Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: When he says, "I am that I am," this is what he's announcing: I am the one that becomes what you need or whom you need. Do you need protection? He's the Lord who will protect you. Do you need peace? He's Yahweh Shalom.

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.

Jack Hibbs: Hey everybody, listen. All of our Happy Now events are amazing, but this one's special. On April 22nd, on a Wednesday night starting at 7:00 PM Pacific time, I'm going to sit down with Chris McKenna. He is an expert on internet pornography and how it gets into your home, how it destroys your children, and how it destroys your marriage. You're going to want to be brave enough, I stress brave enough. You mention this topic and people don't want to show up. Show up and save someone's life.

David J: That's happening now with Chris McKenna and Pastor Jack Hibbs, Wednesday, April 22nd at 7:00 PM. Learn more at jackhibbs.com.

On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called "Disciplines of Life" in a message titled "Disciplines of Dependence." You know, self-reliance is a pretty popular way to live these days, but for believers, our lives are rooted in a dependence upon God. You see, as people who follow Christ, we're called to trust him in all aspects of life as opposed to depending on our own wisdom and control.

True dependence means that we're not to navigate through life's challenges or responsibilities all on our own, but we're to lean on the Lord for our strength and guidance. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that dependence often shows up through prayer, through reading the Bible, and by actively surrendering our plans and fears to God. Humility and dependence on God—it's not a weakness by any means. God is a strong tower to run to when life feels unstable. Now with his message called "Disciplines of Dependence," here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: You may be here tonight and you've been kicking against God. "I don't want anything to do with God. I don't like God." But you find yourself here. Well, that's because my friend invited me. But you're here and God is speaking. He'll speak to your hearts. He'll say, "Who are you running from? You don't believe in me, so then why are you running from me? You don't believe in me, so why are you so angry at me?"

A friend of mine was telling me the other day about his friend. He's an older man and he said, "I will not accept Jesus Christ in my life until God accepts certain things according to my rules." Isn't that something? Wow. But you know, there's people like that. Best thing to do is to wake up and realize how big life is, that it was never intended for you and I to live it alone and in our own strength.

Psalm 55:4 says, "My heart is severely pained within me." Do you find yourself ever in that place? "And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me." Boy, isn't that a commentary on our age? So I said, listen to verse six, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." Is that not the cry of the world and even the life of the believer? We might want to cry that cry.

But as we'll see in a moment, the Lord comes in and says, "I'm here. I'm with you." But the world tonight wants to snap their fingers, as it were. By the way, I just think it's actually beautiful, and you do too, actually. You know the answer when people come to that moment and they say, "Yes, you know what? I'm not a Christian, but I like what that just said there on those screens. I want to sprout wings and fly away like a dove and get away from everything." People, that's what you do when you don't have God. You run.

That's okay. You just keep running. Eventually, you're going to get tired and you're going to poop out. Poop out in Hebrew is a word for to become very tired, and you surrender. I think it was a singer many years ago, even when I was a little kid. He was a famous guy, B.J. Thomas. Remember that guy? "Raindrops keep falling on my head."

In his testimony he gave at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa one year, he said, and this was way back in 1969 or something like that, when he was, he said back then, I remember it, he said, "I had a $5,000 a week cocaine habit back then." That was back then. And he said, "I couldn't hear from God. I couldn't think about God until I was flat on my back and I could look in any direction but straight up." And maybe you're in that place tonight.

Wake up to the fact that life is too big. The discipline of dependence is coming to that point of saying, "God, I can't do this." Psalm 61:1 says, "Hear my cry, O God," the psalmist says, "attend to my prayer." You ever cry that cry? "From the end of the earth I will cry to you, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy."

Nobody cares about that verse until you need a strong tower, until you have an enemy. Oh, I pray enemies upon all of you tonight. You see, you got to be kidding me. No, man, when you've got enemies, you run and run and run to that strong tower. God help us if our life is comfortable. That's a dangerous place to be.

