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 --> 00:00:11.560 truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. Can you imagine if everybody in 3 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:16.360 the church was a pastor? They'd all kill each other. Think about it. God is so 4 00:00:16.360 --> 00:00:20.620 brilliant. God the Holy Spirit regarding his church. He specifically places 5 00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:25.080 people in a local church that has a gift that they're to use in that body of 6 00:00:25.080 --> 00:00:30.580 believers that strengthens the whole. He's brilliant. You see why it's 7 00:00:30.580 --> 00:00:33.520 important for you to find out. For you to be able to write down with confidence. 8 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.480 That's my gift. 9 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:44.600 You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast. 10 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:50.000 Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled 11 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.840 life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us, 12 00:00:54.840 --> 00:01:00.420 that's like saying amen or yes. Then that rating will encourage others to listen. 13 00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:06.620 Now, open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. 14 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:11.020 Raise your hand if you are a follower of Jesus. If you love the Lord God, raise your 15 00:01:11.020 --> 00:01:18.020 hand. You are somewhere in Ephesians 2.19. You're in the household of God. And now 16 00:01:18.020 --> 00:01:20.760 look, if you brought somebody here today who is not a Christian, you were saying, 17 00:01:20.800 --> 00:01:25.640 I'm just hoping this is an evangelistic message today that my friend that I brought 18 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:30.000 will accept Jesus. Let me talk to your friend for a second. You're unbelieving 19 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:40.240 non-Christian friend. You're pagan pal. I want you. I want you friend to keep an eye on 20 00:01:40.240 --> 00:01:46.400 your Christian, your Christian friend. Non-believers keep an eye on those who 21 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:50.960 name the name of Jesus. Because out of their lives should be convincing 22 00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:56.680 evidence that they love you. Oh, I know they bother you. I know they say things to 23 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:02.000 you like, what you come to church? You want me to pray for you? You want to read 24 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.320 the Bible together? And they just drive you nuts. The reason why they drive you 25 00:02:06.320 --> 00:02:11.080 nuts is because they love you actually more than you love yourself. They're going 26 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:15.880 to heaven and they know you're nuts. But they want you to be with them there, even 27 00:02:15.880 --> 00:02:22.720 know you don't even care about it. And that is our great fault. We love you. We 28 00:02:22.720 --> 00:02:27.920 even love those who hate us. Go figure, that's impossible. And yet God does it in 29 00:02:27.920 --> 00:02:33.520 our lives. I can't explain it. Supernatural work of God where we love our enemies. 30 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:39.120 And that's the part of Jesus that's coming out of us to really love is to love 31 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:43.960 with the love of God, which is impossible, but the Holy Spirit. And he does that by 32 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:50.520 the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So that what we do can be even so to speak measured. 33 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:58.000 It can be felt. It can be known. Colossians chapter 1 verse 13 says that he has 34 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:02.880 delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us, transported us, 35 00:03:02.880 --> 00:03:08.120 transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love in whom we have 36 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:15.120 redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of sin. Say you can say amen to 37 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:24.560 that. Wow. Your sins, Christian, have been forgiven. That alone should be a 38 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:29.720 great accelerant to get you up and going. Now I want to make something really clear. 