Listen as Dr. James Dobson and Mary Crowley discuss the challenges women face, such as low self-esteem and the quest for self-fulfillment in a world full of distractions. Mary emphasizes the importance of confidence and a supportive community, sharing insights on finding personal success beyond societal norms. Through personal anecdotes and scripture-based wisdom, this episode aims to inspire women to discover God's plan for them and to thrive in every area of life.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It's a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute supported by listeners just like you. I'm Dr. James Dobson and I'm thrilled that you've joined us.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, welcome to Family Talk, the broadcast division of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. I'm Roger Marsh. And whether you're listening at home or on the go, you are in for something special today. We are bringing you a classic conversation featuring Mary Crowley, author of the book Women Who Win, Who We'll be right back. $400 million in business, powered by thousands of women working from their homes. The company became so successful that when they held a celebration, they filled an arena with 10,000 of their top saleswomen, and they featured Bob Hope and Billy Graham as special guests. But Mary's secret wasn't just business savvy. It was putting priorities in the right order. Mary started every company meeting by reading Scripture, often turning to the Proverbs for wisdom about leadership. And here's an interesting connection. Mary Kay Ash, who co-founded Mary Kay Cosmetics with a similar home party business model, was actually Mary Crowley's sister-in-law. Now, in her book, Women Who Win, Mary addresses a challenge many women still face today, and that is a lack of self-confidence. Her message is both simple and powerful. You are designed for fulfillment, and God has a plan for your life. Mary Crowley believed that by honoring God and serving others, women could find success both at home and in business. So let's listen now as Mary talks about those timeless principles with our own Dr. James Dobson on this special edition of Family Talk.
SPEAKER 03 :
I would like to say this is one of the most generous women I have ever met. She supports Christian causes all across this country. And your generosity is legendary, Mary. So you have taken what God has given you and shared it with so many causes that you believe in. But where did all that start? How did you get into business?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I got in business 27 years ago. Actually, I'd been in direct selling business before that, but now my kids were grown and I saw a need. There was a need for American women to decorate their homes with excitement and with care. And from a coordinated line of accessories, I found that women were not sure what to do. And I'd worked for furniture companies before. And so we started the business to give women an opportunity to work from their homes, be there when the kids got home from school, and still use their creative genius, which God gave every woman. Every woman is a genius. Some just don't know it yet or haven't developed yet. And this is the idea of the business, and we had twin goals. One was to honor God, because I knew by then that if we didn't honor Him, we would not be successful. Now, that doesn't mean that people who do not belong to the Lord, and there are lots of successful people, quote, in the world, they can be successful. But if I've made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Master, that I cannot be successful if I do not honor Him. Somehow along the line, he'll let me fall flat on my face. And I've done that a few times, too. I believe that's true. Absolutely. So it had to honor him. And then it had to bless and serve people. The whole world wants service. They can buy products. They can buy merchandise. They can buy lots of things. but we want genuine, caring, personal service. And that was our goal, to do that. And in so doing, to help the woman who was showing and selling our accessories to find fulfillment in herself and to have a fellowship of her sisters. You know, America needs places where people can go to belong, to find a support team. When our great-grandmothers came across the prairies, They had quilting bees and canning bees, and they had support teams for one another in their difficult times and in their joyous times. So we have built support teams all across America. And the fellowship is as important as the salesmanship. And so that's how we started. We started from our garage, very, very small. My son and my daughter and myself and a few friends, people that invested and believed in us. And it's grown beyond my wildest imagination, and it's pretty wild.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let's address some comments to the woman who is at home, where you were when you started. I don't know what your circumstances were, but let's suppose that she feels somewhat unfulfilled and somewhat frustrated. She wants to do something significant with her life. Maybe the kids now are in the teen years, and she knows they're going to be gone before too long, and she's wondering what now. What do you say to her? How does she begin to put it all together and find out who she is? Does that necessarily mean she's got to be successful in business like you are in order to find yourself?
SPEAKER 02 :
No. Again, I come back to the measure of success for each person. Success is a moving target. When you've got little kids at home, sometimes it's just getting through the day. You know, and then as they go into school and you begin to have other time, and then it may be reading good books and getting yourself, your mind activated again. Maybe it's starting an exercise program, whatever it is, that the measure of success that makes you feel fulfilled, it's different for everybody. And each person has to learn to define their own. Otherwise, they are always trying to
SPEAKER 03 :
Why do you think that moving target is so difficult for American women to hit? Why do you think so many American women are frustrated?
SPEAKER 02 :
Because they are trying to find their measure of fulfillment in what they're hearing, either on TV or maybe radio or reading in some magazine, instead of trying to find out what God's game plan is for them. I heard a wonderful interview with Walter Payton not long ago, and he defined something that was so great. The interviewer asked him, is your measure of success 100 yards gained in a game, as is the measure of success for a ball game for a running back? And he said, no, my measure of success is following the game plan consistently. designed for that game to the very best of my ability. And I thought that was a wonderful way to illustrate what everybody, God has a game plan for my life, for your life, for every woman out there with little kids or big kids or no kids. And if somebody tried to just copy mine, they might get very frustrated. I have a high energy level, and I can do a lot of things. Others might not. We're all made differently. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Could it be that God's game plan for a particular woman would be to stay home and take care of three little kids under six years of age for this period of her life? Society is telling her that that's nobody's game plan. Could that be God's game plan for some people?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, he says that in his word, and then he also says that older women should help the younger women. And I think this is where, again, I was talking about a support team. A lot of young women with little children are feeling so alienated and so unsupported because maybe her parents or his parents do not live close. Society has not built a support team around them in our today's world. that's where they need to find a support team. They have to have fellowship with other women, and maybe it's a Bible class, maybe it's a home interior show, maybe it's coming in part-time, or maybe it's simply finding other group of women who have uplifting, motivating things to do. put in their hours otherwise sometimes we do recruit mothers with young kids because she's sitting there watching the daytime dramas and living in a fantasy world and that is no good for her and so if we can enlighten her and lift her up and give her something to do part-time that will fulfill her desires and create you know we try to develop her creative talents women want to be accepted understood and developed They don't want to stay static. They want to be developed. So whatever. If you're sitting out there and you're thinking, well, I'm not being developed, then you find something that develops your mind, your spirit, your being. And don't sit there and get caught in that daytime drama trap of fantasy world. That's the worst thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're talking about soap opera.
SPEAKER 02 :
I am, I am. Well, that's terrible.
SPEAKER 03 :
It really is.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, but that's what happens to a lot of women who are home with little kids, Dr. Dobson. That's what happens to them. And so then just being at home with the children does not minister to their spirit or does not even help them to be good mothers unless they must have a plan to be a successful mother and a successful wife and woman.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mary, what do you say to the person who is very frustrated in their present job? Do you have any advice to a person who just feels they're in a dead-end trap? Change it. Absolutely. But it costs money. I'm making more money than I could make someplace else. Yeah, but it's not making you happy, so what good is it? But I've got to feed my family.
SPEAKER 02 :
Find another way to feed them. No, it isn't really worth it if people are frustrated in their jobs unless there is a real way that they can change the frustration in that job. If it's their attitude, then they better change the attitude. But if it's the job itself and there is no hope of fulfillment, then change the job. Life's too short and too wonderful to waste it on frustration. Now, we'll have frustrations in all jobs. People need to realize that. There are days of frustration in any job, and you can't expect a frustration-free job. But at the end of the day, there must be something that you feel that you've accomplished in the lives of other people. or in going forward in your measure of success or something that you have done that is an accomplishment at the end of every day. Oh, there'll be days you think, well, what did I accomplish today? I've just not even gotten through the mail. I didn't get through the dishes. I didn't get through there too many. You know, we live in the day of distractomania. But you can find something, some life that you touched, something that you did that made the doing worthwhile.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think you've put your finger on really the critical issue having to do with the support team. I've tried to write and talk about that because I find many women know they need that but don't know how to go and get it. I was counseling with a young mother just the other day in my office, and she said, I don't have anybody. I don't have any close friends. The one I had turned her back on me. And this is a very bright woman who's a schoolteacher and is very capable, very verbal, very able to get out and meet the world. Oh, I need to recruit her. And yet I find many women like that don't know how to take the first step. There is a lack of confidence perhaps to go outside that front door and maybe somebody will hurt me or reject me and it's just easier or seems easier to pull in and let the four walls collapse. I guess you're really addressing that problem.
SPEAKER 02 :
We do. We address that problem a great deal. And you hit it when you said lack of confidence. One time I took a poll all across America from thousands of women, asked them what were their three greatest problems personality-wise, society-wise, business-wise, or family-wise. And north, south, east, and west, there was no names on the papers. It was lack of self-confidence, low esteem. I was just floored. Here's the greatest nation in the earth, the highest educational level for all women, the greatest opportunities. So I set about my goal is to help every woman I meet or that hear the sound of my voice to feel better about herself, to realize you are designed for life. God has a plan for your life, but I fully believe that they cannot find it till they find that absolute, till they realize that God is their creator, he is their maker, and then they begin to understand what is the character of God. He loves, he cares, he's just, he's fair, he has great things for us. And once you find that, you see, people often say to me, well, haven't you been discriminated against as a woman? Well, maybe I just didn't have sense enough to know it. But you see, if somebody tries to put me down, it diminishes them, not me. My self-worth is tied up in the character of God himself. And once any woman finds that out, she's redeemed. She's free to be herself and then free to have the confidence to say to somebody, look, I need some help. I want to get to know some people. And how do you turn people with low self-esteem into good salespeople? Well, first of all, they have to learn what selling really is. They have an idea that selling is going out and talking and convincing people. No, it is not. True selling is serving a need in that person. And women are very good at understanding that once you find what this person needs and help them fill the need. Women are in the habit of filling needs of children, of husbands, of You know, they're nurturers by very nature. And once they realize that it's a natural for them to be able to find the need and to fill it and to help the person in a serving way, they realize that it isn't something big out there that they have to learn, but it's something that they already have, a natural opportunity. ability to do. We just need to develop that ability and help them see what it really is. It's a matter of learning what selling really is. Most people think of it as something that you talk and that you convince. No, it's finding out person to person what her needs and desires and likes are, what she needs in her life, what she needs in her home, and then I can help you find that. I can help you Express your love for your family on the wall or in the figurines or the way that you even arrange a bouquet of flowers. And women are natural nurturers and natural helpers in this area. So once she finds out that she already has the natural ability, we just help her develop it.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, my book, What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women, is based on this same thing we're talking about here, where I ask over 10,000 women to rank order the sources of depression in their lives. And it blew me away, too, that the number one source of depression in young, middle-class, seemingly happily married Christian women was low self-esteem, 50%. of the original test group that I based this little study on put that number one, and 80% put it in the top five. So this pervasive lack of confidence, lack of self-worth, is extremely widespread in our culture. And I think, again, it comes back to television to some degree, where every woman feels like she's got to be beautiful and young and successful and the object of somebody's great romantic love and attention in order to feel acceptable and to feel the confidence necessary to cope with life. And unfortunately, that support system just often isn't there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and not everybody is young and slim and gorgeous.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, unfortunately. What do you do, Mary, when you're looking eye to eye with a very powerful male corporate executive who has the authority to move great numbers of people and so on? You being a woman, do you look eye to eye with him?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, absolutely. Oh, I thoroughly enjoy him. I'm on lots of boards where I'm the only woman. But I don't come in and try to be a pushy female. Let me be sure that I do say that. I am there to make a contribution, not to compete. And with that complete positive attitude, I never have any difficulty there. Because God made us to have special roles and special talents and special abilities. And I can greet and meet and deal with people Corporate executives are presidents. Well, that's now.
SPEAKER 03 :
You've got 39,000 people on your staff. What about when you had one? What about when you were beginning? Did you have that kind of confidence, or did it grow through the years?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, part of it has grown through the years, but I always had a lot of confidence. Well, the good Lord born me on April Fool's Day. That was wonderful, because most people worry about making a fool of themselves, and they won't do things that are going to make a fool. I didn't have to worry about that. You'd already gotten the title. I'd already gotten the title, yeah. So... But part of it comes from the fact that, well, my grandparents taught me to... place the bible as one of you know our priorities not long ago i gave a speech to young people and i took a tv guide and a bible with me and i held them up i said all of you have these two books in your home which one do you refer to the most next week dr alan redpath from england recently spoke and he said in england we used to base our morality on the bible now we base it on tv And I thought, you know, that's exactly what's happening in America, really. And so in looking at the Bible, God is who he says he is in his book. I am who he says I am in his book. And since he's who he is and I'm who he says I am, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Who does he say you are, Mary?
SPEAKER 02 :
He says that I am a child of his. If I believe in Jesus Christ, I'm joint heirs with him. Wow! Wow! What kind of a promise that is. And then, oh, you know, many, many places he says, you talk about giving. Over in Thessalonians where he says, if you will give and share that all grace will be given in all situations and all your needs will be met. Now, that is a pretty powerful promise. And I've been claiming those for years. Tithing to me is the secret of it. You see, what I can make is not for me to be hoarding. It's a channel. It's a channel. It's kind of like forgiveness. Forgiveness is not given to us in a cup. It's given to us in a pipeline. So what I receive is to be given. You can't out-give God. He just multiplies it. I am just amazed at Him.
SPEAKER 03 :
What do you say to the people who just feel like they can't tithe? Mary, they just can't pay their bills now, and they are $75 short every week, and just isn't enough to go around, and the kids need shoes, and there's a hole in the roof, and we're trying to put our oldest boy into Christian schools. How in the world am I going to give any money to the Lord's kingdom?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I go back to when I started tithing, and it was about 40 years ago. And I was in just that same situation. I had two kids. I was a single parent. I was raising two kids. The war was on. I was working for an insurance company. My income had not risen like other people's had. It was pledge time at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, and I always pledged and gave, but I didn't think I could tithe. So, particularly night, though, the kids were asleep, and I was wrestling with that, and I was telling the Lord all the reasons I could not tithe. Hmm. And I thought of that verse in Proverbs, you know, but is the Lord convinced? He speaks to us through our creative genius mind that he gives us. Well, Mary, you're not doing such a hot job of it yourself. Why don't you give me a chance? I said, okay, Lord, I check tithe. It's your problem. It's your management of my life. I'm going to bed. So then I had to explain to our housekeeper and the kids, you know, we had to take it out first because if you don't take it out first, it won't be there. And we ate oatmeal quite a bit there in the beginning, and some of them would grumble and everything. Something happens. I can't explain it. I don't understand God's mathematics. But within two months' time, I was able to get out of debt. Behind the eight ball wasn't debt per se, but just get caught up. From that day till this, we didn't suddenly have a lot of money. But something did happen. And I can guarantee that if you give God's management of your money, he has management of your life. Things change. It really is true. I cannot explain it. It really is true. I challenge people. I've challenged. I teach classes. I told you of people, 150 people single by death or divorced. A lot of them have aging parents and a lot of problems. I challenge them every year. I say, okay, you tithe for six months. And at the end of six months, if you're not better off than you are now, I'll pick up the tab for the difference.
SPEAKER 03 :
You just said that to three million people.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. And I have never yet anybody take me up on it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jesus spoke more about money than any other subject. So it must be extremely important to our spiritual welfare as well as to our financial welfare.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it's exciting.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mary, we have a great deal of love for you, as I've said, for the kind of person you are, what you represent, not what you give, but who you are. You love the Lord, and it shows in everything that you do. And it's been a pleasure meeting your staff. Some of your people came with you today, and they're sitting in the gallery over there watching us broadcast today. And I just hope that you'll come back, continue doing the great work that you're doing. And I just trust the Lord will be very close to you in this coming year.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you. It's been a joy to be here. And I guess I would like to say to every person out there, trust Him, try Him, prove Him. He will never let you down.
SPEAKER 03 :
You really mean that?
SPEAKER 02 :
I really mean that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Have you found that true of your entire lifetime?
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. See, I've learned that Christianity is not a way of doing certain things. It's a certain way of doing all things. And I can absolutely say, without any doubt at all, if you really trust Him... He has a better plan for your life than you can have for yourself. And I am amazed at what he's done with one little orphan gal.
SPEAKER 03 :
Bless you, Mary. Our prayers and our thoughts will be with you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Christianity is not a way of doing certain things. It's a certain way of doing all things. What a great thought to wrap up today's classic program featuring the late Mary Crowley here on Family Talk. Now, you've been listening to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk and a timeless conversation between Dr. Dobson and his guest, Mary Crowley, about finding purpose, building confidence, and trusting God's plan for your life. Mary's remarkable journey from a single mother to building a multi-million dollar business, all while putting God first, continues to inspire women even today. By the way, if you missed any part of this classic program, or if you'd like to share it with someone who really needs a word of encouragement today, visit drjamesdobson.org, or you can find the program easily on the Family Talk app. Here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, we are committed to helping you and your family grow closer to God and each other. But these daily broadcasts and resources are only made possible through the generous support of friends like you who share our vision for strong, faith-filled families. Your tax-deductible donation today will help us continue broadcasting messages of hope and practical wisdom to millions of listeners in America and all over the world. To make a secure donation online, go to drjamesdobson.org. Or if you prefer, you can send your donation through the mail. Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk, P.O. Box 39000, Colorado Springs, Colorado, the zip code 80949. And for more daily inspiration and biblical guidance, I encourage you to explore our reading plans in the Bible app by YouVersion. You can choose from 48 different plans, 24 on marriage and 24 on parenting. Each one contains three lessons to encourage growth in your relationships. These brief devotionals are perfect for busy parents or couples who want to grow together in their faith. Just open the Bible app on your phone or mobile device, search for Dr. James Dobson, and start your first reading plan today. Well, I'm Roger Marsh and from all of us here at Family Talk, we are so grateful that you've joined us for today's classic program. Be sure to join us again next time for another edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
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Listen as Dr. James Dobson and Mary Crowley discuss the challenges women face, such as low self-esteem and the quest for self-fulfillment in a world full of distractions. Mary emphasizes the importance of confidence and a supportive community, sharing insights on finding personal success beyond societal norms. Through personal anecdotes and scripture-based wisdom, this episode aims to inspire women to discover God's plan for them and to thrive in every area of life.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It's a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute supported by listeners just like you. I'm Dr. James Dobson and I'm thrilled that you've joined us.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, welcome to Family Talk, the broadcast division of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. I'm Roger Marsh. And whether you're listening at home or on the go, you are in for something special today. We are bringing you a classic conversation featuring Mary Crowley, author of the book Women Who Win, Who We'll be right back. $400 million in business, powered by thousands of women working from their homes. The company became so successful that when they held a celebration, they filled an arena with 10,000 of their top saleswomen, and they featured Bob Hope and Billy Graham as special guests. But Mary's secret wasn't just business savvy. It was putting priorities in the right order. Mary started every company meeting by reading Scripture, often turning to the Proverbs for wisdom about leadership. And here's an interesting connection. Mary Kay Ash, who co-founded Mary Kay Cosmetics with a similar home party business model, was actually Mary Crowley's sister-in-law. Now, in her book, Women Who Win, Mary addresses a challenge many women still face today, and that is a lack of self-confidence. Her message is both simple and powerful. You are designed for fulfillment, and God has a plan for your life. Mary Crowley believed that by honoring God and serving others, women could find success both at home and in business. So let's listen now as Mary talks about those timeless principles with our own Dr. James Dobson on this special edition of Family Talk.
