to experience the freedom and purpose found in a life centered on the cross, this book is one that you should get. Born Crucified. 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 now called The Book of James with the message titled, Patiently Enduring in the Last Days, Part 2. You know, before it became one of the books of the New Testament, James was a letter sent to the Jews who chose to follow Christ. And as new believers, James encourages them to endure and be patient in all things through Christ. You see, waiting patiently for the Lord to come is the Christian attitude we all need to have. Luxury and ease often lead to corruption, faithlessness, and grumbling. While on the other hand, hardship and dependency on God leads to faith, expectancy, and patience. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that we need to decide to be like Christ in our own personal growth. and in our concern for the salvation of others. As Christians, we’ve got to decide today to be obedient to all of what God has commanded us to do. And now with his message called, Patiently Enduring in the Last Days, Part 2, here’s pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.
SPEAKER 02 :
The fact of the matter is, behold, the judge is standing at the door, should cause us to fear the Lord. And I don’t mean that in a mean fear. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That word is better rendered for our age and our time to be in awe of God. To be in awe. Last night I laid down in the backyard with my binoculars and I looked up at the stars. And I don’t know if you’ve done that in the recent past, but you ought to do it. All of a sudden, you feel real small. And you stand in awe of God. That’s how we are to be. In verse 9, he’s telling us we need to be careful. We should be in awe of God and be living like we really believe in him, watching our mouths. I’m chuckling on the inside because it wasn’t too long ago, a little over a couple of months ago, big construction, I assume he was a construction guy. He looked like one big, big fella. He gave his heart to the Lord. Went back in the prayer room, bowed his head, gave his heart to the Lord, got a Bible, come walking out there. This big guy’s huge. Got a Bible in his hand. He came up to me and he just goes, I want to tell you something. That was a hell of a message. And he’s like, And he’s, praise the Lord, you know. It’s kind of cute because they haven’t got all the Christianese under their belt yet, you know. He didn’t know. He just got born again. There’s a little bit of stuff in his diaper still, you know. He’s just coming. Man. You know, I don’t know how you handle that. But I thought that was pretty cool. He’s so rough around the edges. I love it. Now what do I do? What does Jesus want me to do? I say, you read the, start right here in this book. All right. That’s something. But the fear of the Lord to be in awe of God, in a very strange way, he was in awe of God, not knowing the terminology, didn’t know what to say. But it’s the fact that Jesus could return at any moment that drives the teaching ministry of Calvary Chapel here. And drives the mission ministry. And should drive every effort of this church. That Christ could come back at any moment. That’s why people go door to door during the week from this church. Giving people the gospel. And people are going around the world. Either in teams or being sent out. Because we’re living in the last days. Very, very important to live in that heart of expectancy. Now we look at the second point in verses 10 and 11. The second point being that we must take the Bible literally in our lives. We must take the Bible literally in our lives. We’ll see how right now. My brethren, James says, take the prophets. Listen to the prophets. Who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Why is he bringing this up? Because people living in the last days are going to be suffering if they make a stand for Christ. Well, I’m not suffering, you might say. I’ll tell you. I hope none of this… Message makes it by tape to England, but come with us next time if we ever go to London again. You want to suffer. Stand up and say, I’m a Christian, and Jesus died for your sins. You better be ready to duck. Jesus says the Scriptures teach us that all those who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. Where we work, the neighborhood in which we live in, the people who know us, Do they know us for our Christianity or do they know us for our smooth business tactics? Are we a closet Christian? Closet Christians, they’ll have no persecution. They’ll have no attack from the world. But Jesus told the disciples, listen, don’t be offended. They hated me first before they hate you. We need to take the Bible literally, and he says, consider the prophets. Well, let’s consider the prophets. They were often killed for what they said. They died, many of them, for proclaiming the truth of God in advance. That’s why they were the prophets. That’s what your Old Testament is all about. But here’s the amazing thing. He is telling us, the church, be patiently enduring these last days like the prophets who suffered and were patient. Well, listen, people, we’ve got it much better than they did. You want to know why? Because they had no fulfillment of the promise. The prophets of God stood there and proclaimed their message. Many of them stoned to death. Many of them killed. And they prophesied about things that God said to talk about and it did not come to pass in their lifetime. They died trusting in what God was speaking through them. Now we live on the other side and we see all of these wonderful prophecies of Daniel and of Zechariah and Jeremiah. We live on the opposite side and we look, what, back. But how much easier it is to believe now when we have not only the incredible accuracy of the Bible, which is foolproof, but its archaeological accuracy and its linguistic accuracy and its historic and its scientific accuracy. And on top of all that, it’s pure integrity, flawless. The Bible in the original language, flawless. How do you handle that? James says, I tell you what, be encouraged because the prophets of old made it, even though many of them died. But look what he says in verse 11. We need to take the word of God literally because there was really, truly a man by the name of Job. Indeed, we count them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. I