WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.840 Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim 2 00:00:05.840 --> 00:00:10.740 truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. Listen Christian this is what 3 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:14.480 God wants you to do. When you come to the Lord in prayer you're seeking his 4 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:19.320 face for something guidance direction is it for school is it for that guy or for 5 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:25.120 that girl is it for what? Go after the Lord and listen you will wrestle with 6 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:32.160 him in prayer but don't let him go. You can get the outlines of this podcast by 7 00:00:32.160 --> 00:00:38.960 going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast today if this podcast lifts you up and 8 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:43.160 encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ then make sure you leave 9 00:00:43.160 --> 00:00:49.280 us one of those five star ratings to us that's like saying amen or yes then that 10 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:54.040 rating will encourage others to listen now open your hearts to what God's word 11 00:00:54.040 --> 00:01:00.640 has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. According to the plan of God Romans 828 12 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:05.840 mark it down put your names next to it this is that famous verse God has a 13 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:11.040 purpose the question begs purpose for whom the answer is to those who love God 14 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:17.480 and I know I've told you before I share with you the same deficit I love God 15 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:21.960 and the moment I say that I'm sick to my stomach as to how little I love God 16 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:27.120 because he's so amazing I should love him even more but I struggle with the fact 17 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:35.680 I don't I want to he's worthy but I find within myself a profound weakness to 18 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:42.040 get as close to God as I want to because I'm dragging this carcass of my body in 19 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.840 this life that gets in the way of my relationship with God but that's why 20 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:49.680 there's the great promise that someday you and I will be set free from our bodies 21 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:54.680 that's going to be a great day and so when that word tells us that we know it 22 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:59.120 is a knowledge of the issues it means that God knows about the issues of the 23 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:05.800 past in your life there's no but there's no yeah but no none of that he knows 24 00:02:05.800 --> 00:02:09.720 about the issues of your life watch this he knows about the issues of your life 25 00:02:09.720 --> 00:02:14.080 now and he knows about the issues of your life in the future though you and I do 26 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:24.520 not know them yet he already knows you can trust him he knows and by the way 27 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:29.280 mark this down by the way this knowledge that God knows all about us and thus 28 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:34.880 we know about God we can take a great rest in knowing this that this 29 00:02:34.880 --> 00:02:43.000 knowledge is not a cerebral knowledge it's not analytical it's not limited 30 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:50.240 by that it's not theoretical it's not a dream oh you Christians in your no 31 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:56.320 no it's not theoretical knowledge it's not philosophical knowledge either it's 32 00:02:56.320 --> 00:03:02.960 not one of those possibilities it's not a knowledge that is just to be 33 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:08.560 studied you can get this doctorate degree in this knowledge we're not 34 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:13.400 interested in that in all truth we are interested in the knowledge of God to 35 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:18.640 where it's experiential this book the Bible lays the foundation for you and I 36 00:03:18.640 --> 00:03:24.160 now to live with our feet as it were on this word and live an experiential 37 00:03:24.160 --> 00:03:29.040 faith as a Christian that makes a difference in this world around us we don't 38 00:03:29.040 --> 00:03:33.640 talk about Christianity we are to do it and there's a big difference in all of 39 00:03:33.640 --> 00:03:39.680 that thus he says in verse 28 all things work together for good everything that 40 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:45.800 is arriving in our lives is ordained by God we are about to find out very 41 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:50.720 important the Bible tells us it is to those who love God we're talking about 42 00:03:50.720 --> 00:03:55.360 this now those who are called according to his purpose I love this God's got 43 00:03:55.360 --> 00:04:03.320 a purpose for your life so we live in a bizarre time right now we have we have a 44 00:04:03.320 --> 00:04:10.800 world that is rejecting God wholesale and it's bringing itself to an 45 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:16.080 interesting conundrum to an interesting point of difficulty which is this the 46 00:04:16.080 --> 00:04:20.040 evolutionary theory has almost all that dried up nobody runs around today 47 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.720 pronouncing that they're an evolutionist because then if they do you got to 48 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:26.920 ask them why do you think that tell me why you believe that and then they've got 49 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:30.160 a struggle to try to prove why they believe in the more they talk about it the 50 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:35.720 more foolish they look no seriously scientists are embracing now at the very 51 