SPEAKER 03 :
I would like to say this is one of the most generous women I have ever met. She supports Christian causes all across this country. And your generosity is legendary, Mary. So you have taken what God has given you and shared it with so many causes that you believe in. But where did all that start? How did you get into business?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I got in business 27 years ago. Actually, I'd been in direct selling business before that, but now my kids were grown and I saw a need. There was a need for American women to decorate their homes with excitement and with care. And from a coordinated line of accessories, I found that women were not sure what to do. And I'd worked for furniture companies before. And so we started the business to give women an opportunity to work from their homes, be there when the kids got home from school, and still use their creative genius, which God gave every woman. Every woman is a genius. Some just don't know it yet or haven't developed yet. And this is the idea of the business, and we had twin goals. One was to honor God, because I knew by then that if we didn't honor Him, we would not be successful. Now, that doesn't mean that people who do not belong to the Lord, and there are lots of successful people, quote, in the world, they can be successful. But if I've made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Master, that I cannot be successful if I do not honor Him. Somehow along the line, he'll let me fall flat on my face. And I've done that a few times, too. I believe that's true. Absolutely. So it had to honor him. And then it had to bless and serve people. The whole world wants service. They can buy products. They can buy merchandise. They can buy lots of things. but we want genuine, caring, personal service. And that was our goal, to do that. And in so doing, to help the woman who was showing and selling our accessories to find fulfillment in herself and to have a fellowship of her sisters. You know, America needs places where people can go to belong, to find a support team. When our great-grandmothers came across the prairies, They had quilting bees and canning bees, and they had support teams for one another in their difficult times and in their joyous times. So we have built support teams all across America. And the fellowship is as important as the salesmanship. And so that's how we started. We started from our garage, very, very small. My son and my daughter and myself and a few friends, people that invested and believed in us. And it's grown beyond my wildest imagination, and it's pretty wild.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let's address some comments to the woman who is at home, where you were when you started. I don't know what your circumstances were, but let's suppose that she feels somewhat unfulfilled and somewhat frustrated. She wants to do something significant with her life. Maybe the kids now are in the teen years, and she knows they're going to be gone before too long, and she's wondering what now. What do you say to her? How does she begin to put it all together and find out who she is? Does that necessarily mean she's got to be successful in business like you are in order to find yourself?
SPEAKER 02 :
No. Again, I come back to the measure of success for each person. Success is a moving target. When you've got little kids at home, sometimes it's just getting through the day. You know, and then as they go into school and you begin to have other time, and then it may be reading good books and getting yourself, your mind activated again. Maybe it's starting an exercise program, whatever it is, that the measure of success that makes you feel fulfilled, it's different for everybody. And each person has to learn to define their own. Otherwise, they are always trying to
SPEAKER 03 :
Why do you think that moving target is so difficult for American women to hit? Why do you think so many American women are frustrated?
SPEAKER 02 :
Because they are trying to find their measure of fulfillment in what they're hearing, either on TV or maybe radio or reading in some magazine, instead of trying to find out what God's game plan is for them. I heard a wonderful interview with Walter Payton not long ago, and he defined something that was so great. The interviewer asked him, is your measure of success 100 yards gained in a game, as is the measure of success for a ball game for a running back? And he said, no, my measure of success is following the game plan consistently. designed for that game to the very best of my ability. And I thought that was a wonderful way to illustrate what everybody, God has a game plan for my life, for your life, for every woman out there with little kids or big kids or no kids. And if somebody tried to just copy mine, they might get very frustrated. I have a high energy level, and I can do a lot of things. Others might not. We're all made differently. Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Could it be that God's game plan for a particular woman would be to stay home and take care of three little kids under six years of age for this period of her life? Society is telling her that that's nobody's game plan. Could that be God's game plan for some people?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, he says that in his word, and then he also says that older women should help the younger women. And I think this is where, again, I was talking about a support team. A lot of young women with little children are feeling so alienated and so unsupported because maybe her parents or his parents do not live close. Society has not built a support team around them in our today's world. that's where they need to find a support team. They have to have fellowship with other women, and maybe it's a Bible class, maybe it's a home interior show, maybe it's coming in part-time, or maybe it's simply finding other group of women who have uplifting, motivating things to do. put in their hours otherwise sometimes we do recruit mothers with young kids because she's sitting there watching the daytime dramas and living in a fantasy world and that is no good for her and so if we can enlighten her and lift her up and give her something to do part-time that will fulfill her desires and create you know we try to develop her creative talents women want to be accepted understood and developed They don't want to stay static. They want to be developed. So whatever. If you're sitting out there and you're thinking, well, I'm not being developed, then you find something that develops your mind, your spirit, your being. And don't sit there and get caught in that daytime drama trap of fantasy world. That's the worst thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're talking about soap opera.
SPEAKER 02 :
I am, I am. Well, that's terrible.
SPEAKER 03 :
It really is.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, but that's what happens to a lot of women who are home with little kids, Dr. Dobson. That's what happens to them. And so then just being at home with the children does not minister to their spirit or does not even help them to be good mothers unless they must have a plan to be a successful mother and a successful wife and woman.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mary, what do you say to the person who is very frustrated in their present job? Do you have any advice to a person who just feels they're in a dead-end trap? Change it. Absolutely. But it costs money. I'm making more money than I could make someplace else. Yeah, but it's not making you happy, so what good is it? But I've got to feed my family.
SPEAKER 02 :
Find another way to feed them. No, it isn't really worth it if people are frustrated in their jobs unless there is a real way that they can change the frustration in that job. If it's their attitude, then they better change the attitude. But if it's the job itself and there is no hope of fulfillment, then change the job. Life's too short and too wonderful to waste it on frustration. Now, we'll have frustrations in all jobs. People need to realize that. There are days of frustration in any job, and you can't expect a frustration-free job. But at the end of the day, there must be something that you feel that you've accomplished in the lives of other people. or in going forward in your measure of success or something that you have done that is an accomplishment at the end of every day. Oh, there'll be days you think, well, what did I accomplish today? I've just not even gotten through the mail. I didn't get through the dishes. I didn't get through there too many. You know, we live in the day of distractomania. But you can find something, some life that you touched, something that you did that made the doing worthwhile.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think you've put your finger on really the critical issue having to do with the support team. I've tried to write and talk about that because I find many women know they need that but don't know how to go and get it. I was counseling with a young mother just the other day in my office, and she said, I don't have anybody. I don't have any close friends. The one I had turned her back on me. And this is a very bright woman who's a schoolteacher and is very capable, very verbal, very able to get out and meet the world. Oh, I need to recruit her. And yet I find many women like that don't know how to take the first step. There is a lack of confidence perhaps to go outside that front door and maybe somebody will hurt me or reject me and it's just easier or seems easier to pull in and let the four walls collapse. I guess you're really addressing that problem.
SPEAKER 02 :
We do. We address that problem a great deal. And you hit it when you said lack of confidence. One time I took a poll all across America from thousands of women, asked them what were their three greatest problems personality-wise, society-wise, business-wise, or family-wise. And north, south, east, and west, there was no names on the papers. It was lack of self-confidence, low esteem. I was just floored. Here's the greatest nation in the earth, the highest educational level for all women, the greatest opportunities. So I set about my goal is to help every woman I meet or that hear the sound of my voice to feel better about herself, to realize you are designed for life. God has a plan for your life, but I fully believe that they cannot find it till they find that absolute, till they realize that God is their creator, he is their maker, and then they begin to understand what is the character of God. He loves, he cares, he's just, he's fair, he has great things for us. And once you find that, you see, people often say to me, well, haven't you been discriminated against as a woman? Well, maybe I just didn't have sense enough to know it. But you see, if somebody tries to put me down, it diminishes them, not me. My self-worth is tied up in the character of God himself. And once any woman finds that out, she's redeemed. She's free to be herself and then free to have the confidence to say to somebody, look, I need some help. I want to get to know some people. And how do you turn people with low self-esteem into good salespeople? Well, first of all, they have to learn what selling really is. They have an idea that selling is going out and talking and convincing people. No, it is not. True selling is serving a need in that person. And women are very good at understanding that once you find what this person needs and help them fill the need. Women are in the habit of filling needs of children, of husbands, of You know, they're nurturers by very nature. And once they realize that it's a natural for them to be able to find the need and to fill it and to help the person in a serving way, they realize that it isn't something big out there that they have to learn, but it's something that they already have, a natural opportunity. ability to do. We just need to develop that ability and help them see what it really is. It's a matter of learning what selling really is. Most people think of it as something that you talk and that you convince. No, it's finding out person to person what her needs and desires and likes are, what she needs in her life, what she needs in her home, and then I can help you find that. I can help you Express your love for your family on the wall or in the figurines or the way that you even arrange a bouquet of flowers. And women are natural nurturers and natural helpers in this area. So once she finds out that she already has the natural ability, we just help her develop it.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, my book, What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women, is based on this same thing we're talking about here, where I ask over 10,000 women to rank order the sources of depression in their lives. And it blew me away, too, that the number one source of depression in young, middle-class, seemingly happily married Christian women was low self-esteem, 50%. of the original test group that I based this little study on put that number one, and 80% put it in the top five. So this pervasive lack of confidence, lack of self-worth, is extremely widespread in our culture. And I think, again, it comes back to television to some degree, where every woman feels like she's got to be beautiful and young and successful and the object of somebody's great romantic love and attention in order to feel acceptable and to feel the confidence necessary to cope with life. And unfortunately, that support system just often isn't there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and not everybody is young and slim and gorgeous.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, unfortunately. What do you do, Mary, when you're looking eye to eye with a very powerful male corporate executive who has the authority to move great numbers of people and so on? You being a woman, do you look eye to eye with him?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, absolutely. Oh, I thoroughly enjoy him. I'm on lots of boards where I'm the only woman. But I don't come in and try to be a pushy female. Let me be sure that I do say that. I am there to make a contribution, not to compete. And with that complete positive attitude, I never have any difficulty there. Because God made us to have special roles and special talents and special abilities. And I can greet and meet and deal with people Corporate executives are presidents. Well, that's now.
SPEAKER 03 :
You've got 39,000 people on your staff. What about when you had one? What about when you were beginning? Did you have that kind of confidence, or did it grow through the years?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, part of it has grown through the years, but I always had a lot of confidence. Well, the good Lord born me on April Fool's Day. That was wonderful, because most people worry about making a fool of themselves, and they won't do things that are going to make a fool. I didn't have to worry about that. You'd already gotten the title. I'd already gotten the title, yeah. So... But part of it comes from the fact that, well, my grandparents taught me to... place the bible as one of you know our priorities not long ago i gave a speech to young people and i took a tv guide and a bible with me and i held them up i said all of you have these two books in your home which one do you refer to the most next week dr alan redpath from england recently spoke and he said in england we used to base our morality on the bible now we base it on tv And I thought, you know, that's exactly what's happening in America, really. And so in looking at the Bible, God is who he says he is in his book. I am who he says I am in his book. And since he's who he is and I'm who he says I am, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Who does he say you are, Mary?
SPEAKER 02 :
He says that I am a child of his. If I believe in Jesus Christ, I'm joint heirs with him. Wow! Wow! What kind of a promise that is. And then, oh, you know, many, many places he says, you talk about giving. Over in Thessalonians where he says, if you will give and share that all grace will be given in all situations and all your needs will be met. Now, that is a pretty powerful promise. And I've been claiming those for years. Tithing to me is the secret of it. You see, what I can make is not for me to be hoarding. It's a channel. It's a channel. It's kind of like forgiveness. Forgiveness is not given to us in a cup. It's given to us in a pipeline. So what I receive is to be given. You can't out-give God. He just multiplies it. I am just amazed at Him.
SPEAKER 03 :
What do you say to the people who just feel like they can't tithe? Mary, they just can't pay their bills now, and they are $75 short every week, and just isn't enough to go around, and the kids need shoes, and there's a hole in the roof, and we're trying to put our oldest boy into Christian schools. How in the world am I going to give any money to the Lord's kingdom?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I go back to when I started tithing, and it was about 40 years ago. And I was in just that same situation. I had two kids. I was a single parent. I was raising two kids. The war was on. I was working for an insurance company. My income had not risen like other people's had. It was pledge time at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, and I always pledged and gave, but I didn't think I could tithe. So, particularly night, though, the kids were asleep, and I was wrestling with that, and I was telling the Lord all the reasons I could not tithe. Hmm. And I thought of that verse in Proverbs, you know, but is the Lord convinced? He speaks to us through our creative genius mind that he gives us. Well, Mary, you're not doing such a hot job of it yourself. Why don't you give me a chance? I said, okay, Lord, I check tithe. It's your problem. It's your management of my life. I'm going to bed. So then I had to explain to our housekeeper and the kids, you know, we had to take it out first because if you don't take it out first, it won't be there. And we ate oatmeal quite a bit there in the beginning, and some of them would grumble and everything. Something happens. I can't explain it. I don't understand God's mathematics. But within two months' time, I was able to get out of debt. Behind the eight ball wasn't debt per se, but just get caught up. From that day till this, we didn't suddenly have a lot of money. But something did happen. And I can guarantee that if you give God's management of your money, he has management of your life. Things change. It really is true. I cannot explain it. It really is true. I challenge people. I've challenged. I teach classes. I told you of people, 150 people single by death or divorced. A lot of them have aging parents and a lot of problems. I challenge them every year. I say, okay, you tithe for six months. And at the end of six months, if you're not better off than you are now, I'll pick up the tab for the difference.
SPEAKER 03 :
You just said that to three million people.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's right. And I have never yet anybody take me up on it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jesus spoke more about money than any other subject. So it must be extremely important to our spiritual welfare as well as to our financial welfare.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it's exciting.
SPEAKER 03 :
Mary, we have a great deal of love for you, as I've said, for the kind of person you are, what you represent, not what you give, but who you are. You love the Lord, and it shows in everything that you do. And it's been a pleasure meeting your staff. Some of your people came with you today, and they're sitting in the gallery over there watching us broadcast today. And I just hope that you'll come back, continue doing the great work that you're doing. And I just trust the Lord will be very close to you in this coming year.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you. It's been a joy to be here. And I guess I would like to say to every person out there, trust Him, try Him, prove Him. He will never let you down.
SPEAKER 03 :
You really mean that?
SPEAKER 02 :
I really mean that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Have you found that true of your entire lifetime?
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. See, I've learned that Christianity is not a way of doing certain things. It's a certain way of doing all things. And I can absolutely say, without any doubt at all, if you really trust Him... He has a better plan for your life than you can have for yourself. And I am amazed at what he's done with one little orphan gal.
SPEAKER 03 :
Bless you, Mary. Our prayers and our thoughts will be with you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Christianity is not a way of doing certain things. It's a certain way of doing all things. What a great thought to wrap up today's classic program featuring the late Mary Crowley here on Family Talk. Now, you've been listening to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk and a timeless conversation between Dr. Dobson and his guest, Mary Crowley, about finding purpose, building confidence, and trusting God's plan for your life. Mary's remarkable journey from a single mother to building a multi-million dollar business, all while putting God first, continues to inspire women even today. By the way, if you missed any part of this classic program, or if you'd like to share it with someone who really needs a word of encouragement today, visit drjamesdobson.org, or you can find the program easily on the Family Talk app. Here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, we are committed to helping you and your family grow closer to God and each other. But these daily broadcasts and resources are only made possible through the generous support of friends like you who share our vision for strong, faith-filled families. Your tax-deductible donation today will help us continue broadcasting messages of hope and practical wisdom to millions of listeners in America and all over the world. To make a secure donation online, go to drjamesdobson.org. Or if you prefer, you can send your donation through the mail. Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk, P.O. Box 39000, Colorado Springs, Colorado, the zip code 80949. And for more daily inspiration and biblical guidance, I encourage you to explore our reading plans in the Bible app by YouVersion. You can choose from 48 different plans, 24 on marriage and 24 on parenting. Each one contains three lessons to encourage growth in your relationships. These brief devotionals are perfect for busy parents or couples who want to grow together in their faith. Just open the Bible app on your phone or mobile device, search for Dr. James Dobson, and start your first reading plan today. Well, I'm Roger Marsh and from all of us here at Family Talk, we are so grateful that you've joined us for today's classic program. Be sure to join us again next time for another edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
Join us as Rabbi Schneider delves into the trustworthiness of the New Testament, examining criteria that historians have used to judge ancient documents. Discover how the words and testimonies of those who walked alongside Jesus offer solid ground for faith and understanding. Whether you're seeking to deepen your faith or exploring these enduring works, this episode is a chance to feel the historical and personal weight of Jesus’ presence, and to consider the transformative power His words have over our lives today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I'm your host, Dustin Roberts. And for the next 25 minutes, we're going to be looking at life's most important questions. Sometimes we can feel like just another face in the crowd. But what if I told you that you're not just a statistic, you're a unique individual with a purpose and your purpose goes beyond your daily routine. It's true. Today, Rabbi Schneider, he's going to explain why God's not just interested in humanity as a whole, but in you individually. This message is called The Accuracy of Scripture. And if you'd like to learn more about Rabbi or this ministry, go online to our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here's Rabbi Schneider.
