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 --> 00:00:09.140 truth, equip the saints, and impact our culture. 3 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:14.160 You've been creating the image of God and your value is infinite and Satan tries to 4 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:18.520 convince you that you should be somebody else and the world will transform you 5 00:00:18.520 --> 00:00:25.440 with drugs and with a knife. Jesus transforms you with love and forgiveness and 6 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:30.720 joy and peace and meaning and purpose, and it's available for anyone and 7 00:00:30.720 --> 00:00:33.680 everyone. 8 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:41.680 You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to Jackhibbs.com slash podcast. 9 00:00:41.680 --> 00:00:47.040 Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled 10 00:00:47.040 --> 00:00:51.080 life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. 11 00:00:51.160 --> 00:00:57.000 To us, that's like saying amen or yes, then that rating will encourage others to 12 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:02.840 listen. Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jackhibbs. 13 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:08.040 Three things that won't take long for us to knock off these three things right here right now, 14 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:13.720 and that is this. So give God your will by an act of violence, and you heard me right. 15 00:01:13.720 --> 00:01:17.880 By an act of violence, he's what do you mean? Well, this is what I don't mean. I don't mean 16 00:01:17.960 --> 00:01:22.440 rocks and bombs and swords and chills and war. That's not what I'm talking about in this sense. 17 00:01:22.440 --> 00:01:27.720 I'm talking about our spiritual relationship that you and I who are real followers of Jesus 18 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:34.920 understand that we are going to pursue Christ with all of our hearts because of his goodness for 19 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:40.280 us. And this is what he says, do not be conformed to this world. 20 00:01:41.080 --> 00:01:50.680 The Bible tells us that in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9, regarding conformity to this world, 21 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:58.360 we've got countermeasures, church, and we want to accept this with a violence as it were of faith. 22 00:01:58.360 --> 00:02:04.360 See, what do you mean by that? Where we stand up today, don't stand up. I'm just making this up. 23 00:02:04.440 --> 00:02:09.560 We stand up today and we say, that's it. I will to pursue Christ. 24 00:02:11.320 --> 00:02:15.800 It's what I'm going to do. And this is one of those things. 25 00:02:16.600 --> 00:02:22.680 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 9 and 10. But as it is written, I has not seen, 26 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:28.040 I'm talking about forever, eternity. I has not seen. Stop right there and ask yourself, 27 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:31.640 what have you seen in your life, whatever you've seen in your life? 28 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:40.280 It's nothing compared to what's coming. I'm talking about beautiful things. Nor ear heard. 29 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:47.960 What's the most wonderful thing you've ever heard is nothing in this world. Nor have it entered 30 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:53.320 into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Listen, church, 31 00:02:53.320 --> 00:02:58.440 do you love him? I mean, this is awesome. God has prepared things for us who love him. 32 00:02:59.640 --> 00:03:03.640 But here's the beautiful thing about this. We don't love him because he gives us stuff. 33 00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:06.040 We love him because of who he is. 34 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.840 We wake up to the realization that we love him because he first loved us. 35 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:22.120 Verse 10 says, but God. So this is amazing. We haven't seen, we haven't heard. It's not 36 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:27.960 entered into our hearts regarding the things that God has prepared for those who love him. But look 37 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:34.680 at the first 10. But God, we have an interruption. But God has revealed them to us, really, 38 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:42.200 through His Spirit, for the Spirit that is the Holy Spirit searches all things. Ye the deep 39 00:03:42.200 --> 00:03:47.800 things of God. Church family, listen, as you and I grove the grace and knowledge of Jesus, 40 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:51.800 I don't know how it's to tell you, but I'm pretty sure if you attend this church, you know it. 41 00:03:51.800 --> 00:04:02.600 How am I supposed to experience verse 9? As verse 10 says, I can. How does that happen? It happens 42 00:04:02.600 --> 00:04:10.200 like this. You find out what His will is and you allow your will to be assimilating His will. 43 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:15.160 And you do this by doing this. You've heard of Facebook, haven't you? This is it. 44 00:04:15.320 --> 00:04:27.080 Right here. Face in the book. Facebook. More of this in your face gets into your hearts. 