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:40.280 least intelligent design but they're saying now that's not even enough there's 52 00:04:40.280 --> 00:04:46.600 evidence of a personal designer you know that right now all of us know that 53 00:04:47.080 --> 00:04:51.960 there's evidence of a personal designer but if you press it you've got to come 54 00:04:51.960 --> 00:04:56.600 to the conclusion that there's things in this world and in this existence of yours 55 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:03.560 in mind that is not really personal but it is deeply deeply internal that 56 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:09.080 there's a whole new world as it were inside of us that is spirit and that is 57 00:05:09.080 --> 00:05:18.920 soul and it's been the long desire of man to find himself who am I and so man 58 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:23.960 goes on his pursuits well I want you to know and be reminded that according to 59 00:05:23.960 --> 00:05:29.520 the Bible God created you with his purpose in mind every one of us who are 60 00:05:29.520 --> 00:05:35.640 believers in Christ Jesus are to know the purpose as to why we are living if you 61 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:39.120 say I don't know yet well then you know what then do the Jacob thing remember 62 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:47.560 Jacob Jacob in the Old Testament Jacob the Bible tells us was I'll just say it 63 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:51.000 this way he was mine in his own business it was at night he might have even 64 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:54.360 been sleeping if I remember right and the Bible tells us the angel of the 65 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:58.200 Lord came to him now the angel of the Lord and the Old Testament is a 66 00:05:58.200 --> 00:06:01.400 statement of a Theophonies if you don't know that the 67 00:06:01.960 --> 00:06:06.800 Theophonies is a Christophonies which is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ 68 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.880 when Christ appears prior to being born in Bethlehem it's throughout the Old 69 00:06:10.880 --> 00:06:15.920 Testament and the Bible says he shows up and this is kind of cute the angel of 70 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:19.920 the Lord the Lord picks a fight with Jacob I don't know how he did it then he 71 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:23.600 kick him in the nose then he poke his ear did he take a feather and rub it 72 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:27.760 underneath Jacob's nose we don't know but the Bible says that they got the Jacob 73 00:06:27.760 --> 00:06:32.360 got up and they started wrestling he's a little ridiculous oh yeah have you 74 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:38.040 ever wrestled with God are you wrestling with God now and they're wrestling and 75 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:42.000 the Lord could have killed them the Lord could have done anything I wanted but 76 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:46.240 the Lord had a plan the Lord had a purpose and the Bible says that they 77 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:52.080 wrestled all night man what is this Jacob made of and the Bible says seeing that 78 00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:56.560 the angel of the Lord could not prevail against Jacob that the angel of the 79 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:02.600 Lord struck his hip and his hip went out of joint and he limped all the days of 80 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:08.280 his life from that moment on but that's he still wouldn't let go and then the 81 00:07:08.280 --> 00:07:13.600 angel of the Lord says I got to leave the day is coming I've got to go and Jacob 82 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:21.360 said and this is what I want you to have Jacob said I will not let you go until 83 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:27.960 you bless me I will not let you go until you favor my life okay listen are you 84 00:07:27.960 --> 00:07:32.120 hearing me everybody this is the angel of God the Lord himself allowing 85 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:36.080 himself first of all the Lord picks the fight the Lord comes in picks the fight 86 00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:40.280 Jacob's fighting with the Lord and here's what happens the Lord allows 87 00:07:40.280 --> 00:07:45.160 himself to be in this entanglement with Jacob because God's got a plan with Jacob 88 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:50.240 or for Jacob and then for Jacob to say I'm not letting you go so wait a minute who 89 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:55.680 started this fight well the Lord did but who's in control here well the Lord is 90 00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:01.040 in control but he allows Jacob to take the upper hand listen Christian this is 91 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.920 what God wants you to do when you come to the Lord in prayer you're seeking his 92 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:09.760 face for something guidance direction is it for school is it for that guy or for 93 00:08:09.760 --> 00:08:16.280 that girl is it for what go after the Lord and listen you will wrestle with him 94 00:08:16.400 --> 00:08:22.600 prayer but don't let him go he allows himself to be caught he allows himself to 95 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:27.680 be in this dialogue and he allows himself to have you and I say to him Lord I 96 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:31.880 will not let you go I think God loves that when we say I'm hanging on to you 97 00:08:31.880 --> 00:08:40.720 Jesus and I'm not gonna let go I think God loves that and God bless Jacob and you 98 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:43.880 need to remember that God's got a purpose in your life and if you don't know 99 00:08:43.880 --> 00:08:49.720 what it is then it's time to go wrestle with God and get an answer don't let go 100 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:55.160 of them or don't answer out loud are you a born again follower of the Lord Jesus 101 00:08:55.160 --> 00:09:00.760 Christ if you