Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: It's getting tough. Jesus said it would. He said the days would wax worse and worse. That's what I'm experiencing and maybe you are too. It's getting difficult. And what keeps us going and fills us with hope is that we are redeemed. We are bought with a price. We're his. Look, we're not going to go anywhere. We just stay near him.

Announcer: 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.

Jack Hibbs: I'm very excited to promote this new book by Dr. Tim LaHaye, not only a mentor of mine but a precious friend, a man who encouraged me to write books. Dr. Tim LaHaye, he has written a book, *How to Study Bible Prophecy for Yourself*. And so I really would encourage you to get a copy of this book. He answers so many of our questions. For many of us who study the Bible, Bible prophecy naturally generates questions. And we might even feel kind of left out in a particular area. I bet with all of your knowledge of Bible prophecy, there's still a hole somewhere. And this book is going to help you as he walks you through how to study Bible prophecy for yourself.

Remember, Dr. Tim LaHaye is the one that brought you the remarkable *Left Behind* series among many other books. He is simple, he is foundational. You're not going to hear anything strange or odd. Tim LaHaye, *How to Study Bible Prophecy for Yourself*. That's *How to Study Bible Prophecy for Yourself* by Tim LaHaye. Get it for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.

Announcer: On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues with his series now called the book of Ephesians and a message titled "Our Great Redemption, Part 1". Ephesians is a letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus, showing every believer who they really are in Christ. And here Paul reminds us that we've been bought back, redeemed, and fully forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ.

You see, God didn't just make us and then leave us to wander through this life alone and without purpose. He brings us back when we're lost, ransomed us from sin and from death, and canceled every debt we've ever owed. It is the good news that saves us and sustains us. So today, Pastor Jack tells us that when we say Christ has redeemed us, what does that really mean? Well, it means that the Lord is deeply invested in our lives and he has no intention of letting us go. Even when we let him down or miss the mark, his love and forgiveness remain the same. Before we get into the message, I had a chance to sit down with Pastor Jack and talk about it with him. So let's get into that.

Guest (Male): Pastor Jack, in this message, we're going to get into what our redemption actually cost, right? Because here's the thing, forgiveness is never free. Somebody pays for it, right?

Jack Hibbs: Absolutely. And in fact, forgiveness is not only not free, it's not fair. It's not fair because the person that was sinned against is the one that's called upon to forgive the assailant. That's not fair. I sinned against God, and then he offers forgiveness if I come to him. That's not fair. I'm glad the God of the Bible is not fair. If God were fair, we'd all be winding up in H-E-double-hockey-sticks.

He's not fair. He's just and holy. Fairness has nothing to do with it. He's completely pure. Fairness is not his purity. His atoning, just, sacrificial love for us is how he does that. And it cost him. Salvation's free to us only because it cost God everything he had. And what he had was the life of his own dear son.

The good thing is it was only for the weekend because people will say the God of the Bible doesn't endorse human sacrifice. You are correct. Jesus was not just a human dying on the cross. Jesus was God the Son dying on the cross. But remember this, only his body died. The spirit and the soul of the manifest person of Jesus Christ in human flesh, that lives forever. And so is it true for all of us. Your spirit, your soul lives forever. The question is, where will you be living? Will it be in hell or will it be in heaven? That's why Jesus came so that it would not be hell.

Guest (Male): Thanks, Pastor Jack. "Our Great Redemption, Part 1".

Jack Hibbs: But tonight, let's see what's happening here. If we'd grab our Bibles and open them up to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, beginning at verse 7, and we'll go down to verse 8 tonight in a very beautiful and powerful portion of scripture. And I sure hope that we do it justice here tonight by virtue of just what it says alone is enough to cause us to meditate.

Ephesians chapter 1, beginning at verse 7, it says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he made abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence." Once again, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence." The title of the message tonight is "Our Great Redemption".

Our great redemption. The theme of this book is extremely powerful because it's one of the treaties that Paul wrote to really root and ground the believers. He writes to the Ephesian church that was very much caught up in a culture that's not unlike our own. But if you look into this book, you'll find some things that are so dynamic and stand out so firm. And we need to know what they are. And so I want you to jot this down or at least capture it right now in your heart.

The theme of this letter is God's number one eternal purpose to establish and complete his body. God's purpose to establish and complete his body, the church, us. God does not begin a work like I do and leave it off halfway. And I am terrible about that. I don't know what it is within me. I'll dip a paintbrush in a can of paint and I'll go halfway down the doorjamb and the phone will ring and then it'll be a month before I get back to that. It's sickening, you know, it's like man, this guy. You know, it's kind of like the Winchester house, you know that thing? That's like my house, I guess. You know, the guy like builds rooms into never-never-land. You never know where they've got doors leading to nowhere and it's like never completed a thing. Not God.

