WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.760 Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim 2 00:00:05.760 --> 00:00:11.440 truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. Our fathers gave us this nation 3 00:00:11.440 --> 00:00:16.400 and we have failed to keep it. We cannot blame anybody. For the condition our 4 00:00:16.400 --> 00:00:21.000 nation is in right now but ourselves. We cannot blame anyone. Well you know if 5 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:25.000 somebody would get controlled with a border. Listen stop that. Well what about 6 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:30.200 spending. It's out of control. What about the national debt? That's on us. God 7 00:00:30.200 --> 00:00:34.600 says I'm looking for one man to intercede on behalf of a nation and there's 8 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:40.600 more than one of us here today but it's not over. 9 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:47.600 You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to Jack Hibbs.com slash podcast. 10 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:52.680 Today if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled 11 00:00:52.680 --> 00:00:57.480 life in Christ then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us 12 00:00:57.480 --> 00:01:02.680 that's like saying amen or yes then that rating will encourage others to 13 00:01:02.680 --> 00:01:09.680 listen. Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. 14 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:13.880 You and I have the wealth and the freedom and the liberty to gather together 15 00:01:13.880 --> 00:01:20.080 today safe and free but we scarcely remember how it came about against all odds. 16 00:01:20.080 --> 00:01:28.080 The greatest power on earth put us in her sights. And how in the world does 17 00:01:28.080 --> 00:01:33.080 General George Washington lose most battles fought and winds up winning the 18 00:01:33.080 --> 00:01:38.080 war but by the hand of God. Jesus Christ gave us liberty by going to the cross 19 00:01:38.080 --> 00:01:43.080 and there thank God dying once. He rose again from the grave to give us eternal 20 00:01:43.080 --> 00:01:46.880 life and the Bible says for God so loved the world that he gave us only be 21 00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:50.480 God and son. That whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have 22 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:56.480 everlasting life. Liberty was bought by Jesus. Freedom's in the heart of a human. 23 00:01:56.480 --> 00:02:02.480 God placed it there but in a fallen world freedom and liberty is on the other 24 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:10.480 side of war and our founding fathers knew that and our pilgrim fathers knew that. 25 00:02:10.480 --> 00:02:14.880 But we're talking about memorials today. When I talk about the meaning of a memorial 26 00:02:14.880 --> 00:02:20.480 this is what I mean by that by noticing and reckoning the importance of what 27 00:02:20.480 --> 00:02:26.480 happened in history. Memorial. Things have happened in your life. Every single 28 00:02:26.480 --> 00:02:31.980 one of us have a memorial some of them are dark and gray and dented and broken 29 00:02:31.980 --> 00:02:38.280 and strange looking almost rusted and we'd rather not go there. Those are 30 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:46.880 memorials that are tombstones to us and I get that. We all have those. Then 31 00:02:46.880 --> 00:02:49.680 there's memorials where there's been opportunity in your life and things have 32 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:56.280 happened in your life and God has done something in your life. There's memorials 33 00:02:56.280 --> 00:03:00.280 believe it or not. I I would argue with you today that's happening in your life 34 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:06.280 right now but you're not recognizing them. That's happened to me many times 35 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.680 and it's happening to you and it will happen to you and it will continue to 36 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:14.480 happen in my life and you might say well it's you know it's kind of heavy 37 00:03:14.480 --> 00:03:20.880 stuff well let me show you how heavy heavy heavy can look. So I want to show you 38 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:27.880 some photos here. So you guys this is the city's symbol Chino Hills. That is an 39 00:03:27.880 --> 00:03:32.080 ancient oak tree it's considered to be the oldest oak tree throughout Chino Hills 40 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:36.780 and Chino Hills State Park. I can walk to it very briefly from my house. I've 41 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:42.080 taken many men from this church up there. I live in a 1500 square foot house so 42 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:47.280 it's not big but it's not small. My entire home will fit underneath that house. 