Real Life Radio

Guest (Male): Today, on Real Life Radio.

Jack Hibbs: God's grace is so awesome and available that Paul tells Timothy, as you live your life, Timothy, you draw from that grace.

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. Well friends, listen. It's been 2 years here at the Real Life Network and God has been so good to us. God put it on our hearts to create a network that would be cancel free, censorship free, uncompromising so that we could bring the truth to anyone anywhere. God has been so good to us these last 2 years, everybody, and we want to thank all of you.

So today, we are amazed that over 70 million minutes of biblical worldview truth has been on our programming and viewed by you, the audience, on the Real Life Network. Every piece of our content on the Real Life Network is rooted in God's word so that it's safe, it's secure. So listen, spread the word with us, will you? Encourage friends and family to join the Real Life Network and that we might grow together, this community of believers all around the world.

Guest (Male): So if you haven't checked it out already, that's the Real Life Network streaming the best in Christian and conservative content. Sign up and start streaming today for free at reallifenetwork.com. That's reallifenetwork.com. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack now continues his series called The Parables of Jesus with a message called Parable of the Lost Sheep Part 2. You know, whenever Jesus spoke to the crowds, he often spoke to them using relatable stories with common everyday sort of themes that the Bible calls parables. So today, in this parable, Jesus is teaching us how we are like sheep who have gone astray.

You see, God, with his concern for us, compares us to sheep. And like sheep, we don't run away from the shepherd, but will often wander away. But the Lord cares for each and every one of us personally, and well, he's going to come after us, never stopping until he's found us and rejoices when he does. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that it's God's grace and concern for us that makes us favorable to him. His favor is immeasurable and limitless, and he knows us quite frankly better than we know ourselves. Now with his message called Parable of the Lost Sheep Part 2, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: Lord, I don't have the strength to make it from Wednesday to Sunday because of all the stuff that's coming and pressures and distractions. God, I won't be able to study and pray and wait upon you between Wednesday and Sunday to get a sermon watch. Listen. I don't know what you think about me, but I will tell you this. Between Wednesday and Sunday, and maybe you wish I have that I would do this. I will not. I have never. I cannot do what I've heard people do, pastors do. You can go online to us. I'm not going to say his website.

You can go on to his website and you can download his sermon notes and preach his sermons for something like $5 a year. If you give him 5 bucks a year, you can preach his sermons. And there are there are pit pastors who get their sermons on Saturday night for Sunday morning. And I've heard this. I've seen this. I've talked to Listen. If if that's if that's what you have to do to get a sermon, I think it's time for you to go sell cars or something. And so I'm thinking about me. The the whatever God gives me, you may or may not get anything out of it, but here's the point.

I could open up a ton of books. I could download sermons. I could do all this stuff. But I will not do that. The day that I have to do that is the day that I resign. Why? Cuz it's no longer empowered by God. It's no longer God's voice. It 's no longer Listen. Sermons have got to be birthed like a child. And so from Wednesday to Sunday, I start going into the mode of Now I look kind of normal, whatever that might look like on the outside. It's like, hey, he looks normal. Hi, how are you?

I'm I'm fine. How are you doing? That's fine. Inside, I'm going It's so Have you ever seen those little countdown timers? Like 1 day and 21 hours. In my mind, soon as tonight's over, it's I start getting butterflies again. You know what? I just You just learn to live with them. Butterflies. Do you know what butterflies mean? Nervous stomach. Why? Cuz Sunday's coming. And I know I'll meet you right back here again, but I have better gone. I would have I I better have gone to God's kitchen. Are you with me? And gotten from him what he once said to this body.

And that only comes from being with him. And my point is that can't happen that will not happen without God's grace. Won't happen. You're running a business. You're a mom. You're raising kids. God's grace. Be strong in that grace that he gives and it's available. Ask him. Ask him. God, I can't do this. I can't do it. God will pour his grace upon you. God's grace is what makes or what causes favor to be bestowed upon us. Let me read you this passage. It's rather lengthy, but can you just have it wash over you for a moment and bathe you in it?

Psalm 139. Psalm 139 says, oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, oh Lord, you know it all together. You have hedged me behind and before. That's almost like shepherd talk to a to a a lamb. And laid your hand upon me. Verse 6, such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you're there. And if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall fall on me, even the night shall be light about me. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you. But the night shines as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to you.

For you formed my inward parts. You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret. Ooh, anybody pregnant in here tonight? Imagine the miracle that's going on inside right now. God is at work, a little factory. In fact, there's no factory on the planet that can compare to the ingenuity and the genius of what's happening inside of that mother, her womb. Imagine the replication of cells.

I forget the number, but it 's insane. It's like a million million a second or a million an hour. I forget, but it's beyond It boggles the mind. God's at work. Where? In the secret place. Putting all of the incredible chemistry and biology together. But hold your place right there. Keep it on Keep it on the screen. And you think about that for a second. I'm not going to I'm not going to get into the abortion debate issue. Just think of this. Science is so advancing so wonderfully in this area of taking a peek at what's happening inside that it's boggling the minds of the greatest thinkers in the world right now.