have to be quick on this. Listen carefully. Job. According to most scholars during that time in the Middle East, Job was quite possibly the most wealthy man on the face of the earth. Job was robbed of his children. They were all killed. He lost his possessions. He completely had nothing. He went from being a billionaire, a Bill Gates type, to a nothing. He went down to the dump. He got broken pottery and he sat in an ash heap and scraped pus off his skin from infections. And then his friends come. Or his enemies. I don’t know who they were. His friends came, and they said, Joe, we’ll pray for you. And they’re praying. Well, about a half an hour goes by, and they get a little frustrated. Joe, he’s sitting there. He’s lost his kids. They’re all killed. He’s lost it all. And one guy gets the idea. I must have been watching current Christian TV. Well, you ought to confess the sin in your life. That’s why you’re sick. You’ve got too much sin in your life. And this knucklehead goes on to counsel Job about how much sin’s in his life. Job says, you know what? I’ve searched my heart. I’ve gone before the Lord. There’s no sin in my life. I don’t know why this is happening. I don’t know why my kids all got killed and everything I own’s been taken away from me. But he says, you know what? I’m going to trust the Lord. Did you hear that? If we all lost our jobs tomorrow, would we be here next Sunday? Or would we be shaking our fist at God? Be careful. Difficulties in this life are to bring out what’s deep inside of our hearts. Terrible news, hard times. I was blessed this week to where a man is dying. And his suffering situation brought him the assurance of his salvation with Jesus Christ as we shared with him the gospel. But it wouldn’t have happened. The situation wouldn’t have normally happened. without the suffering. Be patient. It’s easy to say. Job’s wife comes up to him and she says, man, you’re a mess. Curse God and die. That’s how fed up she was over the whole deal. And Job said something that we all need to grab. Job said this. He said, I’ve served him in bounty, in pleasure, in luxury. Should we not serve him in poverty and in loss? And he’s mocked for his integrity. Are you following God for what you can get off of him? Are you following God because he’s God? Because in the end, we go to heaven. Because in the end, it’s true. And the world will know that Christ died and rose again from the dead. An angel is going to fly through the midst of the universe, broadcasting through the atmosphere to all the world during the tribulation period, the everlasting gospel. And then the end will come. But what do you believe now?
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 02 :
Jesus loves you. He went to the cross. It’s a fact. And he rose again from the dead. It’s credible. It’s not incredible. It’s credible. And if you stand up and you proclaim that message, people are going to come against you. Isn’t that weird? It’s because it’s a spiritual issue. We must take the Bible literally because that’s where our comfort comes. The prophets got comfort from the word of God himself. Job had comfort from the word of God itself. And we will too. If we truly believe in the word, God sometimes sends difficulty into our life that we would lean on his word. Very important. We come to the third and final point, verse 12. Listen to what he says. For the Christian who’s enduring patiently in these last days, we need to make a willful commitment to follow the Lord today. A willful commitment today. Now think about it. No, today. Listen. Verse 12. This is kind of a shock. Hang on. Do your seat. He says, but above all, That means, most importantly, above all. Man, he has sure said a lot. Above all, my brethren, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. First things first, and we’ll get it out of the way. Of course he’s talking about using the Lord’s name in vain. That’s obvious. Calling… Jesus Christ in the wrong heart and the wrong attitude or commanding God to damn this or to damn something else. That’s wrong. Yes, that’s swearing. It’s not the swearing he’s talking about, though. Get a load of this. Hang on to your seats. James is saying, above all, don’t swear by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, lest you fall into judgment. The word means this. Don’t Invite God to back up your plan. To make a decree that God is cheering you on, so to speak, behind your will. You got an idea? You like it? This is what you want? This is your idea? And you’ve been tokenly praying about it? Listen, as a pastor, I hear this all the time. People swearing. Christians swearing. Well, how’s that? Exactly like this. I wrote a few of them down. You’ve heard them too. Listen. I thought I wrote them down. Quote, I know the Lord is leading me in this direction. It just seems right. Where’s your scripture references and your answered prayer? Where’s the verses in the Bible backing up your decision process? Listen, Christians, all of us don’t want to hear this. We are guilty. This is going to cut this body right down the heart. The Lord has given me a peace about what I’m going to do. How do you know that peace is from the Lord? Where does it say in the Bible to get peace from the Lord and then go do that thing or don’t do that thing? Can you imagine the prophet Agabus says to Paul, hey, is this your belt? Yep. He ties himself up and he says, you’re going to be bound and beaten in Jerusalem. And Paul says, what do you want me to do? Weep about it? Give me back my belt. He gets his belt and he heads to Jerusalem. I like that kind of guy. Don’t weep for me, Agabus. I just feel… Listen, Christian, what happens is the Christian formulates a thing. This is what I want. And because I have a Christian background or an upbringing or because I’m backslidden in my heart, I’m going to mold and shape what I want and make it look like it’s God’s will. And I’m going to tell people I have a leading from the Lord. What does this mean? Show me this in the Bible. If you are going to make a decision, have scriptures in context, verses, chapters, take it before the Lord and pray and have God confirm it until he does, sit still. But I’ve had people say, honestly, people say, you know what, I really have a peace from the Lord that I’m supposed to divorce my wife and live with this other woman. I really have a peace from the Lord. Can you believe