Today, Pastor Jack teaches that if there is no ethical value to living, then why care about relationships? The result of living without the fear of God, is the danger of becoming the evil we are exposed to. This is why our morals and the way we live our life matters to God.
The post Why? – B first appeared on Pastor Jack Hibbs.
Today, on Real Life Radio.
You see, Jesus is risen from the dead, and resurrection is true, and this life, God gave it to you and I, because character matters, decency matters, morality matters to God.
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.
Hey, everybody. First of all, I want to thank you, all of our Real Life Radio listeners for being so faithful, so kind. Keep praying for us.
But listen, the reason why I'm talking to you right now is to let you know that we have an amazing, wonderful offer, and it is the book titled What You Need to Know About the Rapture by Dr. Charles C. Rirey of Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Rirey was a profound theologian, highly respected, even though he is now in heaven.
His work continues on. I was honored and blessed to write the foreword to this book. This book will help clarify the confusion that surrounds the doctrine of the rapture.
You know, Jesus taught it. The Bible teaches it.
But do you know it?
Get a copy for yourself. What You Need to Know About the Rapture by Dr. Charles Rirey.
What you need to know about the rapture by Charles Rirey. It's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com/realradio, jackhibbs.com/realradio.
On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series now called First Corinthians with a message titled, Why? First Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Church of God in Corinth, and he shares with us how we're to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that lives inside of us. You see, the question why is almost extinct these days.
Our culture really is not taught to think or to question what they're hearing. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that if there is no ethical value to living, then why care about relationships? The result of living without the fear of God is the danger of becoming that evil we're exposed to.
Our morals really do matter to God. Now with his message called Why, here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
Paul the Apostle says, if Jesus isn't risen from the dead and we have no hope of eternal life, then why Paul said, am I subjecting my life willfully to such difficulty? Think about that for a minute. If this is a joke and there's no hope, what are we doing?
Why are we willingly standing up to get shot at if this is not real? When's the last time you got punched in the face? You forget what that feels like.
I'm just talking about guys. I got punched in the face yesterday by my neighbor's dog. She just got home from vacation.
She was all excited. She loves me. She doesn't love me.
I give her treats. She doesn't love me. She uses me.
She saw me and she's a puppy. She's big though. She's a puppy, and she saw me, and her tail starts wagging.
And she loses control. Her tail starts wagging, and then she starts running, and she can't yet figure out. And she's really out of control.
She's going like this. She's running, and I see her running. And she's running, and she's strong.
And she's starting to lose it, and I know she's going to fall and crash, so I bend down to grab her, and at the last second, her back legs pushed off like a rabbit, man, and she just, like a kangaroo, boom! And I go, oh no! Her name is Zoe.
Zoe! And she sprung, and boom! Hits me in the mouth.
And I could taste the blood, and I'm thinking, man, I haven't tasted this in a long time. I'm getting soft in my old age. And it made me think about this verse.
Paul, wouldn't you like to have Paul? Wouldn't it be cool to say, hey, who's your pastor? Paul the Apostle.
Who's your pastor? Are you sure you'd like to be able to say that, really? How'd you like to have a pastor who is a notorious criminal according to the legal system?
That's Paul. He was arrested many times. You know that?
Do you like to have a pastor that's been arrested many times? Hey, your pastor's a criminal. My pastor's an ex-con.
Paul the Apostle. He was absolutely hated for the gospel, right? You know what?
Got me thinking. You've heard me say this recently, because God's doing a work on my heart. For the life of me, we're in the 21st century.
The church has never been more marginalized than it is right now. America is embracing evil every day. And why, why, oh, why are there not more pastors in trouble?
Like Paul, right now. Why are, why are, why am I not in trouble? You say, man, dude, I've seen you in trouble.
You're on the Internet. You're in trouble. I should be in more trouble.
You say, yeah, pastor, you go, brother. You go get in trouble. You stand there.
You stand there and you get in trouble. Wait, wait, wait, wait. At an hour like this, when evil is advancing as it is, and your children now have been completely sold out to the world system, without your permission, why are we not crying out?
Why are we not standing? Why are we not fighting? Why are we not in trouble?
Where are we? Where's the voice in the wilderness? The pulpits of America throughout American history was the clarion to the culture.
So much so that churches were the center of a town or city's geographical location. Why? Because the pastors spoke in to the culture.
Where are the pastors? Where are the Pauls today? Everybody wants to be accepted and loved, and every, oh, we're just trying to get the world into the church, so we'll be just like the world, and we'll act and speak just like the world.
We gotta get the world in. And then the world gets in to the church, and there's no change. What's going on?
Why are not, in this dark 21st century, an antichrist system in the world in which we live in? Why are not Christians in more trouble? We think that silence and politeness is a godly virtue.
And we are silent and quiet, and we look straight ahead, and we convince ourselves from our pulpits to the pews, we're just very obedient people as they take our children away.
I don't understand it. I must have a different Bible. Paul and the disciples had to go from town to town to town because they were persecuted in the ministry.
And we have pastors who are popular today. We have evangelists who are adored. And it's almost rock and roll status.
And I don't see that in the Bible anywhere. And we have neighbors who are perishing because we won't tell them anything because we're being polite. Jesus said in Luke 6 26, woe to you when men speak well of you.
