Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: Happiness comes from happenstance. I'm happy when things are going good. Of course you are. Everybody is. That's normal. You're unhappy when things are going rotten. Joy is independent of all that.

David J: Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David J, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's word, the Bible.

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David J: On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues with his series called Disciplines of Life and a message titled The Discipline of Domination. The Christian walk is full of disciplines—the trials, the setbacks, the hard seasons that God uses to shape our faith from the inside out.

And here we'll discover that every one of us is being controlled by something. And the question is, what is that something? You see, whether we believe it or not, someone or something is governing our lives right now. It might be a job, maybe a relationship, a habit, or our own emotions. But God wants us to be the one who dominates our hearts because He is good, and following Him is the best thing that can happen to us.

So today, Pastor Jack teaches that being dominated by Christ brings power, joy, and love that we could never find on our own. When we hand Jesus the key to every room in our lives, well, we finally start living for others just like He did. Now, with his message called The Discipline of Domination, here is pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: Pride gets us into trouble, all of us. And you know we all battle this. Have you ever seen a group picture? You know, we don't do this, but what if we moved the camera, like at the hockey game, around the sanctuary tonight? You'd go like this: "Is it coming by me? Is it coming by me? Where's it coming? There it is! There it is!" Right? Have you ever seen that happen? What is that? Pride. We're just so accustomed to it.

You get a group shot, and the first person you're looking for is you. "Oh man, I told them to take another picture." It's weird, man. We have to be careful because we've got to ward off the domination of the flesh. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life." Our hearts need to be guarded and protected.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Think about that. What I want, what we want as Christians is to not have our hearts burdened with the things of this world, but to be invested in the things of God. And you want your treasure in heaven. And that's vital. Refusing what we want for ourselves very quickly. Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of his flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Is that not true or what? You will someday reap a harvest. Every one of us is reaping today. Think about it. We reaped today dividends—a crop of what we've been investing in six months ago, or six years ago, or six hours ago. So think about that. How will your life look six weeks from now? Well, if that panics you, then change your course right now.

Point number two tonight is this: the discipline of domination is receiving the domination of the Spirit—the Holy Spirit. Receiving the domination, the rule, the jurisdiction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is who we need in this world. Church, more than ever, these are the last days. The world's gone nuts. The world's crazy. The Bible warns about us living in these days.

Hear me out. The scripture says that one of the great dangers of the last days, Jesus said that while the virgins waited for the bridegroom to come, some of those who were waiting, their oil ran out. Remember? They ran out of oil. And they said to the others, "Let us have oil. We'll buy oil from you." And they said, "No, no, lest we let you have our oil, we'll run out. Go to the store and buy."

And while they were gone, the Lord came. And those who had the oil in their lamps burning bright went into the marriage supper. And those who missed it, missed it. The Bible teaches us from Old Testament to New that oil is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Bible warns us in the last days there's going to be churches and Christians who have a form of godliness, that is on the surface they look like really good people, but the Bible warns that inside there's no Holy Spirit activity in them.

They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. That's a reference to the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit in these last days more than ever. Asking God, "Lord, fill me, baptize me afresh with the Holy Spirit." Romans 8:15 says, "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself"—that's the Holy Spirit—"bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."

Did you know that? Listen, that is such an amazing verse, Romans 8:16. If you don't know you're a Christian tonight, or you don't think you are, or you have no confidence that you're a Christian tonight, the reason why is because you're not a Christian. That's truth. Those who are Christians have a deep peace inside of them where the Spirit of God is saying to them, "You're my kid. I love you. Stand up, turn left, go right, back up," whatever.

He's leading us. And just that statement alone is so true, but it should tonight turn your cart over if you don't have that assurance. The Bible says these things have been written that you might know that you have eternal life. Do you know that tonight? You say, "Well, I don't believe you can know that." Well, the Bible says you're supposed to know it. "Well, how can I know it?"

The moment you say, "I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and Lord, I own my sins, I'm not going to make excuses for them anymore. And I come to you, Jesus, and I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Be the domination of my life." In that moment, the Holy Spirit takes your life, and you become a temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God.

