Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: If there's somebody here tonight who was once used by God, who was once empowered by the Holy Spirit, but sin perhaps has quenched your Christian advance, God wants to stir up that gift again in your life, assuming that you've repented of your sins.

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.

Jack Hibbs: Hey everybody, we've got our first time ever devotional. We have a 40-day devotional called Watching, Waiting. It consists of 40 days of walking you through biblical passages that excite you and prepare you for the soon-coming of Jesus Christ. Watching, Waiting is a 40-day devotional that's all tied to biblical prophecy.

David J.: Watching, Waiting is our featured resource for this month, and it's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com/realradio. That is jackhibbs.com/realradio.

On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues now with his series called First Samuel and a message titled Church Growth 101, Part 4. Now, Samuel of the Old Testament was the last judge of Israel, and he was the first of its prophets. Here now in Chapter 16, we'll continue to focus on the Holy Spirit by referring to Romans 11.

In Romans Chapter 11, Verse 29, the Lord tells us that when God gives someone a gift or calls them for some special purpose, he doesn't change his mind or take it back, even when we stumble. God chose the Jewish people and made promises to them, and the same goes for us. His promises still stand.

Today, Pastor Jack teaches that it's the Holy Spirit's job to work out the gifts within us. Even when sin has quenched our progress and we feel defeated, if we repent, we're now open and ready for God to use us. Now, with his message called Church Growth 101, Part 4, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: Father, we ask you to bless our time as we consider your word this evening, and Lord, that you would go before us. Father, tonight, may you encourage your people. Father, we pray that you would cause us to receive from you in a most blessed way. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Tonight, I'm going to ask you to turn in your Bible to Romans Chapter 11. We have been talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we allowed First Samuel 16:13 to be a springboard to the study of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or at least a light touch of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We've covered quite a few of them thus far.

Tonight, I want you to look at Romans Chapter 11. First of all, let's look at the context before we look at the text. The text is Verse 29. There it says, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." I think the Old King James says "given without repentance." The word repentance in that Old King James scripture means that God doesn't change his mind.

The newer versions of the Bible say that God gives these gifts and callings without taking them back. In other words, God's not an Indian giver. The context where we find the text is in relation to the gospel going to the nation Israel. In fact, Romans 11 is pretty amazing because it tells us that for a season or for a time, God has put the nation Israel on hold.

In light of current events, listen to this: 2,000 years ago, God put the nation Israel on hold because the nation had rejected its Messiah. As the Apostle declared to the nation and the Jewish people, "Seeing that you find and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we turn to the Gentiles." The Bible tells us here in Romans 11 that there's the time of the Gentiles.

It says that the time of the Gentiles will be for a predetermined period of time. There will be a dispensation of grace allocated to the Gentile world. But that time, according to Romans 11, will come to a conclusion. It doesn't mean that Gentiles won't get saved anymore; it means that God will wrap up his predominant work in focusing upon the church, and he will once again for the last seven-year period, which was promised in Daniel Chapter 9, specifically deal with the nation Israel and the salvation of the Jews.

It's very important. Right here in Romans 11, Paul talks about us as though we were wild branches. You Gentiles, wild branches—crazy people, sinning up a storm, living like you would. Well, there's the vine and there's the branches to the vine. The vine being God, the branches being Israel.

The Bible says that because of Israel's unbelief, the branches were trimmed off and wild branches were grafted in. Those wild branches, that's us, became children of the Most High God. But there's coming a time where he says to be careful that you don't get all puffed up about that, Gentiles, so that you don't boast against the stock or the root or the vine, because God's going to bring back in those branches that were once lopped off: the nation Israel.

He's talking about callings and giftings. The calling refers to possibly two different things. I think two of those things are in the Apostle's mind. Number one: salvation. That certainly is the text. When God calls, some of you need to hear this, God's callings are given without him taking them back. The callings of God are given without him taking them back.