43 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:54.580 I mean that tree or that tree house. But listen let me tell you why that is a 44 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:58.380 memorial to us and we were blessed because you know we were here before it was a 45 00:03:58.380 --> 00:04:05.380 city and we didn't we didn't petition the city to make it our motto or our 46 00:04:05.380 --> 00:04:10.180 city emblem. I was just happy to find out that they did but the fact of the 47 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:16.380 matter is that when Lisa and I moved out here we had two little kids Rebecca 48 00:04:16.380 --> 00:04:23.580 and Ashley and when we moved from Costa Mesa that was on a Saturday and for the 49 00:04:23.580 --> 00:04:28.180 first time we woke up in Chino Hills and I live just about two miles from here 50 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:32.580 just as the crow flies straight toward the hills and when we woke up on that 51 00:04:32.580 --> 00:04:41.180 Sunday morning we thought we had woken up in in hell. Why? Because I had never in 52 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:47.980 my life. I was born in San Diego, lived close enough to the ocean and O.C. I had 53 00:04:47.980 --> 00:04:54.580 grown accustomed to the smell of saltwater. When you leave saltwater air and you move 54 00:04:54.580 --> 00:05:04.780 out here to the smell of what the dairymen call money. I call it stink. We thought 55 00:05:04.780 --> 00:05:09.580 that we had fallen off the end of the planet and I got to tell you Lisa and I we 56 00:05:09.580 --> 00:05:13.980 didn't know what in the world is God doing. We had no vision. We had no 57 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:20.080 manifestation from God. We heard no voice resounding move to Chino Hills. 58 00:05:20.080 --> 00:05:25.080 Technically Chino Hills didn't even exist yet. This is county land and it had no 59 00:05:25.080 --> 00:05:29.980 name. But you know what Lisa and I picked up our two little girls and walked up 60 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:34.400 this hill and there was no patent drive in those days. We walked up and stood 61 00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:41.000 underneath that tree and see how clear it was the day that we took that picture. We 62 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:44.320 stood there and we stretched out our hands. Church family listened. We didn't know 63 00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:50.040 what we were doing. We had no intel. We had no secret insights but for whatever 64 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:55.320 reasons we lifted up our hands. We were holding our daughters. We had them lift up 65 00:05:55.320 --> 00:06:01.600 their hands. We didn't know what we were doing and we said something nuts. We 66 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:06.480 said, God, if you want to deliver this valley into your hands, Lord, here we are 67 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.760 send us and if you want to take the word out beyond those mountains, here we are 68 00:06:10.760 --> 00:06:15.160 send us. We don't even know why we said it. Lisa's here. You can ask her 69 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:20.680 later. So don't believe you. Ask her. We didn't know what was going on. We 70 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:25.260 didn't get emotional about it that day like I am right now. Went back to the 71 00:06:25.260 --> 00:06:30.220 house and we started to make a home out of it. In over some years we were 72 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:42.520 lonely and looking for Christians in this part of the nation and God took a 73 00:06:42.520 --> 00:06:47.240 Bible study of three couples and he just started adding people to it and 74 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:51.600 adding people to it and it started growing and started growing and I had my 75 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:56.680 career at Baxter, health care and biomedical engineering. I was having a great 76 00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:03.360 time by the way. Sometimes I still miss that job. I had an awesome job. I was 77 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:10.640 going to retire from that job and God had another plan but it didn't come. The 78 00:07:10.640 --> 00:07:16.100 answer didn't come so easy. It's painful and as it goes along the home the 79 00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:19.080 Bible studies grow and I told Pastor Chuck Smith. I said you got to get a 80 00:07:19.080 --> 00:07:25.400 pastor. It's at a control. I've got my job. It's taken up too much of the we've 81 00:07:25.400 --> 00:07:29.800 got like five houses now involved on a Sunday morning with various 82 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:36.280 ministries at various homes and Lisa our bedroom is an archery for real and 83 00:07:36.440 --> 00:07:42.160 Chuck you got to do something and Pastor Chuck just stood up and he put his hand 84 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:45.840 on my shoulder and he said Lord bless what's happening in Chino Hills and he 85 00:07:45.840 --> 00:07:52.160 walked out of his office and I sat there waiting and his secretary stuck his 86 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:54.880 sucker head on the door and she said kind of help you and I said I'm just waiting 87 00:07:54.880 --> 00:08:03.560 for Chuck to come back and she said he went home and two weeks later I got my 88 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:08.660 ordination certificate from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and I don't even know 89 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:14.840 what happened. We've never known what we've been doing here. God has done it all 90 00:08:14.840 --> 00:08:21.400 along the way and the calling the calling that God gives. 