Suffering, Prayer, And the Will Of God – B

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Today on Real Life Radio.

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See, enthusiasm is internally God’s action. Only the Christian, out of all the people on the face of the earth, according to the Bible, only the Christian can be enthusiastic.

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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. 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 now continues with his series called The Book of James and a message titled Suffering, Prayer, and the Will of God. You know, before it became one of the books of the New Testament, the Book of James was simply a letter sent to the Jews who chose to follow Christ. And as new believers, James wanted to encourage them to pray in the midst of their suffering. You see, prayer is the Christian’s response to life’s difficulties. Prayer is not some last-ditch effort of what seems an impossible situation. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that there is a serenity that comes when we pray to the Lord if we’re hurting, or prayed for and anointed with oil when we are deathly sick. But there’s also an enthusiastic response of joy to those who praise the Lord even in these difficult times, now with his message called Suffering, Prayer, and the Will of God. Here’s pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

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To be an enthusiast is to have God in you and under his activity. That’s to be an enthusiast. See, enthusiasm is internally God’s action. Only the Christian, out of all the people on the face of the earth, according to the Bible, only the Christian can be enthusiastic. Is anybody among you cheerful? What? Let him sing psalms. And the word implies publicly, both privately. Should we sing to him in private? If you’ve ever heard me sing, you would say, please, Jack, continue to sing in private. But it also means in public. That’s what’s so beautiful about Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25, about the assembling together. The church, we are to gather together on Sunday morning. And as we see, read Hebrews 10, verse 25 carefully, as we see the end of the days approaching, the end of the world, we’re to gather together more and more. That’s why we want to make sure that every night of the week there’s some place for you to go. And more and more. So we can sing together, joyfully, together. You know, the Lord has brought some incredible talent to this church. In the last six months or so, there are people that God has brought in here, just incredible talent. And you love it. And they’re up here, and they’re singing, and it’s like, oh man, what a great song. Oh, their voice is so beautiful. What do you do in listening like that? It’s not for you. We’re singing to Him. Oh, what group is singing tonight? What do you care? It’s worship to Him. Wednesday night, we’re going to have Terry and Nancy Clark leading us in communion service. Oh, let’s make sure we get scared early. That’s cool, but it’s not for you. It’s for God. It’s our worship to Him, and we do it publicly. Now, can you imagine if we did this literally today? Really, really Christians. We should be enthusiastic. Well, I go down to the pond, you know, to see the ducks. That sounds kind of nuts if you’re not going to this church and don’t know what I’m talking about. Go down to the pond to watch the ducks. If you go down to the… Some guy in Milwaukee who gets our tapes thinking, he’s sick, he’s real sick. I mean, if you go down to the Arrowhead Pond where the ducks skate hockey, you know, you drive, you park, you walk in there, you get your food, you sit down there, and you go nuts. You’re grabbing strangers. Hey, man, did you see that? Who is that guy? I don’t know. It’s just this camaraderie thing. Enthusiastic. You see guys running around on the football field. They’re all patting each other on the rear end. That’s pretty intimate, if you ask me. You notice TV watching? Everyone’s, hey, buddy, all right, good job. Pretty enthusiastic. We go to the California Motor Speedway and we see Jeff Gordon do his thing. He’s like, all right, we’re screaming, all right. And we come to church. Shh, we’re at church. Now, look, I know. And the Holy Spirit, if I’m under the influence of the Spirit teaching, he’s not going to interrupt himself with a word of knowledge or somebody blurting out in tongues. He won’t interrupt himself that way. There’s times for that. But there needs to be a vitality to our true relationship with God. Is anyone among you cheerful? Let him sing psalms. That is music. Listen, some of you are going to find this offensive, or your friends might. The word psalms, to sing God’s psalms means to vocalize to him with your body songs of praise accompanied by instruments. Psalm 150. They got drums in there. Psalm 150 has got electric guitars in there. I had somebody write me. They said, I’m never going to church again. First thing they had wrong was your church again. It’s not mine. It’s not your church. It’s his church. Never going to the church again. He had an electric guitar. The guy used an electric guitar in the service. You know what? My answer to that is we ought to take this stuff on top of the roof. and turn up the volume. That’s what we ought to do. Some people are going to walk into heaven and go, what’s all the noise? Read about heaven. But Psalm 150’s got the drums, and it’s got the timbres, the flutes, and all these things going. The high sounding cymbals. You know what that is? That’s that thing. You know? This thing. And it’s like, oh my gosh, can we do that? Just wait till we get to heaven. I don’t know if I’m going to like it much there. God will change you. We need to be enthusiastic. Opportunity. Tell people, anybody