Also, his giftings. When God gives a gift, he doesn't take the gift back. Meaning this: if God has saved you and you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you have been given gifts, or at least a gift, by the person of the Holy Spirit. Being a Christian, you've been given a gift, and it's the Holy Spirit's job to work that gift out in your life.

You can sin and hinder the work of that gift. You can continue on in sin and you can sequester, cover, hide, or render the gift inoperable. But you still have the gift; it's just not in use. You would be living outside of the will of God, you'd be sinning, God would not be using you, and you would definitely be someone who's been set aside.

But God does not, according to Romans 11:29, take away the gift. You say, "Well, why doesn't he take away the gift and give it to somebody else?" He doesn't work that way. This leads me to believe that if God does not take away your salvation nor does he take away your gifting, then it could be that if there's somebody here tonight who was once used by God and once empowered by the Holy Spirit, but sin perhaps has quenched your Christian advance.

If you're no longer operating the gift of the Holy Spirit that you once enjoyed in your life, I believe that God's word teaches clearly that though you have been dormant, God wants to stir up that gift again in your life, assuming that you've repented of your sins. I really believe that if Galatians Chapter 6, Verse 1, teaches us that if a brother be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of grace, mercy, and wisdom, considering yourselves lest you fall also.

I want you to consider tonight that if in this body of believers there's a sleeping giant—what I mean by that is God once used you and now you're not being used anymore. You've blown it somehow. Even though you've asked God to forgive you, you're having a hard time forgiving yourself and getting underway again.

I want to challenge you tonight. We've been talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You look around the world, there's not much time. I want to challenge you tonight. You need, as the Apostle told Timothy, to stir up the gift. Stir it up again. If God's gifts and God's callings are irrevocable, then what are you doing?

I know tonight this might apply just to one person here, but you've been defeated. You've been coming on Wednesday nights and you've been hearing about the gifts, and maybe you've even been excited about it, remembering when you used to be able to exercise this gift in your life, but now it's not happening anymore. Listen, God doesn't take it back.

So where'd you go? God didn't leave you; you walked away. But we learn from the Scriptures that when we walk away, we get to come back. In fact, he even calls upon the church to go out and get a cow and beef it up and barbecue it and have a big party when you come back. Can you think of any time in your life where things were pretty dynamic for you as a Christian?

I want you to know I'm very interested in who you might be. Because this is a growing body, and I need you. Oh, it's not only me, but the person sitting next to you needs you. We need you. You need us more than anything in the whole world outside of Jesus because you need us because we need what God has given you to be bestowed upon us.

I have a friend of mine. You may know who he is. The guy is incurably encourageable. This guy encourages and encourages and encourages, and it's amazing. When I see him and he smiles, I've never in all the years heard him complain one time. The world can be falling apart and he's just always up.

I had a chance to speak one time and I was behind the stage, and he's rubbing me on the back like I had to burp. He's rubbing me on the back and he's saying, "It's going to be great, it's going to be fine. Go, brother! Alright! Alright!" So I get out there, then he slips out there and he comes up with the biggest smile.

When you're down, you want to look at him because he's like, "You can do it, Jack! You can do it, Jack!" I mean, the guy's amazing. You love to be around people like that. The guy's not sinless. I don't know if he's ever done anything, but I know he's a human. That makes him sinful. But he is an encouragement.

I think how horrible my world would be and how horrible the Christian church would be and how horrible his church would be if he was not pastoring that church. How much less we would be. But I want to stir you up tonight. As we've been going through the gifts, what would it matter if we brought in experts on the gifts?

We could bring in questionnaires and you fill out the little thing, and if your numbers go up to a point over here and it falls into this side, you are this kind of a person and you probably have that gift of the Holy Spirit. That's fine, I guess, but what good will that do when it comes to the point where you can be gifted beyond anybody in this church, but you have been so dormant for so long because you've been robbed?