91 00:08:21.400 --> 00:08:35.160 The calling that God gives means that he gives the resources and he gives the 92 00:08:35.160 --> 00:08:40.040 power and he makes the ways the waymaker you know and in each and every one of 93 00:08:40.040 --> 00:08:44.840 our lives God has established you as a believer to be a memorial. I'm not talking 94 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:50.600 about some old crusty stone memorial. There are places for those but I'm talking 95 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:56.200 about what Paul spoke to us about about being living sacrifices to God. Day in 96 00:08:56.200 --> 00:09:02.000 and day out and listen God help us if we lose sight of that vision. We can't 97 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:07.000 lose sight of that. People have tried over the years to try to make this a 98 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:10.640 normal church, try to make this a normal Calvary Chapel, try to make this a 99 00:09:10.640 --> 00:09:16.520 normal gathering. I thank God that listen. He has interrupted and he has turned 100 00:09:16.520 --> 00:09:24.400 over tables and he continues to do that this day and we're happy about that. But 101 00:09:24.400 --> 00:09:30.160 my heart goes out to our nation. We're too big to be defeated by any power on 102 00:09:30.160 --> 00:09:41.120 earth. Still to this day. We're flanked by two great protective oceans. We have 103 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:48.440 neighbors to the north and neighbors to the south that we have ensured would be 104 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:55.280 there in the time of need. And now I look at our country and my heart breaks 105 00:09:55.280 --> 00:09:59.600 because I don't recognize much of my nation that I've learned to study in 106 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:03.800 school that I grew up in and what I see on the horizon for my kids and my 107 00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:13.240 grandkids. How do we get here? I honestly lay blame at the foot of the pulpit and 108 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:20.000 then the congregation of churches that failed to speak up. Our fathers gave us 109 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:26.400 this nation and we have failed to keep it. We cannot blame anybody for the 110 00:10:26.400 --> 00:10:31.240 condition our nation is in right now but ourselves. We cannot blame anyone. Well 111 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.040 you know if somebody would get control of the border listen stop that. Well 112 00:10:35.040 --> 00:10:40.640 what about spending? It's out of control. What about the national debt? That's on us. 113 00:10:40.640 --> 00:10:47.040 God says I'm looking for one man to intercede on behalf of a nation and there's 114 00:10:47.040 --> 00:10:54.600 more than one of us here today but it's not over. I forget who said it long time 115 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:58.680 ago. I love it. It's not over to the fat angel sings. Isn't that a great song? I 116 00:10:58.680 --> 00:11:08.680 love that statement. Can you imagine getting heaven and there's a fat angel and 117 00:11:08.680 --> 00:11:20.400 that's the one. There you are. But the meaning of a memorial prompts us to ask the 118 00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:27.680 question what happened here? Why should this ground be dedicated? Joshua was 119 00:11:27.680 --> 00:11:35.720 getting ready to take on the enemy and on the morning of the battle early. Joshua 120 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:41.920 sees this soldier listen up everybody. This is a this is a freak you out. Joshua sees 121 00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:47.480 somebody in the distance and it's a soldier and he's alone and Joshua general 122 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:53.560 Joshua commando is really commando Joshua in your Bible says approach is him. Can 123 00:11:53.560 --> 00:12:01.760 you imagine and says are you for us? For the enemy and the voice came back out of the 124 00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:07.880 darkness and said I am captain of the Lord's hosts. You know what that means by the way 125 00:12:07.880 --> 00:12:14.320 if you don't know. I am captain of the Lord's armies of heaven and the Bible says that 126 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:21.120 that Joshua took off his sandals and bowed down. The Bible tells us that that's manifestation 127 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:26.360 what is known as the Christophanes a pre incarnate appearance of Christ before Bethlehem 128 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:31.040 led them into battle. It doesn't matter how equipped you are. It doesn't matter how 129 00:12:31.040 --> 00:12:35.560 smart and pretty you are. It doesn't matter how savvy you are is God doing what he's 130 00:12:35.560 --> 00:12:44.640 doing in your life. God has called you to various areas of life. It's the beauty of God. 131 00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:51.800 Each of us talented and gifted in different areas. God made no mistake in that. Couple 132 00:12:51.800 --> 00:12:58.600 weeks ago there was I mentioned this in passing but there was a world famous musician that 133 00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:12.040 was here seeking God. There was an actress from Hollywood seeking God. What's going on? 134 00:13:12.040 --> 00:13:16.040 You see the talents that you have. They don't bring you satisfaction because they were 135 00:13:16.040 --> 00:13:22.720 given to you to give glory to God. That's when you rejoice is like this nation is his. 136 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:27.120 And I know this drives educators crazy today. Someone's going to tell me have you ever heard 137 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:33.800 of a separation of church and state? No. Where did you hear it from? CNN. Where did 138 00:13:33.800 --> 00:13:44.720 you get that from? It's in the First Amendment. Show me the First Amendment. You think there's 139 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:52.000 something on this planet that's separated from God? I agree with Benjamin Franklin. God 140 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:58.160 governs in the affairs of men. God knows. But what happened in this spot? We need to ask 141 00:13:58.160 --> 00:14:05.080 that question. For us in one of our memorials, it's that oak tree. We believe that God 142 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:12.120 is answering our prayer. Request still to this day. Today's a monument of that. But what 143 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:21.120 about you? I know this sounds kind of corny but not to us. My grandkids know about a monument. 