39 00:03:29.720 --> 00:03:34.360 I don't believe, and I thank God for the church I grew up in, never did pastor 40 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:39.240 Chuck Smith ever pressure us into doing anything. Chuck Smith believed that if you 41 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:43.640 taught the word of God, it would get inside people's lives and it would change 42 00:03:43.640 --> 00:03:49.840 them. And so there was never a, if you don't sign up to help the fire victims, 43 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:56.000 then you're a loser. There was never that. There was never any pressure to do 44 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.640 anything. You know why Pastor Chuck Smith was a big fan of telling you what God 45 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:07.280 has done for you. How about this? Maybe it's manifested this way. There's 46 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:10.480 churches who haven't learned that yet, so they have the thermometer for the 47 00:04:10.480 --> 00:04:16.400 for the building project. And I always, I have a hard time with that when I see 48 00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:22.160 that because they'll say, you know everybody we're 20% below our target for this 49 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:27.800 month. I'm so honored. My thought is who set that target? You're probably wrong. 50 00:04:27.840 --> 00:04:33.840 You should have lowered the target. So we're going to pass the plate again, 51 00:04:33.840 --> 00:04:41.800 everybody. What are you doing? You're causing people to be manipulated by 52 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:47.000 pressuring them to build the kingdom of God. Excuse me. If the kingdom of God 53 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:59.480 must be built by our support, we got the wrong God. I mean, come on. But I tell you 54 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:04.640 what God does build this kingdom using his people and he uses them by the gifts 55 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:08.440 of the Holy Spirit. God gets all the glory, all the credit. And I'm going to be 56 00:05:08.440 --> 00:05:12.560 honest with you using the gifts of the Holy Spirit active in your life as God 57 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:21.560 gives you one or maybe a couple is joyfully terrifying. It's like, I am not 58 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:25.280 adequate for this. And God says, that's right. You're not. Let's see how this goes. 59 00:05:25.280 --> 00:05:31.480 Oh, Lord, help me. That a boy. God, this is too much for me. Yes, it is. I 60 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:37.160 could never do that. No, you can't. Christian, I want you to embrace the world. 61 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:43.240 Listen, here it comes. I want you to embrace the world of being uncomfortable. 62 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:48.160 You're going to grow the most when you're uncomfortable. Why? Because once you 63 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:52.880 can manage uncomfortable, you can do anything. And the church should be 64 00:05:52.880 --> 00:05:58.920 uncomfortable in this world. We need to be uncomfortable. If we find ourselves 65 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:04.040 comfortable in this world, something's wrong. But God will bring us to that 66 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:07.440 moment where Jack, I'm going to do this. And I'm terrified. And you're 67 00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:11.640 terrified. And this will never work. And God says, you're exactly correct to all 68 00:06:11.640 --> 00:06:19.440 those things. But God. And so all of us need to make sure that when asked, what 69 00:06:19.440 --> 00:06:23.040 are you? What is your gift given to you by the Holy Spirit to strengthen and 70 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:27.040 build up the body of Christ? You ought to be able to answer them. My dear friends, 71 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:33.240 listen, if you don't know the answer, you must find the answer. This is your 72 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:38.120 pursuit in life after being born again is to find out from God, what is my 73 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:42.080 function? What's my purpose in the church? You remember last week I told you guys 74 00:06:42.080 --> 00:06:46.160 stop being little bees that go from church to church and think you've gone to 75 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:50.320 church? You ain't going to church until you find a church and get involved in 76 00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:54.440 that church. Yeah, but there's a church, you know, and there's no good churches in 77 00:06:54.440 --> 00:06:59.040 my area. So go to one that at least comes close to honoring the Word of God and 78 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:07.200 change it. Change it by being a godly witness. Let them throw you out. If they 79 00:07:07.200 --> 00:07:13.520 throw you out, open up the Bible and do a home group. But by all means, make 80 00:07:13.520 --> 00:07:19.480 sure that you are functioning in the living, breathing way. Very, very powerful. 