And when that happens, it doesn't mean you're perfect. I tell you what, though, you want to be perfect. In an instant, when that conversion takes place, you want to be perfect, and your great struggle now begins with your flesh. The evidence is the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Proverbs 16:32 says, "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."

When the Holy Spirit is governing in your life, your attitude, your spirit, the real you is under the control of God. Listen to this. Galatians 5:16. Did I warn you that I was going to give you a lot of verses tonight? Well, I'm warning you now. Galatians 5:16. Here we go. Paul says, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit"—capital S, Holy Spirit. Walk in or with the Holy Spirit governing your life, being the dominating force of your life—"and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Mark it. Someone needs to hear this tonight. Are you an addict? Are you hooked on something? Grab that verse. Pray it until you get sick of saying it. Staple it on your forehead, I don't know, but write it on there. That is liberty, man. He goes on, verse 22, Galatians 5. "But the fruit of the Spirit"—this is very fun. Watch, the fruit, singular. It's singular in English and Greek. "The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love."

Interesting. Scholars will argue about this. I think it's very simple. Look at it on the screen. The Spirit, the fruit that's generated when the Spirit is dominant in your life is singular. What is it? Love. What comes forth from the love? Well, let's keep reading. Joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

You don't have to worry about the Ten Commandments when that's at work in your life, when the Spirit of God is at work. Look at verse 25. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Isn't that a great prayer? Lord, I want to live in the Spirit tonight, every day from this point on, and I want to live and I want to walk in the Spirit of God. Guess what, everybody? Guess what? It's this: God will answer that prayer, guaranteed. Guaranteed.

Receiving the domination of the Holy Spirit in your life, mark it down. The Holy Spirit is what Jesus wants for us. In John 14:16, Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, a Helper." Well, who's that? Watch this. "That He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you."

John 16:7. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away," Jesus said. "For if I do not go away, the Helper, the Comforter, will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." And guess what happened? That was on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came. And then look, the Holy Spirit is who we ask for. The Holy Spirit. Receiving the domination of the Holy Spirit in our lives, it begins this way: by asking for the Holy Spirit.

As a Christian, we want to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to be upon our lives. Luke chapter 11. You know this portion of scripture very well, but mark it. Luke 11:5 says, "And Jesus said to them, 'Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him"; and he will answer from within and say, "Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are in bed; I cannot rise and give to you"?'

'I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend'—it's like, 'Hey, it's late, you nut. Go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm not getting up because you're my friend.' Look what it says: 'Yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.' What's the point? 'So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives.'

Do you believe that, Church? And listen, everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 'If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?' The answer is no. 'Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?' No. 'Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion?' Sicko, weirdo. The answer is no.

'If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!' Ask! Point number three, and we'll wrap this up: rejoicing now in the domination of Christ over your life. Rejoice in the domination of Christ over your life. His domination equals power.

Will you mark that down? Is your Christianity marked by power? It should be. God doesn't have favorites. Your Christian life should be powerful. Powerful in holiness, powerful in your witness, powerful among decisions, that you're making the right decisions. Powerful about taking a stand against this tide of evil. Power.

In Acts chapter 1, verse 4 and 5, it says as they were assembled, this is before Jesus gave His great command, as they were assembled, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem. Imagine. We read in the opening verse, "You'll be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and you'll go out from Jerusalem." But wait, wait, wait. The verses before it says don't go anywhere. Don't go anywhere but wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, you have heard from me.

"For truly John baptized with water, John the Baptist, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." That was on the day of Pentecost that happened. The power of the Holy Spirit, it's the will of Christ Jesus. When He dominates your life, His power will begin to manifest itself in a way that it dominates you. And that's good news.

Also this quickly: His domination equals joy in our lives. Power—your Christianity should be marked by power and joy. I don't see too many joyful Christians these days. "How can I be joyful? I lost my home." I know that's a horrible thing. "How can I be joyful? I lost my job." How can I be... listen. You're confusing the word happy with joy.

Happiness comes from happenstance. I'm happy when things are going good. Of course you are. Everybody is. That's normal. You're unhappy when things are going rotten. Joy is independent of all that. Joy is a stable, unchanging presence that Christ brings in your life when He dominates you. Joy.

And you want to ask yourself this question: does Jesus Christ have access to those rooms in my life? The secret to joy in this world, my friend, is having Jesus Christ rule in your life. And here's where we end: His domination equals love. This is the best thing of all. You say, "How can you put the word domination and love together?"

Well, it all depends on who wants to dominate you or what. If there's a maniac in your life who wants to dominate you, that's horrible. If you have a government who wants to dominate you, that's tyranny. But if you have the God of heaven and earth who says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you." What are you going to do with that? Are you going to say, "I don't want that in my life"? What's wrong with you?

His domination equals love. The Christian is the most loved person on the planet. You say, "Well, that's not what I'm seeing in the news. That's not what I'm seeing in the courts. That's certainly not what I'm seeing in the classrooms." I understand that. Who cares? You think this whole thing's going to pan out in the end that it's some big popularity contest?

Is that how we're going to win this thing in the end? A PR campaign? I've read the book, all the way through, from Genesis to Revelation. Against all odds, we win. Against all the tides and trends of humanity, Madison Avenue, and the world, we win. Why? Because we have completely surrendered to the love of God that comes in Jesus, and it's good news.

Last verse, and we'll close up shop. It's John 13:34. "A new commandment," Jesus says, "I give you, that you love one another." Is this the first commandment before the ten, or is this the eleventh after the ten? This is the one and only. A new commandment, it trumps all the other ones. "I give it to you," He says, "that you love one another as I've loved you, that you also love one another. And by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

You can close your Bible. If we have love for one another, think of that for a minute. I wrote this down so I wouldn't blow it, because I wanted you to hear this. What if tonight, let's just do this tonight. What if tonight we commit to actually expressing love toward one another? You say, "Where are you going with this?" Just hang on.

I'm talking about being so loving on Jesus that you say tonight with me, agreeing in our hearts and heads right now: if I love God, and if Jesus is dominating my life, and if the Holy Spirit is controlling me, and I'm refusing my flesh from here on out, then starting tonight, I am going to start living for other people.

Just that concept. If I went to Hollywood and said, "I've got an idea for a movie. Totally forgetting about yourself and living for other people." They would go, "Oh my gosh, that's going to be a box office hit! People like that feel-warm-good thing kind of feeling. Let's do it!" Why? Why would Hollywood say, "That's radical"? You know why? Because no one's experiencing this. No one's enjoying this.

And Jesus said it from the beginning. That's what we have to do. So imagine tonight if right now, those of you who take this challenge, that you're going to start loving on people no matter how tall they are or how large they are, if they're black or white or whatever color in between, it doesn't matter. You're just going to do the Jesus thing. Do the Jesus thing. How cool would that be? It'd be incredibly obedient.

Father, we ask you right now in Jesus' name that right now we would make that decision, Father, as Christians to recklessly obey you. Surrendering tonight to those loving commands of yours while at the same time violently refusing to be complacent anymore, to be carnal. Saying tonight, "I don't want anything to do with a worthless life, a self-centered, dead-end life. I want to live for Jesus."

And maybe you're here tonight and you're saying, "I want Jesus Christ in my life. If this is true, Pastor, this is the life I want to live." Oh, it's true all right, but will you decide to follow Jesus? That's the question. Wherever you're at right now, you can say to Him, "Lord, receive my life now. Sins and all, I'm coming, God, and I'm asking you to change me, to forgive me, wash away my sins." If you want salvation, it's only through Jesus. He's the only one who died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the grave. Say yes to Him right now. We ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, amen.

David J: Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio and his message called The Discipline of Domination. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Disciplines of Life. It's a series on the disciplines that God builds into the Christian life: the trials, those setbacks, and the hard seasons that He uses to shape us as believers and to deepen our faith. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.

As you heard from our broadcast, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And if you'd like to know what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life personally, we would love to help you out with that. Go to jackhibbs.com/knowgod. That's K-N-O-W-god. And there you'll be guided through what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life and the freedom that you'll find in knowing God. Don't miss out. That's the Know God tab at jackhibbs.com.

Hey, thank you again so much for listening. And if you'd like to hear or see more of what we do here, you can always go to jackhibbs.com for all the latest on what's going on with this ministry. And please, if you're ever in the southern California area, come see us at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. We'd love to see you there in person. It has been so good to be with you today, and I pray you find yourself in the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. See you on the next episode.

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.