Wow. Jesus said, what? Jesus says, woe to you when men speak well of you.
He's talking about men of the world. For so did their fathers to the false prophets. But I say to you here, love your enemy.
You want to get people upset? Love your enemies. Say what?
I know. I don't get it. But love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you. They'll hate you for doing good to them. Figure that one out.
That's insanity.
Yep.
Bless those who curse you. I have to work on that one more. Pray for those who spitefully use you.
I do pray for them. I need to pray differently. Boy, I got...
Are you guys going through the one-year Bible with us? Man, did you hear that prayer of David's this week? I loved it.
David said, Dear God, take my enemies and break their teeth off in their mouth. And I went, Amen! Hallelujah!
No, I mean, he did pray that, but we're not supposed to pray like that. But am I hated? Am I hated?
Do people hate me because I love God and His righteousness? And listen, and if I love the culture and want to speak into the culture, and if God is saying, speak to them, be a trumpet blower, a watchman on the wall, shout, be a clarion to a culture that's perishing, and they hate me back for saying, come out, come out from the world that's perishing, come out, get saved, get rescued. Am I not, am I being hated for that?
Christianity is difficult. Point number two this morning, verses 31 to 32, is why? Why, if life has no eternal meaning, who cares?
Look at verse 31. Why endanger ourselves as Christians? He says, I affirm, wow, I raise my right hand, God is my witness.
By the boasting in you, which I have, in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. The word means I am under eminent threat of death. Paul the Apostle.
This is tremendous. Church, watch this. Write this verse down.
You're gonna think I'm making it up. Watch this verse. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23.
This is amazing. Paul says, in labors, he's talking about ministry. This ought to be on the front of every ministry enrollment.
In labors, more abundant. In stripes, doesn't that sound sweet? Stripes.
I'll take a stripe. It's a whipping. In whipping above measures.
In prisons, more frequently. Do you qualify for ministry? How many times have you been arrested?
Can you imagine? In deaths, often. Within an inch of his life.
Look, verse 24. From the Jews, Paul said, five times I received 40 stripes minus one. 39 whippings, I got five times.
Because 39 was legal to beat a guy. 40 was pushing it too far. So he said, I got five times, I got whipped 39 times.
But the cat of nine tails, mind you, that's horrible because one whack equals nine. They perfected. Well, if you can only hit the guy 39 times and not 40, then how can we make each whack count?
So they invented the cat of nine tails that has nine pieces of leather with about seven each per leather strap, bone or glass or rock. Paul says, I got that five times, 39, five times. Three times I was beaten with rods, caning.
Once I was stoned. This is not California talk, not drugs. This is rocks.
These are rocks. You have to clarify that here. Three times I was shipwrecked.
Three times shipwrecked.
And night and day I was in the deep, in the ocean, bouncing around, floating on journeys, often perils of water, perils of robbers, perils of my own countrymen, perils of Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness, often in hunger and thirst, and fasting's often in cold and nakedness. Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for the churches. This is ministry.
This is Paul. Can you imagine? You guys coming back from New York.
Kenan was here last weekend, did an amazing job. I was back at Harvest Christian Fellowship in New York City, got on the plane Sunday, flew through those crazy storms. Listen, I got on my phone.
You know, phone doesn't work up there. 38,000 feet, the pilot goes, I'm gonna try to go higher. It was so bumpy.
There's cups flying around. Oh, whoa, get that. It was crazy.
Watching the wings, I mean, this plane, the wings were flapping from the turbulence. It was nuts. I got up my phone.
Guess what I thought? I can't text anybody, so I'll text Lisa, and I'll just say, man, this is a really bad turbulence. It's really horrible up here.
I'm so glad you're not up here. This is bad. I don't normally do that.
See, why'd you text her for her? There's no connection up there, because my thinking was, this thing's gonna break up, dude. They'll find this phone in the Rocky Mountains nine months from now, and they'll give it to Lisa, and she'll say, it must have been a rough trip.
I did that for real. That's how bad it was, and I fly a lot. The pilot's hanging on, and then when he's talking, ladies and gentlemen, it's really bumpy.
I thought that was it. We're going down. Can you imagine?
Can you imagine? Paul goes, hey, let's get on the ship. We got ministry to do.
We're going to go share the Lord with the European dudes over there in Spain, and then Greece and all that. Come on, let's go. Let's get on the ship, and by the way, before we get there, we're going to sink three ships.
Let's go! Come on, sign up. What would you do?
Paul said, whatever, okay, whatever. Do you hear what I'm saying? This is Christianity.
If your Christianity is boring, you're not doing it right. Amazing!
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.
And then look at verse 32. Why put up with the effort? If there's no resurrection from the dead, why go through this?
If in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, J. Vernon McGee said, he must have had a terrible board members in Ephesus. Get it?
Fought with beasts at Ephesus. Anyway, what advantage is it to me if the dead do not rise? The word, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, it is a gladiatorial term.
That's what the gladiators would say. He lifts that term from the gladiatorial games, and he's saying, I fought for my life for the churches in Ephesus.
Wow.
He says, if all this isn't real, what in the world are we doing? And you know what? This is very comforting to me as a Christian.
Because you know what? I know some of you. I know many of you.