SPEAKER 02 :
Father, we bless you today. Lord Jesus, our Messiah, we bless you today. And we pray that you will use this broadcast to bring people to salvation and to cause us to become greater soul winners for you. And all God's people spoke Hebrew and said, Amen and Amen. We began to say that the most profound questions in life are these. Who am I? Where did I come from? How did I get here? What's going to happen to me when I die? And what am I on earth for? We said that these questions can really only be answered in the light of eternity. I pointed out the fallacies in getting our identity from this world or in living for the things of this world, because all that's in this world is passing away. But Jesus said, if you build your house on me, it's like a man that built this house on a rock. and your house is going to stand, even when the waves come and the storm blows, you're going to stand because you built your house in the eternal. We talked about that. But I want to move on today, beloved, to dwelling deeper into a subject that I touched on in the earlier broadcast that answers these questions and helps answer these questions, and that is this. Do the words of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament really give us the answers to life's greatest questions? Does the Bible, the Word of God, really answer the questions, who am I? Why am I here? And what happens to me when I die? Well, we know the Bible begins with these words in the book of Genesis. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Beloved, there is no other way to answer the existence of the universe and the reality of our existence other than the fact that there was a first cause. The Big Bang does not answer the problem of first cause. It had to start somewhere. It had to start with the cause that had no cause, and that first cause is God. The second area that we need to dwell and that I want to dwell in more deeply today is, but does the Bible really accurately record for us what Jesus said? In other words, does Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, when they record for us the words of Jesus, is the Bible an accurate record of what Jesus really said? Can it really be trusted? As I said on an earlier broadcast, no one doubts The literal historical personage of Jesus of Nazareth. Everybody knows, all historians, secular, religious alike, know that there was a literal historical person that walked upon the earth, Jesus of Nazareth. The question was, who was he? And we talked about that. The greatest amount of information that we have on who this Jesus was is the New Testament. But the question is, can the New Testament be trusted? And does it accurately record for us what Jesus did and what He said? Now I alluded to the fact earlier that Ancient historical documents were judged by certain criteria that historians agreed upon. And the New Testament writings, beloved, have the highest credibility in terms of the tests that they passed for being considered a valid, authentic, historical document. Why? Because number one, the New Testament was written by people that actually lived during Jesus' lifetime. It wasn't written by people that lived hundreds of years after his death. Alexander the Great, the records that we have of him, were written by people that lived more than 100 years after his life, yet no one doubts the accuracy of them. How much better the New Testament that wasn't written by people that lived 100 years after Jesus died, but rather the New Testament was written by people that walked with Jesus, that heard what he said, that touched him. In fact, Paul documented the people that Jesus appeared to after he had risen from the dead. And Paul starts out at the grave that Jesus appeared after he had risen from the dead, first to the two women at the tomb. And then Jesus appeared to the disciples, his apostles. And then Paul said this, not only did he appear to the apostles, Not only did he appear to the two women at the grave, he's not saying this is only symbolic. He's saying this is real. He really appeared to these people. He said, not only that, Paul said, but he appeared to me. I was on the road to Damascus to arrest, Paul said, any Jew that was believing in Jesus. And while I was on the road, Jesus appeared to me and he blinded me and knocked me off my horse. And I was on the ground blind and I couldn't see. And I spoke to the one that had blinded me. And I said, who are you? And he said, I'm Jesus who you are persecuting. Now get up and it will be told what you must do for me. So Paul says, he's alive. He's real. He appeared to me and the words that I'm giving you, these aren't fairy tales. These aren't myths. We're not making these up. I met Jesus. He spoke to me. But I love what Paul said next. Paul said, not only that, But this Jesus appeared to 500 people that were gathered together in one place all at the same time. And Paul said this, and most of those of the 500 that he appeared to at the same time, he said, are still alive today. And so Paul's making this historical argument that, no, this Jesus of Nazareth, He's not a figment of somebody's imagination. He's a real historical reality. He's the God of the universe that became flesh, who entered into space and time and revealed Himself to us. And John said, and of His glory we all received and we all saw. And so, This Jesus, beloved, it's not the Jesus that we think of when we think of Easter bunnies and fairy tales. No, Jesus is God. And He's alive, He's here, He really came, and He's making a demand on your life and in my life. And He's saying, unless you repent, you shall perish. He said, unless you believe, Jesus said, that I am He. Who is He? God in the flesh that died for your sin that died for your sin and made a way for you to come into relationship with God and go to heaven. Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sin.
SPEAKER 03 :
You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider. He's going to be right back. But first, I want to let you know that you can watch full episodes of Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku television. We have episodes that are filmed in the Holy Land and outreach events from Nigeria and Gulu, Uganda, all sorts of places. Every episode is available to help deepen your understanding of scripture and the Jewish roots of your faith. So search for Discovering the Jewish Jesus on Roku today. Did you know that this ministry is all about preparing the way for the inevitable return of King Jesus? Well, it's true. And we'd love for you to partner with us in this life-changing mission today. Together, we will change lives, not just locally, but all over the world. To support this team, call 800-777-7835. That's 800-777-7835. Or you can visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here's Rabbi Schneider.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sin. Now again, how do we know that? Because the New Testament tells us this, but can the New Testament be trusted? And that's what I was making the point of, that according to the standards of historians, the New Testament passed all the tests in flying colors of that which can be trusted as an ancient historical document, because it was written by people, listen, that were alive during Jesus's own lifetime. not people that lived 100 years after he died, people that walked with him, people that talked with him while he walked on earth, people that he appeared to after he had risen from the dead. And not only that, beloved, we have a multiplicity of witnesses, not only Peter, James, Paul, and all the writers of the New Testament, but others, beloved, that Paul was speaking of the 500 people at the same time, as well as people like myself and some of you today that Jesus has supernaturally appeared to. So we do well to pay attention to the words of Jesus in the New Testament, that they could be trusted, that this is a reliable, historical, accurate document telling us what Jesus said. And what did Jesus say? He didn't teach the doctrine of political correctness today. He didn't say all roads lead to the same place. He didn't say that as long as you're a good person, you can go to heaven. He didn't say that it doesn't matter if you don't believe in me, as long as you believe in God, you're a good person. No, Jesus said, unless you believe that I am He, you'll die in your sins. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to God but by me. You see, beloved one, it's not going to be long before you and I die. And when we do, it's going to be too late. Because the Bible said it's appointed for man once to die and then comes the judgment. That when you and I die, it's over. We'll have made our decision. And some of you are listening to this broadcast and God is knocking at the door of your heart. The Bible says, if today you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Because what happens is, when the Holy Spirit is knocking on the door of our heart, when God is beckoning us, come. When we feel the weight of the Holy Spirit on us, nudging us to humble ourselves, to ask God, forgive me, forgive me. I've sinned. I need to turn my life over to you. I want this to be a new beginning for me. When we feel God doing that, beloved, if we open our heart and invite him in, Jesus said, behold, I stand at the door of your heart and knock. If you open the door, I'm going to come into you and we're going to be in relationship together and you're going to be saved. But Jesus said, unless we open the door of our heart, if we feel him knocking and we don't respond, if we keep our heart hard, if we don't yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit, if we don't soften ourselves to the presence of God and open up and let him in and say, yes, what happens, the Bible says, is that God begins to withdraw himself from us. so that we don't have an opportunity anymore. In other words, the Bible says God will not strive with man forever. But when men refuse, listen now, to receive a love of the truth, when it's being offered to them, There comes a point where God will stop offering, He'll withdraw Himself, and He'll let that person that resisted permanently become hardened. And the result of that, according to the Word of God, if the Word of God is true, that person will spend the rest of their life, the rest of eternity in hell. Now, I know today hell is not a popular doctrine, but do you know that the Bible actually talks more about hell than about heaven? And as I said earlier, Jesus said straight and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it. But broad and wide is the way that leads to destruction and many there be that take it. You see, there's thousands of ways to be wrong, but there's only one way to be right. You can be wrong by giving your life over to entertainment. You can be wrong by giving your life over to sex. You can be wrong by giving your life over to careers. You can be wrong by giving your life over to another person. You can be wrong by living your life trying to please other people. You can be wrong a thousand different ways, but there's only one way to be right, and that's to live your life and for me to live my life for Jesus. So right now, I want to give you an opportunity, if God's knocking at your heart, just to say, Jesus, I feel you. This is true. Forgive me of my sin. I receive you. Come into me and save me now. So if you'd like to repeat after me now, let's just do that. Lord Jesus, I sense that this is your Holy Spirit speaking to me. I turn to you now. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Thank you for dying for me. I acknowledge you died in my place on the cross and I receive your gift of forgiveness, your gift of salvation. Please forgive me now. Wash me of my sins by your blood. Come into my life by your Holy Spirit and save me. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Now, if you just prayed that prayer, beloved one, I want to encourage you to call a pastor somewhere, look in the phone book under evangelical churches or Bible-believing churches, call some churches up, say, do you believe that the Bible is literally the Word of God? Look for a Bible-believing church. Make an appointment with the pastor. Tell that pastor what you did. Tell that pastor that you want to start living your life as a committed Christian, or if you have friends or family members that are committed Christians, call them and start following Jesus. Do something immediately to begin to put into practice the commitment that you just made to the Lord. Start attending church on a regular basis. Start giving your finances to God. Start serving God's people in the church. Start living your life as a Christian. Start reading the Bible. I want to encourage you to start reading in the Gospel of John and just read straight through. I don't know if it's a chapter a day, two chapters a day, whether you're going to be so hungry you'll read the whole book at once. But read the Bible at least a couple chapters every single day. Start moving, beloved, into this new life and old things are going to pass away for you and all things are going to become new and Jesus is going to bless you. He said, seek first the kingdom of God and everything else shall be added unto you. Oh, my goodness gracious. Father God, we that know you repent of not being greater soul winners. Father God, of letting loved ones that we know that don't know you, letting them, Father God, go to hell without ever witnessing to them. So, Father, I pray that you would put a great spirit of courage on your people that are watching this broadcast right now, that they would begin to tell their friends and neighbors and loved ones about you, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen. What do you think of Jesus? I got this concept, beloved, from a dream that God gave me that he was showing me how we need to be witnessing to people and how imperative it is. In this dream, I found myself in a room. And in the room, beloved, was a simple couch. I was sitting on the couch. There was a lady sitting next to me. I couldn't see her face. And the next to the lady on the other side of the couch was this big guy about probably 6'3", 200-something pounds. And I had my head leaning on this lady next to me. And I felt like after the dream was over, the Lord was telling me it was just a symbol of being secure in relationship. You know, David said in one of his Psalms that he had stilled his soul like a child at rest on his mama's knee. You know, God is predominantly obviously revealed in the New Testament as Father, but within God's nature are also the feminine attributes. In fact, in some of God's Hebrew titles, we have him revealing himself to us in the feminine. For example, when he revealed himself to Moses, and all God's goodness passed by, and the Lord proclaimed his name to Moses, and the Lord said, I am Yahweh God, compassionate. And that word for compassionate, which is the first word that the Lord used in describing himself to Moses, actually comes from the Hebrew word rachum, which is a feminine word. It means mercy. And so predominantly, we refer to him as our father. But within God is both the male and female natures. So in this dream, getting back to the dream, I had my head leaning on this woman. I couldn't even see her face. I think it just meant securing the relationship the way a young infant is secure in its mother's arms. And then I turned to the man that was sitting on the couch and I asked him this simple question. What do you think of Jesus. Immediately, the dream shifted. I found myself in a second room. I'm sitting on a couch, and there's a young woman in the room, about 23 years old. And I say to this woman, listen, beloved ones, the same question. I believe that God Himself, by the Holy Spirit, gave me the question. I said to her this, what do you think of Jesus. And she answered and said this, well, I know he said a lot to the church, but he never said anything to me like about being boyfriend, girlfriend. And I know that sounds strange when I say that to you. And then the dream was over. And I knew when it was over that it was too strange. The whole thing was too strange. What are you saying? And the Lord was saying to me, what was happening in that second phase of the dream is that I was showing you that there are so many people out there, they've heard that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. but they never heard, the Lord was showing me, that I love them uniquely, especially, and individually. And that's what that girl was saying in the dream. Well, I know he said he loved the church. I know that he loves the world generically, but I never heard him say anything to me about being boyfriend, girlfriend. You see, she was wanting an intimate relationship. In fact, it's a type of relationship that Jesus is calling us to. He's calling to us, beloved ones, to Revelation 19, to the marriage supper of the Lamb. So God was telling me, when you witness to people, my church, don't just witness to them generally. Don't just say that God so loved the world. But when you witness to people, witness to them in such a way that you tell them that I love them. that, for example, if their name is Bill or Mary, you say, Bill, Mary, God loves you so specifically, personally. Bill, Mary, He knows everything that's going on in your life. And Bill, He's got a special plan for you. Mary, He's got a special destiny for you. Mary, God created you for Himself. Bill, God loves you more than you could ever realize. But the only way you're going to know His love The only way you're going to fulfill his purpose for your life, Bill Murray, is when you invite him into your life and make him the center of your life. God loves you today. He loves you individually, specifically, and specially. Would you receive him right now? He's knocking at the door of your heart. Beloved, the Bible speaks of there being a famine on the earth, not for food, but for the Word of God. You know, we're living in a time where there truly is a famine on the earth for the Word of God. So much teaching and preaching today is based on just making people feel good. But the truth oftentimes is not being taught. I want to ask you, beloved, to support me and to support this ministry. We're committed to teaching the truth and supporting this ministry, beloved. It ensures that I'm going to continue to be a blessing to you and that you're going to be used of God and rewarded for building his kingdom on the earth. Beloved, just do what the Holy Spirit tells you to do. That's all I've ever asked. If you sense him leading you to financially support me in this ministry, just obey him immediately. If you don't, don't do it. Just obey him, beloved, and you're going to be blessed. There always is a blessing. Now, Dustin, can you share with our listeners how they can support us and give?
SPEAKER 03 :
I'd be happy to, Rabbi. If you sense the Lord knocking on the door of your heart and leading you to financially support discovering the Jewish Jesus with a gift of any amount, then please reach out to us today. Call us at 800-777-7835. And if it's easier, you can give online at our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And for those of you who feel called to support this ministry even further, I want you to know about a great resource and our partnership with Freewill. Freewill is an online and intuitive platform that simplifies the process of creating a will. It's free and it's user-friendly. And when you use free will, you can ensure that your earthly blessings continue to further the kingdom's work even after your days here on this earth are done. If you'd like to discover more about free will, I want to encourage you visit DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. Click on the resources tab and then need a will. You'll find all the details. It's free and it's easy. Once again, thanks so much for helping us extend our message and bring the hope and the healing of the Jewish Jesus to so many people all over the entire world. Once again, our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777 Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And many people, sometimes they don't remember that you can also text in your donation. Just type the keyword rabbi to the phone number 45777. We look forward to hearing from you soon. And now let's wrap up today's message on the accuracy of Scripture with God's sacred and special blessing. Rabbi.
SPEAKER 02 :
What I love about the Aaronic blessing is that it did not originate with man. The words actually proceeded from the very essence of God himself. The blessing comes from the book of Numbers, chapter six. So listen to these words and receive the blessing of the Lord into your life today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yevarechech Yahweh, vayishmarecha. Yair Yahweh, penavelecha, vichunecha. Shalom.
SPEAKER 02 :
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, His peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 03 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I'm Dustin Roberts. Come back next week when Rabbi Schneider gives us some deep revelation from the book of Ephesians. That's Monday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
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.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
SPEAKER 02 :
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.
In this captivating episode, Liz Franzel sits down with Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker and founder of Nick V Ministries, to explore the profound impact of human trafficking in America. With his personal triumph over physical and mental obstacles as a backdrop, Nick calls upon listeners to recognize and combat the insidious issue of modern slavery. Discover how you can contribute to protecting vulnerable communities as we reveal the frightening truth behind the statistics, and learn tangible steps you can take to make a difference.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Liz Franzel with Crawford Media Group, and today we are privileged to have Nick Vujicic with us today. He is the founder and CEO of Nick V Ministries, renowned speaker around the world and best-selling author. This month is National Human Trafficking Month, and we'll be talking about his mission to end this horrific crime against humanity. Nick, it's an honor to have you here with us today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Liz, thank you so much for having me on.
SPEAKER 02 :
Nick, you have such an amazing testimony and for our listeners that might not know, you were born with no arms or legs and you have overcome what some would say are impossible circumstances, but we know that all things are possible with God and you are a testament to that. Can you tell us a little bit about your story and how you overcame incredible challenges?
