Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: God, why didn't you take control of that? You know what, the Lord wants us to bring every thought under the captivity of Jesus Christ. Yeah, we're kicking around on this world and we're living for God, but this old carcass sometimes raises its ugly head or throws out an evil thought. But the Bible says that God even knows our thoughts from afar off. He knows everything about us.

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.

Friends, knowing and learning and having a biblical worldview matters. In fact, if God is going to send any form of an awakening among the lost, it's going to come from the believers who understand the responsibility that's before them. That's why on the campuses of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, there's going to be the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, hosted by Tony Perkins and a lineup of great speakers.

There's a spiritual side of what is happening. If you aren't located in Southern California, don't worry, you don't have to miss a moment. The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit will be streamed live on Real Life Network. Join us online for uncompromising biblical teaching, timely messages on today's political issues, and practical steps to strengthen your faith, family, and community. What's really at stake here is the spiritual foundation of our country. You can get all the information, just go to reallifenetwork.com/pvs. Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, October 17th and 18th.

On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called First Samuel with a message titled "The Will of God in Your Life, Part Two." Samuel of the Old Testament was the last judge of Israel and the first of its prophets. So as we continue in chapter nine, we'll see how God's plan for Saul as Israel's king was revealed through an unexpected journey that leads Saul to Samuel.

You see, Israel cried out to Samuel for God to give them a king. Samuel prayed and God relented, but God still kept control of the specific plan that he had for his people. God's will can come to pass even in this imperfect world and in spite of our imperfect thoughts and desires.

So today Pastor Jack teaches that even when things come against us, God is still there to lead us and guide us. God is so involved in our lives that he will use others to help provide what we need. Now with his message called "The Will of God in Your Life, Part Two," here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: And so in our study, we've been looking at the will of God in your life in First Samuel chapters nine and 10. And as we look, just by way of recap, I'm going to introduce in a moment a bit of an added boost, I think, to God's will being done in your life.

But we need to remember something as we're looking in First Samuel chapter nine. We read there and we studied together last time that God was at work in the nation of Israel. They had been asking for Samuel to talk to God about making them a king like all the other nations of the Earth had. Remember that? They said, "Hey Samuel, you're old and your sons are a bunch of nincompoops. They don't follow God, they don't follow you. We don't want to have this invisible God watching over us that we can't touch and feel and see. We want to have a king like all the other nations of the Earth. We want to be just like all the other countries of the world." And that's a wrong thing to ask for if you're the nation of Israel.

Frankly, I think it's a wrong thing to ask for if you're the United States of America. I would hope and pray that the President of the United States is a man who seeks the face of God, and if he's not, may we pray that he does. One nation, we say, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Liberty and justice only if God is the Lord of America.

God has a will for America. He's got a will for Israel, of course. He's got a will for the world. He's got a will for this church. God's got a will for your life. God, and I love it and I love to say it, is both owner and operator. You ever seen those big rigs going down the highway and it says, like, "Jim Smith, Owner-Operator"? And you see them up there. Don't you want to be up there someday, way up there? I mean, I would love to be up there in a big 18-wheeler. It's a guy thing maybe, I don't know. Rub some grease on you and roll your sleeves up, the horn. It would be so cool. And then it says, "Jim Smith, Owner-Operator."

Well, you know what? On the life of every Christian, it should be written like those little Teddy Ruxpin dolls: "Owner-Operator, God." It should be stamped into our feet: "Owner-Operator, God" in the life of the believer because God has a will for us. He wants to exercise that will in our lives. And we learned of Saul's qualifications for becoming the king. If Israel's asking for a leader like all the nations of the world, well, what do the nations of the world look for in attributes of leaders? Good looking, remember? That he's tall, looking very corporate.

You know what I mean? Have you ever seen corporate leaders? When you look at Saul in First Samuel chapter nine, the people want a king. And so God says, "Well, give them what they want, Samuel. They haven't rejected you, Sam, they've rejected me. So give them a king. Here's the guy that they need. They're looking for this kind of a guy. Here's the guy." And so what did the Bible say about Saul? He was head and shoulders above everybody else. He was super handsome. And by the way, his father Kish was a very wealthy man. He was a rich kid. He had servants. He was the exact opposite of Samuel's entrance into the world.

He had looks, he had height, he had bucks. He was tall, dark, and handsome. And this is what the world wants. "Oh, that's a leader." It's amazing. But you know, that's what the whole thing is about. And we saw how the Bible said there last time that there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel. He was a mighty man of power. That means he's a mighty man of influence and financial wealth. And he had a choice son. Choice, girls, he was choice. He was a hottie. Handsome, it says, whose name was Saul. And there was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. That's good looking. From his shoulders upward, he was taller than all of the people.