We need him. Overwhelmed. The crushing. When my heart is overwhelmed where, listen, the spiritual situation upon your soul is so intense because of the physical setting around you that there is a crushing that will either destroy you or bring you to Christ. You'll either throw your arms up and surrender and worship and praise to him, or you'll shake your fist at him.

Isn't that what we see in the Book of Revelation? We see a great number of people and a numeral host of people accepting Christ during the tribulation period, and then at the same time, you read in the Book of Revelation that there are those who will not repent. And what do they do? They shake their fist at the great God that dwells in heaven. Remarkable.

But we need to wake up regarding our body, our physical strength, and say, "Lord, I can't do it." We need to wake up in our soul, that is our emotions, and say, "Lord, I can't make it," and wake up in spirit. To be awake to the things of God. We need to wake up. Your life, my life, it's too big.

I'm going to give you this. It just pops into my head. I remember it from yesteryear. It's good stuff. Chuck Missler said this 30 years ago. He said, "When we worry, we are assuming a responsibility that was never intended to be ours." Charles Spurgeon says that when we worry, we are putting faith in the devil. But when we give up and say, "Lord, you take control of my life," he does that thing.

Number two, the disciplines of dependency upon God is this: to identify. The second thing you want to do is identify these things in your life. Identify your situation in light of scripture. I'm going to assume tonight we're all Christians in here tonight, just make this assumption. And what you want to do regarding your life is identify what is happening or what the issue is in your life, and you want to identify that situation in light of the Bible.

In other words, we put it this way: what does the Bible say? More affectionately, we used to have the bracelets or the t-shirts that used to say, "What would Jesus do?" Remember that? "What would Jesus do?" Well, we're really saying: what does God's word say about the situation that I'm in? Are you dating somebody? Yeah, how'd you know? I don't, but it's springtime. Is he a Christian? If you have to think about it, lose his number now. Forget her email if she's not.

That's a direct command of the scripture. Identify the situation of your life now in light of the scripture. Are you having a trouble, are you having a relationship trouble with your mom? The Bible's got the answer. Is it a friend? The Bible's got the answer. Do you have a situation at work with your boss and a co-worker? The Bible's got the answer. You should know where to find it and apply that answer.

Search the scriptures, the scriptures say. Why? In Romans 15:4, it says, "Whatever things were written beforetime were written for our learning." That's the Old Testament. "That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Isn't that a great word? Identify those who have gone on before us and have taught us is what Paul is saying in Romans 15:4.

Think about Adam. Listen, identify yourself in light of scripture. Think about Adam. God said, "Adam, don't do this," and Adam did that. And I'm telling you, that's a painful yet real identification of what he did versus what God's word says.

What about Job? Wow, have you ever suffered? Now, there's a great, great chance here in this room tonight that none of us combined have suffered like Job has suffered. But if you find yourself suffering, I don't care if you have a hangnail or you've got cancer. If you feel like you're suffering, go to the word of God. It's your number two discipline. Identify your life situation with the Bible. And this is going to keep the word of God relevant in your life every day, every day.

By the way, for those of us who are going through the daily Bible reading, man, I tell you, these last few days, Lisa and I are reading the word of God together, the one-year Bible together, and man, those things are applying to our lives and/or giving us counsel for the lives of others. It's powerful stuff. Great stuff. Wow, there's great wisdom there.

Identifying your life in light of scripture. Psalm 142:3 says, "For I am overwhelmed." The crushing. There's the force of all these things coming upon me. He says, "For I am overwhelmed, and you alone know the way that I should turn." What a great prayer. "Oh Lord, we are overwhelmed as Americans. We're overwhelmed at times as Christians, but you alone, God, know the way that I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me. No one cares a bit what happens to me."

Verse five, Psalm 142: "Then I prayed to you, O Lord." Notice that. "Oh, my world's coming apart." And then he prays, and he says, "You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life." The name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and they are safe. Wow.