If you're a Christian tonight, God has begun a good work in you that he's going to complete until the day of Christ. What he has started in your life, he's not going to forsake. He will not stop doing. The other thing is that Jesus Christ himself is the head of the body, you, the church, this place. You'll see this as we get deeper into the book of Ephesians, that Jesus is the head. He holds control. It's his work. And it also goes on to tell us that the church is the temple of the living God in this great epistle. That we are absolutely joined together as a living temple superseding and actually taking the place of any earthly temple that could ever be erected. The Lord now lives in a living, breathing temple and it's us.

And then also this, that the church is revealed in the book of Ephesians as the mystery, the bride of Christ. It's something that was withheld from the Old Testament believers. They didn't see that the church was going to be, listen, a Gentile bride. Just like the story of Boaz and Ruth. Boaz being a Jew, Ruth being a Gentile. Him being the kinsman redeemer, or in the Hebrew, the Goel, the one who redeems.

And if you know the story, Ruth being related to Naomi, and Ruth and her sister's husbands dying. Naomi now, both widowed. One daughter stays, and the other, or stepdaughter, or daughter-in-law, stays. The other one, Ruth, goes with Naomi back to her land. And as they're coming back into the land, she meets up with this man Boaz and she's harvesting, gleaning from the field. And she's a Gentile.

And she goes on to say to Naomi, "You know, I'm just going to go with you and I'm just going to hang with you and be with you because your people will be my people, your God will be my God, and where you go, I'll go, and where you die, I'm going to die. I'm going to be with you, Naomi." And in the process, she meets, Ruth does, Boaz. And Boaz is in the direct descendants for Christ to come. And so he sees her and she's beautiful and he's interested in her and he finds out, hey, that's one of Naomi's relations.

And so Boaz tells his harvesters, "You know what, why don't you leave a little bit of the grain so that when she comes through, she can have enough grain gleaned from the land so she'll do okay?" So these guys are out there harvesting, working for Boaz, he was an extremely wealthy man. And so they're spilling their bucket of grain on the ground and making it profitable for Ruth. And she's scooping up and she comes back home with these baskets of grain. And Naomi goes, "Man, where have you been? I mean, you've had a great day."

And she goes, "Well, you know, I came into this field and the guy that owns it, his name is Boaz." And she goes, "Boaz? Man, we're related to him. I tell you what, you now widowed, he's single. Tonight when he goes to bed, when he lays down, you get all dressed up nice and neat and put your stuff on. Perfume and base and you know, whatever, and you go down there."

So she goes down there and Boaz is sleeping. And Naomi says, "Lay down at his feet." And so she lays down at his feet and she grabs his blanket and bundles herself up. And he wakes up and "Who is that? Who's there?" She goes, "It's Ruth." And he goes, "You know, what are you doing?" And what is established is based upon the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. She's basically making herself available to him for marriage. It's a very beautiful story.

And God in the book of Ruth, by the way, is not even mentioned. It's though it's a true event, it's a parable about God's intervention and redemption in our lives. And so he recognizes, being a kosher Jew, what's going on. And he says, "Well, you know what? I mean, this is great and I'd love to take you as my own, but there's one who is in between us who's a more near kinsman redeemer than I am. And he has to have the first offer regarding you." And it was involving property and of course, Ruth.

So what happens is they go to the city gate and he sees his brother, Boaz does, and he says, "Hey, our relative's land is available. Would you like to buy it? Would you like to take it?" "Oh, yeah, I'd love to take it, love to have it." "Okay, great. Well, there's a stipulation here. You've got to take Ruth as your wife. It's part of the deal." And he goes, "Well, my wife's not going to go for that. It's not going to—I can't—I can't do it."

And it's really great because Boaz doesn't say, "Oh, come on!" He just says, "Okay." And the deal was, the deal was they'd take off the shoe and do the exchange. Now if it was rejected, you were spit in the guy's face, which is part of the custom. But it was partially rejected. Boaz didn't spit in his brother's face. He was just happy to get the girl. He buys the field, so to speak, to get the girl. Jesus comes and buys the world back from one who's a more near kinsman, though not a redeemer.

The Bible speaks about in the book of Genesis this world being given over to Satan. He's got the rights to the goods by default, our fault. And Jesus comes and redeems the world on the cross. And just like the parable about the man who buys the field to get the treasure, Boaz goes through the process to get Ruth, who is a Gentile. Him being a Jew acts out the role of the Goel, or the kinsman redeemer. And it is redemption. Jesus comes and so to speak buys the world so that he can get the bride, the bride of Christ, our kinsman redeemer.

