Real Life Radio

David J: I don't know, take a pick. Invite a viper into your house and turn it loose at night or pull out a machete and kill it. That is the beginning of the slide down that when a crisis comes and a Goliath marches into our lives, we'll have no power.

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.

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David J: On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series now called First Samuel in a message titled "Winning the Battles of Life, Part Four." Samuel of the Old Testament was the last judge of Israel and the first of its prophets. So here, as we continue in chapter 17, we see how God really is bigger than any giant.

You see, Goliath was shouting all sorts of lies that made God's people feel weak. But David shows up believing that Goliath cannot break his confidence. David's heart trusted God more than what he saw and placed his security on remembering God's past faithfulness.

So today, Pastor Jack teaches that our role as Christians is to show up while God's role is to bring the giants down. When we advance God's kingdom using whatever he has placed in our hands, we are acknowledging that the victory belongs to him. Now, with his message called "Winning the Battles of Life, Part Four," here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: Verses 39 to 47, "Winning the Wars of Life." We can be rest assured of it because we know the end. It's this: our lives have been empowered. Now look, jot it down. Our lives have been empowered. We all talk about it, but I fear sometimes we don't experience it.

Our lives have been empowered. You're going to hear and read verses 39 to 47 about the empowerment of God in David's life. This is kind of cute. It says verse 39, "David fastened his—that's Saul's sword—to his armor and he tried to walk with it." Here's David, a young kid. Saul's a big guy. He puts on Saul's gear, or Saul puts it on him. Somebody's putting it on David. David's got this stuff on. I mean, he looks like a ding-dong. Nothing fits.

And look at this. I love it. Because our power strength, we learn in verses 39 to 43, our power strength is not to be of the world. Watch this. He tried to put them on. He tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I can't walk with these, for I have not tested them."

So David took them off. Verse 40, "Then he took his staff." Hey, a staff. That's for sheep. That's not an M16. That's not a rocket launcher. That's not a Katyusha. A staff! He took it in his hand and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook. I've told you we've been there. The brook is there. It's very cool. You've got to sign up and go when we go to Israel next. They're there. I don't know how they keep getting them there, but they're there.

And he put them in his shepherd's bag. Hey, that's a sheep thing again. In a pouch which he had, and his sling—his sling was in his hand—and he drew near to the Philistine. Verse 41, "So the Philistine came and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him."

So now you've got Goliath and he's marching. And then you've got this guy who is some sort of armor-bearer guy. He's got a little flag on his head and he's like, "I work for Goliath," and he's carrying his shield. He's got Goliath photos and stuff. "I'm for Goliath," the fan club thing. He's carrying his shield.

And Goliath, he's just so into the scene because he's the flesh. You know how the flesh is. The flesh is just out there. And he's just stomping. And they're starting to meet—this little teenager and this gigantic man.

And so David has his implements. They draw near to one another. Verse 41: "So the Philistine came out and began to draw near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him." That's a heavy word in the Hebrew language. Goliath was so disgusted, for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.

So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. That Philistine stood there. People, I'm not going to elaborate on something because there are some young ears in this building tonight. You look it up later, those of you who want to do some more research. Go to this chapter, do some study, and find out in Hebrew what the word "dog" means. It does not mean a dog, I'll tell you that. And I'm not going to mention what it means.

He begins to curse David by his gods, these pagan gods that this giant worships, these freakish gods. One of the most enlightening things for you to go to the Middle East and visit ancient spots of worship is the freakish gods they worshiped. Whatever your perverse imagination can concoct, they created gods for that type of performance or that type of worship. And then, quite frankly, I think only under demonic influence, they even took things further than that.

And so this guy is pronouncing these judgments against David. My friend, jot it down. Verses 39 to 43, we learn under this second point that there is a power that is not of this world and it's ours. The power that you and I live this life by is not of this world. And I'm afraid tonight that the church, the world church, has missed it.

We have so compromised the power of God in our lives. You blush on the inside, maybe you blush on the outside. Why is not the church so mighty and so strong as it was in yesteryear? Where is it? Where's the church that when it stood up, people said, "I want to be part of that," or "I want to kill it"? It was black or it was white.

Now the church is so compromised, you don't know where the lines are drawn. It's partly this and it's partly that. It's the End Times church. It's the Laodicean age. It's the time that we're living in. What was the denomination two weeks ago that just declared in their council meeting that homosexuals now can be pastors?

Well, that's funny. What gods are speaking? You've got the dilemma of the Catholic church trying to clean house. Then you've got another denomination saying, "No, no, no, it's okay. It's okay." I'm telling you, the world is ripe for the End Time church. It's going to be in the name of Christianity. It's going to look like something godly but deny the power thereof. That's key.

The Bible says that there will be an End Time church. It will be Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Hindu. It will be everything rolled up into one thing under one central leader, says the Bible. And everyone will agree. Everyone will come together. And on issues that we vary on, we are not allowed to talk about. It will not be allowed.

There will be a new standard issued of faith's essentials. It won't matter if Jesus Christ was virgin born. Remember, those of you, I hope you better know your Bible. It's in the guise of Christianity. That's why the Antichrist is called the Antichrist. He's not the Anti-Maharishi. He's not the anti-whatever.

This is a serious thing. We're living in the days of serious spiritual deception. And if we sit here tonight and go, "Uh, I don't think so," we're going right down the drain with it. And someone's going to introduce something and it will be some law. It will go to Sacramento and it's going to get passed because they're going to put something alongside of it. And you know, it's really nice for the Peruvian butterfly, and if we don't do that, the butterfly is going to die. And so we have to get that bill in.