Wow. In First Samuel chapter eight, back in chapter eight, verse five, it said, "Look, Samuel, you're old," they said, "and your sons do not walk in your ways. We want to have a king like all the other nations." And in verses 19 and 20 of that same eighth chapter of Samuel, they said, "We want to have a king like all the other nations." Their cry for a king, God heard and God prepared.

And so last time together, we saw in verse three, regarding the will of God in your life, that God has ordained a specific plan for your life. God does, and God has planned a specific execution of his will in your life. Remember how we looked at it last time, how strange it was that God was bringing about a king for Israel? He was going to exercise his will in Saul's life. Though God wanted to be the king of Israel, the people had rejected him as king, so God prepares Saul. He's using Samuel, and all of these things are coming together. But do you remember how God got the whole thing moving? God used the donkeys. Remember the donkeys? The donkeys got lost.

Saul's donkeys got lost. So Saul's looking for the donkeys. He's out there wandering around, and God is behind the whole scene. And when God has a specific ordained plan, we talked about how we need to see that plan. Even in the midst of donkeys being lost, God was working. You may say, "Well, how stupid of a thing is that?" Well, how stupid are the things that go on in our life? "I don't believe this. What any good thing can come out of this?" God's in it. God's in it. If you can't explain it, I bet you God's in it. He's working.

It's so common. The guy lost his donkeys, so Saul's looking for his donkeys. That's a common thing, I guess, if you own a lot of donkeys. He's lost them, he's looking for them. While he's looking for the donkeys, God's perfect plan is being worked out, and he's just looking for these things and he winds up bumping into Samuel. He winds up that same day being anointed king of Israel. Looking for donkeys? That's how it happened in this particular case with King Saul. It's amazing.

We need to be open to God's specific plan. We talked about that. We need to know that God is always in charge of everything. In Psalm 139, verse two, the Bible says, "God, you know when I sit down and when I rise up, and you perceive all of my thoughts," listen, "all of my thoughts from afar off." That means God knows the thoughts that we have before they ever arrive in our head. You say, "Man, if God knows that, why doesn't he stop some of those thoughts from arriving in our head?" It's amazing.

Isn't it weird how you can even be in church and have a wicked thought? You ever had that happen? A few of you? Two of you? You guys, ushers, seize these people. No. Isn't it weird? You could be sitting there and it's just, "Praise the Lord, Hallelujah," and you have this filthy thought. It's just like, "Man, what was that?" And then you start thinking, "Am I even a Christian?" Or, "My cell phone's ringing." I mean, how terrible is that? It's just so, as she throws it to somebody else, "It's not mine."

But this thought comes in your head and you're wondering, "Can I even be saved?" Man, that's the old man. He's still, you got to crucify that guy daily. The old flesh, the old thoughts. But man, you can have these bizarre things. God, why didn't you take control of that? You know what? The Lord wants us to bring every thought under the captivity of Jesus Christ. Yeah, we're kicking around on this world and we're living for God, but this old carcass sometimes raises its ugly head or throws out an evil thought. But the Bible says that God even knows our thoughts from afar off. He knows everything about us. He knows what's the very best for us. He knows what we need next.

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.

Jack Hibbs: We saw last time that we need to embrace the things of God, very important. We saw in verses four through six of chapter nine that God is not only ordaining the specific plan for our lives, but God is performing that specific plan for our lives. It says in verse four, "So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of those places there and did not find them." Being frustrated. It's his servant that says, "Hey, there's a man of God who lives nearby. Let's go consult him." And so Saul complies.

God is working even in the situation that makes no sense to us, going from place to place. Maybe you're looking for a job, from job to job to job, and it just doesn't make sense, but you've consulted God. My friend, I want to encourage you: keep looking. I think if you're looking for a 40-hour-a-week job, I think until you find it, you should be looking for a job 40 hours a week. Pray and go look. "Jack, I've been praying for months and I haven't found a job yet." Have you gotten out of bed? Pray and look for a job. "I was thinking God would bring one to me." No, pray and go look for a job. God will open the door. He is performing his specific will and plan for your life.

And then thirdly, and this is where we left off last time, thirdly, verses 15 to 20, God will be controlling the specific plan for your life. Listen, he has ordained for you, he has ordained for you a plan, a life, a life description that you should live in. Each of us individually, it's amazing. Secondly, he's going to do everything to bring that to pass in your life. Now you got to be open, but he'll bring it to pass. He's ordained it, he's performing it, and then verses 15 to 20, God is controlling the environment, the situation, I believe the very people around you to bring to pass his exact plan in your life.