45 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:36.280 And these God-given gifts of reality. God will give you, can I put it to you this way? He will 46 00:04:36.280 --> 00:04:43.720 flirt with you, glimpses, and words of heaven, words of eternity, words of forever. 47 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:49.400 And they'll hit you in a moment. You'll have a thought and it's like, oh my gosh, 48 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:55.800 or you'll see something and God will speak to you out of that site or out of that moment. 49 00:04:58.440 --> 00:05:02.600 But there's an amazing thing. And I love when that scripture says, ye the deep things of God, 50 00:05:03.320 --> 00:05:09.880 it means that God has the ability to illuminate or to do with things surgically. 51 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:16.600 We're talking about presenting ourselves in a sense that it would be violent to the body, 52 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:20.840 meaning my body wants to take it easy. My body wants to do what it wants to do. 53 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:27.320 But because I'm a new creation in Jesus, my new life says, hey, body, this is what we're going to go do. 54 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:33.960 And our body becomes the tool by which we present ourselves, the living sacrifice. Does that make sense? 55 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:41.240 You guys awake? Or did I kill you? Jesus put it this way. It's quite remarkable. You know it 56 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:49.160 very well. Matthew chapter 7, verse 13, Jesus says, enter by the narrow gate. This is violent. 57 00:05:50.520 --> 00:05:55.320 The flesh says, I don't want to enter in by no narrow gate. I don't want to enter in any way. 58 00:05:55.320 --> 00:06:02.600 I want to enter in. Jesus says, enter in by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is 59 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:08.600 the way that leads to destruction. That's hell. And there are many who go in by it. You know, 60 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:13.320 the vast majority of people, according to Jesus, are heading toward a crisis eternity. 61 00:06:15.400 --> 00:06:20.760 Why? Because they took their will and they yielded over to other gods and other pursuits. 62 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:28.120 And they presented themselves and living sacrifice to all kinds of pleasures and short lived 63 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:36.200 opportunities that have nothing to do with eternal life. And he goes on. He says, there are many 64 00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:41.480 who go in by it. Verse 14, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. 65 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:45.960 And there are a few who find it. You know what that is? That's the description of a disciple. 66 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:58.520 Lord, we would say, don't let me wander. Lord, look close into my life. Test me. Show me. Speak to me. 67 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:05.080 And he'll lead you. And he'll guide you. And then this is fun. The word here where it says, 68 00:07:05.880 --> 00:07:11.800 do not be conformed to this world. The word do not mean stop it. You want a fancy definition? 69 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:17.880 That's all there is. Stop it. It sounds like we talk to our kids. Stop that. God is saying, 70 00:07:17.880 --> 00:07:25.080 stop yielding yourself to this world. It's not going to go well. Stop it. And that word conformed. 