And there are instances over and over again in the scripture about redemption. A slave who was made a slave by virtue of his debt. If you couldn't pay a debt in the Old Testament and there was no way that you could get out from underneath that debt, you became a slave to the institution or the people that—or the man that you owed it to. You became a slave. But there was an act of redemption that was provided for the slave.

And there are various acts of redemption in the scripture. The very first act of redemption in the scripture is found in the Garden of Eden. And if you read carefully, the first act is when God slays an animal and provides the skins, remember, for the covering of Adam and Eve. That was an act of redemption. Very first act initiated by God. A covering to establish a form of relationship though it had been fallen from perfection.

And then you have the act of redemption that was required. And that is in the great Exodus where you were to take a lamb and sacrifice that lamb and put the blood on the doorpost and lintel of the house. And as the death angel came by, the angel that was to curse with death, when that angel saw that blood, he would pass by the house. And that was an act of redemption. And it's throughout the scripture.

And so in the book of Ephesians, there's this story of redemption. And tonight we see in this portion here a very powerful, powerful story and really a doctrine that we better really grab as believers. Now I understand something here and so do you. And that is if we don't come to grips with what Jesus Christ has done for us, people, I'm convinced we're not going to handle this thing. We're not going to make it.

Have you noticed that it's getting tougher out there? Or is it just me? Is it my life? Is it getting harder to be a believer? But I tell you what, to not be a believer is much harder. It's getting tough. Jesus said it would. He said the days would wax worse and worse. That's what I'm experiencing and maybe you are too. It's getting difficult. And what keeps us going and fills us with hope is that we are redeemed. We are bought with a price. We're his. Look, we're not going to go anywhere. We just stay near him in his word and in fellowship with him. And God wants to bless our lives even in the midst of these storms that we're in.

Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the love of many will grow cold as we approach the last days. And that's exactly what's happening. So if you had a bad day today or a bad week or these last couple of years have been tough, you know what? Don't throw out your Christianity. Nurture it, strengthen it. Add to your faith. I am not going to give you the day or the hour because I don't know the day or the hour. I wish I knew the day. But I am convinced, man, the Lord's coming back so soon. And I can't wait.

I can't wait until the redemption process is complete. Now we have been redeemed but we're waiting for these bodies to be caught up out of here. Either that or you know we die. I was going to say get hit by a truck but all the truck drivers who come by now and come to the fellowship they get upset when I say get hit by a truck. So I have to change that now. I want out of here, you know.

But as we get into this book and even into this portion of scripture, I'm reminded of something dietitians tell us something here. I'm laughing because it's exactly what I did tonight and I shouldn't have did this. They say that dietitians tell us that when you sit down to eat, you should eat slowly, chew your food very well. Okay? Basically I get like a—especially on Wednesday nights I get like a slide and just throw it up there and it comes tumbling in, you know, because there's no time.

But they tell us you eat slowly, chew up your food real well and it's easier digested and the nutrients that are in there, they have a better chance of getting absorbed into your system. But if you gobble your food, number one, you're going to lose a lot of its strength that it can give you. And the other thing is you don't even have to eat that much. What happens is because it's so poorly digested, it often turns to fat. You can get fatter by eating quicker.

So you want to eat slow and let your system absorb, take it in. That's a good law to apply in the book of Ephesians because it's so deep. You know, shepherds tell us that a lamb or a sheep, sheep can get so woolly if they're not taken care of. By the way, did you know something? If there's any evolutionist in the audience tonight, go figure this one out. You cannot have the existence of sheep without human intervention, period. They don't live without humans. Go figure that one out. You can't have sheep without human beings. They won't exist. They die. That ought to make—that ought to keep you up all night.

But they tell us that sheep can get so woolly, so thick, that if it rains, if they're standing on a hillside they're crooked—seriously! No, this is true. That the wool can get so lopsided that they'll fall over and they won't be able to get back up and they'll eventually get torn up by wolves or by coyotes or they'll die of starvation because they can't get back up. They acquire so much wool that they can't get back up on their feet. It's a natural path of a lamb or a sheep unless it's sheared by its shepherd.

We have to be careful as we take into this book that we can get so plump with what we're learning coming out of the book of Hebrews into the book of Ephesians that we just, "Well, let's take on another book." And you know what? We need to start putting these things into practice. And here's where I want you to begin. I want you to be so absolutely assured of your redemptive position in Christ based upon the book of Ephesians that you just in the spirit zone anyway, skip as you go.