So these three things, we identify with scripture regarding our physical body. We need physical healing? Identify with that. Do you need a physical healing? What does the Bible say about that? Cry out to God. You want to identify with scripture regarding your soul, that is your emotions. The "psuche" is that Greek word for your mind, the seat of your emotions. And do you need mental or emotional stability? You go to God. You cry out to him. "Lord, I need stability in my heart, in my mind."

David J: You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. To learn more about this ministry or to catch up on some previous episodes, go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And now let's get back to today's message. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.

Jack Hibbs: And then identify with scripture regarding your spiritual life. Do you and I need strength tonight spiritually? I'll answer for you. Yes, we do. And we say, "Lord, give me strength." Remember back in Exodus 3:14 when Moses says, "Okay, I'll go. I'll do everything you say, God, but who do I tell the children of Israel sent me?" And God says, "You tell them I am that I am sent you."

And you look that up in the Hebrew, and let me tell you, if you have socks on your feet, they will come off. It is awesome. You want to know why? The word that God gives as his name is not only his name, but he's the conforming one. He is the becoming one. When he says, "I am that I am," this is what he's announcing regarding the deep inner meaning of Yahweh, the name of God.

I am the one that becomes what you need or whom you need. Do you need protection? He's the Lord who will protect you. Do you need peace? He's Yahweh Shalom. Are you sick and tired of trying to walk in this life in your own strength, of trying to keep yourself pure yourself? Tell him, "I can't do it." And he says, "All right, Yahweh Tsidkenu, I'll be your righteousness, the Lord your righteousness."

That's why Peter said, "As I the Lord says I am righteous, so you be righteous." And you say, "I can't do that." And the Lord says, "Scoot over, and I will be your righteousness." And then he says to us, "Be ye holy for I am holy." How can we do that? Because we are in Christ now, and he becomes our righteousness. Yahweh Tsidkenu is the name, one of the great names of God.

What about Yahweh or Jehovah Jireh? Yahweh Jireh. Yahweh Jireh, the Lord our provider. And God says, "I will provide for you." See, what does that mean? Does he mean he's going to make my house payment? I don't know what that means. He can. He can do it if he wants to, but this he's committed to. He said in the word the righteous shall never be seen begging bread. He has committed himself to the righteous. I like the old saying: do your best and commit the rest.

Number three, the disciplines of dependence upon God is this: measure. Measure your situation to God or in light of God, or measure your life situation against God. The magnitude of the things of your life, measure them. How great is the problem that is facing your life? Measure that against the stature of God.

Now watch this. Oh, please, if you need to be offended, be please offended with this. It's a good shot in the arm. If you and I are freaking out about stuff, then we have a very small view of our God. Think about it. You know this. When David saw Goliath, did David run away from Goliath or did he run toward Goliath? He was just a punk kid, probably a teenager, with a sling and some stones. He ran toward him. He took off toward him.

Can you imagine what Goliath must have thought? "This kid's on crack or something. What is he doing? He must think I'm a toy to be played with." David, if you look at it right and measure the situation against God, David was running right toward his Lord, because there is nowhere that Goliath could have gone to have been safe from the eternal God. And David knew, from being a young shepherd boy, that wherever he went, God was.

So put that together. Come on, think for a minute. Pinch yourself if you have to. Get this down. If David runs toward Goliath, "What is this kid doing?" I'm running toward the situation because I know my God in the past has delivered me from everything I've ever been involved in. And so here, Lord, take this rock and let it sink right into the big fat forehead of that uncircumcised Philistine. Hey, I didn't make that up. That's what it says.

And bam! The Bible says that that rock sunk into his forehead. Can you imagine the thump that must have made? You ever hear somebody's head hit the ground? It's a sickening feeling, isn't it? Unless it's Goliath getting a rock in his head. And then it's like, "Yeah!" Can you imagine the angel that was behind that rock? That was a jet-propelled turbo-boosted egg—I mean, egg? I mean, rock. An egg! It could have been an egg. It wouldn't have mattered. That giant was going down. I don't know, I must be hungry, where the egg came from. I don't know. Oh man.