71 00:07:26.280 --> 00:07:32.840 The word conformed. Look at its meaning. Press into. It's a very uncomfortable site that you'll 72 00:07:32.840 --> 00:07:39.800 see in your mind with this definition. Press into to be placed into something that does not fit 73 00:07:39.880 --> 00:07:48.200 nor is it designed to fit. The world wants to take you in your life. Now watch two things. Number one, 74 00:07:48.200 --> 00:07:55.560 if you're not a Christian, the spiritual dark world is constantly trying to pressure and put you 75 00:07:55.560 --> 00:08:03.560 into a mold that represents this world. And you will bear the image of this world. You will. 76 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:08.840 We all have. And by God's grace, many of us have gotten out of that. God broke the mold. 77 00:08:08.840 --> 00:08:15.800 No pun intended. And he brought us into a new life. The believer, listen, the believer, you and I 78 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:21.400 are constantly ministered to you by the Holy Spirit, warning us to stay clear of the conformity 79 00:08:21.400 --> 00:08:28.920 of the world. And one of the great, great movements in our modern age has you have been you and I 80 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:36.760 waken up to the reality that fear is a great power to conform, to have people conform. Fear, 81 00:08:36.760 --> 00:08:47.960 manipulation, name calling. And any way that causes you to pull away and to sequester yourself, 82 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:53.720 Satan loves it. And God says, stop it. Stop letting that happen. 83 00:08:54.200 --> 00:09:01.080 Because God has so much better for you. But that word to be pressed into, I don't know what 84 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:06.920 comes to your mind, but if you ever try to take like five pounds of meat and stuff it into a two 85 00:09:06.920 --> 00:09:15.640 pound bag, you see the picture? It's like some people, how do they get into those clothes? 86 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:23.640 I don't know how that happened. It should be studied. There should be research done on this. 87 00:09:23.640 --> 00:09:28.680 How did you do that? There's some things that just ought not to happen. 88 00:09:30.520 --> 00:09:35.080 But notice that the world is constantly, if you're not a Christian, see here's a deal, 89 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:40.520 if you're a Christian, you're full. And so the world tries to conform you. 90 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:46.680 We've got a great, great defense because we don't recognize it or remember it from the past. 91 00:09:46.680 --> 00:09:51.000 And there's no more room for it. And we push it out. That's awesome. But the world, listen, 92 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:56.040 if you're not a believer, you're wide open. And the world is constantly trying to shove its 93 00:09:56.040 --> 00:10:02.120 agenda down your life. More drugs, more drink, sleep with this person, sleep with that one, 94 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:08.920 sleep with them all and do some drugs on top of it. Dull yourself to all of this while the world 95 00:10:09.560 --> 00:10:17.160 puts its mold upon you. Are you hearing me? This is the world we live in. And if you live for that, 96 00:10:17.160 --> 00:10:21.800 you're going to be a slave and it's going to be miserable and it ends miserably. And if you yield 97 00:10:21.800 --> 00:10:27.880 your life to him as a living sacrifice, there's absolute freedom. Because number one, you're not being 98 00:10:27.880 --> 00:10:32.520 pulled by anything of this world. It doesn't mean we're not tempted. We talked about that on Wednesday 99 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:39.080 in the book of Hebrews. We are tempted, but it's not a sin to be tempted. It's a sin to get into 100 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:46.200 the temptation. Always remember that. The Bible says in 1 John, chapter 2, verse 15, 101 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:53.000 do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the 102 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:58.200 father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 103 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:04.680 eyes and the pride of life that those three things are key to all sin is not of the father but 104 00:11:04.680 --> 00:11:10.920 is of the world. And then James, if you guys can handle this, I'm going to read James for James. 105 00:11:10.920 --> 00:11:16.120 He's a tough nut. James, you're going to see James in heaven. I'm going to kind of be, 106 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:22.280 I'm going to kind of stay away from James. He scares me. James is the guy when you read his epistle. 