cheerful? Let them sing psalms, both privately, publicly. Many of us will go to lunch in some way or fashion, or brunch this morning, and there’s your opportunity, you know? Are you suffering? Yeah, we’re all under pressure. Is any among you cheerful? You get that infused inside thing, God’s real. You know that sense of like, oh my gosh, I know life is just terrible in the sanctuary. It’s hot and I’m suffering. But listen, we can tell people enthusiastically. We’ll go to breakfast and the waitress or the waiter is going to say, how are you doing today? Hello, that’s an open door. How are you doing today? Tell them. I just came from church. They’re going to think you’re nuts for bringing that up, by the way. But say, try it after service. I just came from church. Oh, that’s nice. They’ll say, that’s nice for you. That’s nice. So you know what? God is real. Man, hallelujah. I’ll take the biggest thing you got. You know, God is awesome. Just say God’s awesome. Jesus loves you. Did you know that? Take a track with you and leave them in your car. When you go to restaurants, leave a track with a generous tip. I think Christians ought to be the biggest tippers in the world. They’re stiff people. Don’t leave a track if you’re going to stiff somebody. Don’t blame them. They’re like, no, it’s Christians. I know a Christian brother who walked into a restaurant and behind the cash register was a bounced check and it had the dove on it. And that guy said, you know, pull that off the wall. I’ll pay that bill right now. Give me that thing. That’s excellent. Let people know. They’ll think I’m a fool. They already think you’re a fool. They just haven’t told you. Give them opportunity. Give them the opportunity. Is anybody cheerful? Let the world know about it. Amen. You bet, amen. Hallelujah. Let them know. Next thing, he now says, is any among you sick? Now listen, people, this word sick is a very, very serious word. It means to be at the brink of death. It’s not a cold. It’s not the flu. Honestly, I’m not making light of these things. If you might be sick right now, yes, you can call for prayer. Yes, we’ll pray for you if you have a plugged up head. That’s fine. That’s okay. But that’s not the word he used here. He uses the word sick. The word means near death. Listen, Paul wrote to the church. He said, Trophimus, he wanted to come, but I had to leave him sick in Miletus. He was sick nigh unto death. That’s old King James 4. He was really close to dying. I left him there. Why didn’t Paul just heal him? He was so spiritual. God doesn’t always heal, even when it’s at the point of death. I can’t wait to get to heaven. Oh, I can’t wait to get to heaven. Everybody’s been in church. Oh, we’re going to go to heaven. Singing songs. Lord, here we come. Coming to heaven. The Lord says, okay. I know you really want to be with me real bad. So here you go. I’m going to have your spleen blow up or something, you know. Oh, my gosh. Well, what’s happening? You’re going to heaven. Well, I know I’ve been talking about it, but how are you going to get there? You’re going to have to die or get raptured. I’d rather vote for rapture. Any moment now would be fine. But if we’re not going to get raptured, people, we’re going to die. Well, how does it feel? I don’t know. It’s never happened to me. It looks pretty painful, but there’s also times of incredible grace, and I see people go through no pain at all. Some people languish for years. Some people… Their last view is the grill of a dump truck. I don’t understand how it goes. Is anyone near death? Let him call for the elders of the church, says the scriptures. The word elders here are pastors. Let them call. Let them. It’s a funny word. The guy who’s near death, the scripture says, let him call. And you might say, well, that’s kind of rude. No, it implies that he’s a believer himself. It just simply implies, I want the elders of the church to be here. I want to be prayed for. I want to be anointed with oil and prayed for. Pray over him. You see that word pray over him? It means to pray with extended hands. Isn’t that interesting? Anointing them with oil. The word to anoint means to rub or to smear oil on them. It’s an Old Testament practice. It’s a pagan practice as well as a Jewish practice. It is… Both refer to in Scripture as the symbol type for the Holy Spirit and God’s presence. But it also has medicinal purposes, many physicians say, and certainly in that culture. So, does God do divine healing today? Absolutely. Miraculous healing. Well, then why doesn’t God just do something right now? He just doesn’t work that way, unless he wants to. Oh, you’re just saying that. No, I’ve seen God heal some of you miraculously. Miraculously. Simple prayer, Lord, I just ask you to heal them of their cancer or their leukemia. And then a week later they come back and they say, you know what, it’s absolutely gone. And then some people we pray for, they get worse. Now, if I depart from my Bible and tune in to modern day heresy, there’s going to be some kind of a problem here. Well, the reason why your brother died is because he didn’t have enough faith in God. Oh, find that in Scripture. Well, it’s on every Christian TV program. Yeah, well, turn the thing off and read your Bible. Well, the reason why you didn’t get better is because those people prayed for you. They didn’t have the faith. Well, show me that in the Bible. Paul the Apostle was so sick, he prayed three times for God to heal him. And God says, I’m not going to heal you. I’m going to leave the sickness on your life because if I let you keep going the way I’m blessing you so much and you’re being so effective, your head will blow up with pride. So you’re going to be suffering to keep you humble, Paul. And Paul said, A-OK, over and out, fine with me, Commander-in-Chief. I’ll do whatever you say then, so be it. Are you willing to do that?