say yes then I that it's incumbent for me to ask what is the purpose 102 00:09:00.760 --> 00:09:07.720 of your life and if you cannot answer it's time for you to go wrestle and God will 103 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:13.420 give you the answer the Bible says in Galatians chapter 1 verse 15 but when it 104 00:09:13.420 --> 00:09:18.740 pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb this is Paul speaking and 105 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:26.980 called me through his grace why how come to reveal his son in me that's a 106 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:32.200 tremendous statement look at that verse look at all the pre-existing mechanisms 107 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:38.000 that have to be there but when it pleased God that is in some point in history 108 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:44.120 past who separated me from my mother's womb calls now an old man saying this God 109 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:49.040 had a plan back then and not only that it was God's call that he placed upon me 110 00:09:49.040 --> 00:09:55.120 through his grace to do what Paul to reveal his son in me God wants the world to 111 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:00.160 know that through my life Jesus is Lord and Savior that's true for every single one 112 00:10:00.160 --> 00:10:04.560 of us if you're a computer engineer or a contractor a stay-at-home dad or mom 113 00:10:04.560 --> 00:10:08.800 or a rocket scientist that doesn't matter do you understand God's got a 114 00:10:08.800 --> 00:10:14.240 purpose for your life and we need to get hungry and passionate to pursue him as 115 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:21.000 to what that is last service we had two awesome beautiful men of God in their 116 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:30.080 eighties U.S. Marines fought in Vietnam and they came to service I got to meet 117 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:37.320 them and it just led me to think about how God has a deployment for the 118 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:43.820 believer God's got a mission for the believer you you learn you read you pray you 119 00:10:43.820 --> 00:10:47.880 talk out to God he talks back into you and you say Lord here I am send me and 120 00:10:47.880 --> 00:10:54.040 God will commission you he'll deploy you and by the state of our nation God 121 00:10:54.040 --> 00:11:00.240 needs a lot of you to be deployed into this country this whole nation has 122 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:04.280 become a mission field now but I have to tell you there's a verse that 123 00:11:04.280 --> 00:11:09.000 somebody gave me I was a brand new Christian and they gave me this verse because 124 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:15.440 they had heard my story that I had been a survivor of an abortion in 1957 and 125 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.560 they heard me say that and they came and they said listen you need to look at 126 00:11:18.560 --> 00:11:23.040 this verse and I remember marketed in my Bible and keeping it for ever to 127 00:11:23.040 --> 00:11:28.680 this moment and it has served me well for these years and it's Jeremiah chapter 128 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:34.160 one verses four and five now I'm gonna ask you right now to wrestle with God as 129 00:11:34.160 --> 00:11:39.080 it were and grab this verse and tear it off the video screen and make it your 130 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:46.840 own right do this then the word of the Lord came to me Jeremiah saying behold 131 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:53.960 this is God speaking behold or before I formed you in the womb I knew you before 132 00:11:53.960 --> 00:12:00.040 you were born I sanctified you I ordained you a prophet to the nations that 133 00:12:00.040 --> 00:12:04.740 verses for every single human being not just Jeremiah are you hearing me you 134 00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:10.340 I don't know how God but don't talk to him like that don't don't define how he's 135 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:15.860 going to do it just say Lord this verse is in the Bible if you want to live that 136 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:23.140 verse out in my life here we go can you do that can you just be there and say 137 00:12:23.140 --> 00:12:29.220 Lord I'm asking you to do whatever that means in my life and God will go to work 138 00:12:30.020 --> 00:12:37.780 in your life a purpose called according to his purpose God's got purposes he's got 139 00:12:37.780 --> 00:12:42.980 an absolute plan that is charted in Ephesians chapter two verse 10 the Bible tells us that 140 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:50.340 we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared 141 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:56.500 beforehand that we should walk in them listen the good works come out of a life that 142 00:12:56.580 --> 00:13:02.500 is now under the control of Christ okay very very important these things that are for the 143 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:08.580 purposes of God bring God honor advance the gospel and bring reality and meaning to your life 144 00:13:10.180 --> 00:13:16.660 and then that word good all of these things to be worked out for the good the word in Greek for 145 00:13:16.660 --> 00:13:23.220 good is generous the ending listen everybody the ending is to be generous if you're Christian 146 00:13:23.380 --> 00:13:29.140 you and I are going through troubles we're going to go through more troubles don't worry don't 147 00:13:29.140 --> 00:13:33.620 be afraid of that in fact as a Christian the more you learn about how God brings you and I through 148 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:42.980 troubles the more you look for God ordained trouble it's a good thing difficulties draws close 149 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:49.140 to God and it's then that moment we see the power of God I've noticed that people who criticize 150 00:13:49.140 --> 00:13:53.540 Christianity and claim to be Christians and they think it's boring or people who've never gotten 151 00:13:53.540 --> 00:14:01.940 off the couch they've never made themselves available to him but