107 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:30.760 James is the one that you can render this overview of the epistle to the book of James. James 108 00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:36.920 is saying this. You say that you have faith? Great. I'm moving into your house and I'm going to live 109 00:11:36.920 --> 00:11:42.040 with you for four weeks. I won't say a word. I'll just listen and watch everything that you do. 110 00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:48.280 And then at the end of four weeks, I will tell you if you are a Christian or not. That's the book 111 00:11:48.280 --> 00:11:55.720 of James. That's why it's one of the least red books in the New Testament. He says, 112 00:11:55.720 --> 00:12:02.680 where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that 113 00:12:02.680 --> 00:12:09.240 war in your members? Now, he's very blunt. I would have said that war in your body. He didn't say 114 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:16.200 your body. He said body parts. When your body part says, hey, this is what I want to do. 115 00:12:17.560 --> 00:12:26.680 James says, isn't there were wars originate from? Wars in your family, wars in relationships, 116 00:12:26.680 --> 00:12:32.760 wars among nations. Think of that. You lust and you do not have. You murder and covet and cannot 117 00:12:32.760 --> 00:12:38.520 obtain. You fight and you war yet. You do not have because you do not ask. That's an interesting 118 00:12:38.520 --> 00:12:43.240 statement. He's actually saying God knows what you need. You should ask him. 119 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:53.560 James is warning us of the personality that we can have that says, I don't want what I need. 120 00:12:54.200 --> 00:13:00.040 I want what I want. There's a big difference. Are you hearing me? Big difference. 121 00:13:00.920 --> 00:13:07.080 Verse 3, you ask and you do not receive because you ask him this. That's another funny one. 122 00:13:08.280 --> 00:13:14.520 Oh, God, please help me win the power ball this week. You've never prayed to him before, 123 00:13:14.520 --> 00:13:19.880 but all of a sudden, God is getting bombarded when there's $400 million to win. Everybody's praying. 124 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:27.880 James says, you're asking God to do something for you that he doesn't want you to have. 125 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:32.360 Have you ever done that? We've all done that. I mean, not power ball. I don't know. 126 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:38.120 I don't know. But something, oh, God, if you want me to do this or that, cause the sun to rise. 127 00:13:42.040 --> 00:13:46.600 And it doesn't happen because we're not asking rightly. Then you may spend it on your own 128 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:51.240 pleasures, adulterers and adulteresses. By the way, he means that spiritually, not that they're 129 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:55.720 out doing stuff. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 130 00:13:55.800 --> 00:14:00.440 Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 131 00:14:01.640 --> 00:14:04.360 And so we want to stop being conformed to the image of this world. 132 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:11.000 And then quickly this, absolutes. Verse 2 teaches us about absolutes. But be transformed by the 133 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:17.800 renewing of your mind. That's an absolute. Give God your will with an act or by an act of 134 00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:22.280 absolutes. The Bible here tells us that we can be transformed. I'm going to step on some 135 00:14:22.280 --> 00:14:28.520 tolls. I don't mean this to hurt you. I mean this to set you free if you only know. God says, 136 00:14:28.520 --> 00:14:37.800 I want to transform you. Every believer God is saying, the sanctifying work in your life, I do. 137 00:14:37.800 --> 00:14:45.160 God says by the Holy Spirit and it's a transformation of your life. The word transformed or transformation 138 00:14:45.160 --> 00:14:51.400 to be transformed, to be transfigured, to go through a transformation, becoming more and more like 139 00:14:51.400 --> 00:14:57.800 the original pattern or blueprint. Stop right there. This is the Greek definition. Metamorpho. 140 00:14:57.800 --> 00:15:03.960 You know the word Metamorphos. We live in a world right now where Satan has pulpits everywhere. 141 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:14.600 And what is his message? You can change who you are. Satan has hated the fact that you and I 142 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:20.280 have been creating the image of God since the Garden of Eden. He is jealous. He is angry and he 143 00:15:20.280 --> 00:15:28.200 can't stand you. And now all around the world we humans are being attacked by a satanic agenda 144 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:39.720 to disfigure, to destroy and to confuse the human. God's prime creation because you've 145 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:47.320 been creating the image of God and your value is infinite and Satan tries to convince you that you 146 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:54.040 should be somebody else. And the world will transform you with drugs and with a knife. 147 00:15:55.560 --> 00:16:03.560 Jesus transforms you with love and forgiveness and joy and peace and meaning and purpose and 148 00:16:03.560 --> 00:16:11.720 it's available for anyone and everyone. Church, this is a critical hour. Satan is lying wholesale 149 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:20.920 and our children and our friends are in the crosshairs of the enemy. You want to be transitioned? 