Real Life Radio

Guest (Male): God's grace shows up in that moment of absolute challenge where you don't have the strength to handle that thing, whatever it is. God's grace shows up and says, "I'll take it from here." Thank you, God, because I'm about ready to snap.

Guest (Male): This is Real Life.

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 now continues his series called Disciplines of Life in a message titled "Discipline of Disdain." Now, when we're treated badly for our faith, the Lord wants us to handle it with patience and self-control, not with anger or revenge.

You see, disdain means to be rejected or looked down upon, and we can expect it if we follow Christ. In fact, the more serious we are about our faith, the more pushback we might get. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that the discipline of disdain is to show compassion instead of hate. People who criticize our faith often don't understand what they're doing, and we need to care about them and pray for them. Now with his message called "Discipline of Disdain," here is pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: In our lifetime, it will happen to each and every one of us at some point in some degree. Jesus yielded his life completely into the hand of the Father without any reservation and in absolute dependence. He took what came according to the Father.

In every one of our lives, every one of us, you may be here today saying, "I'm not a Christian, it's not going to come near me." It will happen to you. It's native to life, except for the Christian, we've got hope. If you don't know Christ, you have no hope.

There'll be that phone call, there'll be that blood test, there'll be that lump, there'll be that news, and your world will be rocked to the core. It happens to all of us. It's coming if it hasn't happened already. It's coming to us. Things that are going on could come nationally, globally, personally, maybe your family. It doesn't matter. Your foundation will be shaken. In that moment of shaking, how will you survive? You'll have to trust in God.

I'm grateful for you being here tonight because you have seen fit to invest in your faith. The Bible says in Romans 10:17, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." That's what's going on right now. Your faith will be strengthened and encouraged. It's supernatural. It's amazing.

The Bible says in Matthew 26:67 that they spat on Jesus's face and they beat him, and others struck him with their palms of their hands. By the way, palms, that word means in Greek "open-handed," a slap. If you've ever been in a fight, it's much better to get punched than it is to get slapped. You can much more endure a punch than you can a slap. A slap can kill you, horrible.

They slapped him and they said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who is the one who struck you?" Remember, he was blindfolded. Wow. Jesus took it. You say, "Jack, what are you saying?" I'm saying this: are you and I willing to submit to mistreatment by other people for Jesus's sake? This is very unheard of in our culture to even talk about. But you guys, most of the church today in the earth is suffering under some form of persecution right now.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you will have peace, but in the world you will have tribulation. Be of good cheer." Amazing, huh? "Be of good cheer. I've overcome the world." See the focus? Are you guys with me? You're so quiet tonight. Do you see the focus?

Let's be honest. We are the masters. When I say "we," not only Americans, but Southern California, we kind of gave birth to this culture of amusement. We're really famous for it. You know what amusement means? A-muse. Muse is to muse. Think, meditate, pour yourself into something, to muse. "I'm musing on this issue." To amuse is to unplug your brain, to have nothing, cricket sounds. No thought, nothing going on in there.

Amusement parks. That's what it means. You use your brain, you get to the place, you're thinking. Your thinking gets clouded when you pay a hundred bucks to get into the place. Then you get greeted by a rodent. That ought to tell you right there from the start. What's wrong with this picture?

As soon as you walk through the gates, you go, "Come on, come on." I'm serious. Take a camera and go. It's true. It may be that you realize, "I'm broke," and you kind of go into this zone of amusement, a place, a park where you do not think. That's what the word means. It does. A park where nobody thinks. That's the meaning of it.

Why do we do that? Because we don't want to be too close to reality where we live here. We don't want to be too close to reality. It freaks us out. We don't want to deal with it. Something happens and we look at it and go, "Let's go to a movie." Right? Is that not true? Something happens and, "Oh well, put on some music, turn it up loud." That's what we do. What's wrong? That's wrong, man. That's scary.

That's how you get to people. When someone's being raped or shot at or something and the community just looks the other way and turns up the radio. That's what Germany did when the Jews were being destroyed by Hitler. The church just turned up the organ music so they couldn't hear the Jews being carted away to Auschwitz and Dachau. Just sing louder.

We have this and it's a danger. Are we willing to be mistreated for Jesus's sake? Now let me define something right here, right now, because in my flesh, I can't do that. I'm confessing tonight my own weakness. I can't do that on my own. Maybe some of you, and I'm not mocking, I'm honestly saying some of you are so sweet-natured that if somebody were to make fun of you or somehow push you around. I have been raised and trained to eliminate the issue. So I can't do that unless Jesus controls my heart.