There are enough people in here to keep us here for weeks, but if we were to interview somebody here and say, "Man, how's it going with you? Do you remember a day when you cranked for God?" and they say, "Yeah, but this is what happened in my life." God wants to use you again. You can cite all kinds of things and give all kinds of reasons why he doesn't want to use you and your giftings. But it seems to me King David committed a pretty bad thing, and God used him. After he repented, God used him.

David J.: You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: You have no word of David being used during that year's period of time, really, when he and God were at odds. But he murdered a man. God goes, "That's a man after my own heart." He's a murderer! God called King David, and God used him. Yes, he reaped terrible things from his fall, but God used him and his fellowship with the Lord was restored.

Tonight, I just want to encourage you. You look around and time is going by so quickly. I came tonight from a recovering brother at his home. I sat down with him and was talking and praying with him. So sweet. He is 89 years old. How many of you have been married say 50 years? Anybody been married 50 years in here?

Mike and Dee, I don't want to embarrass them, but they've been married 48 years. That's a long time. 48. This man and his wife that I was visiting this evening have been married for 70 years. He's not feeling well, so she's crying because he's not doing all that well. She's not doing well now, so he starts crying because she's not doing well. That's exactly what I did.

I prayed with him while she's praying for him, and then I pray for her while he's praying for her. 70 years. Their desire to serve the Lord is strong. He said tonight, "What can I do?" Well, what can you do? You can get better. That's what I told him. You can just get better from surgery and recovering. He wants to do something for the Lord.

Isn't that awesome? Listen, you guys, I want to really share my heart right now and then we'll just pray or worship the Lord or whatever. But you and I can have all kinds of really good excuses why we don't let God do what he wants to do in our lives. On this side of the clock, those excuses have a lot of power to them and a lot of justification to them.

There are things that you must do. Please understand. I was talking to a brother on Sunday and they just had another baby and he wants to get involved, but they've got babies. Those babies are the number one thing in the universe. You take care of those babies.

Then there are some of you who want to serve the Lord, but you're really neglecting your husband. You need to take care of him. You really do. That's your ministry first. Or your wife. You're running around taking care of the church, but your wife never sees you. Or when she does see you, she wishes you were back at the church. That's not good.

Your wife needs to say, "Sweetie, I know you have to go serve, but I'll be here when you get back." We have to make sure we have things right like this. You can have all the gifts and you can have them going and working in your life greatly. But there are Christian libraries full of books of famous men who, after they died, their wives wrote books and you can read about their lives. They were never home, their kids grew up to be drunks, and their wives were abandoned all their ministry years. Franklin Graham talks about growing up without a father. That's sad.

I want to encourage you tonight that there's a balance. I believe this: if you're doing something in your own strength without the gifting of the Holy Spirit, you are going to burn out. You're going to burn out those that are in proximity to you, and you'll never get really much done. You'll be spinning your wheels like a locomotive on a track that's greased. Those wheels are spinning and it's not going anywhere.

Or you can say, "Lord, I'm raising a kid," or "I'm a single person starting a company." We all have our things, don't we? But Lord, I know that you saved me and gifted me to be a participant in the body of Christ. So Lord, I'm going to ask you to give me your wisdom on my time and your wisdom on my energy. I'm going to ask you, Lord, to give me your wisdom on where I should be serving you, Jesus, where and how.

God will do that. There are none of us in this place that can say, "Well, I fly this much a week, I've got to—I'm a corporate this and that." There are men in this church who own big companies, and they make sure that they're doing things for the Lord. The funny thing is, I'm not worrying about them or wondering if they are going to do it this weekend. I never think about it because they love to do it.

What were you doing for the Lord in your life? You might say, "Well, when I was in college, I was really into young people and helping them, and I'd really love to do that again." Well, maybe that was God. You say, "Well, at the other church I used to go to, I did it for years. I would walk around in the parking lot with a little nail at the end of my broomstick and I'd pick up papers. I loved it."

You don't think that's a gift of the Holy Spirit? It could be a gift of helps, my friend. I just know this: if the parking lot was filled up with filth, everybody would notice.