The scientists are looking at these things with now these super electron microscopes and they're saying this is more complex than anything that the Hubble Telescope has ever revealed to man. It makes the universe look like a joke. The math, the biology, the chemistry, the blueprints, the DNA itself is a universe of universes. And think how wrong it is to stop that. It doesn't make sense. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

That's a reference to the not the earth earth, the unseen place, the mother. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. God's looking inside the womb. And in your book there they were all written. The days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them. How precious are your thoughts to me, oh God. How great is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I wake This is the best. When I wake, I'm still with you. God. A miserable love, huh? His concern for us.

That's precious stuff, you guys. Do we go to the second point or do we end for tonight? What do we do? Cuz if we start the second point, we just have to recap and do it next time. God's love for you is crazy. God has made you in such a way that you can actually honestly appreciate it if you just let your heart appreciate him. Because all the things that you and I long for in life, all the stuff that we want to have met in our lives, you know, stuff that we wouldn't normally talk about, right?

I just want to feel wanted. That's normal. Did you know you don't need to apologize for that? Somebody might say, oh, come on, honey. You always want me to just kind of sit around and hang out with you. That's normal. I know guys, you didn't want to hear that. But it's normal. That's the way God made us.

Guest (Male): 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.

Jack Hibbs: Guys, you're not off the hook. Ladies, listen to this. The man in your life, he wants you to say to him, you're so strong. You're just so strong. He wants to hear that stuff. Women want to be loved. Now don't get me wrong. It's not that men don't. Women want to be loved. Where does that come from? God. And isn't he amazing? We kick, we kick, we kick. Remember what Paul said or God said to Paul in Acts chapter 9. Paul is fighting. Remember, he's Saul of Tarsus before he's Paul the Apostle and he's killing Christians, fighting against Christians.

He's got documents to go to Damascus to slay the Christians that are there, arrest them, bind them up. And Jesus reveals himself on the road to Damascus. It's part of the King's Highway actually that goes up into Damascus that starts all the way down at the Gulf of Aqaba, Eilat. And Jesus appears in brilliance and Paul immediately, Saul says, who are you, Lord? It's kind of like I think I know who this is. And Jesus says, why are you persecuting me? See, what what would what would Saul, Paul ever do to Jesus? Well, he did everything to Jesus cuz Jesus was feeling everything that his church, the bride was feeling, Christians being persecuted.

That's amazing love. And Jesus says to him, Saul, Saul, don't you know that it's really hard to kick to kick against the goads? See a goad? What is a goad? On the back of an ox that pulls a load or a donkey that pulls a load, there's a board. You've seen it. If you pay close attention to old Western movies, there's a board that goes right above the ankles of the animals that pull loads. If you look real It's like a 2x4. It's about 7 ft long, horizontal with nails. And it's completely irrelevant until the horse or ox tries to back up.

And when it backs up, it sticks its ankles right into the nails. What's the purpose? To keep it going forward. And Jesus says, Paul, it's pretty tough, huh? You're having a hard time, aren't you? Kicking against the goads. Paul gets converted to Christ like that and then writes to us. Paul God The Holy Spirit used Paul to author great portions of the New Testament. Paul knew legalism. He didn't know love. Paul knew all about the rules, but he didn't know about the relationship. He knew all of the thou shalt nots. He could quote them. He knew them.

He was a Pharisee. And he could teach a Bible study in every word of every sentence of the Ten Commandments. He was a Pharisee. He was a master. And he knew nothing about the heart of God. He only knew what was on stone. And he meets Jesus. And he's melted. Did you know Muslims around the world are reporting converting to Christ? Have you heard Have you read how they're how they're meeting Jesus Christ? Visions and Revelations. They're saying it's Around the world, they're saying Jesus spoke to me. Now look, that's never happened to me like that, but I'm glad it's happening to them.

He's done it once before Well, apparently he's done it more than once, but he did it to Saul. Maybe God is speaking to you tonight and he's saying, you know all the rules. Last Sunday was the baptism, right? Doesn't that seem Was it last Sunday? It seems like it's a seems like a year ago already. That right, Stanley. I saw you. You were like the first guy to get baptized, weren't you? That's awesome. Welcome to the family of God, Stanley. That's awesome. And uh a woman came out into the waters and she said, Pastor Jack, I've been a I've been going to church for 30 years.

And she said, but I just started coming to Calvary where the Bible is opened up. And she said, I just met Jesus for the first time coming. I knew all about religion, but I fell in love with Jesus in the last few months. Listen, tonight you need to be absolutely certain that you know Jesus personally. All of the miraculous things he shows you in creation and his ability of engineering should also cause you to stop and appreciate that which should lead you to the ultimate conclusion is that it makes perfect sense that whoever created a baby must be amazing.

And when I see an orchid or a plumeria blossom out here in the courtyard tonight and take a smell smell it or a gardenia, take a smell. Are you serious? You're going to say this evolved and you happened to just Well, you know, it's you know that evolution is something. That gardenia smells so good. Really? Did you see the sky today? Massive cumulonimbus clouds with lightning coming out of it and back up in the mountains, the snow's falling on the hills and the rain is coming down and you can almost hear the trees clap. And you go, man, that evolution is fantastic.