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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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This scripture here regarding those that are sick, it’s yielded to the will of God. It’s built into the very passage. We don’t walk up to God and say, God, it says whatsoever I ask in your name, you’ll do. I want you to do this now. And you can turn on TV, and sometimes I’m afraid people, I’m afraid they’re not fried by lightning on television, honestly. By lightning. Because it is blasphemous when somebody says, I am willing this to be in your life. That’s blasphemy. Heresy. We are to approach God and say, Lord, in fact, the very word here, listen, the very word given here to pray in faith, the word to pray is a word that is unusual to most passages of Scripture. The word is amazing. It is the word we translate in English to make a wish. Doesn’t that sound really pagan? To make a wish? It’s not even the word intercessor. It’s not even the word to plead. It’s the Christians laying, stretching their hands out over a brother or a sister that’s been anointed with oil. And we pray, Lord, if it be your will. And we know, Lord, of your power. We know that you’re able. God, we yield to whatever you want to do. But we ask in Jesus’ name. that you might raise them up. Built into the Greek construction of this word are all those things that I just paraphrased. And if you read your entire Bible, the Bible says, for example, in John 15, verse 7, if my word abides in you, that’s a condition, then you may ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified. When you know the word of God, you can pray the word of God and accept God’s answer. Isn’t that something? We want to, yes, we want to know, but what we don’t want to hear is the maybe or the wait. Quickly now, we’ll continue and we’ll finish this up. Verse 15. Interesting. The prayer of faith will save the sick. Listen to this. Sounds like he’s going to absolutely be healed. He is speaking of a healer. But see, you and I, if we can’t touch it and feel it, it’s not acceptable to us. Listen to what he says. In the context, knowing God’s nature, if it’s God’s will, and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Some sickness, some is related to sin. Not all. Well, how do I know? You’ll have to go before the Lord and talk to him yourself as a believer. But it is recorded in Scripture. Number one, Paul talked to the church at Corinth where there was a brother who was involved in sexual immorality, practicing sin. That means he lived in it every day, day in, day out. Paul says, listen to this. Can you imagine? This is what’s supposed to happen even to this day. but nobody wants to deal with it. And who wants to deal with it? It’s scary. It’s terrible. But Paul says, listen, you’ve warned this person. They won’t stop. Cast them out from you. Don’t let them into the church. They won’t stop their sin. Cast them out. And Paul says, let Satan destroy their life. Kill them. So that God can take their spirit home to be with him.

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That’s radical.