SPEAKER 01 :
Look, thank you so much for asking. I am so blessed at 42 years of age to be able to always let everyone know that first and foremost, having no limbs sounds pretty difficult. But I always tell people that it's not about the physical difficulties as much as the disabilities of the heart and the mind. And for me, you know, people could look at me at school and judge me or decide if they interact with me, isolate themselves from me or even bully me. And I think it was around age six that I knew that I was different than everyone else. And for the first time, I thought, well, that might be an issue. I was raised in a beautiful, loving home, went to church every week. My dad was a pastor, and I was asked by many people, why were you born this way? I did not know why. My brother and sister were born with limbs. People then asked me, what do you want to be when you grow up? I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. And I really felt like I was a burden to my parents. I had ups and downs at school as any student, but obviously had a lot of unwanted attention and definitely fears about my future. The Bible says that God has a hope, plan, and future, and I didn't understand if that verse would really be for me ever. I thought I'd be a burden to everyone around me, never get married, never be happy, never have children, never even get a job. And so I premeditated and planned a suicide attempt at age 10. I attempted in my bathtub and tried to drown myself because all I could see were broken pieces. And by the grace of God, I was stopped by one thought, imagining my parents at my grave wishing they could have done something more. And I didn't want to leave them with that pain. And I just am so glad I decided to stay by His grace. Age 15, I read John chapter 9, a man was born blind. No one knew why he was born that way. And Jesus was asked, why was he born with his disability? And I very much, as you can imagine, related to that story. The blind man gets the fingers of Jesus that are sticky and icky from the mud, and then he sees. And the blind man didn't ask any questions. And I realized, God, if you had a plan for a blind man, And you have a plan for me. And the blind man didn't ask for your plan, but he trusted you. And so, God, today I trust you with my greatest disability of death, of sin, that both you conquered on the cross, Jesus. And so I gave my life to Jesus at 15. At 17, I became vice president of my high school. I did a speech. And the janitor pulled me aside later, and he said, God's going to use you to go around the world. and share your story. And I actually said, I have no story. I don't know what you're talking about. And by the grace of God, started ministry at age 19. I've now gone to 84 countries, met 34 presidents and prime ministers. A billion people in China know who I am, and a billion people in India know who I am. And then out of the story, obviously not preaching, preaching. But then outside of those two closed countries, We've been in many others preaching the gospel to 10% of the whole world.
SPEAKER 02 :
That is absolutely an amazing testimony and I thank you for sharing that. I know who you are and that's why it's such a privilege to be able to talk with you today and I'm so thrilled that we can share you with our listeners. Today we are talking about human trafficking because this month is National Human Trafficking. You know, it's getting more attention but it's still not really being acknowledged a lot by the media. Give us some insight on what it is and how this even happens.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, look, there's so many different things that I needed to learn. I really want people to go to nickveeministries.org, find out the champions for the Brokenhearted series, click on human trafficking. For two years, we've been actually interviewing experts in different fields, including human trafficking, to really understand where this really is in our own backyard and For about two decades, everyone thought that this was more of an international problem. But more so, people are realizing it's actually happening in our own schools, in front of our own children. They don't need to be as violent kidnapping people for sex slavery in our own backyard. They just get lured in from social media, actually, by peers of their school now. People don't understand that a lot of media attention is not really going down to the root issue. People don't still know that there are $100 million worth of lobbying money for bills to pass continually pornographic material in our country. People don't understand that 67% of all teenagers are actually producing sexual images of themselves on their cell phones. People don't understand that one in three girls by age 17 have been raped in America. One out of five boys by age 17 raped in America. What's devious of all these things and other things that, I mean, it's very dark, very heavy to also understand the CPS and foster care system. I have had many friends in the foster care, incredible opportunity to help these children. and they ask these three siblings who are two, four, and six, hey, let's take a photo together as a family. And one of them says, okay, and comes back naked. And so there's a ton, ton, ton of foster kids waiting to go into a loving, protected home. There's a lot of corruption in our country, a lot of fragmented systems between county to county, and it's pretty disgusting as we learn these things. But What's most devious is no one who actually is being trafficked will say that they're being trafficked because they don't think they're being trafficked because they actually get brainwashed. And so what's crazy is, well, that's just what we do. This is who we are. And this is my new circle. It's unbelievable. And this is actually infiltrated to coaches, teachers and even parents in America.
SPEAKER 02 :
When you say infiltrated, what do you mean by that?
SPEAKER 01 :
Actually, softball coaches, basketball coaches, teachers of different tutorials, and even parents actually being part of the pimping and sexual acts. And more of that is going to be revealed here in America. Yaku Boyens is the tip of the spearhead of this issue. And as a church, you know, as a Christian... We need to go to what we really—I mean, no one's really talking about this in the church at all. No one's really bringing this in in education. Louisiana's done a great job in bringing education for adoption and helping unexpected pregnancies with teenagers to know about adoption on just the precipice. It's the first of its kind. It really needs to be mandated. That needs to be mandated. What also needs to be mandated is the real danger to parents as well to warn what human trafficking really is, to know the signs of your own child going through that. But what's crazy is this. There are surveys out there that say that one in five men who go to church on a weekly basis are actually addicted to pornography. And we're not talking about pornography. We're not talking about, you know, just to Gen Z to keep your pants on. to understand the sexualization of a generation. And when we now look at, I mean, even Christian schools, go to the football little team there and hear their conversations. And if you overhear some conversations, you'll actually probably hear someone asking their peers, how many trophies do you have? And that actually means how many girls have you slept with? And so the whole way that the enemy has come in and infiltrated and sexualized and debilitated our young people and attacking them without any buffer because they're on their phone seven hours straight a day. And this is now, this is real. And there is a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do. And I think the church needs to be aware of it. educate their schools, every charter school, every Christian school, every public school, every home, but also in the church to start talking about this as, hey, how many foster kids can we get out of that risk?
SPEAKER 02 :
You had mentioned some of the training you do. What are some of the signs that we can look for that would kind of alert us to something that's off?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, look, it's really peer-to-peer and really isolation and even some emojis. If you actually do some audits on your teenagers, as far as I'm concerned, everyone has their own house rules. But there are expert curriculum and signs of the types of emojis that pimps use, how they go trolling. You know, they're meeting people that they've never met before or they're being coerced in the school. There are signs of isolation. There are signs of even eye contact when they're lying. And just to have an atmosphere at home of saying, don't do this, don't do that, don't meet strangers, to actually sit down and have discussions with your family about what this really is. It is absolutely not surprising to me that 330,000 children are missing, with 3 million that have come over the border completely missing. But even before the border crisis that we have had in recent years, there's hundreds of thousands of people. In DFW alone, there are estimated 400. I'm from Dallas-Fort Worth. estimated 400 active slaves being pimped every single night in Dallas. And it's really interesting to know that those clienteles are normally people who earn more than $150,000, who have two children, and who are aged between 45 and 55 years of age. And you just would never believe that those are the people that are having sex with minors, And so even Native Americans, people don't understand right now, Native Americans are seen as exotic. And so we've been to Native American reservations, and they're taking, the Mexican cartels in Montana are taking daily children and women. And because of the jurisdictions, guess what? The federal government still has not been able to stop this kidnapping right in front of their eyes. And as soon as they get off the reservation, they actually can get away with it. It's happening on a daily basis. Tons of missing kids from Native Americans. People have no clue what's really going on.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that is tragic news. And such, you know, the statistics are so, so huge. We're visiting with Nick Vujicic, founder and CEO of Nick V Ministries. renowned speaker and best-selling author, and we've been talking about the work his ministry is doing to help end human trafficking. Nick, would you tell our listeners where they can go to find out more about your ministries and actually get involved in this tragic crime against humanity?
SPEAKER 01 :
Please, thank you very much. nickveenministries.org is where you go. Go click the tab of Champions for the Brokenhearted. you will see then 12 topics that we've chosen, and one of them that we deep dive into is human trafficking. We have been doing that intentionally for two years. Check out Jacob Boyan's ministry. Check out A21, Christine Kane. Check out other people out there that we have shown free resources for all churches, all families, and teenagers alike to just Help them understand we need to address this. We need to address this now and do all that we can and not rest until it's done.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. Thank you for bringing this to light, Nick, and so much for joining us today.
SPEAKER 01 :
I love you so much. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 01 :
welcome to the good news with angie austin now with the good news here's angie
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey there, Angie Austin and Jim Stovall with the good news. Hey, Jim.
SPEAKER 03 :
It is great to be with you as always.
SPEAKER 02 :
You as well. We're talking about your winner's wisdom column and this week it's the price of tuition. But I thought we'd start with, you know, Michael Pelka and I've done radio for like a decade, I think now and not quite maybe, but we did a show together for years and we'd never met in person and we just met in person today, as you know. So we had to send you a picture right away because Mike met you through me and we both talk to you every week now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and, you know, it's amazing because in person I've never met either one of you, although as a blind guy myself, it's not a lot different, you know, but it's kind of out of sight, out of mind. But, yeah, I think it's so cool you guys got together. sent me the photo, and it's actual evidence that there is really a Michael Pelka.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
So that's good to know.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and you know, it's funny because he was exactly like I thought. I mean, he's exactly like I thought he'd be, and speaking with him, we did a four-hour show every weekday, and I've seen a lot of his posts on social media and he's always golfing and I knew exactly what he'd look like, but he thought he'd have a very short period of time. Cause he said that Denver airport's too big and that he had to like, he's like, I'm getting all my steps in. I'm taking trip now, planes, trains, and automobiles. He's like, I'm barely going to have time to talk to you. So he walked by the table and he said, nice to meet you. And then kept walking out. Like he had to leave that quickly. And I'm like, it's classic Mike.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that's Mike. And it is. And, uh, And he actually emailed me after the meeting with you and told me he got to meet you. But unfortunately, he was delayed. So his show is backing up from Tuesday to Wednesday this week. So, yeah, it's not as easy getting around as it needs to be. And that airport is – It would have been nice if they'd have built it in Denver.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it takes a long time to get out there. I mean, the first time I drove there, I was like, wow. It feels like it's almost in another state, but it's way out on the plains. It feels like you're driving into the eastern plains. But, you know, they've started bringing Denver out to the airport. They've continued to build out towards it. So they're actually starting to build neighborhoods not that far from the airport, even though it used to be in the middle of nowhere. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and I will always be grateful for that. I owe one of my movies to that. I was staying at the Brown Palace there in Denver, and there was a movie producer there we'd met, and we just had not been able to come to terms on the deal. And he said, well, I've got to go to the airport. And I said, well, we have a car. We're going to fly out a little later. We'll take you. Well, because it's an hour, by the time we got through the city traffic and got out there, we were able to put together the whole movie deal, all the points, everything, and everything. If the traffic had been any worse, we could have written the script right there in the car. Oh, that's hilarious. So I will never complain about that airport.
SPEAKER 02 :
uh, you know, with, um, you know, driving out there for Mike, I was, I don't know how it worked out, but I was over two hours early. So I'm like, do I go home? And I'm like, no, it's too far because it's so far out there. But, um, he told me that he'd read your, um, the book that you made into your first movie, the ultimate gift. Cause he's trying to read 50 books this year. And I'm like, oh, Jim reads a book a day. And of course he knew that already. And, uh, I said, well, how, how was the ultimate gift? He goes, well, he made a movie out of it. I'm like, yes. I'm aware. And he says, it's great. It's great. They made a, it was his first like big movie. I'm like, yep, yep, yep. Remember I introduced you to Jim. So I know all this. So anyway, uh, he really enjoyed your book. He's trying to read, I think one of your books a month.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and that, that's great. I just, uh, Mike is the, the two of you together was, was just absolutely fascinating. The yin and yang of, uh, of human existence. It was quite an experience talking to both of you. And, uh, and it's, it's ironic because, uh, You know, I talk to you about my column and then I talk to him about my column. And it's a completely different conversation. It is absolutely different. And for me, it's like, you know, as a blind person, if I go somewhere, I experience much of it through them. And there are some people, you know, you want to take to the party, the fair, the parade, the circus. That's you. There are some people you want to take to the lecture, you know, the museum, whatever. That's Mike.
SPEAKER 02 :
He's so sharp.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, he is. But for you, everything's a day at the beach. Everything's great. And Mike, if he finds the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, he's analyzing, why didn't we get two of these?
SPEAKER 02 :
Right, right. He's going to question the pot of gold and make sure it's legit.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And find out whether or not it's a Republican. Oh, he had, you'll have to ask him too. When you get your private time with him, he has three ideas of who he believes Donald Trump will choose as his VP candidates. So ask him about that next time you talk to him. It's pretty interesting. All right. And we'll see if he's right. Right. All right. Well, I've got two kids that are looking at colleges right now. So let's talk about your column, the price of tuition.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, you know, as you know, through the Stovall center for entrepreneurship at the university, uh, I interact with a lot of kids, and we have students from over 100 nations right now on campus, and it's really rather amazing. Tuition is unbelievably expensive, particularly from some of these people that come from third-world countries. I mean, going to college in America is quite a thing. But I always tell them, please remember, the price of tuition is the same whether you learn the lesson or you don't. And, you know, we all know about tuition and going to school and learning things in school. But in life, it's the same way. You know, life is always teaching us lessons. And failure is the tuition we pay for not learning. And you keep learning until you get it. So you keep failing until you get the lesson in it. The great philosopher Billy Joel once said, I am the entertainer. I had to pay my price. The things I did not learn at first, I learned by doing twice. And if you don't want to learn from Billy Joel, I get it. Churchill said that those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. You either learn from history or you get to do it over again. So I always tell people, you know, every time there's a problem, a challenge or whatever, that's a lesson learned. and you can learn it and not repeat it yourself, and you can help other people not repeat that. And then the converse is true. You can learn from other people's mistakes, and you don't have to burn your head on the stove if you just watch somebody else do it. You can say, you know, I believe I'll just bypass that lesson and check that one off and move on.
SPEAKER 02 :
I love that. And, you know, to see every failure, every trip, every stumble as a lesson, learning experiences, I think something that's becoming more trendy. It seems like for many years, many of us thought that failures were, you know, possibly a reason to quit. And now it just seems like part of the journey.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I mean, failure is fertilizer for the future. And every time something happens bad, you know, the whole world's praying for that great idea. Angie, the only thing you got to do to have a great idea is go through your daily routine, wait for something bad to happen. Ask yourself, how could I have avoided that? And the answer is a great idea. And the only thing you got to do to turn that great idea into a great business is ask, how can I help other people avoid that? And the world will give you fame and fortune and everything you ever wanted. If you'll just help them solve their problems. And as in most things, uh, It ain't about you, and it ain't about me. It's about them. And solve their problems, and they'll give you anything you want. And my late great mentor, Zig Ziglar, always said, you can have everything you want out of life if you'll help enough other people get what they want out of life.
SPEAKER 02 :
I like that. You use a lot of quotes. In fact, you've got a book, another book coming out about famous quotes and speeches. And you talk about Winston Churchill and talking about learning from history. Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. And I feel like many of us do that. We just keep doing things the same old way. And expect a different outcome. And we just get stuck in a rut like our brains wired a certain way. And we just thought, well, we'll try it again this way. We'll try it again this way. And so you talk about in the article when you're raising your kids or teaching students or whatever, that you shouldn't allow a mistake to be made without a change. You shouldn't allow a mistake to be made without a corresponding change. So stop doing it the same way, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I don't quote him often, but Clinton said that never let a good crisis go to waste. And that's what he meant. I mean, hey, all this garbage, there's got to be a lesson in here somewhere. And because if we keep doing the same thing we've been doing, we're going to keep getting the same thing we always got. So when you or your kids or your students or anybody makes a mistake, the first thing, what did you learn? And what are you going to do different next time? Otherwise, we're going to be sitting right here at the scene of another accident having this same conversation.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, when you talk about the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship, I know you made a big donation and that was a, you know, a goal of yours from, you know, a young age that you wanted to make a big donation. Your name, you know, is a part of the, you know, building, et cetera. Now, what's your responsibility in terms of teaching these kids? Are you teaching them? Are you mentoring them? Like, how does that work? And is it just volunteer? Is it because your names, you know, associated with the program? How does that all work?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I'm very glad to say we have professors and teachers and wonderful people there who work with the university. I do have an office there, and I lecture some of the classes, and I teach and mentor the kids. But, I mean, you have to have academic standards to be an accredited university, so thankfully we have people that are really, really good at that, and I try to stay out of their way. But I am excited to get to work with these young people who – you know, it's amazing. They haven't yet figured out what's impossible. And so they end up doing some things I would not have even thought feasible. And I watched them do that. And they just didn't know you can't do that. And that's an amazing thing to observe. And, you know, the energy they have and the excitement. And they're growing up in a different world. You You know, I'm working with people that, you know, were born after 9-11. I mean, it's a completely different environment. And, you know, they never have known a world without cell phones and digital media and total connectivity around the world. And, you know, that's been a big part of their lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah. Well, and I love that, you know, you defer to the, you know, professors, but I'm sure that the kids also really want to pick your brain about, you know, what you've learned. And I know you have a big contest every year, too, with the students, not you per se, but just in general. Can you tell us about that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it's called the Launch Competition. We do it every year. We just finished our fifth one. And, you know, think Shark Tank. But it lasts a whole year, and kids actually start real businesses. And then we bring in venture capitalists. We bring in investors and different people. And then we have a panel of expert judges that we bring in. And the kids put on a real business pitch for this new venture they've started. And it's not like playing Monopoly. These are real companies these kids have started. Truly amazing. And, you know, to see what they can do and, you know, really, really begin to change the world. And I always remind them, you know, education, particularly at this level, this is not something, you know, we're going to learn today and maybe someday in the by and by we're going to do some. Three of the five largest businesses on planet Earth started in somebody's dorm room. Three of the five. Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
That is crazy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let's don't wait around. I mean, you know, look at where, you know, Bill Gates came from and look at where Steve Jobs came from and look at what these people were doing. These aren't people that waited until, you know, all the lights were green before they left the house. These are people that left the cave, went out and killed something and brought it home. And it's time for you to go do something.
SPEAKER 02 :
I love it. One of our friend Mike was saying, why don't you get your kid to go on Shark Tank? Wouldn't that be cool? And I thought, wow, that would be cool since he has had his business since he was, you know, a kid. All right. Jim Stovall dot com. Jim Stovall dot com. We'll talk to you next week, friend. Thank you.
SPEAKER 03 :
I look forward to it. Thanks, Angie.