Some of the many are involved in very amazing places and stuff. Government, authorities, law enforcement, federal, military positions, and you're stellar at what you do, because you've done it under the glory of God. But there's people, they know you're a believer, and they're trying to undermine you, cutthroat you, tear you down, ruin your life.
Oh, because you're a believer. On paper, you're perfect. But that's not good enough for them.
They want you to deny your faith. You guys know, you saw it in the news, made national news. General Boykin, a graduate and senior officer of West Point, and the commander of the Delta Force around the world, was barred from speaking at West Point because he's a Christian.
In America, I've been asked to speak at West Point. I'm wondering what they are going to allow or say that I can or cannot say. If they say, well, you can come and speak, but you can't mention Jesus or whatever.
What do I do, church? What do I do? Because you'll hear about it when I either won't go or I'll go.
And so what do I do? You go, you go, and you say it anyway. No, what are you going to do?
What do I do? Do I obey? Do I obey ungodliness?
Do I obey? Listen, preaching the gospel is why I'm alive. It's why he allowed me into this world.
And then they would say, well, you can talk to them about having a happy thought in battle, maybe, or. But don't mention Jesus. This is a problem, because if I say, okay, then I'm lying to them, because I'm gonna go say it.
So what do you do? So you can pray for me. Interesting.
Remarkable. Crazy world, huh? Why put up with the effort?
Because Christ is the cause. That's why. Verse 32 says to us, let us eat drink for tomorrow we die.
What is this all about? Why live like there's another life? If Jesus is not risen from the dead, why live as though there's another world outside of this world?
And man, I gotta tell you, this to me, if you're a skeptic today, I mean, I hope you think about this. Listen. The Greeks lived in the Epicurean culture.
Epicurean, whatever feels good, do it. No matter what the cost. You live for now.
Sound familiar? If you want gratification, you do it. You find it, you do it, no matter what pain it causes others, you do that.
Epicurean. That's why the Roman culture, remember, you know, they would... If you went to a Roman party, there's two things that you had unending of.
Food and sex. That was a Roman, that was the parties. And you know what they would do?
They would eat, and then they would go, and they would throw up. They would provoke, they'd stick their finger in their mouth, throw up, and then go back to the next course meal. And they would eat that, it was so good and so fantastic.
And then they would go, and they would throw up and go back. Did you know that? So given over to self-pleasure, that they began to violate their own bodies, living like there's no life after this life.
And Paul lifts up a parable of their day. Hey, if Jesus isn't risen from the dead, if there's no resurrection for us, let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. You know what's weird about this?
That's how people live today in many ways. Think about it. We're out of time.
I can't believe this. It's ridiculous.
The other day, coming down the freeway, I saw this line of, you know, these, I don't know what they're called these days, ninja bikes. I call them ninja bikes because that's what they were called when I was, you know those incredibly fast rocket bikes? The guy's kind of in a ball.
Right? Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, and they're going to buy us. And then in and out of cars like this, and the thought came to our minds, because Lisa and I talked about it, if they only knew, they're this far from eternity.
All they have to do is catch a mirror on a car, somehow hit something, or a piece of metal fly up and hit the guy in the neck. Just having a ball, goofing off, and can you imagine? Freeze frame.
Do you know Jesus?
Who?
What? No, man, I'm going for it, buddy.
Get out of my way.
Can you imagine what would be said? Person getting drugs, tying off their arms, shooting up in the vein. Wait, it's a freeze frame.
What are you doing? You know you can die? You can die and go into hell?
You're going to, oh man, hey, what? Come on. Every moment of every day, if you're not a Christian, you are so on the edge.
Oh my. That between you and our, between my nose and your nose is eternity. Timelessness.
Between you and I, there's a world existing where no time exists. And one second away. And if there's no resurrection from the dead church, let's go eat, drink, and be merry.
Let's go to Wahoos, eat fish tacos until we're vomiting, and then go rent a Ferrari, and go as fast as you can, because tomorrow we may die. And that's not too far off. It's not far off from where we live.
You see, Jesus is risen from the dead. And resurrection is true. And this life, God gave it to you and I, because character matters.
Decency matters. Morality matters to God. And you will say, no, you can't do that.
You can't legislate decency, morality, or you can't. And listen, you say that. I hear what you say, but...
And in this picture, think about this. Well, you can't just make things good. And I notice people who say that to me, they say that to me all the time.
Or people who do nothing about it. That's the little thing they hide behind. But check this out.
Really? Really? Don't you think that laws should be passed or supported, enforced, that protect a child from a pedophile?
Well, you know, it's his First Amendment expression.
That's humanism, which leads to death. Well, you can't legislate morality. Did you know the Christian influence in India, under the reign of England in India?
Did you know that when a man died, his wife was buried with him alive? Oh, what are you gasping for? This is world history.
This has been going on for hundreds of years. If not thousands of years, okay. And did you know that when England brought Christianity into India, they made that illegal?
Well, they forced their beliefs on us.
No woman married to a man in India said, that's not right. They loved it. Isn't that interesting?
Think of that for a moment.
And God's law is this. All human beings have been given their lives. And I will require from them in the end what they did with it, how they lived it.
I gave them air. I gave them food. I gave them abilities.