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The person sinning here is not a person that’s struggling with his walk day in and day out. It’s the person living in sin who is a Christian. They will either turn or God will take their life. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, he says, you guys need to be careful, church, when you come together and you worship the Lord, especially when you partake of communion. He said, don’t be joking and goofing off about your walk or about communion. Paul says there in chapter 11, some of you, when you did it, you got sick. Some of you even, or some of those among you even died because of it. It’s serious. The Lord has promised to raise him up. Let’s keep going. Confess your trespasses to one another. Have you sinned against somebody? Do they know it? The word ek homologeo is saying you go to them and say the same word. I’ve sinned against you. Please forgive me. Watch this. You go to that person. You don’t go to five people and then go to that person. Pray for me. I’m going to go tell John that he’s a… Don’t do that. Keep your yap quiet and go privately to him or to her. Confess your trespasses to one another. Pray for one another. Watch, that you may be healed. Wow, does this verse mean that I could be afflicted with an illness if I continue to hold bitterness against my brother or my sister? What do you think the answer is? Absolutely, yes. Would God do that? Yes. Of course he loves you. He’s going to spank you. We talked about that last week. Sure, it happens. I had a pastor who’s a friend of mine tell me that for almost 30 years, this certain woman… And this other woman in the church tore each other up with her mouth. Just constantly eating on each other. And this woman was near unto death. She called for the elders of the church to come. And this particular pastor came with his elders. And they prayed. And one of the elders said, do you have any unconfessed sin maybe? And she was in absolute rage. And they left. And a week later, she’s even sicker. A week later, she calls. She goes, can the elders come back out again? They came back out, and she said, I have to confess this sin. I have been, all my 30 years of being here at this church, I’ve hated little Betsy so-and-so, whatever, whoever. And you know what? According to this guy that told me this, this pastor, he watched it. He saw it happen with his own eyes. When she confessed and they made up, this woman was healed immediately. of what was diagnosed as an incurable disease. Isn’t that radical? That’s exactly what the scripture talks about. That’s something. Okay, watch, and we’ll be done. The effective, actually the word is effectual, God’s working, not man. The God working, and the word fervent, by the way, is not in the original Greek scripture. The God working prayer of a declared righteous person by God can accomplish much. All of a sudden, I have hope now to pray for somebody who’s sick. It’s not my righteousness. Oh, yes, let me lay hands on you and pray for you. I am righteous. It’s not that. It’s not that at all. It’s the working power of God in our lives through us that we lay hands on somebody in obedience and pray for them, and God heals them. God does it. We’re just the conduit for this. And to back up, he gives an illustration. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. And see, I doubt that personally. I have a hard time with this. And he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it didn’t rain for a year and a half. And he prayed again, and the heavens gave open rain, and fruit was produced on the earth. I have a hard time with this. Because you see, I got Isaiah that way up there on the pedestal. James, you’re telling me that Elijah or Elijah? Did I say Isaiah? Elijah. I got him way up there. If he walked by, I’d go, get his autograph. Somebody have him sign here. Let’s turn to his book. Have him sign the page. James says, hey, he was just like us. Well, if James walked by, I’d say, let me turn to his book. Have him sign the page. I got James so far up there. James says, we’re alike. We all need Jesus. We’ve all sinned. We were all going to hell until we, listen, responded to his invitation. He wrote our name down in his book of life, the Lamb’s book of life that says in the scripture. We’re going to heaven. Anything you want to add to that? Better not. Well, I have the gift of healing. Do you? Praise the Lord. Yes, and I believe that when I pray, people are healed. And if they don’t get healed, it’s their own weak faith. If you have the gift of healing and it’s from God, go down to Children’s Hospital of Orange County and empty the place out, will you? Please? God’s sovereign. You may have the gift of healing, but you know that sometimes God heals and sometimes God doesn’t. Sometimes God does the ultimate healing and says, it’s time to go to heaven. And I know my God is able. Have you given your heart to Christ? Do you know him? I pray so. Let’s bow our hands. Lord, we ask you that you might make our hearts open and more willing to accept your will. We ask it in Jesus’ name and all God’s people said, Amen.

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pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Suffering, Prayer, and the Will of God. Thanks for being 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 true Christianity and how it creates a new way of living. 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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Today, more and more Christ followers are living out their faith no matter what. And one way we can help is through our website. At jackhibbs.com slash Real Radio, you’ll find access to Pastor Jack’s devotions, YouTube channel, podcasts, Facebook, live streamed events, and so much more. Again, our website is jackhibbs.com slash Real Radio. That’s jackhibbs.com slash Real Radio. And don’t forget to download the Real Life mobile app for on-the-go access to all that Pastor Jack has to offer.

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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.