When Jesus said, for example, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to them the other," the context is religious persecution. They're attacking you for being associated with Jesus. I need strength to do that. I need the grace of God to pull that off in my life.

I'm more like Paul in this area. Remember when Paul was smacked? Remember when Paul was speaking and he didn't know he was speaking to the high priest? Paul responds and says, "The Lord deal with you, you white-washed sepulcher." That was radical language for Paul to say. He called this guy a graveyard. The guard slapped Paul in the face. Paul said, "What did you hit me for? I'm a Roman citizen." The guard said, "You just called the high priest a tomb." Paul goes, "I didn't know he was the high priest." I have to pray God that I'm not like that.

God's grace, I'm so grateful for this hope. God's grace shows up in that moment of absolute challenge where you know that thing in your life where you don't have the strength to handle that thing, whatever it is. God's grace shows up and says, "I'll take it from here." Thank you, God, because I'm about ready to snap.

Now please don't misunderstand me. I've had Christians actually say this, and it's amazing to me. "Well, you know, if somebody breaks into my home and tries to kill my wife and kids, Jesus says to turn the other cheek." Hey, lady, if you live in that house, I'd move out now. That's not what he means.

If they all come in with machine guns and they say, "Deny Christ or we're going to machine gun you down," that's different. God's grace will be there powerfully. But if some lunatic breaks into your house at two o'clock in the morning or for that matter two o'clock in the afternoon to attack your wife and kids, the Bible's very clear: you take the guy out and call 911.

I don't mean take the guy out to lunch. I mean take him out. Some of you are going, "Where? Where do you take him?" The Bible says if a man does not provide for his home, he's worse than an unbeliever. But when it comes to a religious context and you're being disdained for the glory of God, that's different. God's grace will be there.

Number four: overcoming disdain. The Bible says a lot to the believers, to us Christians, of our relationship to Jesus, who we are as Christians. We're the bride of Christ. That's amazing. We are the sheep of his pasture. The Bible says we are the beloved of God, the children of God. It's amazing.

Overcoming disdain, think about this. Overcoming disdain is literally guaranteed to the Christian. When we are being mocked, ridiculed, and scorned, the Bible guarantees victory for us. I think when God really has control of our hearts, when those that are attacking us and ridiculing us, there's a deep sense of sympathy toward our attacker. They're blind and they don't understand. It's what the spirit when Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Didn't Stephen echo that same thing in the book of Acts? "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Where'd he learn that from? From the Spirit of God.

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 is Pastor Jack.

Jack Hibbs: Overcoming disdain. Listen to this quote: "When the Lord calls us into his ministry, there are no losses. There will be defeats and there will be setbacks. We will lose some battles, but the war and the victory has already been decided in our favor." And that's a beautiful truth.

In 1 Samuel 17 verses 40 to 43, you know the story. David is there, he's a young man, he's come to see his brothers at the war. They've come to the valley of Elah, and Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, comes out every day for forty days. He's taunting Israel. He's this grotesque, freakish-looking, massive human being, a son of Anak. He's got six fingers and toes on each foot and hand. He's a weirdo.

The Bible says that his spear was as a weaver's beam. That's a 135-pound spear. How can a man throw a 135-pound spear? He was about nine feet six inches tall. That's freakish. Can you imagine Shaquille O'Neal going, "Whoa"?

He's mocking Israel, and David is just a young man. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 17 that David says, "I can't take this. I'm going out there." He goes out, he gets five smooth stones in his sling, he goes out there. The scripture says, "And when the Philistine looked about and he saw David, he disdained him because he was only a youth, and he was ruddy." The word ruddy means red. We assume that he had reddish-tinted hair. Some Jews, Hebrews, have reddish-tinted hair. Does it mean that they have reddish-colored skin? Could be, we don't know for sure, but he's ruddy. He's reddish-like, reddish. Sunburn? We don't know.

But it says that he was handsome. The word's also been translated smooth skin. He's a boy. Goliath looks, "What are you? What is that?" David's standing there, and he starts cursing David, the Bible says. As he's cursing David, David says, "Oh yeah, you know what? Don't you love this moment? You know what? I come to you in the name of the Lord." David runs toward Goliath.