And what did they do with it? Every one of us must give our lives back to God.
Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Why. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called First Corinthians.
It's a series on the Corinthian Church and the Apostle Paul's bold call for purity. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Did you know that epidemics are not always physical in nature?
The most widespread epidemic that has taken over the world is not found in a lab. It's found in the disparity of the soul. Loneliness has swept the earth.
People are overcome with despair more than ever before. Our heart longs for relationships, but many times, we look for it in all the wrong places. There's really only one thing that can satisfy the soul, and that's having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to meet with him on a daily basis.
Now, whether you're alone in your room or in a crowded coffee shop with your phone, your laptop, and latte, you really can find comfort and peace through God's Word, and with Pastor Jack's devotions. New devotions written by Pastor Jack are uploaded on a weekly basis, but previous devotions are right there for you to check out at jackhibbs.com. Easy to find at jackhibbs.com.
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.
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.
In this episode of Through the Bible, we delve into the powerful teachings of the book of Hosea as Dr. J. Vernon McGee guides us through the trials of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ignoring God's word not only led to spiritual adultery but also brought about God's judgment in a dramatic and prophetic transition. As we reflect on the message shared by the evangelist D.L. Moody and stories from Dr. McGee's own ministry, we're prompted to consider the essential role of scripture in our everyday lives. Throughout Hosea chapter 4, we witness the consequences that befell Israel when they neglected their sacred texts. Dr. McGee draws parallels to modern times, illustrating how turning our backs on divine guidance can lead to moral decay and personal dissatisfaction. Whether through personal anecdotes or deep scriptural insights, this episode calls listeners to introspection and a return to God’s word. Join us as we uncover the inhibitors to spiritual fulfillment and the inevitable consequences of idolatry and sin. Whether you are a long-time believer, a part of our World Prayer Team, or someone in search of spiritual clarity, this study provides profound insights. Prepare to embark on this enlightening journey through Scripture with renewed understanding.
SPEAKER 1 :
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
The evangelist D.L. Moody was right when he said, The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible. Listening to and obeying God's Word is a protection over our lives. And that's one reason that I'm so glad that you're here at Through the Bible, ready to get into God's Word with Dr. J. Verna McGee. And as you know, we're in the book of Hosea on our five-year journey through the whole word. And in this study, we're going to learn how the northern kingdom of Israel turned away from God because they forgot his word. Well, not only did they forget it, they wanted nothing to do with it. They completely turned their backs on God's ways. And you know, that's when God's man Hosea stepped up and said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge of God's word. And then he relayed God's chilling consequence. Because you forgot the law of your God, I will also forget your children. I will change your glory into shame. Wow. I don't know about you, but that sobering pronouncement makes me sit up and listen. We're in Hosea chapter four. So as you open your Bible, let's listen to Dr. McGee's introduction on why God will judge his people.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now God says that he must judge the nation. And he says that he will change their glory into shame. Now the glory of Israel was actually the temple with the Shekinah glory upon it and his visible presence with the nation and his definite leading of them. And they're witness to the world of that day of monotheism. In a world of polytheism, they worship the living and the true God. That was their glory. It brought the Queen of Sheba from the ends of the earth. Now what is happening is this. God says, I will remove my glory from you. I'll remove my blessing from you. And I will judge you. I'll let the enemy come in upon you and take you away. And of course, the enemy is going to be able to say, look, they said they were God's chosen people. And look what's happening to them. And apparently their God's not a very strong God. Friends, we're seeing today in this land of ours something very similar to that. God is judging many churches and he's closing many doors today. You can look about you in this land of ours and see that God is still judging. And we are inclined to say, isn't it a shame to see a decline in a certain church? Well, maybe God closed the door. We need to recognize that only God today can afford to judge his own people, and he does that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Before jumping into our study, I invite you to join our World Prayer Team. Together we pray for listeners like Nora in the Philippines who writes this. I heard your message and want to know if you will really be forgiven. I have sinned in the past and I have thought that I am unforgivable. I got involved with another man and our entire village knows. I'm hurting and crying right now, but your words in my language of Locano comfort me and give me hope. For the first time, I feel as if God might accept me as I am. Please tell me what to do next. Please tell me more about Jesus and how I can be redeemed. Are you ready to join us for the journey? Well, hop aboard as we pray for millions of listeners like this one all over the world by signing up at ttb.org forward slash pray. And let's do that now. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you for the privilege of hearing your word. Help us to turn what distracts us and do what pleases you. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of sharing your word with the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're off to Hosea 4 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, we got down last time through the sixth verse of the fourth chapter of Hosea. And again, I'd like to say that this sixth verse here of this fourth chapter is considered one of the most familiar verses that we have. It's one that is quoted a great deal. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And that's the way it opens. I went through it last time, and I'll not go any farther than that. But it was a lack of the knowledge of the Word of God that was the background of the sin of these people. The minute that Christian friend, you get away from the Word of God, you could not live a triumphant Christian life by any means. You could not live well-pleasing to the Lord. And I do not care how many of these method conferences you go to that have all these little gimmicks that if you do this and do that and do the other thing, that things are going to work all right for you in your home and in your place of business and in your social life, and everything will work out right. My friend, the Word of God makes it very clear that That's not by these little gimmicks, these little methods. It's by a knowledge of the Word of God. Now, that is as clear as the noonday sun in this book and certainly in other places. Now, will you notice as God continues to bring against the northern kingdom his judgment upon them, that is, he hands down a decision. He's going to judge them. And he has now proven that To them, his case, they broken the Ten Commandments. He went down the list and they had broken them. Now he says, as they were, verse 7, as they were increased, so they sinned against me. In other words, as the nation increased, God had promised to bless them by multiplying them. He told Abraham that. But all it did was just bring another sinner into the world. And after all, that's what happened when I came into the world. Just another sinner came into the world. But thank God, the grace of God reached down and somebody gave me the Word of God. And I was able to trust Christ as my Savior. But these people, they have an ignorance. They have no knowledge of the word of God. As they were increased, so they sinned against me. Therefore, will I change their glory into shame. God says, I'm going to turn your glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people. They set their heart on their iniquity. They not only sin, but they like to brag about it. As a young fellow, ran with a pretty fast crowd in the bank I worked in. And we always like, especially on Monday morning, to brag about our weekend, what we did. And you know what it was, either to get drunk or... some adultery or something like that. That's what you brag about. And they not only sinned, they bragged about it. And there, verse 9 now, chapter 4 of Hosea, and there shall be like people, like priests. The unfortunate thing is that the priesthood had sunk down to the level of the congregation. Now, I have always believed, and as you've heard me say, that I started out in the ministry. I wore a Prince Albert coat and a wing collar. I look like a mule looking over a whitewash fence. But I soon gave that up. I dress just like the man sitting out in the pew. And I'm no different than that man in the pew. But I want to say this, that I want in the pulpit to give out the word of God so that I don't sink down to the level of that which is the man of the world. And today there are many ministers. They're the good guys. one man boasted to me he says you know he says my preacher says you know he says he comes out to our golf club he plays golf and i'm for that i do that i think it's great to mix with folk like that says after the game says he goes in the bar room with us has a drink with us says you know said he's just one of the fellas says i sure do like him well I wonder what God thinks about him. Like people, like priests. And I'll punish them for their ways and reward them for their doings, for they shall eat and not have enough. In other words, famine is coming to the land. And who would ever have believed that this great land of ours, just last year, a few years ago, that there would be no scarcity. Whoever heard of it, that you couldn't buy meat at the meat market, you couldn't buy bread, that there would be a scarcity of anything. May I say to you, I'm not sure. I think God judged us in the dust bowl many years ago. That's when I entered the ministry. And nobody listened to God then. Then we had to fight World War II. God judged us. And we didn't come back to God even World War II. So we've been fighting somewhere ever since. Just can't give it up. They shall eat, not have enough. They shall commit harlotry and shall not increase. You know, there's one thing, friends, about adultery. And I know today that I'm talking to a great many people that have had this in their mind and their heart because we're living in this day. And you can take it from a fellow that one time in his life before he's saved, you can never, never enjoy in a way in which God really wants you to until you can enjoy it in marriage. And when you can put your arms around the woman that you have been loving and you can say to her, I love you. above everything else in the world. Now, I say when you can say that, my friend, then there'll be an increase. And it'll be wonderful. Oh, they were committing adultery then, and they're doing it today. But actually, there's really no satisfaction in it. It's just a sort of a temporary release. And you hate yourself after that. And I know that. And some of you know that, my friend. And God knows that because that's what he's saying here. God's spelling it out for you. They shall eat and not have enough. They shall commit harlotry, adultery, and they shall not increase because they have ceased to take heed to the Lord. Harlotry and wine and new wine take away the heart. Last time we gave you all these statistics about liquor in this country today. And nobody, and I mean nobody today, is lifting a voice against this. And I don't think I've said very much about it. But I sure have said a whole lot the past couple of days. And from time to time, we do mention it. Arlatrin wine and new wine take away the heart, my friends. And part of our problem in Washington today are these two sins, harlotry, adultery, and liquor. They're the two problems in our government today. That's the reason that men lie. That's the reason that men will do crooked things. And that is not confined to one party or just one group. The whole crowd is guilty today. One writer said that in Washington, you don't know who to trust. May I say to you, what a sad commentary on our nation today. Don't tell me the new morality is working. It didn't work for Israel. They got away from the word of God and they said, we try something new. And they went in for it. The northern kingdom, you see, they had sin galore. They put up two golden calves. And with that worship of Baal, I was connected with it, the grossest forms of idolatry and the Verse 12, my people ask counsel of their idols, and their staff declareth unto them, for the spirit of harlotry hath caused them to err, and they have played the harlot departing from under their God. Now he's speaking here of the harlotry, spiritual adultery, which is turning from God. They went to inquire of idols. And today, we find people running after the gurus of India. Well, they haven't done much for India, by the way. But yet, we've had a crowd running after them. And someone has said that one of them that came over here, he said that very candidly, he came for the money. And that it was nothing in the world but a religious racket as far as he was concerned. Yet people went after him. People are going off into this type of thing today. And there's actually the worship of Satan today. I have here a clipping that comes from Daytona Beach, Florida. A group of Satan cultists tortured and beat a 17-year-old youth to death, believing he was an undercover narcotics agent, police said Wednesday. May I say to you that worship of Satan today is certainly not helping morality by any means. And these people going into idolatry, idolatry was leading them into gross immorality. Now, let me keep reading here. And They sacrifice, this is verse 13 now, chapter 4. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms because the shadow of them is good. That's where they put their idols, was on top of a hill under a grove. And you hear a great deal in scripture. And they found out today, archaeologists, that the center of worship of idolatry was in these groves. It was cool there, nice place to go. Therefore, your daughters shall commit harlotry and your spouses shall commit adultery. You see, the worship of idols, and we today have turned to idolatry, covetousness, All of this today, the greed of this country today has caused many a family to try to get on in the world. They want to move to a better neighborhood. They want a swimming pool. They want a boat to take down. And they say we're doing this for their children. And then all of a sudden their children take off and there are thousands. Thousands of young people today that are wandering up and down this country and all over the world. I saw them in Hawaiian Islands. I talked to three young people in Constitution Square in Athens, Greece. Two young men and a young lady. And I'm sure that none of them were beyond their teens. One of them could have been 20. And there they sat, and they were then under the influence of drugs. I tried to talk with them, and I tried to find out who they were. And they said, we're nobody. We don't count. We've dropped out. What's happened today, friends? What's taking place today? Why, the problem is back there in the home. We're idolaters. We're worshiping the almighty dollar. We've forgotten God. We've turned away from the living and true God, and we no longer worship him. And we've not turned to a savior that can redeem us and help us. Now, verse 14. He says, I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your spouses when they commit adultery, for they themselves are separated with harlots, and they sacrifice with harlots. Therefore, the people that doth not understand shall fall. God says ignorance, so the law excuses no one. And because these people have gone on, I'm not going to judge them for the sin they're committing right now. I'm going to judge them because they've turned from the living and true God and from his way. My friend, as I said to a man, and I met him on a golf course, by the way, and he said, joined our foursome he soon left us when he found out we were three preachers and this man made a statement well he said that he guessed that he was a sinner he'd done this that and the other said yes I guess I'll go to hell and I said brother you know you're not going to hell because you commit these sins he says what do you mean I'm not going to hell because I thought that's what you preachers said I said this preacher never said that I said you're going to hell because you've rejected Jesus Christ These people were being judged not because they had become harlots. They were judged because they've turned from the living and true God. Now, will you notice he says here, though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-Avon or swear the Lord liveth. God says, I'm going to hold Judah back. I'll not judge Judah yet. And Judah, don't come up and worship these calves that they put up here. Now we come to something that's quite interesting. Verse 16. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Now, friends, let's look at what really backsliding is. A great many people think backsliding means that you have become a Christian, joined the church, and then you drop back into sin, and that's backsliding. Now, may I say to you, that's not backsliding the way it's used here. And God illustrates it so you can't miss it. For Israel slideth back like a backsliding heifer. Now, I'm very happy the fact that as a boy, I had the privilege of living in the country and in a little town. And I think I've mentioned this before. There's a live next door to us in southern Oklahoma in a little town. We lived in a rancher. He had a big ranch and he had two boys and they were both about my age. And we three played together. We used to ride these heifers out in the lot and they would, you know, tie a rope around. As we said in that day, a belly band we'd put on them. We'd hold on to that. And then they'd buck us off. Now, every now and then, this rancher would load up. This was in the days before the automobile. In a wagon, he would load up these heifers to take them to market or take them out to the ranch. And he had a great big board. That is, it was a thing constructed out of boards that he put up at the back end of the wagon. It was a runway that you just try to run the heifer up back. Well, what they'd do, you'd put a rope around the heifer, and then you'd push her from the back. And as you'd get the heifer up, she'd go a part of the way, then she'd stiffen those front feet. She'd just put them out stiff. And you know what would happen? You couldn't pull her. She'd start sliding backwards. That's what backsliding is. Backsliding heifer. They were stiffening their front feet. And instead of being led of God, they were slipping backward all the time. And backsliding means when you turn your back on God and you step on that little neck of yours and that little mind of yours and you say, I'll have nothing to do with God. You're backsliding when you do that. You see, when you refuse to go the way God wants to lead you. Now he calls Israel here a backsliding heifer. There are a lot of backsliding heifers today and bulls also, by the way. Now, let me read the next verse. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. Now, we come to another word here. The word backsliding is mentioned three times in this book, and you'll recall it's only Jeremiah and Hosea, and they spoke to a nation ready to go into captivity, accused them of doing this, refusing to be led of God, refusing to come to God. Now, Ephraim, that name occurs 36 times. He picks out one of the tribes of the 10 tribes in the north and applies it to all 10 of the tribes. And I frankly have never been able to figure out just how God uses that term. Is he using it in a way that is the term of endearment or is it a term of ridicule? Now, this time through Hosea, I've come to the conclusion that it's a term of endearment. It's a pet name. You see, Israel in the north had really no name as a nation. Judah in the south was really the nation. And these 10 tribes had revolted, you see. And now God gives them, I think, a pet name. And you'll find all the way through, it'll occur 36 times, Ephraim. And he says this in, I would say, a longing sort of way, but with a note of finality. He says here, Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. God says there comes a day in a man's life that if he keeps on being in a backslidden condition, refusing to listen to God, there'll come a day when God no longer can speak to that man. Now he says to them, your drink is sour. You'll become an alcoholic if you keep at it, brother. And it's not a disease. It's a sin. Their drink is sour. They have committed harlotry continually. Her rulers love shame more than glory. And the sad thing today is that we have men in government in high places instead of using a language that is clean. And chase. They love to cuss. And they love to drink. They love the shame more than glory. The wind hath bound her up in its wing. They're carried away by every wind of doctrine. And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices. God says, I'm going to make them ashamed before it's over with. Well, that brings us to the conclusion of chapter 4. Begin chapter 5 next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
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Well, Dr. McGee convinced me of the joy and peace found in living a quiet, righteous life before the Lord. How about you? We're midway through our study in Hosea now, so if you'd like to share these studies with a family member or friend, they're available on our app or at ttb.org. Or to purchase our Bible bus flash drive that conveniently holds all of Dr. McGee's five-year messages and also includes all of his notes and outlines for our studies and more than 100 of his booklets, you Shop our online store at ttb.org or call us at 1-865-BIBLE. And while you're at ttb.org, check out our new softcover Bible companions for the New Testament. Again, that's ttb.org or 1-865-BIBLE. And when you call us, please tell us how you listen. Is it by app or online? Is it YouTube, your local Christian radio station? There are so many different options. And you know, by sharing this little bit of information, you help us to be good stewards of the resources that God has so graciously provided through faithful listeners like you. Now, as we break for the weekend, join me for Dr. McGee's Sunday sermon. You can listen by app, online, or look at our radio station listing at ttb.org. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll meet you right back here next time as we continue to make our way through the Bible.
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We're grateful for the faithful and generous support of Through the Bible's partners, whom God uses to take the whole word to the whole world.
Explore the liberating notion of spiritual freedom as we examine the apostle Paul's message to choose righteousness over the dominion of sin. As we analyze Romans, discover how being alive in Christ offers a transformative perspective, granting believers strength to resist temptations. We delve into the ongoing battle within, how faith influences our choices, and the hope of peace found in Christ's victorious kingdom. Embark on this journey of faith and uplift your spirit with eternal truths that redefine our earthly existence.
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So then we're beginning to see the wide range of thought that Paul is floating in, thinking in, when he tells us, Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We don't look inside and say, are we dead indeed to sin? We look outside to the kingdom of God and say, whose kingdom is victorious? Is it Christ's or is it Satan's? Well, obviously, Satan has been defeated. He was defeated in heaven before Christ, before he was ever sent to the earth, if you're in doubt about that, read Revelation 12, and he was defeated at the cross. And this is all beautiful to us as Christians because we have to keep our faith alive by reckoning ourselves in the right kingdom. Likewise, you also then reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. That is, you are no longer alive to the sin kingdom of Adam. Now I grant you. that we're very much embroiled in the sin kingdom of Adam. We live in it. We experience its weakness, its brokenness, the death that it brings, the sorrow, the suffering, and so on. But as Christians, by faith, we recognize that Christ has beaten that kingdom, has defeated it, and we now live in the victorious kingdom of Christ. So our faith is telling us one thing, even though our bodies may be telling us another. So then Paul, to drive this home, brings verse 12, which is really interesting, and I'll tell you what the interest is in a minute. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lusts. Now, as far as I can recall, as far as I understand the book of Romans, this is the first time Paul is talking now about what goes on inside of us. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts. But notice how he teaches what goes on inside of us. He's not saying what's going on inside psychologically, but he's saying what is going on outside of us which affects us psychologically. Why do I say that and how do I know that? Because he says do not let sin reign inside You see, this truth about reigning again is so very, very important and vital. Paul is talking about kingdoms. He never uses the word kingdom, but he uses phraseology that only belongs to the kingdom, reigning and dominion. Sin shall not reign, or the law doesn't reign, or wrath doesn't reign, all of these statements. Why is he doing that? because he's recognizing that Jesus Christ is the second Adam who has brought a new kingdom into the reality of our experience by faith alone. That kingdom will, of course, reign ultimately in the world. But he says, do not let it reign. Well, now that says something, doesn't it? Do not let it, that is, do not allow it. In other words, the kingdom of Adam still exists, but we have the liberty of faith to determine whether it shall command or demand our minds. No, we're not going to let it. Well, we do let it often, don't we? We just get fed up and we want to sin or we fall or we're sick and tired of the situation of this world and we go into the kingdom of Adam because we're just lackadaisical or we're just fed up with the situation. But then our faith kicks in and we say, now, wait a minute. I am allowing right now the kingdom of Adam to reign. Well, I am now a new kingdom, rather a prince of a new kingdom. I belong to the kingdom of Christ, and I have power to shut this kingdom down. That is the kingdom of Adam. What a thought that is. You see, Paul has introduced the idea that we are in bondage to sin. Sin isn't, as I have said many times, simply something we do. It's something that does us. King Sin reigns. Sin is a power, a dominion, a force over us. Now then, here we are being told, don't let it be over us. Well, that's saying something, isn't it? It's implying