150 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:26.520 Give your life to Christ. Oh, he'll transition you all right. He'll make your life so 151 00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:34.200 absolutely dynamic and filled with meaning because he loves you. These are absolutes. Absolutes 152 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:40.360 exist. I know it's contrary to our college campuses today. I love this. It's so it's so crazy. 153 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:44.840 We need to get back to the good old days of what is known as critical thinking. When a professor 154 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:51.800 says in a classroom, we do not believe in absolutes in this class. Excuse me sir. Isn't that 155 00:16:51.800 --> 00:16:57.800 an absolute statement? Oh, you can't dare say that because you'll embarrass them because they 156 00:16:57.800 --> 00:17:06.360 have nowhere to go with that one. Think about it. No, there's absolutes all right. God is an absolute 157 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:12.760 for one thing. Maybe for the only thing he is the one that matters. Transfigurator, you don't 158 00:17:12.760 --> 00:17:18.040 God wants to do in our lives. Listen, he gave us an example in Matthew chapter 17, verse two. I love 159 00:17:18.040 --> 00:17:23.160 this. Matthew chapter 17, verse two, a little bit of background. Jesus took Peter, James, and John 160 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:27.800 up to the top of what I believe is Mount Hermone. It says in the Bible that Jesus took them to 161 00:17:27.800 --> 00:17:35.160 exceedingly great and high mountain. There's only one. Mount Hermone, 9,000 feet. He takes them up 162 00:17:35.320 --> 00:17:41.240 there. The Bible says Jesus is praying. Peter, James, and John are some distance away. Jesus is 163 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:47.800 praying. The Bible says that a cloud of glory came down upon him and he was illuminated. He was 164 00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:54.920 white, brilliant like the sun, and Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke to him about his coming death. 165 00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:06.040 He was brilliant. And if you think about that, that's not abnormal for Jesus. That's the world 166 00:18:06.040 --> 00:18:11.640 he lived in. He came here for 33 into quarter years. He was inside a human body. Think of that. 167 00:18:12.520 --> 00:18:18.840 I always wonder in my cartoon mind, if Jesus was stretching up minus tip of his toes to reach 168 00:18:18.840 --> 00:18:24.200 an avocado or an orange to pull down, and he stretched his skin too far. It did like shoot out. 169 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:36.600 I'm kidding. Be happy you're not me. Inside, he's got his light. Of course, he was all human 170 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:45.000 yet without sin, but he was transfigured. There's a day coming when the one who transforms will 171 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:50.760 transform you and I. The Bible says in a moment and in a twinkly of an eye, but church, 172 00:18:50.760 --> 00:18:56.120 we want to make sure that our will is something that we make a firm and absolute 173 00:18:58.360 --> 00:19:04.600 decision upon because Proverbs 23 verse 7 says, for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. 174 00:19:06.120 --> 00:19:10.520 You will become like that which you think about the most. 175 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:17.640 Only you know the answer to this. What is it that occupies your mind? 176 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.120 That's who you are and that's what you will become. 177 00:19:23.560 --> 00:19:27.880 And so God's desires for all of us to present ourselves to Him and say, Lord, here I am. 178 00:19:28.840 --> 00:19:36.600 I'm all yours. I give you my body. I give you my mind. I give you my very spirit. 179 00:19:36.600 --> 00:19:42.200 My born again, the new me. And until I see you face to face, God, I pray that you 180 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:50.200 assemble me to live for you in harmony. That the body would have its right place. It is now 181 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:56.200 the subject by which I execute the will of God in my life. God says this in the Bible. 182 00:19:57.560 --> 00:20:02.360 I make a determination based upon my will. I will obey God. 183 00:20:07.080 --> 00:20:13.080 This Jack Hibbs podcast as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities are listener supported. 184 00:20:13.080 --> 00:20:20.840 Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay 185 00:20:20.840 --> 00:20:22.520 connected.