81 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:24.800 And so church, as we look at this, we're talking about this love that God is 82 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:31.280 worthy of us giving to him. So give God your love. That's what he wants. And how 83 00:07:31.280 --> 00:07:37.000 do you make somebody? What can I say to somebody regarding that? You know, this is 84 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:44.080 impossible for me to say now. Listen up, everybody. Second service. Love God. I can 85 00:07:44.080 --> 00:07:49.400 incur. I can give you reasons why to love them, but I can't make you love God. It's a 86 00:07:49.400 --> 00:07:56.000 choice you make. And in that choice, we honor. Listen, we honor God by honoring one 87 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:00.200 another, frankly, and it says in verse four, for as we have many members in one 88 00:08:00.200 --> 00:08:05.400 body, but all the members do not have the same function. It means that a healthy 89 00:08:05.400 --> 00:08:10.040 church that's experiencing revival, the believers in that church, no matter how 90 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:14.840 small or how big they know their place and they function in the beautiful 91 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:20.440 apparatus of their calling. Listen, I'm a big fan of this. Hear me out. You say, well, 92 00:08:20.440 --> 00:08:23.240 I don't know I've been praying about it. I don't know. I don't feel I don't feel peace 93 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:28.680 about it. Pete, you want to feel peace about it? What do you mean peace about it? Evangelism 94 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:37.400 is terrifying. So what do you do? You get equipped to go try it. When God says, 95 00:08:37.400 --> 00:08:40.920 pray for that person right there. They're sick. Look at them. They're sick. And you're 96 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.960 at the store and God is prompting you are pray for them. They're sick. If you look 97 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:50.680 around for somebody, maybe I can find somebody to pray for that person. God is speaking 98 00:08:50.680 --> 00:08:56.680 to you. And he wants you to go minister to them. Is it terrifying? Absolutely. But when 99 00:08:56.680 --> 00:09:00.200 you step out of an obedience, guess what you're doing? You are exhibiting the love of 100 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:06.520 God and your love for God. Because listen, it's for him. And that communicates love 101 00:09:06.520 --> 00:09:12.440 to him. You'll do it for him. Why would I do that? Because you're forgiven. Because heaven is 102 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:19.880 your home. And in the short term, you and I are in this world to live out our lives to point 103 00:09:19.880 --> 00:09:25.080 as many men and women and boys and girls to the kingdom of God. Did I tell you last week regarding 104 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:31.480 this particular point about honoring God by honoring one another in the body of the believer is 105 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:38.360 BLM. Did I say BLM last week? Did I? If you missed it last week, I am a fan of BLM. Have you 106 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:44.200 ever heard of BLM? You mean the Bureau of Land Management? Not the government agency. BLM, 107 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:52.040 the acronym, Believers Lives Matter. You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you? 108 00:09:52.920 --> 00:09:57.080 By the way, I got in trouble in DC. I said, I said, this has nothing to do with Bible study. 109 00:09:58.040 --> 00:10:05.240 I said of the gathering. I said, if you've got to shout BLM, if you've got to say, listen, 110 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:10.600 if you're black and you have to say black lives matter, I said in this gathering of black pastors. 111 00:10:11.640 --> 00:10:18.200 I said, don't, I told all those pastors, don't let anybody do that to you again. Think about it. 112 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:29.480 If I say Portuguese lives matter, I'm not stupid. I know Portuguese lives matter. Does that make 113 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:38.600 sense? I don't have to have you tell me that. I know it. Don't degrade me. And the believer has 114 00:10:38.600 --> 00:10:46.840 been degraded in this world of ours. Believers lives matter. How have we been degraded or downgraded? 115 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:52.920 Much of it is because of us. We've either not stepped up and shown the love of God when we 116 00:10:52.920 --> 00:11:01.240 should have, or maybe we misrepresented God by some other means. The world, believe it or not, 117 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:07.080 is hurting to see a godly witness through all of us as we love on those in the fire zones. 118 00:11:08.280 --> 00:11:14.520 Are those on our street? Are the men behind us on the next avenue over who had a stroke and 119 00:11:14.520 --> 00:11:19.480 he's barely able to walk and you can get his mail for him every day? Do you know getting the 120 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:24.760 mail for your neighbor opens up a door of evangelism that Billy Graham couldn't have gotten? 121 00:11:26.760 --> 00:11:33.240 Because God wants to use you. And it's supposed to happen first here among the believers. We are 122 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:41.240 to be falling over one another to love one another. It says in verse 5, so we being many are one body 123 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:47.480 in Christ and individual members of one another. This is the unity of the body. This is the church. 