SPEAKER 02 :
Colorado Springs is listening to the Mighty 670 KLT.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
Hello there, friend. Angie Austin with the good news. Cal Phaibus is joining us. He is an author, but he has quite an interesting background. We're going to talk about his new book, and we are also going to talk about how he got there. And he is actually a Colorado guy and, you know, lives kind of in my neck of the woods, actually. So many of you listening may already be familiar with some of his desserts, interestingly enough. Welcome to the program, Cal Phaibus. Well, thank you. Thank you, Angie, for having me. All right. So you it's just funny because as we were talking in the break, we were talking about I want to move to Laguna and I live in Colorado and you have a house in Laguna Beach in California and also one here. And I had just had these advisories pop up on my phone about Laguna real estate. So I was like, oh, you're already living my life, Cal.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it's actually Laguna Niguel, which is just just a little. inland from Laguna. So it's about a five-mile drive to get to the beach from here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Down that little canyon.
SPEAKER 06 :
It's a nice little condo. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, the weather is so beautiful there.
SPEAKER 06 :
It is. It's like perfect almost every day. A little chilly at night in the winter.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, yes. I used to live in Marina del Rey, and I agree with you. The beaches, I mean, people would be surprised to hear that, but it is a little chilly in the winter.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so we walk the beach a lot, and you've got to take a coat and Make sure you have a hoodie or something because the wind blows.
SPEAKER 02 :
So tell us about your book. And then I want to get into a little bit into, you know, you and your background. So many people want to become authors and have other careers like you did and, you know, are afraid to take that jump, you know, to write a book.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. And I've always had stories in my head, you know, but I never really thought too much about it. writing them down because I was busy with my career and, you know, raising a family. But I started to write a book and I found out I could do it.
SPEAKER 02 :
And fiction, is that your thing, fiction, that you wanted to write a novel?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes, I only write fiction. So the book that we're going to talk about today, The Angel and the Amazing Life of Maggie Love, is my second book that I've published. And it's centered around a character, a woman that has killed 20 people in her life. And the first line in my book is, Maggie Love is finally dead. An angel who kind of narrates the story is in charge of Maggie, and his job is to simply save her soul. Now, how is he going to save a woman's soul that's killed 20 people? Well, he's determined. And he's going to find out how. And he does that by taking her back into her life and making her relive the crimes again. And she kind of has a lot of deja vu. She remembers, I've done this before. I get to do it again. She's actually excited about it. And the angel's job is to just try to get her to repent. And she won't do it. She feels she's totally justified with every murder she's committed. So it is a mystery story, but the mystery isn't really who did it. The mystery is whether or not her soul is going to be saved.
SPEAKER 02 :
Ah, okay. And then is this for you? Are you doing a series of books? Have you written more already? How are you going about this?
SPEAKER 06 :
I haven't written more. I'm working on another book, but it's not related to this one. I do have an idea for a sequel for this one, so there may be a series.
SPEAKER 02 :
And then your background, I was talking about that. You're a retired chef, and you've invented thousands of desserts for high-end restaurants, and you did not go to culinary school, which is unusual, I guess, for, you know, like I have a pastry chef in the family, and I know a lot of people specifically go to school, but you learned cooking. In a bakery, a small bakery in California. And then just to add a little bit more, and you can go into more depth, that you work for this big dessert company, Stephen Charles, which I wasn't familiar with. And there's one right down the road from me where I guess they do their major shipments. I can't just go in there and buy desserts. I think like big trucks go in there and they send them to like high-end restaurants. So talk a little bit about that, how you got started at the small bakery in California and then how you became so well-versed in creating these desserts.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I didn't go to culinary school. That's true. I learned by just doing it, by getting up at 2 in the morning, going to work, baking every day in a small bakery, just learning the trade, learning how ovens work. Nobody ever taught me anything, learning how to read recipes. learning how to create recipes, which is even more important. And I have an older brother who was a natural entrepreneur, and he's just able to start companies and build them up to be very, very large. I went to work with him, first as a production guy, and then eventually, you know, we kind of figured out that I had a little bit of talent at creating desserts and creating recipes.
SPEAKER 02 :
So cool. Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
So I did that and we started to get into some major chains. The first big chain that we got into was the Red Lobsters. Since then, we've been into Olive Garden, Chili's. When we finally sold the company, our biggest customer by far was Starbucks. Oh, my goodness. And we have one very successful dessert in Starbucks. Well, there's actually different flavors of the same thing. And it is the cake pop.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I knew you were going to say that. My daughter, she's 15. Faith, she's addicted to those. We get those all the time. They're so good.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, they're not very expensive. They're small. But, you know, people seem to love them. And we were making millions, you know, towards the end of my career. We figured out how to automate it. And, you know, nobody had ever done anything like that before. So we had to, you know, basically design the machines and
SPEAKER 02 :
know in the early years it was all done by hand wow but now now it's all it's all automated and same product that is so wild okay so um it the um i just actually ate a dessert last night from um olive garden it was like a oh gosh it was my daughter's but i'm probably gonna get in trouble for finishing it and it was um you know many layers you know chocolate chips and then dark chocolate and then a white layer and then a another chocolate layer and then like a cookie bottom so I'm just curious, because I think that'd be so fun, and I'm sure there's stress involved, and I know that especially doing the production for millions of cake pops isn't always fun, but how does the process work for you to come up with a recipe?
SPEAKER 06 :
The creative process is hard to describe. You have to see it in your head, and you have to taste it in your head, and You know, you put something in the oven and you think you got it and then you taste it and it's just not right. And then you do it again and you do it again and you do it again until you got the product that you want.
SPEAKER 02 :
That is so cool. I never thought about it, that you'd picture it and taste it in your head. You'd picture what it's going to look like, that cake pop, and then you know what it's going to taste like, but then it's too dry, then it's not vanilla enough, then the coating's too hard or whatever, and so you just keep retrying it. Oh, that's cool to know, because one of my kids is always looking at Instagram and finding recipes. Okay, that's another interesting thing you do. Besides being a retired chef, selling that company, working in a small bakery in California... Then you also, you know, become an author. But what's this about being a cartoonist?
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, yeah. I love to make these cartoons. They're on my Instagram. And I've developed a little bit of a following. Now, some cartoonists or, you know, maybe diehard cartoonists are kind of mad at me because I don't really draw. I'm an expert at manipulating a photo. So I can put a character into pretty much any scene I want. I can change his voice. I mean, I can change his facial features. I can change what he's doing. But I don't actually draw anything.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that's funny. I'm on your, I found your page. And for people, it's Carl Fabus, but he goes by C.R. C.R. Fabus. And so you can see some of his, yeah, you've got a good little following. Okay. And so that's just kind of a little hobby of yours?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, they're fun to make. And I enjoyed, you know, reading the comments that come back from some of the viewers. It's very satisfying.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I bet it is. That's really cool. Okay, so you're living between Colorado and California. You're writing novels. You're working on another book. You're, I'm assuming, traveling because, you know, a lot of authors travel around. And then you've got four kids and four cats and one dog. Oh, my gosh. I have five pets, too.
SPEAKER 06 :
You do?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I've got three teenagers.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Yeah, unfortunately we lost our dog a few months ago, but that happens, but, but, um, we still have the four cats and the four kids. And well, my, my kids are all grown up now. So two of them actually still live with me. Um, and, uh, my grandkids are actually, I have three of those and they're actually, one is going to turn the youngest one is going to turn 21 in June. Oh, cool.
SPEAKER 02 :
That's a fun age.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, a Vegas party for my grandkids when they turn 21.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, my goodness. That's so exciting. All right. Well, I always loved it because, you know, I've been doing news for over 30 years now and I've worked in L.A. for many years and San Diego, Santa Barbara, Denver on TV. And then I changed over to radio about 10 years ago. So I love asking people, you know, how they got the passion for what they do. And so you can go through your career if you want and go through, you know, talk about your writing or how you got the passion for the baking, et cetera. Where did all this come from? Tell me a little about your story.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I, you know, as a young man, I was struggling. I worked in airline catering for a while. I wasn't happy with that. My brother already had a bakery and another brother bought a bakery in Ontario, California. And I went in half with him. And that's the earlier story that I said, that's how I learned how to bake. And eventually went to work for my older brother as a production guy and turned into a chef over the years. And at one time when our company was, really in a growth mode, I had 14 people working for me. 14 people creating desserts, some were clean up and all that, but I had about six other chefs under me. And we were creating a lot of desserts, putting a lot of things out. The customer that we deal with, the customers that we deal with are very picky. Most of them have been to culinary school and, you know, sometimes they're not easy to deal with.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
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But if you just keep pushing it and keep making a dessert that's really good, they're going to recognize that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
And then you get a big sale and it's very satisfying. Now, in terms... Go ahead. And as far as the writing goes, when my kids were growing up, I was telling them bedtime stories. And I made up these two bears. They're called Charlie and Harry. And I would tell them a story. And then, of course, the next night they wanted another one. I was under a lot of pressure. I had to come up with a new story like every night. And I finally decided to write them down. in the 90s, and I haven't published that book yet.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that would be so cool. Go ahead, it's really funny, what?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it's really funny, and it's not really a kid's book. It's kind of like a book that anybody could enjoy, because it's funny.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we're out of time, unfortunately, but I want to make sure people can find you and your books and find out more about you. So what's the best place for us to find you and your latest book about Maggie Love?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, my website is crfavis, that's F-A-B-I-S books.com, crfavisbooks.com. And that'll take you to my website. And from there, you can find Maggie. You can also find my first book, which is called Rome Never Fell. And there's some biographical stuff about me and what I've been doing and a few of the interviews I've done.
SPEAKER 02 :
Excellent. Well, Cal, thank you so much. It was a real pleasure having you on The Good News. Well, thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER 06 :
It was so much fun.
SPEAKER 02 :
You bet. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
In today's lesson, Jeff Archie guides us through a rich exploration of what it means to live as God intends, drawing from Philippians 2:1-4. We discuss the significance of unity, love, and humility within the Christian faith, and how reflecting these attributes transforms our interactions. From the foundational teachings of Proverbs and Acts, witness how believers are called to be of 'one mind' and heart, fostering an environment where selflessness prevails. Plus, discover resources such as the Gospel Gazette and our 'Back to the Bible' study that deepen understanding and promote spiritual growth.
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Genesis 1.27 says, So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. Let's build on that today from right here from the International Gospel Hour. Please stay tuned.
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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God's Word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let's begin.
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Well, thank you to our J-Web, and greetings to all of you. So good to have you with us today for our studies here from the International Gospel Hour. We say often we've been on the air or online since 1934, and how blessed we are, and we're able to be on the air that long due to wonderful, faithful listeners such as you. Please think with me for a moment about what is commonly called the golden rule in Matthew 7 and verse 12. Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Now please hear who is the first to make the move. How we want to be treated is the way we treat others. It starts with us as individuals. For example, if I desire to be treated friendly, then let me initiate the friendliness. That reminds us of Proverbs 18, 24. A man that has friends must show himself friendly. You know, if everyone in this world lived by the golden rule, without question, living would be better, would it not? And as we noted in the opening, God created man in His own image. Through His Word, the Holy Scriptures, God instructs us about His image. And if we follow His Word, we will imitate His image and what a beautiful world it would be. In a few moments, we're going to consider our text of Philippians 2, 1-4 to help us be more in the image of God. Before we do that, I'm going to defer to our J-Web with one of our good online tools from our friends at the Gospel Gazette. Thank you, Jeff.
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GospelGazette.com is another free online tool from International Gospel Hour. Our friends at GospelGazette.com have an awesome website, and among the options available is their current monthly issue, 25 years of archived material, free PDF copies to the Voice of Truth International publication, and a digital library with an enormous amount of material. Please check them out at GospelGazette.com. That's GospelGazette.com.
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And now, friends, our lesson text from Philippians 2, 1 through 4. Paul is writing to the church here at Philippi, the Christians. And he says, Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others. Now, friends, Paul brings forth, if there be any consolation, if any, if any. Well, folks, the thing is, yes, the consolation is in Christ and comfort of love. And Paul is saying because of this, then let us respond this way. So let's think about it for a moment. As the image of God, well, let's be like-minded. That was the same plea Paul brought forth in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 10. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Now keep that thought of like mind there for a moment, and let's move to number two. As the image of God, let's have the same love. In 1 Peter 1, 22 and 23, Peter said, Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Now friends, we're seeing from Philippians 2 how we can become more in the image of God. Here's a third one. As the image of God be of one accord. The word accord literally means of one soul, having your souls joined together. Allow Acts 4.32 to reflect of the church. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. Neither did anyone say any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. Now, when I take a look at the one, the one another, okay, same mind, loving one another, one heart, one soul. Now, if I want to be treated that way, then I am going to in turn treat others that way as I desire to be in the image of God as we all do. Here's the fourth one. Now, I asked moments ago to keep like-minded in mind. Now, Paul comes back here in Philippians 2, 1-4. As the image of God be of one mind. It's like here is a reminder. You know in Romans 12 and verse 5. So we being many are one body in Christ. And individually members of one another. So from like-minded to one mind shows us the growth and our aim, loving one another, the heart, the soul. Within the church, such will continue to grow. What a wonderful thought. Here's our next one. As the image of God, have the right motive. Later in Philippians 2 and verse 14, Paul says, Do all things without murmurings and disputings. So when they had matters that would arise, Paul said, do all things. Don't murmur. Don't complain. Don't dispute. Let's address these things properly. And we will if we are walking of one mind, being like-minded, with the same love, one heart, one soul. You see, once again, friends, we're looking out for not our own interests, but the interests of others. Here's the next one. As the image of God, be of a lowly mind. Let the like mind, the one mind, we're working together to have a lowly mind. We're reading of the teaching to the church here at Philippi. Listen to what Paul said to the church in Ephesians, or in Ephesus rather, the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 1 through 3. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Now, friends, the unity of the Spirit, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, that's going to remain in unity. Nothing will tear them apart, but we must keep that in the bond of peace, and if we keep our focus there, then we humble ourselves with lowly minds, with the right motive. Lowly minds of one mind, like-minded, same love, one accord, all aimed toward the image of God. Back to our lesson text as the image of God. We esteem others better than ourselves. Again, friends, that's Matthew 7 and verse 12. Whatsoever you would that men do to you, here's the move. We go first. Do also to them. We can't be, well, they're that way. I'll treat them this way. No, no, friends. Christlike action in the image of God. Here's how we're going to do unto them. We make the first move with how we wish to be treated. And as the image of God, we look after each other's interest. In Romans 12 and verse 10, Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another. My, that would take us back to having the same love as we noted from 1 Peter 1, 22 and 23, loving one another with a pure heart fervently. The one mind, the one heart, the one soul. Friends, in order to reflect the image of God, these are things and how we must live. And friends, first and foremost, we must respond to God and obey the gospel of Christ. Before I can become all of these we mentioned, we must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a new study that we are about to share with you on this broadcast. And friends, Let's just say it's time to go back to the Bible. Here is our J-Web with our new offer for a great Bible study online.
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Let's go back to the Bible, shall we? On International Gospel Hour, we always desire to go back to the Bible for our studies. And now we are delighted to offer a special video series through our friends at World Video Bible School. It's called Back to the Bible with our friend Rob Whitaker. A simple yet thorough study that deals with authority in religion, the church, and your salvation. It's free, friends. Call us at 855-444-6988. Tell us your email address, say back to the Bible, and we will send the link to you. It's that easy. You can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the contact tab, leave us your email, type back to the Bible in the message box, and we will send the link right away. We look forward to hearing from you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Friends, we hope that study of Back to the Bible will be of help to you. It is an awesome study. Now, I realize that many may not have access to a computer, but we very well could arrange for someone to study Back to the Bible with you in person. Now, let me say very carefully, if you are interested in a personal visit for this study, call us first at 855-444-6988. And let us talk with you about this study. We're very careful. We do not share addresses with others unless we have permission. We only share with those who have to fulfill the studies for us. And they do not share. So again, we're very careful. We respect your privacy and your wishes. But if we can be a further of help, call us first at 855-444-6988 and say, I'd like for somebody to study back to the Bible with me. We'll give you a call and we'll go from there. Again, friends, we all want to be in the image of God. Imagine if all the things we studied today were applied. And they can be. And it begins with you and I. Let's continue our studies together at another time, and thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I'm Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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God be with you till we meet again.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God's Word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospel.org.
SPEAKER 03 :
God be with you till we meet again.
Join us as we dissect Ezekiel's message, learning how the enduring truths from the scripture can inform our daily walk with God. Through passionate teaching, Jeff Archie reminds listeners of God's desire for repentance and the abundant life He offers to those who turn from wicked ways. We also explore how these teachings apply to raising our children, sharing our faith, and living a life fully dedicated to God's purpose. It is a call to action, a call to live as God intended, and an invitation to engage more deeply with His Word.
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How can we then live? You know, that was asked in the long ago, and the answer was given then, and it is given now. We're going to search the Scriptures for how can we then live? That's today from the International Gospel Hour. Stay right here.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. For 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God's Word through International Gospel Hour. You are about to listen to another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, starting now.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you to our J-Web, and greetings and hello everyone. It's always great having you with us for our studies here from the International Gospel Hour broadcast. We're grateful that we can study today a question asked in the long ago. You know, Hebrews 11, 6 says, "...but without faith it is impossible to please Him, that being God." For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. May we seek God through our study today as we go to the Old Testament in the book of Ezekiel to consider the question beforehand. I'm going to read Ezekiel 33 verses 1 through 10. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, When he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people that whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning. His blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but the blood I will require at the watchman's hand. Now verse 7, So you, son of man, that is Ezekiel, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me. When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you say, if our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, How can we then live? Friends, that is our question for our study. How can we then live? Now, before we study this section of text, we have a free magazine for our teens in the audience. Well, maybe it could be a gift for your children or grandchildren. Here is our J-Web with the details.
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Courtesy of our friends at apologeticspress.org, we at International Gospel Hour have a limited supply of Valor and Virtue, a Christian apologetics magazine for teens. It is a great resource for any age, but especially for the challenging teen years. Get your free copy today by calling toll-free at 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say, Valor. That's it. Again, that's 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say, Valor. You can also request it through our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Click on the contact tab and leave us your name and address and put Valor in the message box. We will send you a copy while supplies last. So get yours quickly.