Really? Honestly. Listen. It's just as bad for somebody to say, I believe God exists. I believe in the Bible. But what you believe about God existing in the Bible is anything but a relationship. You can point at all the road signs. Doesn't make you a motorist. That's a stop sign. Yeah, it's true, but unless you're driving in a car, it's pretty irrelevant. You can point to all of the religious regulations and rules, but unless you're experiencing him, you're just pointing out the obvious. Do you know him tonight? Have you let him love on you? Let's pray right now.

Father, we turn to you tonight and we consider and we shall consider more the parable of the lost sheep. And tonight, Lord, we're faced with the stark reality which is awesome that Jesus Christ himself said the shepherd leaves the 99 looking for the one that is lost. Jesus wants you to see the very heart of God. And tonight, you need to know that he's the only one who really loves you. I'm not saying people do not love you. I'm talking about real love that can never end, will never change. It doesn't have to grow anymore because it is maximum now.

He's always known you. But what about you now tonight? What about you loving him? This is your choice. Love is a choice. I'm not inviting you tonight to a religion. I'm not inviting you to rules. I 'm inviting you tonight. I 'm inviting you to call out to him. You meet him. None of us around you right now are involved in this. We're just saying, would you like to meet him? And you're either here tonight and you're folding your arms and saying, that's ridiculous. Really? You ever met him? Have you ever been open enough to meet him?

Maybe tonight you're saying, I I I um I'd like to know him. That that verse you said earlier this evening about for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. That that must be Jesus, right? Yes. And that's what the cross is all about, right? He died there for our sins. I've heard that before. That's what the Bible says. Correct. Friend, think now. You need to close the circuit on that. Think. Why would he do that? Cuz he loves you. He wants your life to be lived now the way that he intended it.

Up until now, you've lived your life without him. Tonight, he wants you to leave this place living your life for him. I talked about my Ford tonight. My Ford is acting up. I'm not going to take it to a bicycle shop tomorrow. I'm going to take it to the people who created it. You have spent your life going to bicycle shops, parties. You've tried cocaine, pot, alcohol. You've done all that stuff trying to fit and find satisfaction. You've tried all this stuff. You've tried sex this way and that way, and it still leaves you broken.

We're not condemning you for that. In fact, we could say Yep, we know how that goes. Yep, I remember that. It's a dead end. Your life was made by your creator. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed tonight, maybe this evening you'd be saying yes to Jesus. This makes total sense you're saying right now. I I've sinned. I have done wrong. I think wrong. I I say wrong. And I want to be forgiven and I want to cash in on that wonderful price paid at that cross. I want to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

I want him to live now through me. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed tonight, maybe that's your desire. No one's looking around the sanctuary tonight. Maybe you're watching right now. Of course, obviously I cannot see you, but God can see you. He can see your hand. He'll He sees the decision that you're making right now. And right now, if you're accepting Christ tonight, Christians be praying, would you just raise your hand wherever you're at? Why? Because Jesus called those that he did publicly. I'm just going to ask you to raise your hand. I'm looking.

That's public enough. But tonight, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and you're saying, I need to make this decision. Kind of scared about that. Don't know what's going to happen, but I know it's true. Is that you tonight? Can you raise your hand? Whoever you may be, God bless you. Anyone else, you can put your hand down. Anyone else? God bless you. You know God is speaking. There's some There's a little bit of a tornado going on inside your heart. You know you've heard truth tonight. And isn't it amazing? The Holy Spirit is now calling you on the carpet as it were and he's saying, hey, what are you going to do with this?

You heard about the son of God, the love of God. What are you going to do? One more One more invitation. Anyone else tonight? Awesome. God bless you in the back. Father, bless them now, we pray. And all God's people said

Guest (Male): Amen.

Guest (Male): Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio with his message called Parable of the Lost Sheep Part 2. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Parables of Jesus. It's a series that highlights the teachings of Jesus while he was ministering here on this earth. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.

Guest (Male): 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/nogod. That's k n o w God. And 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 nogod tab at jackhibbs.com.

Guest (Male): You ever feel like your Christian values are under constant assault? In a world where biblical truth is often labeled hateful or backward, how do we stand firm without becoming combative or isolated? Pastor Jack Hibbs wants to help you find answers with this month's featured resource When Culture Hates You. It's written by Natasha Crane. And in this straight-talking book, you'll discover how to tackle tough conversations, maintain biblical convictions, and respond to cultural hostility with both grace and truth. Now think of it as your essential guide for navigating a world that often views faith as the enemy.

You'll learn how to speak confidently on issues of morality, identity, and belief without losing sight of God's love because sometimes the strongest stance is one that balances conviction with compassion. Now if you're ready to stand strong in an ever-shifting culture, look no further. When Culture Hates You, it's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com/realradio. One more time, jackhibbs.com/realradio.

Guest (Male): 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.