He runs toward him. Can you imagine? You say, "How do you do that?" Well, no one does that. You don't run toward a lunatic maniac like that. You run away from a guy like that, unless God is in it. David saw stuff that people didn't see. I think, I don't know, I'm making this part up right now, but maybe David saw the shadow of his God on Goliath. Maybe David didn't see much of Goliath because his God was standing behind Goliath. Maybe David was running towards his God and Goliath was in the way.

So he just takes off and then he starts. And you've got to read the Bible carefully. The rock did not kill him. It says the rock sunk into his forehead. There's no way that a kid can do that, unless an angel is driving the rock. He just falls back. Boom. David runs over, pulls out his sword. A kid with a ginormous sword, Goliath's sword, and he puts it on Goliath's neck. Can you imagine? He's got to saw that head. The Bible says he took the head and walked all the way to Jerusalem with it hanging onto the thing. It was like, "Hey, look what I got." David was disdained by the enemy and God was in that.

Psalm 62:2 says, "He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense, and I shall not be moved." Who wrote that? David wrote that. How does he know? Oh, he knows.

Finally, enduring disdain. We end with this. We endure it. Enduring disdain, the Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:1 that in the last days, you guys, the Holy Spirit expressly says that in the last days some will depart from the faith, how sad, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

The Bible says in the last days, 2 Timothy chapter 3, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come." The word perilous means the wearing out or the wearing down. "For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanders, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good." Translation: they will fight hook, line, and sinker against you and the God that you love and what you stand for. You and I are living in the last days.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, "But he who endures to the end the same shall be saved." We are to endure disdain. Church family, listen. We're at a time, I just want to share this with you. You've got to understand, please, if you are being silenced for fear of someone rejecting you, will you hear this? The spirit of rejection against you is already out there.

Understand this, please listen and it'll be victory for you. Regarding disdain, you don't need to be afraid of it. Know that if you live a godly life, they are attacking Jesus that they see in you. They're not attacking you. You and I are not even a blip on the radar. They're upset at the Jesus part they see in your life. That's what causes people who are of a different spirit to just come unhinged.

When they begin to attack, when they begin to ridicule, you've got to understand this is a badge of honor. The amazing thing, though, with us as Christians is that we have great sympathy and love for our attackers and our accusers. We care more about their soul than they care about their soul. Isn't that weird? They're content at being wrong about God. We are right about God, and we worry and fret for their own safety. Isn't it weird?

Isn't it strange that because of the Bible it teaches us that you and I desire to pray for our leaders that we might live a quiet and peaceable life? Yet our enemies do everything to stir up and make this culture of ours anti-God. They just won't leave God alone. They're constantly taking a swing at him nowadays. The spirit of Babel, the spirit of Babel is back. If we could just build a tower tall enough, we'll shoot God down. That was the ministry of Nimrod. It's back.

But you're in the way. When you are disdained, it's because they've seen Jesus in you. So don't lose heart. Don't give up. All those who live godly shall suffer persecution.

Father, we thank you for your word, your medicine tonight for us. This is a spoon of B12 for our blood. Father tonight, we ask you, Lord, in Jesus's name, that you would settle in our hearts this truth right here, right now, that without the power of your Holy Spirit, we will not survive. Without the power of your Holy Spirit upon us, we will not advance.

So Father, we ask you, Lord, this evening that you would manifest in each and every one of our hearts a refreshed, renewing, refilling of your Holy Spirit to come upon us, to strengthen us. Father tonight, if there's a soul here this evening that does not know the God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for them on the cross and rose again from the grave, that tonight they would make that decision. That tonight they would say, "Lord, forgive me of my sins, and my life is really insignificant. I don't even know why I'm living. What's my purpose?"

"I see everything around me in life having a purpose. The clouds have a purpose even, the street has a purpose, a light bulb has a purpose. But maybe tonight you're asking, 'Lord, what's my purpose for existing?'" My friend, that's a great question. In some respects, it's where it all begins. You have been created in the image of God. You're a child of God, but you have fallen far from God. You were born, you and I were both born wayward from the Lord. All of us need to come back home. No matter what we've done in life, he will forgive us of our sin. That's what he says. He delights in doing that.

So tonight, don't let anything keep you from knowing his forgiveness, his love, his grace, his joy, and his purpose for you. Father, we pray that you'd galvanize this church for the remainder of this week with all power, with all grace and all wisdom. Thank you, Lord. We praise you now in Jesus's 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 "Discipline of Disdain." Thanks for joining 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 the Christ follower and the high cost of sharing our faith with others. 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. 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. 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.

Guest (Male): Hey, thank you again so much for listening. 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. 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.