this? You want to be a pastor for a day? You’ll be hooked up to Melanta on both arms. What do you mean God’s telling you to divorce your spouse? He didn’t say that. I have a piece that he did. What’s in the book? Take it literally. Everything that’s been fulfilled thus so has been fulfilled literally. Jesus, his words, literally. Take it literally. Are you going to cash in your faith for what you feel? I feel so strong about this. What does the Bible say about it? Now that separates the disciple from the ding-a-ling. I’m going to follow Christ. Job said, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Do you have a verse of promise of scripture to hang on to like Job had, like the prophets had? Go to the word of God. Don’t go to your counselor. Don’t go to your therapist. Don’t dial 1-900 number, psychic hotline. By the way, they went out of business. What a grad cracks me up. If they would have known the future, Dionne Warwick would have known not to go into the business and lose all the money she did. We’ll tell you the future. Well, they went belly up, went bankrupt. She lost millions on that thing. You should have known. The future. What decisions are you making? Can you back them up in the book in context? This affects every one of us, and we don’t want to hear it. And James is saying, be patiently enduring these last days. Be careful how you step, because you could step in something. Let’s pray. Father, we come before you this morning and we ask, Lord, that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would lay it upon hearts that are listening right now. They may not have liked your word. They may not have liked this building. They may not have liked this place or me or whoever. But something has tweaked their hearts. Something has struck a chord. And it is the bare, raw truth that the judge is standing at the door and Jesus is coming soon. And right now in your heart, maybe that’s you and there’s a fear in your heart and you’re thinking, you know what? I am not well positioned to meet this judge. You’ve sinned. You’ve erred, you’ve done wrong, and your conscience is telling you now. Why is it so pointed? Because God is saying, you decide for me now. You choose Christ and live. Choose today whom you’ll serve. And make a once and for all decision for Christ now. Jesus was suspended between heaven and hell, that he might be the bridge for eternal life. And to all those who call upon the name of the Lord, he said, I will in no wise… Cast out. Have you sinned? Do you want Jesus? While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, will you put your hand up right now and I’ll just pray for you. And God will see your hand that’s connected to your will. And your will will be raised by that hand being up and you’re saying, yes, I want Jesus as the Lord of my life. I want to be forgiven of my sins and I want to give my heart to God today. You’ll never live to regret it. You’ll forever live today. We appreciate it. God bless both your hands in the back. Anybody else in this last moment? You in the very, very back and you also in the back. Something going on in the back. Right now, God is seeing your hand go up. God bless you on the aisle. And your hand is connected to your will. You’re raising your hand because the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you. God bless you. Way in the corner there, I see your hand. If you died today, you would stand naked before God. But Jesus today offers you his clothing, his robe of righteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Patiently Enduring in the Last Days, Part 2. Thanks for being here today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Book of James. It’s a series on true Christianity and how it creates a new way of living. And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
SPEAKER 03 :
Pastor Jack, we heard from Michael, sent us a listener letter. Michael recently gave his life to Christ. So let me read it to you. Dear Pastor Jack, I recently gave my life to Jesus. Not too soon afterwards, I was browsing YouTube and saw a video called Jack Hibbs on mental health. In this video, you mentioned Philippians 4, verses 4 through 9. Now, I opened my Bible, and the verses literally matched almost everything I had just prayed for. He says, I cried with joy. Isn’t that great? Realizing that God was with me. I got chills just reading that myself. He says, thank you, Pastor Jack, for doing God’s work. Michael. Now, we don’t encourage what we call Bible roulette, right? But the chances of that happening naturally are astoundingly low. Does God work through that sort of thing?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I mean, first of all, We should never lean upon Bible roulette. And for those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about, that is like, oh, God, I need you to speak to me. So help me. And you plop, you know, you run your fingers through the Bible with your eyes closed and then plant your finger and then look at a verse. You could have landed on a verse that says, and Judas went out and hung himself. So that’s probably not a good thing to do. However, there is no doubt about it. that there are times when you are in a specific moment and need, and it just so happens, right, which I do not believe just so happens happens, that that’s exactly the verse I needed to hear. Or I’ve heard this verse, this is now the second time I’ve heard that verse, or the fifth time I’ve heard that verse. God, what are you saying? What are you doing? Yeah, it happens in my life. I will read a verse and the more obscure I’m reading this verse, I’m looking, I’m pondering, Lord, what does that mean in my life? You know, how does this apply? And, you know, part of Bible growth is knowing what questions to ask yourself and to ask God. And then, you know, you get up and you go about your day and then a moving truck goes down the street and has the same exact Bible verse on it where it’s like, Lord, thank you. Yeah. So the beautiful thing is, is that our God is not a God of coincidence. He’s a God of planning. And so what that means for Michael is that God is speaking to him loud and clear.
SPEAKER 03 :
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 ministries affected your life. So please do that. Go to the Connect tab at jackhibbs.com. That’s the tab labeled Connect at 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.