124 00:11:50.760 --> 00:11:58.200 It's true. I'm not a handicap here in this church. These services at this church, multiple 125 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:04.600 services, and during the week, they're large services. So it feels like a herculean lift every 126 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:09.480 time and then God says, Jack, what are you doing? It's not, you're not lifting anything. I didn't 127 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:17.400 ask you to lift anything. I'm speaking to them. I will speak to my people. That's not my 128 00:12:17.400 --> 00:12:25.080 responsibility. My job is to give him, to give you his voice. This is his voice. What you do with 129 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:32.520 that is your business. But when he speaks, listen, this is a big church. Big church, big blessings, 130 00:12:32.520 --> 00:12:39.720 big impact, big church, big problems, big hardships. A lot of death happens here in a week. 131 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:48.440 Babies are born every week. People getting married, people dying. Are you hearing me? 132 00:12:49.800 --> 00:12:55.960 It's the church. Everything I just described to you happens in a church of 12 people over time. 133 00:12:55.960 --> 00:13:02.280 It's just in a big church. It happens all the time. So how do we ever catch up? 134 00:13:03.160 --> 00:13:08.120 There's only one way and that's for you and I to decide to exercise the gift of the Holy Spirit 135 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:13.480 that God has given you. And here's the amazing thing about God. He's so cool at what he does. He 136 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:20.920 doesn't give one church all one gift. That would be a freak show. Can you imagine if everybody in 137 00:13:20.920 --> 00:13:28.600 the church was a pastor? They'd all kill each other. What if everybody in the church was an evangelist? 138 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:35.480 Think about it. God is so brilliant. God, the Holy Spirit, regarding his church, he specifically 139 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:41.080 places people in a local church that has a gift that they're to use in that body of believers that 140 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:47.320 strengthens the whole. He's brilliant. You see why it's important for you to find out, for you 141 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:53.480 to be able to write down with confidence, that's my gift. Can I ask you this? I'm going to get 142 00:13:53.480 --> 00:14:02.920 some hate mail for this. I encourage you not to go online to fill out a questionnaire to find out 143 00:14:03.640 --> 00:14:11.320 what your gift of the Holy Spirit is. That's not only cheating, you're going to get the wrong answer. 144 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:17.960 God takes no shortcuts in an area, but for you to get on your knees and say, Lord, show me. 145 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:25.480 And when he shows you and you know it, no one will be able to stop you from doing it. 146 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:32.760 There could be a pack of wolves, a pride alliance. You can't back away from your calling because 147 00:14:32.760 --> 00:14:40.440 you know what you're supposed to do. There's no greater way to live. And serving one another 148 00:14:41.560 --> 00:14:48.760 is loving on God. And so I want to run through this. You might ask yourself, what does that look like? 149 00:14:49.560 --> 00:14:54.920 How do I practically love one another in this place? Look, you should first of all start out 150 00:14:55.560 --> 00:14:59.480 by getting people's names around you because I look at you other than the front row because you 151 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:03.960 guys are visiting from all over the world and all over the country. So you guys are off the hook. 152 00:15:04.760 --> 00:15:15.800 But you guys always sit right there. So do you guys. Do you guys do? You see what I'm saying? 153 00:15:15.800 --> 00:15:24.840 You know you do. You guys sit over there, always closest to the exit. I know. I know. I know. 154 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:29.080 I can see a lot from up here. I see this too. When I say something, the wife goes, listen. 155 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.960 I wish I had like a pastor camp. It'd be amazing. 156 00:15:36.920 --> 00:15:42.920 What does it look like when we're operating in our calling and we're gifted? 157 00:15:44.280 --> 00:15:50.520 Listen, God calls you into his family. He knows you. He invites you into his family. He knows. 158 00:15:50.520 --> 00:15:57.240 Listen, because God lives in the world of foreknowledge, all of the stuff about predestination and all of that, 159 00:15:59.800 --> 00:16:08.760 it's all based upon his foreknowledge. He knows you and he knows what gift you have and you're 160 00:16:08.760 --> 00:16:14.440 supposed to know it too. And he wants you to use it. And when you use it, listen. 161 00:16:15.400 --> 00:16:21.160 All of a sudden, the Bible stops being theoretical and it goes practical on you. 162 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:25.480 And when that happens in your life, you'll have a revival. 163 00:16:26.680 --> 00:16:32.040 Everybody around you could be dead as a door nail and you'll be flourishing 164 00:16:33.640 --> 00:16:39.000 with joy and exuberance and almost boundless energy. Why? Because you're in the lane you're supposed 165 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:48.600 to be in. And he supplies all that's needed. He calls you and then he equips you. Isn't that beautiful? 