And before I go too far into this, just let me say this, that I believe that every person I have met in my life, or any person that has anything to do regarding my life, I believe God was in that. Can I explain it? No. Wouldn't even try. Couldn't if I could. But I believe that he is so involved in our lives that in eternity we will then begin to see and believe how he was involved. And I think that when we think he's least involved, I think he's the most involved. I really do.

I believe that when we, for example, feel so distant from God, I think he's the nearest. Why do I believe that? Because, of course, he'll never leave us or forsake us. But I notice that, for example, in my children's life, if they think that I'm not near or they're feeling insecure, or I think because I was once a child, that what I'm about to expose my child to may cause them fear or may cause them concern or chagrin, I want to make sure that I reassure them and put my arm on them and say it's going to be okay. This, you know, this happened to me, and it's only going to take a moment, they're going to give you a shot, you're going to feel better. They don't know, you got to reassure them.

Just when everything seems like it's against you, I think God is there, bigger than ever. And I think that God is always trying to wean us from dependence upon our emotions, because our emotions often tell us God is not in that. Our emotions say God's not here, God's not in that thing. And God says, "You know, I am in this thing, I am here, and I'm going to show you. I'm going to put my arm around you, I'm going to remind you of my promises, and we're going to make it through this thing. And I'm going to bring your life to a wonderful, wonderful fulfilling conclusion. And along the way, I am going to bless your life. I am going to lead you and guide you."

As believers, the greatest thing that we can do is embrace his will for our lives. And maybe as we just conclude the evening, it's time to pray, perhaps, that in your life and in my life, there's decisions that we have to make that lie ahead of us. Maybe you're in the midst of them right now. You need to know, "God, what is your will for my life? Where will it lead me?" You've got the charts, the plans, the colored scheme laid out, and you've maybe talked to friends, they've told you which decision you ought to go and make. But you just have to know God's will instead. You won't be happy until you know his will. That's a God thing, that's a good thing.

And I want to encourage you, we need to do that thing, that will of God. And that is obeying his word. When God says to do this or to do that, we just need to say, "Lord," and this is a great thing about God, even if we're not willing to do it, this is the amazing thing about him. "Lord, I know I should be doing this thing. I don't want to do it. But God, if you can hear me, make me want to do your will or make me want to do that thing." Now everybody can pray that prayer, and he will do that. What is it? Is it your marriage? Is it your kids? Is it a job? Is it somebody that you're wondering, "Is this the one?"

Don't go another step forward in that direction without giving it to God and asking him to lead you and guide you. Christian, embrace his will. Find out what it is for your life. You will never be fully content and happy until you are right in the middle of God's will for your life. God might be saying to you tonight, "This is my will for you, Karen or Betty or Bob or John: fear not." He might be saying to you tonight, "Rejoice." Whatever he's saying to you and whatever he's saying to me, I guarantee you, it's the opposite of what we're thinking and feeling. Ever notice that?

"I'm scared." God says, "Don't be afraid." Why did God say to Paul when they were taking him out of Jerusalem with 270 armed guards down to Caesarea? Remember the religious zealots said that they were going to fast until Paul was dead? "We will not eat until Paul's dead." Or he threw the proconsul and the Jewish political leadership through circumstances that God in them got Paul under Roman guard down to Caesarea for a hearing. 270 policemen to watch one man. And on the way down there, God talks to Paul and says, "You know what? Don't be afraid."

Why did God say that? What was his command? "Don't be afraid." Why? Because Paul was afraid. What is it in your life? "I've got this pressure in my life." God says, "Don't be pressured." Doesn't it drive you nuts when he says stuff like that? "Oh, easy for you to say, you're God." But he says, "Wait a minute, because I am God, I'm telling you I know something you don't know. You don't need to be pressured. You don't need to be wigged out, freaked out, panicky." God's will for your life. Everybody in here's got at least one ear on their head to hear what God's will is for your life. And if you're deaf, he'll still talk to you.

We need to see to it that we're pursuing his will for our lives. Amen? He's so good. Lord, we thank you tonight that you are the only one in all the universe that has that divine and awesome attribute that only you possess, and that is the ability to forget. And you have told us, Lord, that you have forgotten about our sins. We may not forget, but you do. But how wonderful it is, Lord, we forget your promises, but you never forget them. Lord, you're just right all the time. You're so good. Draw us closer always, and whatever this body, these people, we ourselves are going through, no matter what's pressuring us, causing us maybe to stay up late or be tense about, you're in the middle of it. Lord, may we trust in you. In Jesus' name, and all God's people said, amen.