that the you, the you who says don't let it, is the person who is in dominion of the kingdom of Adam's dominion. That is in charge, somebody who is over the kingdom of Adam. Well, Christ is over the kingdom of Adam, but we live and operate in Christ. And so we are free to say, I will not allow you to have dominion. Now this, again, let's go to the issue of addiction. Let's take the alcoholic who feels utterly overthrown by alcoholism, defeated by it, and each day he has to face whether he'll have another drink. But instead of facing it on the basis of, shall I do this or not, an action, he's now asking, shall I live in this kingdom or not, because I am free as a prince in Jesus Christ to say no to the kingdom. So while he's tempted to drink, and even has the wine or the beer in the mug, he's free to say, I am not going to let this kingdom reign. Now that doesn't guarantee that he will not take the drink. But it guarantees that he will not come under the identity and judgment of the kingdom of Adam. You say, well, what's the difference, Colin, if he drinks anyway? The difference is the reaction that follows. Because when you have the earthly perception of things without a knowledge of the kingdom of Christ, then a drink will bring you to judgment, depression, grief. fear that you will ruin your life. But if you, by faith, know that that kingdom is broken, your reaction is less traumatic. Oh yes, I failed, but I praise God that the kingdom is finished. I don't belong in it, I don't belong to it, and I assert my relationship with the kingdom of Christ in which I am a prince or princess. This is how we think in a different way. This is how faith operates. People have belittled faith because they have never understood its real power in the mind of a Christian. But we do, because we have heard of what Christ has done. We have seen him break the power of death. We have seen him rise from the dead. Before that, we saw him on the cross, never believing that his father had left him, even though he said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Remember the thing that he said before he died, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Jesus knew. that his life with the Father, innocent, pure, not having come under the power of sin, had defeated the power of Satan. We live in him. We cannot defeat the power of Satan, but we live in him, and our faith is training itself and growing every day, seeking to operate in this way. Yes, defeats will follow, but victories will too, and calmness of soul. and freedom from this endless depression after a failure, so that we know how to bounce back, because the kingdom that we live in is not the kingdom of Adam where there is judgment, but the kingdom of Christ where there is freedom from judgment. So this is, you see, all part of this chapter on dead to sin. It's a totally different way of looking at things and thinking of it all if you are not a man or woman of faith. So Paul having said, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, then says, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. What he's saying here is, do not present your body and all its parts as a member of Adam's kingdom. So when you're facing a temptation, It's really nice and good to be able to say, sorry, I don't belong to your kingdom. I'm not presenting my members to your kingdom. I'm not presenting myself at the door of the kingdom of Adam and saying, at your service, sir. No, I'm not. I'm presenting my body in the service of Jesus Christ. Now, look, don't think of this in terms of you do it. perfectly forever afterwards, or you are defeated perfectly forever afterwards. You're doing it right one time, and you're doing it wrong the next time. But each time you do it, that is, each time you express your faith in the right way, you strengthen that ability. You know, I'm rereading a little book that I ordered from Amazon the other day called Power in Praise. Some of you may know it. Is it Merlin Carruthers? I don't think it's Merlin, but anyway, it's Carruthers by Carruthers. You can find it on Amazon for $9. And it's reminding me all over again what the implications of the Book of Romans are. He doesn't talk about the Book of Romans all that much, but I knew the Book of Romans before I knew this Power and Praise book, and when I got a hold of this book 30 or 40 years ago, I said to myself, oh yes, this is the natural consequence, that is praise, giving thanks to God for the truth and the reality that the book of Romans teaches. You see, in Romans 5 and 6 that we've studied so far, freedom from wrath and freedom from the power of sin, We are talking about what God has done for us, not what we try to do for ourselves, not how we practice. trying to overcome this or that. But what God has done, he's taken away his wrath, taken away his judgment from us so that we have peace of heart and we are reconciled to the heart of the Father and we can enter his throne room without any judgment. And he has broken the power of sin, taken away the sin kingdom of Adam by giving and introducing us to the kingdom of Christ where there is righteousness and life and peace. Well, doesn't that lead your heart to be thankful? Isn't that the first response that we give to God? Oh, thank you, dear God. Well, that's what we need to be practicing, you see, every day. To be able to thank God in the midst of all the foibles and brokenness of this world, in the midst of the disappointments and the depressions, to be able to say, now look, all I'm going through, dear God, all that you take me through that seems to be in the kingdom of Adam is actually in the kingdom of Christ, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me. That verse in Psalm 23, the first part, the valley of the shadow of death is Adam's kingdom, and the second part, thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me, is the kingdom of Christ. And so, you see, I am walking in the kingdom of darkness in my natural body, but in my spirit, in my faith in Christ, I am walking with God, whose staff and rod comfort me. They guide me on the road. Though I can't see the path, Jesus can, and he holds up a lantern for me. This is how it is, you see. This is what faith is. Take it. Believe it. Grow with it. It's more powerful than the atom. Thank you for joining me today. Colin Cook here, and you've been listening to my program, How It Happens. This is listener-supported radio, which means that the listener who appreciates the program pays for it, makes a donation. You don't have to, of course. Don't feel guilty if you don't do it. But if you'd like to, and if it cheers your heart to do so, please send your donation to FaithQuest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160, or make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. Thanks so much. I'll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
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.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