166 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.840 He's so good. So here's what it looks like. We're going to love one another. You've been hearing all 167 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:59.560 about that, but what does that look like? The Bible tells us in this verse of Galatians 6, brethren, 168 00:16:59.560 --> 00:17:05.000 if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are a spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of 169 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:10.680 gentleness, I should qualify this when a man is overtaken in the fall. If a man has sinned, if a 170 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:18.440 Christian brother has sinned his way out of fellowship, right? So he's fallen. Christian man, 171 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:23.080 Christian woman doesn't matter. Listen to me, they have sinned their way out of fellowship. They're 172 00:17:23.080 --> 00:17:27.160 not going to church anymore because they're spending too much time sleeping with bubbles. 173 00:17:28.040 --> 00:17:37.320 And they're sinning. You do not go to that guy and say, we want to restore you. Listen carefully. 174 00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:41.000 You don't knock on their door and say, hey, I know you're sleeping with bubbles, but come on back 175 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:46.680 to church. Did you know you can't do that? Did you know you're not? Listen, you'll sin by doing that. 176 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:51.640 What are you supposed to do? This statement presupposes something. 177 00:17:53.960 --> 00:18:03.800 Ech homolageo metanoia confess what God says about the sin and change your mind. 178 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:10.600 That's the person you restore. Are you hearing me? And so considering yourself, don't get arrogant 179 00:18:10.600 --> 00:18:15.960 about it, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the love Christ. 180 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:22.040 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, why aren't you something? He deceives himself 181 00:18:22.040 --> 00:18:29.480 verse four, but let each one examine his own work, your own life. And then he will have rejoicing 182 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:36.520 in himself alone and not in another. Verse five, for each one shall bear his own loads. I'm 183 00:18:36.520 --> 00:18:45.080 just saying my lane and to make sure that I love you. Very important. What about what does this love 184 00:18:45.080 --> 00:18:50.360 look like for God? It looks like this. Don't devour each other. Did you know that? The Bible says 185 00:18:50.360 --> 00:18:56.600 in Galatians 5 verse 14, we shouldn't devour one another. What do you mean devour? I think it's 186 00:18:56.600 --> 00:19:02.760 pretty graphic, devour. Like some Christians, I think they're Christians, not sure, they're like 187 00:19:02.760 --> 00:19:08.360 Pac-Man. Have you ever seen a Christian that says everything is criticizing everybody? 188 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:15.400 They're like termites. I don't know if you can live long as a Christian like that. 189 00:19:17.080 --> 00:19:21.400 You go to church on Sunday, but you criticize everybody six days a week. Something's wrong here. 190 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:29.160 The Bible says, listen, for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this. You shall love your 191 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:34.680 neighbor as yourself, but if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one 192 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:42.120 another. In Philippians 2 verse 3, that we are to care for one another or care I should say one 193 00:19:42.120 --> 00:19:48.920 another's burdens, burdens. What does that look like? Philippians 2, 3 says, let nothing be done 194 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:56.360 through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mine, in other words, other right view, 195 00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:06.120 let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own 196 00:20:06.120 --> 00:20:11.960 interest, but also for the interest of others. One of the great, great things about who we are 197 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:17.080 is that we're to love our neighbor. That's not only the neighbor sitting next to you right now. 198 00:20:17.080 --> 00:20:22.360 It's the neighbor that you live next door to. It's the neighbor that you come in contact with. You're 199 00:20:22.360 --> 00:20:29.080 to love your neighbor and the whole thing is this. Help carry the load. Find out, ask them. 200 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:34.600 What if they're not a believer? That's how they become believers. 201 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:45.320 This Jack Hibbs podcast as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities are listener supported. 202 00:20:45.320 --> 00:20:48.280 Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? 203 00:20:48.280 --> 00:20:54.680 Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected.