Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: Listen, God is saying to all of us, you'll never have deep character in the things of God without a consistent, dependable, ongoing, steadfast life.

David J: This is Real Life. 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.

Are you trying to make sense of a world that feels like it's spinning out of control? Do you see what's happening, but wonder what it actually means? In Happening Now, Pastor Jack Hibbs takes today's biggest headlines and brings them into focus through the truth of scripture. From global conflict to cultural confusion, nothing is off limits and nothing is without biblical clarity.

This isn't about fear. It's about understanding. It's about seeing the times we're living in through God's Word, not just the news cycle. Each episode equips you with truth, perspective, and confidence in what God has already declared. So instead of reacting to the world, you can respond with wisdom and faith. Watch the latest episode of Happening Now at JackHibbs.com. And don't forget, there's a whole library of previous episodes you can watch at any time. That's all at JackHibbs.com because when you understand the times, you can stand firm in the truth.

Guest (Male): On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called Disciplines of Life with a message titled "Disciplines of Dependability." As Christians, we really have to strive towards dependability. It's a spiritual discipline that helps believers to grow into something that others can depend upon. You see, this discipline is all about being consistent, learning to trust and obey God even when it's difficult.

Dependability, together with patience and humility, is what you've got to have to face life's obstacles with faith rather than giving up when things get tough. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that just as we love to depend on others, we need to remind ourselves to also be dependable. And sometimes doing the right thing may make us feel uncomfortable, but we've really got to keep a watchful eye on those things that can lead us back to our old selfish ways. Now with his message called "Disciplines of Dependability," here's Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: God says, "Jack, I didn't die for your personality. I died for your sins. I made you who you are because I like you." That's freaky weird, isn't it? The sin issue; He died for the sin issue. He thinks that you know how that stuff in your life that you're kind of quirky about, God thinks that's cool with you. It drives us nuts, but He likes that in you. It's absolutely amazing.

Number five: Fellowship with those that are stronger than you in the faith. You always want to hang out with people that are going to challenge your walk. Don't hang out with people that don't challenge your walk. That's a serious thing. Pick your friends prayerfully. Very important.

Next one: Do this faithfully. Do it faithfully. Number seven: Guard your heart with all diligence, as the scripture says. Watch out; your heart is like a ginormous backstop, and it catches things. You need to maintain your heart. Number eight: Find a quiet place to listen to God every day. I'm not joking about this. Find a quiet place to listen to God. He will bless your life.

Number nine: Learn to meditate in His word. Talk—this is my form of meditation. This is what I mean by that. This is personal; maybe this doesn't work for you. I'll just do Bible roulette here for a second. There was a space in front of the gate chambers one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side. Now wait a minute, the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. I know what that's about. That's about God assembling the tabernacle in the wilderness, which would eventually lead to the building of the temple because the temple was built after the model of the tabernacle.

But I know something about the tabernacle: it was built after the model which is the accurate one, which is in heaven above. So Lord, this verse right here, I pray that my life would be patterned after the Master's life, Jesus. That every step I take, every direction I move, everything I see, everything I go, that You'd give me discerning eyes, discerning hands and feet. God, that I would walk in the spirit, walk in the power, that I would not fulfill the lust of my flesh. And Lord God, that You would just do that in my life until I am in Your heavenly temple forever with You. In Jesus' name, amen. That's meditating on His word. You pray the scripture into your life.

Number ten: Pray into your heart what He's teaching you day by day. Did you get a flat tire today? Lord, what's with the flat tire? Talk to me about it. Something's going on. Was it that the AAA man needed to hear about Jesus? What went on in your life today that to you was a setback? Personally, those interruptions that I don't really like, I find out later—sometimes I miss them completely, and the Lord taps me on the shoulder and says, "I was in that thing, Jack, and you missed it." You made that wrong turn and you went over there in that thing, and then right there, I was in that. I was in the wrong turn. Very important.

Number two: Exercise our new body. This is kind of fun. I've got to go through this one quickly, but this is kind of fun. You say, "What do you mean, our new body?" Well, this is going to take a stretch of faith. We can understand a new heart. We even see that in action. But our bodies are pretty amazing things. According to the Lord, they're perfect tools for what He wants to accomplish in this world, these bodies.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:24—this is heavy stuff—my body, the scripture says, is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. That is pure scripture. Paul says, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things," has control of his body. "Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run thus, not with uncertainty." He doesn't run like Forrest Gump. He knows where he's going. "Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air." Paul is saying, "In my Christianity, I look at it as a boxer." And a boxer's not going like he's a swimmer out of water. I'm not flailing here. I don't beat the air. He says, "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."

The spiritual aspects of our body. I think sometimes we're a little bit Gnostic in the way that we live our lives, and that's wrong. "Well, in heaven, it's all going to be good then, but right now, I'm just a rotten, stinking sinner, so oh well." That's terrible. The spirit leads our life, and so our body should be in obedience. How much of our physical being is in relation to our spirit being? I'm going to say 100%. You may disagree with that. I understand that. I'm not saying you have to believe this, but I personally, based upon 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the Bible says that may the Lord now sanctify you completely: body, soul, and spirit. We are a trichotomy. When I live as a Christian, I'm living for God in my body, soul, and spirit.

Soul is the word "psyche," where we get psychology. The head, my thoughts. That's one aspect. Another aspect is my new born-again state, the spirit. I'm alive. My life has been, as the scripture says, quickened by the Spirit of God, made alive. And my body is now the apparatus by which I execute the will of God for my life. You want to know how important it is to God? This is a pretty disgusting picture. 1 Corinthians 6:15: "Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For the two," says the scripture, "shall become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Flee sexual immorality."

Listen to this: "Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body." Sexual sin is different from all other types of sin. That's powerful, isn't it? And it's so—your body is such a spiritual machine for the work of God in this element, in this world, that the Bible says if you were to join yourself to someone outside of marriage, you're joining Christ to them. That's a horrible picture. It's supposed to be. That's why Paul used it.

Galatians 6:15: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks"—the word in Greek is "stigma"—"the stigma of the Lord Jesus." The word stigma here means scars, bruises, wounds, disfigurement. By the way, the word also means the recognition of ownership.

Paul had scars all over his body, and he could say, "You see this one?" I don't think I have a scar anywhere. I don't think I've even bruised my—I'm not even sure if I cut my finger before, but I'm such a wimp. I'm looking for something. I have a mosquito bite, maybe, right there, I'm not sure. Paul would say, "You see this one? I got that in Cappadocia when I got beat up there. And then this one? Oh yeah, you see these scars here in my cheek? That's where they beat me up when I was in that area of Turkey."

And his back—he pulled up his shirt. Oh my goodness, Paul's back must have been horrible to look at. He had been beaten so many times. Several times he received the Roman 39 lashes, which often killed people. Can you imagine his back? The scar tissue, the disfigurement of Paul? Paul says, "Oh yeah, you think, 'Who are you?' I'm Paul. 'Oh yeah, you big Christian man?' Well, I don't know about that, but I bear the stigma of Christ in my body. My faith's for real."

Can I give you ten things? I'll go fast, just write them down. Exercising our new body. Number one: Remind your body of its proper place. It ain't God, so stop treating it like God or a god. It's your body; it's a tool. Number two: Don't be so quick to obey its first impulses. It screams all the time. It's always yelling at you. Three: You will not die if you don't get that thing. Four: Take physical care of yourself for Him. He wants to use your body. You can't go around the world preaching the gospel if you're abusing your body.

Five: Enslave your body to the things of God. Enslave your body to the things of God. Six: Do that thing faithfully. Seven: Receive His virginity for your body. I should say receive His virginity for your body again. Are you single and you think you've blown it? You're not a virgin. Now you're saying you're a Christian; it's, "Oh my goodness, I'm wasted goods. I'm damaged goods." No, you're not. Listen, only Jesus lets you become a virgin again. Only Jesus lets you start over again. That's awesome. In body, soul, and spirit, you can start brand new again with your body. It's amazing, only through Jesus. Isn't that great?

Number nine: Expose yourself to godly environments. If Jesus delivered you from a life of drinking, then don't go to the bar to get a glass of water. Okay? If you have a hard time with pornography, do not use—what is it, the 60 freeway? Don't go there. Take the 10 or the 91. You have a problem with temper? Then don't watch extreme fight night stuff. Be wise. Ten: Keep a watchful eye out for snares, things that will trip you up. Snares.

Point number three: Ordering our new life. We need to order our new life. How do we do that? Personally, for me, this is the big deal. Ordering the new life as a Christian—this is the biggest thing in my life, personally. And it means this: the new structure of the born-again life. The discipline of dependability is creating now and ordering a new life.

I have so many scriptures that I can't read. Colossians 3:2-5, Romans 7:21 to chapter 8 verse 1—that's a great one. Galatians 6:5-8, about reaping and sowing in life. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 is regarding spiritual matters in the kingdom of God; be very, very extravagant with your devotion to God. And James 5:7-9: Be patient, establish your hearts. James ends in verse 9 by saying, "Do not complain against brothers and sisters."

By the way, did you know something? You're not going to want to hear this. But the more a Christian complains, it is proof positive of their distance from their walk with God. You cannot be a whiner, a grumbler, and a complainer and be near to the Lord. When you hear a Christian griping and grumbling about this thing and about that thing, it's because they've lost the picture of Him on His throne. And there's no fear of God in that when we gripe and complain. "I don't know why, and I have—and this thing, and I boy I tell you and it's and wow and that I'm saying you know what I mean and all that stuff." You're far from God. You're in the desert.

And so I have ten more things regarding this. It's important, our new life. Number one, wake up early! I wish I had a military outfit on right now. Wake up early! Make uncomfortable changes in your life. Get out of the comfort zone. The comfort zone will kill you. Three: No Bible, no prayer, then you don't get to eat any food. Every day, get up. If you don't read your Bible, if you don't pray, then you don't get to eat. "Are you crazy?" I am absolutely, totally right on.

Make a deal with God. God, I will not eat any food in the morning until I've read my Bible and prayed. And let me tell you something, you will read your Bible and you will pray because you want that Grand Slam. Four: Ask yourself, how will this affect my walk with God? "Hey, Jack, come on, you want to go to—" Wait, how will this affect my walk with God?

Five: Present yourself to Him for whatever He wants. That's Romans 12: "Lord, here I am." What's the next one? Do that thing faithfully. Did you notice that's in all three of those things? Seven: Establish yourself in righteousness. Do the right thing. Don't do the thing that you want to do. Remember the first impulse? Hey! Back off. Usually the thing that comes first is usually the wrong thing. Calm down, slow down, rethink it, pray, then watch what happens. Establish yourself in righteousness. Number eight: Obey what you know. If in doubt, obey the word. Nine: Trust Him for the outcome. Rest. And number ten: Thank Him in everything.

We'll end with this: Thank Him in everything. Probably the greatest sin in a family, in my opinion, when it comes to a somewhat normal family, is when a child is ungrateful. There's nothing you can do about it. Mom, dad, you know painfully, there's nothing you can do to make your child be grateful. And it comes right back to where we started. Young people today, I mean this with all love, you need to know what it's like to work hard, plod along. You need to know how to deal with defeat so you master that and you long for victory. You need to know what it's like to have to be dependent upon.

And isn't that now true? You say, "Yeah, Jack, you tell those young people." Listen, God is saying to all of us: You'll never have deep character in the things of God without a consistent, dependable, ongoing, steadfast life. And every one of us as believers tonight need to be embarked on a journey where people are dependent upon us. Church, did you hear me? This is vital. Look around your Christian life and ask yourself this question: In the family of God, who depends upon me? If you don't know, you must change that now. Pray and change that.

Father, we thank You for Your word. Lord, we ask in Jesus' name that You would make us incredible, awesome, faithful, dependable, steadfast Christians that love You above all things, that are fearless in our faith, no longer timid. But Lord, out front, being point men for the kingdom of God, to stand for righteousness, to expose injustice, to look around this world, to look around our lives and say, "Lord, here I am, send me." Father, bless them now, we pray. And all God's people said, amen.

Guest (Male): Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio and his message called "Disciplines of Dependability." Thanks for being with us today; we really appreciate you being here. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Disciplines of Life. It's a series that highlights the disciplines of a Christ follower and the high cost of sharing our faith with others. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.

So 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. 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.

What do you do when heaven feels silent, when you've prayed, believed, and still nothing changes, when it feels like God isn't answering? This month's featured resource is Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers? by Erwin Lutzer. It's a powerful biblical look at the questions we all wrestle with, offering real hope in the middle of disappointment and reminding us that God is still at work, even when we can't see it. Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers? by Dr. Erwin Lutzer is available for a gift of any amount at JackHibbs.com/realradio.

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. 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.