144 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:28.640 I'm a memorial. If you go down Pacific Coast Highway South on PCH just pass Beach Boulevard. 145 00:14:28.640 --> 00:14:34.280 You keep going. You're going to go over the Santa Ana River. Just pass southbound, pass 146 00:14:34.280 --> 00:14:40.000 the Santa Ana River on Highway 101 or Highway 1. You're going to come to Orange Street. It's 147 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:43.720 the first stoplight in Newport Beach. If you hang a right in park your car and you walk 148 00:14:43.800 --> 00:14:52.280 out about 300, 500 feet, there's a volleyball net. Why do you tell us this? Because I'm going 149 00:14:52.280 --> 00:14:59.280 to tell you about a memorial. Why is that a memorial? Why do my grandkids know? When they drive 150 00:14:59.280 --> 00:15:06.080 down Coast Highway, why do my kids know? That's where mom and dad met right there. I know 151 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:09.760 as a pastor, I'd love to give you like this great thing about it. I was serving food to the 152 00:15:09.760 --> 00:15:19.000 starving in Malaysia and Lisa descended down in a parachute carrying bibles. No, she was 153 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:25.600 a cute blonde tan in a bikini. A born again Christian from the Anaheim First Baptist Church 154 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:30.080 and a friend of mine that was on my volleyball team playing volleyball in the middle of the 155 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:34.240 day. He said, Hey Jack, there's a Christian girl right there because I was really down on 156 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:38.400 Christian girls. I'd become a Christian and then I found out I don't think there's any 157 00:15:38.400 --> 00:15:44.880 Christian girls. He said, There's one. And I didn't let I didn't let her know by any 158 00:15:44.880 --> 00:15:52.440 means that I thought she was cute and all that stuff. But I'll tell you this, you know, I just 159 00:15:52.440 --> 00:16:00.600 thought why not just go for it. And when Lisa and I met and conversational in a matter of 160 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:06.680 minutes, our friends said, You know what? Come on over to the house tonight and we'll have 161 00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:14.520 some friends over. And so Lisa and I reconnected on that same day and why waste time, right? 162 00:16:14.520 --> 00:16:20.720 I just said, Hey, yeah, good to see you. How many, you know, when you get married, how 163 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:27.520 many kids do you want to have? She said, Well, first of all, I want to be a stay at home 164 00:16:27.520 --> 00:16:35.760 mom. And I said, I like that. Well, what about where would you want to live? And, you know, 165 00:16:35.760 --> 00:16:41.480 look, we're Californians. You got to live as near to the water as possible. And so I mean, 166 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.440 I'm telling you right now, again, if you don't believe me, she's sitting here somewhere. 167 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:48.920 She's probably getting elbows by people right now. And we just went through it. We knew 168 00:16:48.920 --> 00:16:55.560 everything with it by the by the time the hour was up. I should have asked her to marry her 169 00:16:55.560 --> 00:17:02.400 right then and there, but I waited a couple of months. But that was a memorial. Who in the 170 00:17:02.400 --> 00:17:07.840 world would have thought that the gathering of sand by a volleyball court on Orn Street, a new 171 00:17:07.840 --> 00:17:13.620 port would be something that would change the course of history in my life and in my grand 172 00:17:13.620 --> 00:17:21.520 kids' lives and in my children's lives. And it's from that meeting that we're friends and we're 173 00:17:21.520 --> 00:17:26.800 in the family of God together. Memorials don't underestimate them. They're happening every day, 174 00:17:26.800 --> 00:17:35.280 open your eyes to see them. God is good. And listen, his Holy Spirit is full of power. This life 175 00:17:35.280 --> 00:17:41.920 is hard enough to live. But God sends us His Spirit's power. Don't ever do your faith walk 176 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:48.840 with Jesus. I'm trying to avoid the word Christianity. It's just been so maligned. Don't try to 177 00:17:48.840 --> 00:17:56.520 follow Jesus on your own strength. It doesn't work. Let him take you every single. I don't care how big 178 00:17:56.520 --> 00:18:08.760 and runny you are. We need Jesus to carry us. Flat out, flat out true. This Jack Hibb's podcast, as 179 00:18:08.760 --> 00:18:14.400 well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities are listener supporting. Will you consider partnering 180 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:21.400 with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibb's.com to learn more and stay connected.