"Oh, but life is just so overwhelming, Jack, I don't think I can make it." Listen, you need to measure that situation in light of God. And all of a sudden, though it may be unmanageable to us, it certainly is very manageable to him. And he gets all the glory.

Did I tell you guys last Sunday? It was after one of the services, so you may have missed this. A woman came up to me last Sunday in between services, and we had prayed for her son, Dylan, as a church a couple months ago. The little guy had tumors all over the inside of his body, cancerous tumors. She came up to me and she's crying. I go, "What's the matter?" And she said, "My son, they did the test, they did they took another look, and there's not one tumor. There's no cancer. It's gone."

And I said, "Listen, you gotta write that down. You gotta write that down and we gotta give God praise, because if we don't, we'll be robbing God because here is this life-overwhelming situation measured up to the power of our God." It's our God who suspended the universe out there in space. It's our God that holds those constellations in order.

And we panic about this or about that. He's got the rings around Saturn. He's doing it all. And we don't think he's going to come through for us? Or that he's going to get us into heaven? Proverbs 34:18 says this: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart." Is your heart broken tonight? Is your heart weeping? Are you broken of heart? The Lord says, "I'm near you."

And listen, your emotions are screaming right now. "There's no hope! It's out of control! There's no sign of life!" And God says, "Hey, hey!" That's why the Lord in the Bible, you see it many times, "Martha, Martha. Abraham, Abraham," right? "Sarah, Sarah." He has to repeat himself, because we're freaking out, we're freaking out. "Martha! Martha!" And he's saying to you tonight, brokenhearted, "Hey, brokenhearted, wake up! Hey, you, I'm near to you."

It may feel like a giant, but God is there. "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and he saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." Wow.

Now here's the cool thing. Okay, Jack, so I measure up the situation and my God's bigger and I understand all that, but you know what? How does that work? He delivers us out of them all. See, here's the part that you and I often want to fight with God about. We want and back in the recesses of our mind, we have the description of what being delivered looks like. Let's be honest. We're dictating to him, though we don't say it.

"Lord, deliver me! Deliver me from my situation!" And God goes to deliver us and we don't like his plan of deliverance. And so we either fight him or we argue about it, or when he does his thing, we don't like it. And I don't know what to say to you about that other than get over it. He's God, we're not, and he knows what's best.

Matthew 5:43 says Jesus said it, "You have heard that it was said of those you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." That was one of the proverbs going around in Jesus's day. Now that's kind of stupid. That goes without saying. Really, it's: love those who love you and hate those who hate you. Well, no kidding.

Jesus said in verse 44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven." You think that's easy? I'll tell you how easy it is. It's impossible. But not with God.

For he makes the sun, the S-U-N, to rise on the evil and the good. That means God's good even to the bad people every day. And he sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? What is that? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? It's easy to love people that love you. I mean, how do you know if you even love them if they love you? That's what's so scary about rich people, cute people, and talented people. How do they know if the people around them love them?

It's gone quiet in here. How do you know? None of us have that problem in this room, so we'll just move on then, I guess, apparently with that. We need to see him for what he is, and for the truly the fact for what they are. If they are our enemies and he is God and he says, "Hey, listen, love them," in fact, he would be saying to us: be like me to them.

David J: Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio, and his message called "Disciplines of Dependence." 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 that highlights the disciplines of a Christ follower and the high cost of sharing our faith with others in a lost and broken world. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.

Jack Hibbs: Hey everybody, have you ever thought about what's after life? Do you know that the Bible teaches life is after life? If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, my good friend Phil DeCourcy has written a great book, and that's the title: "Life After Life: Exploring the Bible's Wonderful Promises About Heaven and Eternity," published by Harvest House Publishers. Get a copy for yourself.

David J: "Life After Life" by Phil DeCourcy, exploring the Bible's promises about heaven and eternity. It's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com. That's 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 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.