SPEAKER 01 :
In Ezekiel 33, friends, our chapter in consideration, this chapter is called a chapter of charge or a challenge from God with warnings and the plea and command of obedience in light of the warnings that God brings forth, especially through this son of man, Ezekiel. Now in the verses we've read we see the charge of a watchman in warning the people for the people to listen and to obey and to respect the warnings that would come. Now this language is similar to that of Ezekiel 3 verses 17 through 21 with verse 7 here in Ezekiel 33 clearly showing Ezekiel as the watchman God has brought forth. So this great question, how can we then live, in verse 10, and in the verse it says, if we pine away in them, or pine away is a phrase that means to become hardened. It's like death, if you will. And one pines away in sin, then where is life to come? Or what kind of life do you really have, Israel? So when the question is asked, how can we then live, may I go to verse 11 now of Ezekiel 33 for the answer. Say to them, as I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel? Then with specific warnings God brings forth in verse 12, the conclusion is simple. In verse 13, to those that turn from God, well, you will die. But to those that turn to God, you will live. That's verses 14 through 16. So friends, the question, how can we then live? The answer is the same. One must turn to God in order to live. Now, we are reminded of Peter's words in 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, how the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men would count slackness, but how the Lord is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. You see, he's not willing that any should perish, and as noted from Ezekiel 33, 11, he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But he wants all to come to repentance, a continual, beautiful plea from God to this very day. So friends, let's bring forth some lessons here. Let's live for God the way he wants us to live. A lot of us will create our own religion, our own ideas. Oh, I've had individuals look at scriptures concerning salvation, and they'll say, I know that's what it says, but here's what I think. Friends, that's dangerous. When we see what God says through His Word, we need to think upon that and apply that, not begin to determine our own things. You see, let's live the way God wants us to live. In Psalm 56 and verse 9, the psalmist said, When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back. This I know, for God is for me. You see, God is for all of us. Why would one want to die spiritually when he sent his Son to die for us? He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That beautiful passage of John 3.16. In 1 John 4 and verse 8, God is defined as love. God is love. And how He expressed that love to us in sending His Son. You see, God is for us. God wants no one to be lost. He has done everything possible for you and I to obey Him. Now the charge is upon us. just like it was in the days of Israel. May I submit to you, secondly, let us live for God and tell others, like we're striving to do here at International Gospel Hour. We bring forth this broadcast, and we bring it forth so we can reach the masses with the gospel message, the best message, the only message that will change our lives for good. We have a life to live by telling others with the charge of the Great Commission that Jesus gave in Matthew 28, 18-20. In Mark 16, beginning with verse 15, Luke 24, beginning with verse 47, and John 20, beginning with verse 21. We need to tell others about the Christ. That's one purpose that we bring forth here. A study of the Word of God that when we take the Word of God to study, to show ourselves approved unto God, to be workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing or cutting aright the Word of Truth, 2 Timothy 2.15. We are able to give an answer of the hope that is within us with meekness and fear, 1 Peter 3.15. We need to live for God and let others know, and we need to live for God as our children need to live for God. To those arrows in the hand of a mighty man to be aimed and guided, Psalm 127, verses 3 and 4. Proverbs 22, 16 says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Children need training, or this training a child in the original Hebrew language means to place a bit in the horse's mouth, to guide, to break, to lead in the right way. Earlier in our broadcast, our J-Web shared with you a free publication of Valor and Virtue for Teens. Well, friends, we want everyone to live for God. How can we then live? We can live by turning to God. With that being said, friends, we'd like to once again mention a new Bible study available by mail. We've talked about this in several broadcasts. It is titled, God and Man, How to be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man, and friends, like all of our materials, it's absolutely free. Do you want to know how you then can live? Turn to God and we think this book will help you. Now here's what you do. Call us toll free at 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say God and man. That's all you have to do. Again, that's 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say God and man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the contact tab and leave the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. This is another new Bible study that is free from the International Gospel Hour. Friends, what we also want to do is continue these thoughts in our next broadcast from Ezekiel 33. And with that being said, thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I'm Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today. To God goes all the glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. To listen to it again or our other broadcasts, please visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com.
Have you ever questioned the authenticity of your faith? In this engaging session, Pastor Jack delves into the heart of Christian authenticity, exploring themes of perseverance, spiritual growth, and divine discipline. Drawing from personal experiences and biblical teachings, he sheds light on navigating life's challenges while staying true to God's calling. The message unfolds as an invitation to reject legalism and embrace a vibrant, active faith that reflects the teachings of Christ. Real-life applications of scripture illustrate how true understanding and practice of the Word can lead to profound personal transformation.
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Today on Real Life Radio.
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Are you talking about being a Christian or are you talking about being a pretender? What's the deal? You can't be a pretend Christian. You can say you're a Christian, but in fact your life says you're a pretender.
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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.
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You know, the Apostle Peter, in his letters to the church, urged his fellow Christians to keep on learning and growing in the faith, in spite of their suffering and pain. Unlike today, however, resources were scarce. Still, they persevered, and Christ followers were growing in both strength and numbers. Now there's no limit of ways to access quality materials on Christian living, including Pastor Jack's website. When you go to jackhibbs.com and click the media icon, you'll find not only real-life radio episodes, but real-life podcasts, real-life TV, real-life basics for Christian growth, and even news updates. There's also specific verse-by-verse studies from books of the Bible and so much more. So head on over to our website at jackhibbs.com and click on the media tab. That's jackhibbs.com.
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On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series now called The Book of James with a message titled, Receiving the Word of Truth. 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 Christ. And as new believers, James asks them to examine themselves as to whether or not they're true Christians. You see, Jesus warns us of spectator Christianity. We can say we're believers in God and that we follow Christ, but until we take our belief, our faith, and put it into action in our day-to-day living, well, we really can't call ourselves a Christian. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that the Word of Truth directs us by showing us a more excellent way to live. A changed life towards Christ is a life that's not ashamed to share the gospel and embrace holy living. Now, with his message called Receiving the Word of Truth, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
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Concerning receiving the word of truth, well, the word of God now should direct our lives. The word of truth will direct us. Look what he says. For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. The wrath of man will not produce the righteousness of God. Well, how do you obtain the righteousness of God? By having the word direct our lives. Are you upset with somebody? Take that seething position and put it into the word of God. Have the Bible overcome it. You will not, I will not be able to overcome it on our own. Somebody might say, well, you know what? Just when you see them or when you hear their name, you think about wonderful rivers flowing through a meadow. Have you ever been told that? I was at a brown bag seminar at a company I used to work for. That's what they told us to do. If you're upset with your coworker, you think of a nice, peaceful river flowing through a valley. And we're grownups, we're hearing this. And so I'm thinking, okay. So you get upset with somebody. Nice, peaceful river flowing through a valley. The funny thing was what became a joke was somebody would upset you and you'd say out loud, I'm thinking of a peaceful river flowing through a valley. So I'm thinking, I'm thinking of a peaceful river flowing through a valley. I'm thinking of a lot of rain up on top of the mountain. That peaceful river turns into a flood and washes that guy away. That's where my mind went with this. What does that produce? Nothing good. Destruction. So he says in verse 20, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. You can't do it on your own. God's wrath, listen, produces righteousness. Man's seething wrath produces unrighteousness. Well, how can wrath produce righteousness at all? Only God's can. Only his can. When God has wrath, it produces righteous living in the lives of people. Well, how does that happen? Now, listen. Because God loves you, God cares. Because God cares, he instructs us, he directs us, he encourages us, he also rebukes us, he chastises us, he disciplines us. And that's love. Did you know that? It's love. Well, that's not what I'm hearing in my child development course. Well, you're hearing wrong. The Bible says if you leave a child to himself, it would be a reproach to his parents. That's what, by the way, Dr. Spock is now admitting, isn't he? You can read him now. He said, I made a big mistake. Interesting. Oh, don't spank him. Oh, look, my little boy just took the head off of that little kitty. He's such a boy. He's such a boy. He needs a spanking. That's what he needs. Oh, look, he just threw the brick through the window. He's going to be a baseball player someday. Okay. I don't know who needs the spanking. The kid or the parent more needs the spanking, you know. You say, well, I can't believe you're saying that publicly. Hey, listen. When you love somebody, you'll say, don't take your marbles and go play in the street again like that. You're going to get hurt. Or should we be so tolerant that you say, don't quench your child's development. Let him play marbles in the street. He'll find a new way to express himself. There's got to be guidelines to life. And God says, I love you, and because I love you, I am not going to tolerate you doing this or doing that. So what does he do? There is the wrath of God that can be delivered against unrighteousness. Why? Because he wants everybody to fry in a pit of hell? No. He wants you to turn and go to heaven. The wrath of God produces righteousness. Now listen, you may be thinking, and you're a Christian, but you're kind of getting weak in your walk. You've backslidden a little bit. You've kind of cooled off. You've gotten away from the fire of God, and you're kind of over there, and you're starting to entertain some thoughts, and maybe I can hold this to my chest and not be burned. And you're beginning to entertain, and God says, do it, and you're going to hurt. Now why is God saying this? Because he loves you. The concept that God could deliver wrath upon us to keep us in the way of righteousness is normal to God, but it is against our thinking. What about the wrath of man? This is what the wrath of man is like. It produces unrighteousness. And what's implied here is that man's wrath is this. You will do this, this, or I'll get you. If you do this one more time, I'm going to... But of course, the context is a religious or a relationship with God setting. So what's he saying? The wrath of man says, I want you to... When you come to church, lady, you wear a dress. Don't you dare come to this church wearing pants. Why? You'll be righteous if you do. You wear dresses to church and you'll be righteous. If you wear makeup, you'll be ungodly. So don't you dare wear makeup. You come here and you be holy. Don't wear any makeup. Why? You'll be holy that way. Well, where's that in the book? It's not in the book. It's in the wrath of man trying to produce righteousness. Do you see that? If you just do this, do that, and do the other, and all the 975 other laws and rules we have at this church, which you'll never find, not one of them, found in the Bible, then you'll be accepted. That is legalism. which breeds self-righteousness, which is anti the righteousness of God. And you'll get up and you'll come to church without your makeup or without pants on or a tie. You got to wear a tie. So why aren't you guys wearing ties anyway? Huh? I want to ask you. You got to wear a tie, got to wear a suit before God can accept you. That's not in the book. You see, what that does is, if you step out of line in this area, you're going to get it from us. And we are the representatives of God, you see. And the wrath of man cannot produce righteousness. It produces self-righteousness, which is in fact anathema to God. So it can't work. It's impossible. God's wrath is holy. Man's wrath is destructive. And so... He says, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Verse 21, he says, therefore, in light of all that, that's very, very important. So he says, in light of it, this is what we are to do. Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. Now listen to this. The word of God is to develop within us this new life. When he says, therefore lay aside all filthiness and wickedness, let's look at it backwards. The word wickedness is that which is void of morality. It's evil. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure that one out. It's wickedness. It's not godly. The word filthiness is really gross. And the King James Bible uses the word filthiness, and it's as kind of a word as you can use. Are you ready for this? This is a fun word. It's one of those words, if you're ever doing a men's conference, you want to make sure you use it. In fact, a couple of these are great. Filthiness is dirt or grime of the extreme. You say, well, what can that be? I don't know, just think for a minute. What is really gross dirt? I mean, when we were kids, we used to eat dirt, right? We all did that. It's like, oh, some dirt. That's not the kind of dirt. It's gross dirt. So what's gross dirt? The word is also translated in the original Greek language. Are you ready for this? Dirty earwax. Dirty earwax. That's exactly the response it's supposed to generate. Lay aside filthy earwax. And you say, well, I think I can do this. In fact, I'd like to do this. I don't want to embrace filthy earwax. I don't go down to the store and say, do you have a carton of filthy earwax? Do you have a bucket? I'd like to immerse my face and head in filthy earwax. You wouldn't do this. That's exactly the meaning of it all. Lay aside filthy earwax. So I can do this. I want to do this. Good. Then the things that are earwax in our lives, listen, we need to lay them aside. So what do you mean? Well, what are those things? Are you ready? God, I love the way he has written his book. The things that keep us from being swift to hear, we have to scrape out of our ear and throw it from us. That's why he uses the word earwax, filthy earwax. so we can be swift to hear. Paul tells us in the book of Hebrews, I would like to tell you a lot of things, but you're not able. You should be teachers and instructors concerning the word, but you are not able because you have become dull of hearing. The word in Hebrews is you've got fat stuffed in your ear. You have become fat in your ears. Can you imagine somebody coming up and saying, Can't hear you. I'm sorry. Can you speak louder? I can't hear you. And they've got like two rump roasts stuck in their ears. Move the roast out of your ear. Paul says, get the fat out of your ear. James says, listen, take the earwax out so you can be swift to hear. If you're swift to hear the things of God, positioning your heart right, you can be one who is not wrathful You won't be filled with wrath. You'll be confessing that sin to God and you'll fix it in a moment. You won't be yapping about stuff you don't know anything about. Because you'll be humbled. Remove the wax from your ear. And then the word is lay aside. Doesn't that sound nice? Just lay it aside. Wait a minute. You're talking about ear wax here. You think I'm just going to lay it aside? What, are you going to put it on my dashboard in my car? What, are you going to keep it close to me? The Bible says here, lay aside. It's actually, grab it and get it away from you completely. Now we're talking. I want to get earwax away from me as fast as possible. You see? I want to get filthiness. I want to get wickedness. What, as close as possible? Think about how silly this is. Can I go to church on Sunday and sleep with bubbles on Monday? Well, I guess you could. I guess you could do anything like that. But are you talking about being a Christian or are you talking about being a pretender? What's the deal? You see, some people, for some reason, they want to get right on the line. Can I be a Christian and continue to You know, do my cocaine and drop this drug or beat up these people or do this kind of business dealings. Can I be a Christian on Sunday and then do this on Monday through Friday? I guess you can. But Jesus is concerned and James is concerned and you're concerned, aren't you really, about being a real Christian?
SPEAKER 02 :
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
SPEAKER 03 :
By the way, there are no fake Christians. You know what an oxymoron is? That's an oxymoron. An oxymoron is something that cannot fit together. Like, that's the shortest giraffe ever. You're either a giraffe or you're not. And if you're not, you're short. If you're a giraffe, you're tall. You can't plug it together. You can't be a pretend Christian. You can say you're a Christian, but in fact your life says you're a pretender. That's what James is talking about. And so, get the wax, James says, out of your ears. Strong stuff, huh? Get it out of your ear. Lay it aside. Cast it far from you. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse two, the scripture says, look to Jesus, who is the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostilities from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your own souls, for you have not resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. See, we need to be hating sin, not playing with it. And it's as gross as playing with earwax. And he says, throw it away from me. And we would naturally respond as many of you did. Yes, oh, gross, get it away. And that's how the Lord wants us to view the old life in comparison to the new. And so he says, verse 21, Now the positive side, and receive with meekness the implanted word of your souls. Hey, listen, in closing, it's the word of God that changes everything. It's the Bible. It'll change your heart supernaturally. Those of you who are here this morning and you're doubting the word of God, you say, you know, I don't think it really has the power that these Christians say it does. You know what? Will you receive this challenge this morning? Will you pick up your Bible? If you don't have a Bible, we'll give you a Bible and read it. Can you start in the Gospel of John, Mr. Nonbeliever or Mrs. Doubter, and read John's Gospel all the way through and see if it begins to affect your life? It's not a cookbook. It's not a manual. It's the Bible, God's living word. It will actually affect your life. Try it and see. You're not afraid of it, are you? I mean, you will pick it up and read it, won't you? Pick it up and read it and watch what happens. If you're listening with a heart that's positioned to hear, and you remove the wax from your ears, that is, let the word go to your heart, and put the word to the test. Is this truth? Listen, you're going to be hearing God speak to your heart and say, yes, now receive the word of truth. It'll change your life. And that's okay with you, isn't it? Let your life be changed. When he says to receive the implanted word, the word also can be translated grafted. The grafted word. That's how it changes us. We who were once wild and crazy and godless, He takes us and he plugs us into the root of the source of all strength and power, Jesus Christ. Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me shall bring forth much fruit. And your fruit, by the way, he says, will remain. It will be good. And it's able to save your souls. You say, well, I'm seeing verse 21 and it says that which is able to save our souls is Aren't we saved already if we've come to faith in Jesus? I thought I was saved the day that I accepted Christ as my Savior. You were saved. But this word here is in the futurist tense. Yes, it's true. You will be saved. Well, what are you saying? Am I saved or am I not saved? You were saved the moment you accepted Christ. You're being saved right now. This is what the Bible teaches. And you're going to be saved in the end. The scripture speaks to this. In fact, if you really want to get all messed up about it, the Bible says in the book of Ephesians, we were really saved before God ever created the heaven and the earth and the stars, moon, and all that stuff. Well, wait a minute. I thought I got saved last week when I raised my hand. You did. You walked into what God had provided for you. In God's mind, you had been saved all along, but you came into your salvation last week. Listen. Well, If I was saved, then why is this struggle going on in my life with all the stuff James has been talking about? I still have a temper. I thought when I came to Christ that would be done. That's because you're being saved. You're being sanctified in route. You were sanctified. You are being sanctified. You shall be sanctified. Because you're a Christian now, you've given your heart to Christ, God is working in your life. You're growing up. Are you frustrated with your Christian performance at times? Do you get upset? Listen, God's not done working with you. He's going to finish the work that he started. He will complete it. How long is it going to take? Your lifetime. Oh, great. You can close your Bibles and we'll end with this, and maybe this will encourage some of you. When I gave my heart to Jesus Christ, I expected things to happen now. And prior to accepting Christ, I had a hideous temper. Dangerous temper. I was going to get a scholarship to Long Beach State to play football, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut. And I ruined that. But I'm not all that big. And I played with big guys. So how did I survive? I had a really bad temper. And I used to look for something early on in the game to set my temper off. If I could get angry, then I could play ball real well. And I used to just relish the fact that maybe on this next play I could hurt someone. I didn't know Jesus. I was godless and angry. And that anger, that seething anger that often resulted in explosive anger, was the way I lived my life. And then for the first time in my life, on the first day I'd ever heard about the gospel message, I responded immediately, and I gave my heart to Christ. And you know what? My temper didn't go away. I remember a year later being in my car, and I'm a Christian. I was studying my Bible so much all the time. So many times, every night of the week at Bible study and learning and going to school and learning more and more scripture and all this stuff. And you know what I did? I got angry about a year after I was a Christian and I took my fist and I punched my car, the dashboard, and busted my car. Stupid. Ignorant. I had pictures strategically hung in my bedroom to cover the holes in the walls from my fist going through them. Out of control rage. Two years, now a Christian. It's not going away much. Three years as a Christian, I hate myself. Why isn't this going away? What I first noticed in my life after coming to Christ is that I began to hate my sin that I once enjoyed and prospered on. Then it came to the point where I used to sit down by myself and cry over my failure at being a good Christian. And then I remember coming to the end of my resources and saying, Jesus, you've got to give me power to overcome this. And I've got to tell you, to the glory of God, I have got to tell you, it takes a lot to get my temper aroused now. It is wonderful. And something will happen and I'll think, I would have strangled that palm tree for that. And it's great to be free. The power of the word of God in route to save your souls.