he's got a generous plan and 152 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:09.780 it's good it's generous kindly the word means only that which is a good thing even in your 153 00:14:09.780 --> 00:14:15.300 marriage that might be breaking up or that note from that physician or maybe that grade you 154 00:14:15.300 --> 00:14:19.860 thought you're going to get into Stanford thank God you didn't you wound up not getting in by the 155 00:14:19.860 --> 00:14:26.180 grace of God to protect your life only thing worse than that would have been Harvard 156 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:38.660 but the exact same reality of God's purposes you and I love to read about them and know about them 157 00:14:39.540 --> 00:14:45.060 so what do you mean how about this God's purposes you think God had a purpose for Noah 158 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:50.820 you would never doubt that but did you know that Noah is no different than you and I see do you 159 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:55.700 believe that the Bible says that all of us that there's there's no one greater than the other that 160 00:14:55.700 --> 00:15:02.260 we are all just like Elijah we have the same passions that the great prophet Elijah had 161 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:09.220 the Bible says that God doesn't esteem one man higher than the other that means we all come to 162 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:16.180 the foot of the cross level I love that by the way that's the message that needs to be shouted 163 00:15:16.180 --> 00:15:22.660 across this nation right now to to shut up this talk about racism and division no come to the 164 00:15:22.660 --> 00:15:28.580 foot of the cross there's no color at the foot of the cross if there is it's red it's the blood 165 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:35.700 of Christ because all of sin come short of the glory of God we all come it's nobody better than 166 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:49.780 the other lesser than the other and so think about Noah I wrote down Job Job by the way you know 167 00:15:49.780 --> 00:15:54.740 all of us that sometimes we'll have Job moments in our life that's why God put the book of Job 168 00:15:54.740 --> 00:16:04.660 in the Bible Joseph what about David and what about Peter I thought about Luther the great reformer 169 00:16:04.660 --> 00:16:10.180 Luther George Woodfield one of my heroes love George Woodfield read everything I can about George 170 00:16:10.180 --> 00:16:19.060 Woodfield Charles Spurgeon a big fan of my my my a guy that I just think the world of I'd love 171 00:16:19.060 --> 00:16:24.180 you to read about him to to find out who he really is a Samuel Adams not not the beer guy 172 00:16:27.060 --> 00:16:35.940 by the way that was his dad Samuel Adams was a moped brewer Samuel Adams junior was an incredible 173 00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:42.260 lover of God profound insights into the word of God he just happened to be not only one of our 174 00:16:42.260 --> 00:16:47.540 founding fathers but the Bible where I should say our nation's history tells us that without 175 00:16:47.540 --> 00:16:52.660 Samuel Adams there never would have been a revolution at all because he understood that liberty 176 00:16:52.660 --> 00:17:00.580 came from God and could not be taken away from man what about Billy Graham the God of a purpose for 177 00:17:00.580 --> 00:17:06.500 Billy Graham by the way did you know that Billy Graham found his purpose not far from here in the 178 00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:11.540 San Bernardino Mountains Billy Graham took a midnight walk not knowing what he should do if he 179 00:17:11.540 --> 00:17:19.220 should quit ministry as a young man or not and God spoke to him just miles in the southern 180 00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:24.500 California mountains and God told him that you're going to be an evangelist and you have the 181 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:30.740 gifted evangelism and go do it and he said from that moment on his life was never the same wow 182 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:37.940 I think a Chuck Smith who wanted to be a medical doctor and God said you can be a medical doctor 183 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:45.380 or I can call you to be a doctor of the souls of men and Chuck Smith said I'll go with the souls of 184 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:55.540 men what about Dr. Ed Hainson what about Charles Stanley and those are the guys that have passed 185 00:17:55.540 --> 00:18:00.180 on I didn't want Chuck Swindall or David Jeremiah to think I thought they were dead but I threw 186 00:18:00.180 --> 00:18:08.340 them in the group of all the dead guys Chuck Swindall David Jeremiah what about us what about you 187 00:18:10.020 --> 00:18:16.580 God wants to use us write this down if you would first Corinthians 3 verse 21 this is a cool 188 00:18:16.580 --> 00:18:22.020 statement don't boast in men meaning men cannot give you anything that is going to translate into 189 00:18:22.020 --> 00:18:27.060 what God can give you all things are yours in Christ that's that's what that means and it's 190 00:18:27.060 --> 00:18:34.020 going to say it here in a moment whether Paul or Apollo or Seifas in other words you know we're 191 00:18:34.020 --> 00:18:41.300 apostles but don't listen to us or the world or life or death or things present or things to come 192 00:18:41.300 --> 00:18:48.660 all are yours and you are Christ and Christ is God what a beautiful statement that is second 193 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:55.860 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 14 the Bible tells us knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will 194 00:18:55.860 --> 00:19:04.500 also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you for all things are for your sakes 195 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:06.980 the purpose of God in your life 196 00:19:11.780 --> 00:19:17.700 this Jack Hibbs podcast as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities are listener supported 197 00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:24.900 will you consider partnering with us through a special gift go to jackhibbs.com to learn more 198 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:26.900 and stay connected