SPEAKER 02 :
Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Receiving the Word of Truth. We're glad you could spend some time with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Book of James. It's a series on being doers of the Word of God and not just hearers only. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 03 :
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 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 Near, by my good friend Steve Miller.
SPEAKER 02 :
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 real radio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. Did you know that along with the radio program, Pastor Jack also has a TV show with more of the Pastor Jack Hibbs content that you like. It's called Real Life TV. If you enjoy Pastor Jack on the radio, you're going to love him on TV. So check out your local listings or visit jackhibbs.com and catch the latest episodes. That's jackhibbs.com. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
Discover the timeless nature of Jesus Christ as Dr. J. Vernon McGee guides us through Hebrews, illustrating how His unchanging character spans yesterday, today, and forever. As we reflect on personal stories and scriptural truths, this episode stands as a reminder of the real-life applications of faith, love, and the importance of spiritual leadership. Conclude with us in understanding the power of praise, doing good, and sharing in faith as we learn more about life-transforming truths.
SPEAKER 03 :
How firm a foundation, ye saints, of the Lord is laid for your faithful.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hebrews 13.8 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Such a great verse, isn't it? But as we'll find out, it's not only one of the most popular verses in Scripture, but it's also one of the most misapplied. Welcome to Through the Bible. I'm Steve Schwetz, inviting you aboard the Bible bus for another great adventure in God's Word. So grab your seat, get comfortable, because today our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, is going to examine the meaning and proper application of Hebrews 13.8. and will put to rest some of the misconceptions that we so commonly hear. It's a great message, and it's a full one, so I don't got a lot of time, but we recently received this letter from a listener that I'd like to quickly share. "'Greetings from Boston. I first heard about your program from a website that presented the salvation message, but at the time I was part of a cult and did not have ears to hear it. A while later, when I was broken in spirit, I welcomed Christ into my heart.' I'm so grateful that I have found grace in the Lord's eyes, and I listen to you every day on my iPhone. I also enrolled in your world prayer team and feel especially edified while hearing from listeners who once hated Christ but now love him. It helps remind me that anybody can become a new creature in due time. May your ministry abound until our Lord returns. Well, if any of you would like to join this listener and me and thousands of other Through the Bible listeners in praying for God's work around the world, stay with us because I'm going to share more about the World Prayer Team after Dr. McGee's message. Now for a sneak peek, you can also check out ttb.org forward slash pray. Now let's prepare our hearts to receive God's word. Heavenly Father, may your word speak to our hearts. Help us to change our attitudes and actions in response to what we hear. In Jesus' name, amen. Here's Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Hebrews 13 on Through the Bible.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now, last time I got rather hurriedly into the 13th chapter, and this 13th chapter is the great love chapter. We think of 1 Corinthians 13, but here's another love chapter. Chapter 11, faith chapter. Chapter 12, here the hope chapter. Chapter 13, the love chapter. This brings us to the secret life of the believers here in this first section. Then we have the social life of the believers, and then the spiritual life of the believers given to us here. He has made it now abundantly clear. That you and I, and he's writing primarily to the Hebrews, but it has application to us. Both Jew and Gentile today have been brought into one body, the body of believers. And the cement, the Elmer's glue that holds us together is brother love. Not brotherly love, but brother love. We are brothers. And we're not to love like brothers, but because we are brothers. We emphasized that last time. Then he said we are to extend this love to strangers, and that can be shown in our hospitality toward them, our attitude toward them. Then he mentions the fact that some have entertained angels unawares. Abraham did, we know, and Joshua did, and there were others. Then here in the third verse, and I think probably I should turn to this third verse again and read it. He asks that they remember them that are in bonds, is bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, being yourself also in the body. That is something that's neglected today. We talk a great deal about Christian fellowship around a banquet table or that we meet in a group. But what about that poor saint today that's off yonder lying in a bed somewhere and no one's been visiting them and Many of you could have a wonderful ministry along that line. And that's what he's talking about. This is brother love, not something that you talk about in the church or in some little group you get in. I'm getting a little weary of that today. All of this business of, well, they've coined a phrase, which is actually not a new phrase. They call it body truth. Well, gracious, my friend, that's been in the Scripture all these years. But you exercise that body truth going out there to that individual out there. We hear very little about that today. Then he talks about marriage. That is the very anchor of the social structure. And this, of course, is very personal. Marriage is honorable in all. He's condemning asceticism here. If you can find a girl that'll have you, young fella, get married. And young lady, if you can find a fella that'll have you, get married. That is, if he's the right one, of course. I believe, frankly, that God will lead you to the right one if you're willing to be led that way. And he says in the bed, undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. And that's very severe after quite a few years in the ministry. I've seen even Christians that have tried to get by with this. I don't know any of them that have been able to get by with it. Maybe they haven't been detected, but they sure didn't get by with it. God will judge them. And so it actually condemns that which is laxity and lust. Now, he says, let your conversation, your manner of life be without covetousness. Don't be known as a money grabber, as one who puts the almighty dollar above almighty God. And be content with such things as you have, for he hath said, I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. He may not make you a millionaire. but he'll never leave you nor forsake you. And we can say today, the Lord's my helper, and I'll not fear what man shall do unto me. And then remember them which have the rule over you, who've spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. I know that there's some ministers that use this, that say that the members of the church should obey them. I rather think that the fault here is that of leading. They are spiritual leaders, and spiritual leaders are to lead folk to Christ. And if a man is presenting Christ... and attempting to bring people into the presence of Christ, then that's the man I would say you should be loyal to. But to say you're just to be loyal to a man because he happens to be the pastor of a church, that just doesn't happen to be true. And that's not what Paul is talking about here at all. Now, I come back to the verse where I left off last time. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday to today, and forever. And I want to say to you, I feel inadequate to deal with this very marvelous verse. The first thing I want to say is this. that this verse has probably been as misapplied as much as any verse that's in the Word of God. There are those that use it today. They say, well, Jesus was here 1,900 years ago, and he performed miracles. We ought to perform them today. He healed 1,900 years ago, and so we ought to be healing today, and that he's still in that same business. Now, let's understand how he is the same. He's the same in his character and in his person and in his attributes. But he's not the same in the place that he was and performance. Now, I just came back from Israel recently. I didn't see him over there. And by the way, I saw very little evidence of him in that land. But 1900 years ago, he walked through that land over there and he did heal. 1900 years ago, he was in Bethlehem. A little baby, but he's no longer a baby and he's not in Bethlehem. 1900 years ago, he was a little boy playing around the streets of Nazareth. I walked down the streets of Nazareth. I didn't see him. I saw a lot of little boys, but he's not there. I was in Jerusalem and I saw Golgotha. And there's not even a cross there today. And he's not on a cross. The whole thought of this epistle is that he is at the right hand of God, seeing that we have a high priest. yonder at the right hand of God and looking under Jesus. He's the author and finisher of our faith. He did that 1900 years ago and he sat down at the right hand of God. Now right now he's up yonder and someday he's going to come as the king, but he hasn't come yet as the king to the earth to establish his kingdom here. And he hasn't called his church out of the world yet, but he's going to do that. But he is the same in his attributes. Now, in that light, let's look at him. We mentioned last time that these two names are given here, Jesus, Christ, the same. Well, Jesus is that human name that was given to him. Christ is a title, speaks of his messianic mission to this earth, that he is God manifest in the flesh. And it's marvelous how these two are brought together here, Jesus Christ. How wonderful these two are meshed together here. He is Jesus Christ and he's the same. Now, when he was here 1900 years ago, it was God who came down to our level. When I'm in that land, I marvel at that. He came to a place where actually there was not great wealth and pomp and ceremonies. He didn't come to Rome, the center of power and government. He didn't come to Athens, the great cultural center. He did go to Jerusalem, the great religious center of that day. But he came down to our level. He was a human being. And I want to say this concerning his humanity, because many of us today are so afraid of that we will not be understood, that we don't emphasize the humanity of Christ, we emphasize the deity of Christ. Well, that needs emphasizing today because the liberal talks nothing but the humanity of Christ, and I think he misses that. And this is what I mean. I think that Jesus was the most attractive person that ever walked this earth. And I'm now talking about, not because he's God, because he's a man. I think he was a real man. Have you ever noticed that the crowds were attracted to him? The crowds followed him. He was strong but gentle. Little children came to him, but he could drive the money changers out of the temple, and they ran for cover because he was man enough to do it. He was a real man, and he was attractive. He had what we call today charisma. People followed him because they loved him. They were in the presence of a man that was a man in Capernaum. You remember he healed a leper and then had to leave because the crowds came around him and they crowded him so he couldn't even continue his ministry. Publican sinners came to him and that was the thing the religious crowd went after him about. You know, if he came to your town today, I hate to say this, But I don't think he'd come to your church, and I don't think he'd come to my church either. I don't think that's where he'd go. I have a notion you'd find him down where the crowd is. He'd be mixing with the crowd. These little children came to it. I marveled at that. And you remember when he went through Jericho at the end of his ministry, we find there that the crowds lined the way and little Zacchaeus had to climb up a tree. And our Lord stopped, you remember, and brought that fellow down out of the tree. How wonderful the Lord Jesus was in his person. But now I want to say something very carefully, and it's this. It was the person of Christ that appealed. It was not his teachings and his great declaration that he was going to die and he'd come to redeem man. That was not popular. And you'll find that at the very beginning of his ministry, that it was his teachings that offended. He talked about he was the bread of life and that he'd come down to give his life that men might have spiritual food. Then he said to them over in John 6, chapter 65, he said, therefore, I said unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given him of the Father. And from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Now that crowd narrowed down, and only twelve stayed with him. Why? Because of his teaching. It is said that Savonarolo in the city of Florence went before the great populace, and he said to them, Be free! And they applauded him. And then he said to them, be pure. And then they ran him out of town. They didn't want his teaching unless it appeals to them. And the Lord Jesus said to man, you have to turn from sin. You can't live in sin. That I've come to make you free. But I'll have to give my life for you. And you'll have to come as a sinner to me. And sinners came. And when men were desperate, they would come to him. And I believe that's the only way they'll come to him today. Oh, I tell you, friends, he was a very wonderful person. Someone has put it like this. Our blessed Lord combined in one two natures, both complete, in perfect manhood all sublime, in Godhood all replete. As man he entered Canaan's feast, an humble guest to dine. As God he moved the water there and changed it into wine. As man he suffered weariness and rested on a well. As God he pierced a sinner's heart and saved her soul from hell. As man, he climbed the mountains high, a supplement to be. As God, he left the place of prayer and walked upon the sea. As man, he wept in heartfelt grief beside a loved one's grave. As God, he burst the bands of death, almighty still to save. As man, he lay within a boat, overpowered by needful sleep. As God, he rose, rebuked the wind, and still the angry deep. as man he yielded to his foes, submitting to be bound, as God his presence overawed, and threw them to the ground. Such was our Lord in life and earth, in dual nature one, the woman's seed in very truth, and God's eternal Son. O Child, O Son, O Word made flesh, may thy high praise increase, Thou wonderful, thou mighty God, eternal Prince of Peace. May I say to you, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday. Now, this is what he was yesterday. But you know, he's up under God's right hand today. He still wants little children to come to him. He still has his arms out for them and sinners can still come to him. And he can still say, even to the one that's gone to the very depths, go and sin no more. I can free you. And if the son make you free, you'll be free indeed. You can come to him. A great many people feel gingerly going sometimes into church or into meetings. They feel like they're with a bunch of goody goodies and we have to be very careful. You know, if Jesus was there in that meeting, I think you'd hear his laughter. And I think you'd fall in love with him as a person, as a man. There's been something said about him, and very frankly, I spoke against it when I first heard it. But it's gotten me to thinking it was said by one of these radicals in the East. He called Jesus a revolutionary. I don't like that. That's not true. But he said Jesus was a gutsy person. And my, oh, he's been criticized for that. And I join that criticism. I've been thinking it over. Let me say this to you today. I don't agree with it. Did you know that if we really presented Jesus as he really was, he'd appeal to the radical today? Jesus was a man. And he's the same today. But he's God. He could weep at a tomb because he's human, but he could say to Lazarus, come forth. And may that same one today meet you in your need. He can sympathize with you. He can weep with you. He can laugh with you. But he can save your soul. I wish that I could present him. Like he really was 1900 years ago when he came to this earth. How wonderful he was. And your sorrow is his sorrow. And your joy is his joy today. And he's going to be the same in the future. Same yesterday, today, and forever. He's never going to change. Someday we're going to be in his presence. And how wonderful that's going to be. Now let me move along. My, I got bogged down here, but this is so wonderful. Verse 9, it says, "...be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, for it's a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein." Isn't it amazing that most of the cults go in for diets? And I believe in a diet. I think food is pretty important as far as the body is concerned. It has nothing to do with your relationship with God. Paul says, whether you eat meat or whether you don't eat meat, meat won't command you to God. And that's what he's trying to say here. Don't go off in these strange cults. And this strange teaching that we have today, that diet and ceremonies and ritual and going to some little group and studying some little something today, and we got a lot of those abroad, that that was going to make you a super-duper saint. My friend, nothing in the world is going to build you up with the Word of God. And the word of God won't build you up unless it brings you to Christ. And only the Holy Spirit can take the things of Christ and make them real unto you. Now he says here, we have an altar whereof they have no right to eat, which serve the tabernacle. May I say to you, fellowship actually is not at a church banquet. If I may put it like that, we always hear that today, and I heard it for years as a pastor. Come to the banquet. We're going to have some marvelous Christian fellowship. No, you're not. You're just going there for a good time, and you're just going to feel your little tummy. That's what you're going to do, my friend. May I say the only place that you can have fellowship, that is the word koinonia, is when you are around the Word of God, and the Word of God brings you to the person of Christ, and you see him in all of his glory. Then's when you're going to have a good time. Our Lord was wonderful, friends. It's terrible to pass him by. Now, will you notice here in verse 10, we have an altar. Whereof? And here's a comparison made between what Israel had under the old covenant in contrast to the better things of the new. Believers have an altar, not the Lord's Supper, not a material altar with a local address, but we have an altar. The throne of grace up yonder was the throne of judgment. He condemned me there. But also when the blood was placed there, I could come and find grace and be saved. Now, for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. That means they're consumed. He's speaking of the sin offering here. Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. He was outside. Now, Jesus died outside of the city. He was the sin offering. Remember, the sin offering was taken away from the temple out yonder. Jesus was our sin offering and paid the price. Now he says, let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. Don't mind leaving a temple. Don't mind leaving a ritual. Don't think these things are helpful. Go to him. Go to Christ, for here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. We haven't anything permanent here. That's been made clear to us. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks in his name. Actually, a child of God can bring a sacrifice. And this is now the spiritual life of the believer. There are four sacrifices of a believer. Three of them are here in verse 15. By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God. Now, praise... is a sacrifice, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to him. And I didn't mean to say the others are here, but verse 16 says, but to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. So that what we have here is four things. You can sacrifice your person, And someone has said, when one truly gives himself to the Lord, all other giving becomes easy. The second is your purse. And believe me, if he doesn't have your purse, he doesn't have you. And praise, that's mentioned here in verse 15. And then performance. That is doing good. When you do good, that's a sacrifice of a child of God. Now, I see our time is up, and it was my full intention to finish this chapter today, and therefore the epistle to the Hebrews. But friends, I got bogged down there at verse 8, that wonderful verse, and I didn't treat it adequately. Oh, if I could only make him as wonderful as he is to you. Everybody had turned to him, but I just didn't quite do that. But I will finish Hebrews next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
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Has your faith been renewed or strengthened through our time in Hebrews? Well, if so, tell us about it because we love to get your notes and then hear the stories of what God is doing in your life as we study his word together. You know, you can leave a message in our app by clicking on feedback and then you can just use the speech function to write that in real quick so you don't have to use your fingers and thumbs to try to type that. Or you can always write to us at Through the Bible, Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. Or in Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. Or even easier, you can email BibleBus at ttb.org or leave a message at 1-800-65-BIBLE. And maybe we'll even share your story to encourage others studying along with us. Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of our study, if you'd like to travel the world on your knees with us, asking God to transform the hearts and lives of the people we meet along the way, then you need to sign up for our world prayer team by visiting us at ttb.org forward slash pray. Jesus made it all.
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All to him I owe. Sin had left the prince of sin. He washed it white as snow.
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Well, ride the Bible bus for five years and you'll be amazed at what God teaches you from his word about what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It's a blessing that keeps on going. That's what we believe at Through the Bible.
Join Pastor Jack Hibbs in this transformative episode focusing on the importance of submitting to God's will amidst personal and relational struggles. With topics ranging from overcoming past sins to navigating the complexities of marriage and divorce, Pastor Jack provides a biblical perspective on how to press forward in faith. This episode offers a chance to explore how prioritizing God's guidance can lead to true freedom and fulfillment in life's many facets.
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Today on Real Life Radio.
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Don't settle for not only the condemnation that the enemy would heap upon you, but if you've sinned and erred from God, then repent of it and come back to God and start all over again. That's the amazing thing about our God. No matter how messed up you've made your life, our God, when we repent, grants us a new start.
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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.
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Hey everybody, something that you should know, that in our church and in our media community, in the social media community, we have for decades, as a church, started every year off with the reading of the one-year Bible all the way through. So I'm encouraging you to join us and do the same. If you are not one of the tens of thousands of people that are actually on the same page with me, with my wife, Lisa, with the church and beyond, the entire Real Life audience and beyond, get a copy of the One Year Bible and get started with us on January 1st. You can get a copy for yourself at jackhibbs.com, but by all means, please do this. And listen, get one for your friends or maybe a son or a daughter or a mom or a dad who The one-year Bible, through the Bible, in one year together. Join us.
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That's the one-year Bible, and it's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series now called Life and Bible with a message titled, Being a Christian is Obedience to God. The Bible tells us that obedience to God is better than sacrifice. This means that we've really got to be willing to submit to the Lord and to put an end to our own agendas. You see, our selfish desires and sinful imaginations will destroy us. But we can live an obedient life by letting go of the past and by putting God first in every single area of our lives. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that obeying God, well, it's just not an option. We've got to be willing to give him our all no matter what. Sounds radical, but we need to remember that God is for us and he's not against us. It's a love relationship, one that sets us free from the pain and sorrow of the past. Now, with his message called, Being a Christian is Obedience to God, here's pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.
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We have been inundated with emails and questions. The pain and the heartfelt torture of divorce has been made so crystal clear with the responses from many of you. That your hearts are broken and that for you, now you're single and you're afraid to ever get married again and you're... search the scriptures, and you are able to be married again, yet you don't want to ever do that again, and you don't want to ever love again. You don't want to ever be near somebody, even possibly being that person again. These are real heartfelt issues. What does a Christian do about something like that? Then there are some of you who said, I got married, I thought I shouldn't have, it didn't work out, and come to find out I've wanted and I've enjoyed being single all my life. And that's rare, but that happens. And we've heard about it in these last few weeks. Some of you have written me and you've said things that I have been set free by these teachings. I didn't know this, I didn't know that about the situation, and I've been set free. And then some of you have written me and said, now Pastor Jack, it seems to me that you're telling me that I'm living in sin because I divorced my wife for this other woman and in fact that didn't work out so I went and married this other girl and you make me feel that I'm not right with God. Listen, you're not right with God. I didn't make you feel anything. I read you the verses and you didn't like them. Your beef is not with me. And I told you that when I was giving you the Bible study. Your beef's not gonna be with me. It's gonna be with God. Listen, tonight, if you have mustered up the strength to come back to this evening, understand something. If God is speaking to you, Christian, at this late hour of our Christian existence here on earth before the Lord comes back, if he's speaking to you and you now find yourself or you have been aroused to the place of I'm in the wrong spot with God, then change it tonight. Please change it tonight. Listen, we want you in heaven with us. We want you growing with us. We want you being strong with us. We want you being used by God now. Don't settle for not only the condemnation that the enemy would heap upon you, but if you've sinned and erred from God, then repent of it and come back to God and start all over again. That's the amazing thing about our God. No matter how messed up you've made your life, our God, when we repent, grants us a new start. And you need to keep that in mind. I'm gonna run through some things that is a little bit of a throw together of these last few weeks. Being a Christian in obedience to God, that is the ultimate answer. Church, listen carefully as I run through these points. Being a Christian in obedience to God is not an option. It's not an option. Yes, yes, you can be a Christian and walk in disobedience to God, but the Bible makes it very clear that when you get to heaven, you're going to suffer loss. Did you know that? And not only heaven, that you'll suffer loss based upon 1 Corinthians. Bible's very clear about that. But if you're a Christian tonight, you need to understand something that we don't often think about. As believers, when do you stop and think that... When the rapture does happen, or when we do die and go be with Jesus, that we are coming back with him. You've all read Revelation chapter 19? The Bible says we're coming back with him to earth. He's going to set up his kingdom on earth for how long? Anybody remember? A thousand years. The Bible says that we will be the bride of Christ, but we will rule and reign with him. The Bible makes it very clear regarding our faithfulness to God now, it will matter in that thousand year reign of Christ, our responsibilities and our status, our place in the kingdom life. That is very clear in the Bible. So I want to ask you something right now. As a Christian, as we talk about obedience, I want you to be thinking tonight that from this moment on, You are going to vow to pour yourself into following the Lord Jesus Christ at all costs. The hour is late, the stakes are great, and the Lord is coming back, and you and I need to actually bless him or make him proud, if that's okay with you. I wanna make him proud when he comes. And these are serious issues, and we're talking about these things regarding marriage, regarding life, in relationships, and divorce. Being a Christian is obedience to God, and number one thing I want you to think about tonight is this. You have got to be willing to submit to the Lord. If you're a Christian tonight, from this moment on, well, pastor, I'm married or I'm not married. I'm single, I'm divorced, I'm going through a divorce. I don't care where you're at tonight. This is true for every one of us. From the weakest, brand new, little baby, brand new Christian now to the most seasoned, experienced saint in here tonight. Right now, you and I need to determine to be submitted to the will of God in all things. God is our God, and we are to submit to him completely and fully. And that is all about a love relationship. It's got to happen. Number one, this way. You and I have got to bury the past day by day. Bury the past. The Bible says in Philippians 3.13, Brethren, I do not count myself as to have apprehended... But one thing I do, I forget those things which are behind and I reach forward to those things that are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That's Paul the Apostle, Philippians 3, 13 and 14. Paul is saying, I have not yet been apprehended for that reason for which Christ has apprehended me. I love that statement. See, Jack, what does that mean? Paul said, I have not fulfilled everything that God has called me to do. The reason why Jesus captured me, that reason has not been yet fulfilled in my life. I don't know about you personally, but I feel like that all the time. And I think that's healthy. I've read enough books in the lives of other Christian workers to find out that that's a healthy thing. Do you feel like God's done with you in this life? Man, if you feel like God's done with you in this life, then you better just make out a will now because you're gonna be taken home soon. Now that could happen to anyone at any time, but I don't know about you, but I know that what has happened yet in my life is not the full extent of God's plan for my life. I don't know what's coming, but I know because it comes from him, it's gonna be awesome. And so I wanna be submitted to God completely. Well, my husband and I are not getting along. Then both of you submit to God. Okay, by the way, if you're a non-Christian tonight visiting, just enjoy tonight because I'm really gonna be beating up the Christian tonight. The non-Christian, you take a break. You can have a good, you can look at all these people and say, you know, you listen to him. But I'm telling you right now, well, you know what? She doesn't give me enough sex. Well, you know what? He doesn't open my door enough or he shuts the door halfway where I'm at. Hey. Hey. Because one thing I've learned these last four weeks and people writing me notes is he says, she says, and then there's this rocket launch and this mortar round and then this bazooka and there's a nuclear blast. Listen, stop right now. Whoever you are and wherever you're at, stop. Are you a Christian? Yep, then submit to God. Just do it and it will translate into everything else in your life being effective. God is Lord, not you and I. We need to bury the past And I wanna cover a few things. Number one, if you have a great marriage, you know why you have a great marriage? Because you have a tendency to do what the Bible says, bury the past. You keep looking to the call of Christ. The past, let it go. The pain, let it go. Did she hurt you? Let it go. You say, Jack, that's denial. That's not denial. Denial says it never happened. The power of Christ in our lives to put things behind us in the past is to say, this thing affected me. I'm taking it and I'm putting it behind me. I'm looking to Christ and I'm not looking back at it. I am not going to let that thing, that event control my life anymore. And I'm not... I'm not talking about a person, I'm not saying I'm not gonna let him control or her control, I'm talking about that thing. That thing that they hurt you by. All of us have experienced hurt and pain. I did a wedding vow, yeah, an anniversary renewing of the wedding vows last Saturday, right here. A couple been married 30 years. And it was amazing because they have grown kids now. So I asked the kids before the service, I said, how are your parents really? And the son and the daughter, I don't know, 25 and 27 years of age, something like that, I'm not sure. They just said, my parents, when we get married, we want to have a marriage just like our parents. You guys, that's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it's supposed to be. And the awesome thing is that those parents, you could tell they loved the Lord Jesus more than they loved each other. That's the key. That's the key. Burying the past is something that every one of us have got to apply right now. And let me tell you something right now. If you are divorced and you're living in that world and the past is eating you alive, you have got to, as a Christian, say, Lord, it's killing me. Lord, I am taking those memories, those thoughts, those things, those dates, those calendar holidays, whatever it brings up the pain, Lord, I'm taking it to you and I'm leaving it with you and I'm gonna go ahead. I'm gonna follow you, Jesus. And notice the target. He moves, Paul says, I press towards. He presses into Christ. He presses into God. He presses into the word. He is eating up the things he ought to be eating up so he can have success over the past. Christians, you must decide to do the same thing. You cannot press into other things, no matter how wonderful they might be. You name it. If you're pursuing, going after something other than Christ, you'll not find victory in this area. You will not find it. Yeah, but I'm working out more. Not going to find it. Yeah, but I got a new red sports car. Now I'm unbuttoning my shirt down to my navel and I've got a gold chain around. That's not gonna do it. You need Jesus. You say, well, I'm a Christian. You need to press into him. Remember John, John's laying on Jesus' chest at the upper room at the communion service of Passover. John's leaning, John is leaning. Man, that's amazing. John is leaning on Jesus' chest, because you know, by the way, those tables, they're about 17, 18 inches off the ground, and there's no chairs. You lean down with pillows, and you lean like this, and you eat like this, okay? So somehow, and during worship time or what, John's ear is somewhere near the heart of Christ. Wow. Can you imagine hearing the heartbeat of God in his chest? Amazing. That's pressing in. Getting so close to Jesus to determine it. Now look, watch this. Let's be honest. Can you guys be honest? I'm going to ask you again. That's excellent. Can you guys be honest? Yes. Okay, how many of you have had or are having or expect to have troubles? Raise your hand. Okay, only a couple liars. Good. Okay, listen. There's only one way to have victory over those troubles that you're having now or that trouble you have in the past or that you're going to have. And that's drawing nearer to Christ and staying there. And you guys, what I'm saying right now sounds insane because we live in the 21st century. And if it's not in neon, if it's not in super duper pixel, if it's not HD, if it's not mega speaker box, ear busting, then it just doesn't do anything for you. Well, you know what? You ought to pick up a book and read it. Well, man, how low tech is that? Try it sometime. I found out the younger generation can't do it. Only us old people know how to do it. It's the only thing we know how to do. My kids can fix my computer, but man, sit down and read a book. Read a book. How do you do that? You just sit there. You actually sit there. And you read, man, I can't do that. Well, you need to do it. God will speak to you. It's amazing. Bury the past.
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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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Also this, you've got to resign to die to your demands. Whoever you are tonight, whatever the situation you're in tonight, whatever the case might be, you've got to right now tonight resign to dying. I am going to die to my demands. A willingness to submit to the Lord means you're gonna resign your life. You say, man, I don't like the way that sounds. Well, it's the only way you're ever gonna live. And some of you are sitting here right now, you go, man, this is nuts. I can't believe I came here. Listen, listen, listen. Let's think in the reverse for a minute. Put yourself number one. Do everything, anything that comes to your mind, whatever pleases you and you only, you do it. You think about yourself and no one else. You get the bigger piece of the pie. You get to be the first one in line. You look out for good old number one. You know, there's a whole bunch of loonies that are about 30, 40 miles from here that do that. It's called Hollywood. And are they happy? How long do their marriages last? Okay, they got all the money in the world, and all the fame in the world, and they're committing suicide. So don't tell me that that's the answer. I think Jesus knows the answer. Jesus said, if you seek to save your life, that is, live it for you, you're gonna lose it. But if you give it up, then you'll find it. I want you to think about that. For some of you who don't know that that's a verse of the Bible spoken by Jesus, I want you to think about that for a second. True happiness is found in forgetting and losing everything. the reality of who you are, and letting God take care of you. It's amazing. It's true freedom. It's true freedom. You need to resign to your own demands. In Mark 9, 35, the Bible says that Jesus sat down, he called the 12 together, and he said to them, if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and be servant of all. That's true freedom. Mark 9, 35. Also this, this willingness to submit to the Lord means this, that you and I have got to elevate the Lord in every area of our lives. Are you going through a divorce tonight? Are you thinking about it? Stop. Stop. You have no authority to pursue that. Oh, Jackie Carter cheating. You still don't have the authority to do that. I thought the Bible said I can divorce my wife for sexual immorality. It does say that, but that's only second best. First best is reconciliation, is making up, getting it back together. That's the first thing. Church, listen. This is not in my notes, so I don't know how it's gonna come out. So that's my disclaimer right there. It's easy for us to catch somebody in a situation because we can physically point to them. I caught you! And I understand that. And I'm not putting it down. There's a lot of power in that. It's evidence. It's admissible in court. It all depends on what court you're talking about, though. Cannot God... Look down into my heart or your heart and point the finger at us and say, wait a minute, Jack, as you point to that person right there, have you not in your own life thought these thoughts? But God, they were just thoughts. And he said, well, you know, with the court where I preside over, thoughts, we have those entered into our courtroom. Jesus said if a man or a woman, it goes either way, looks at a man or a woman and lusts after them in their heart for sexual dominance, fulfillment, pleasure. What did Jesus say? You've already committed adultery. That's in the courtroom of God. So if you caught him or you caught her, are you willing tonight to say, you know what, the marriage is over, that's it, it's over. It's just done. The reason why you're saying that is because, honestly, I don't mean to pour insult on injury here, but the reason why you're saying that is because you have nothing else in your well to grab from. You are scraping the rocks, dude. I understand that, but there's more. I'm leaving her. I caught her. Listen, stop for a moment. The reason why you feel that way is because you have got nothing to grab onto. You're grabbing sand and you're pulling it up in your hands and you are responding in the most basic response possible. I understand that. But what if God were to say to you, I want you to love her like I love you. I want you to forgive her like I have forgiven you. I want you to understand that the thoughts you've had, sir, in your life or that little peek you took on that website is equal to in my courtroom in relation to what she did. See, you don't want to think that way. You want to think that God grades on a curve, and he doesn't. He's perfectly holy. Amen. And what you do in secret, the Bible says, in the day of judgment, that thing will be shouted from the housetops for the world to see. So I want to stress to you tonight, before you throw your marriage away, you need to stop and calm down and realize that God's indictments, if you'll listen, against you are far greater. Because my sin is my sin. And it looks horrible. And my sin put Jesus on the cross. So did yours. So now when I turn and I look at somebody who's in error or in sin or got caught or the woman caught in the act of adultery as all of those Pharisees wanted to kill her, Jesus said, okay, you can kill her. You can let those rocks fly. Let's just start with the person who's without sin. So you guys get ready, start throwing your rocks. Just the first guy to throw rocks has got to be the guy that's without sin. Go for it. Then they all left. Boy, you see that movie, Stoning of Sariam, did she not need Jesus at that moment, huh? If Jesus wouldn't have been in that chapter of John's gospel, that's exactly what would have happened to her, what you saw in that movie. Every person, every one of us needs Jesus. And if you think that your husband's a greater sinner than you are, or your wife is a greater sinner than you are, then you've missed a complete definition and understanding of atonement and the redemption that comes through Jesus Christ. I put Christ on the cross. And it's a tremendous thing. You say, Jack, what do you mean so hard about that for? Because you know what? When I find out how much he has forgiven me, it's easy to elevate him as my Lord. I don't have to muster it up and conjure it up I don't have to play games about it. He's amazing. In 1 Corinthians 6, 20, it says, for you have been bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. We were bought at a price. See, it's easy to elevate Jesus if we understand that the price that he paid for us was his own life and his own blood and the temptation for you and I tonight is to say, yeah, life, blood. I mean, we live in a A bloody culture. We live in a violent world. I mean, so what's the big deal? And starting with me first, I have no concept or idea of the innocence of Christ. Can you imagine the innocence of Jesus? There's something about him. When you saw him, you knew that you're in the... It didn't even Judas confess, I've betrayed innocent blood. Satan, having possessed him, confesses it. Amazing. It's glorious to elevate him. My point is this. I want you to exercise a willing submission to the Lord Jesus Christ because he should be elevated in the everyday aspects of our lives. You guys, is Jesus here in this church right now? Is he gonna be going home with you in your car tonight? When you pull up and arrive at your house or your apartment, is he already there? He's everywhere. He's in every thought I think. He's listening, he's there, he's seeing everything. And apply that power. and that reality to your marriage.
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Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Being a Christian is Obedience to God. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called Life and Bible. It's a series on how to apply God's Word in the everyday challenges of the Christian life. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Hey, if you're struggling in your marriage or maybe you're getting ready to tie the knot and want some practical spiritual advice, check out Pastor Jack's YouTube channel called Real Life with Jack Hibbs. Once you're there, look for the interviews I did with Pastor Jack and his wife, Lisa. It's called Real Marriage, Real Life. We talk about some pretty important subjects like dealing with our families in marriage and dealing with forgiveness in marriage. Jack and Lisa talk about the ways they put God first in every situation, especially in handling sensitive issues. Again, the series is called Real Marriage, Real Life, and it's on Pastor Jack's YouTube channel called Real Life with Jack Hibbs. You can access his channel on YouTube or at our website, 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.