But at the same time, hidden in that bill is a bill that's going to outlaw the Bible because fundamentalism causes world trade centers to fall down. They have lumped you into the category of fundamentalism. And I'm not making it up.

Amazing times. Where is the power of the Christian church? It's compromised. It's gone. You want to know why? Because the church has, as in Ezekiel chapter eight, looked so holy. The temple looked so holy on the outside, the building looked great on the outside. But God says, "Hey Ezekiel, stick your head on the inside and look and see what my priests are doing."

And when Ezekiel peeked inside and he looked, the priests of the Lord were looking at all kinds of pornographic things of pagan gods and pornographic idols. And God said, "These are my men. These are my priests." Pornography, lewdness. No wonder why the church has got no power.

God's looking high and low all over the world right now to try to find somebody who's not into internet porn or chat room this. "Well, my husband never talks to me, but this guy, it's just a very benign relationship. We just chat." Oh yeah? Well, why don't you come into the office in a few months and see where that goes?

"Oh, I just took a peek. I just wanted to see how easy it was to get on there. I wanted to make sure it was safe for my kids, you know." And now wives are wondering why husbands, they haven't touched them in a year. That's a warning sign.

The church has fallen apart. It's got no power to do anything healthy and right for God because it's compromised itself. Oh, the Goliath may not be 10 feet tall anymore. It just might be the size of a computer screen or a magazine.

And then we ask God for power. "Oh God, give me power that I might serve you." And God says, "If I were to put my power into your hands, you'd kill yourself with it. My power is to advance the kingdom of God, and you're playing games." It's a heartbreak.

David's life was dedicated to God. And I nearly got into an argument or a fistfight with somebody who defended the perils of pornography in his home because, after all, he's got to do his business online. Well, how did you ever exist before the internet anyway?

I don't know, take a pick. Invite a viper into your house and turn it loose at night or pull out a machete and kill it. And maybe you don't care by now, but there are families falling apart. And your daughters and your sons, they know your computer better than you do and they're getting on there. And I'm hearing about it, and you don't even know it.

You better wake up. That is the beginning of the slide down that when a crisis comes and a Goliath marches into our lives, we'll have no power. We'll have no power to stand there and say, "I come to you in the name of my living God. You have defiled my God, and I stand here today in the name of my God." And God's going to part the sky and say, "Which one is that? Can you help me out there? Huh? Which God you crying out to now?" This is a serious issue.

What do we do? We've got a giant to kill. It's so close too. You know, they're face-to-face here. They are so close. Oh, it gets good too because they start throwing words back at each other. David—Goliath, he's going to say, "I'm going to feed your little body to the birds," and David comes back and says, "Oh yeah? Well, your carcass, you know, it's going to rot and it's going to stink."

And then it gets better because every time you see David walking around by the end of this chapter, every time David shows up, he's been carrying around Goliath's head. Did you know that? The army shows up. "Good job! Wow! That was awesome!" And David's holding onto his head. "Look at that! Look at this thing! This head must weigh 40 pounds. Look! Look! Look at his eyes!"

And then he gets summoned and Abner, the king's assistant, the king summons David. And here comes David. He's got his little belt on and his sling and stuff, and he's dragging Goliath's head with him. And he walks right into the king's quarters with Goliath's head. He wouldn't let go of that head.

Let's pray. Father, tonight for me, I want to thank you publicly in front of all these people how much worship changed my life tonight. God, only you know just the depression I was in today. And the selection of the songs and the vitality of how they were sung and played, the words—God, please open my eyes to see what you're saying and to hear what you're saying.

Is there a great link that this young boy David is going to go from this event and become a songwriter? Are you teaching us, Lord, that even when we feel so dark and so depressed for no reason that we can pinpoint, that when we worship you, we're reminded that the battle belongs to the Lord? And we can make songs our prayer by lifting up our hands, as scripture says.

And Lord, we wanted to kill this giant a month or two ago, but are you teaching us something? Lord, are there homes tonight that need to go home and clean house? And I'm not talking about hanging up a shirt. But Father, you know, you know what's going on in the secret places. And it's killing that single young man, it's destroying the life of that young girl or that husband who might even break down crying and say, "You know, my wife and I, we're not together anymore and it just doesn't—she hates me or whatever, and so this is where I go." It's still not right.

And the wife might say, "You know, he never talks to me. And so I found this friend." And we've compromised our power. Dear God, I thank you that I'm nigh unto an idiot and know nothing but of my life. Lord, these are your people, and I would never pretend to be anything unto them than the chief shepherd's sheepdog.

But Father, if tonight's message is striking true to hearts, I would pray that you would awaken men and women to see the late hour that it is. And for them to wake up and to understand that all of their criticizing of you and claiming that you're not as powerful as you used to be, and how come you don't do this, and how come you don't do that, and how come you don't do the other, has been because, Lord God, of compromise.

Lord, we cling to your holiness tonight. Silently and quietly, God, I pray that you would invade the hearts of everyone in this place to rededicate themselves unto you. To say, "God, I do not have the power to stop that thing in my life. I beg of you. Please intervene. Grant me the power. Throw it out of my house or whatever. But God, rescue my home, or rescue my teenager."

God, I pray for these young boys who will never again look at a woman the same, whose minds will carry into their married life these scars. Lord, we could be here all night before your throne. And I pray, dear God, that you would descend upon us. Contrite hearts, broken spirits. Lord, may we come together in faith, and may the presence of the Holy Spirit be obvious to heal and to move and to cause us to be victorious in the battles of life. And everyone of God's people said, "Amen."

David J: Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio with his message called "Winning the Battles of Life, Part Four." You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called First Samuel. It's a series that highlights the prophet Samuel, who was called by God during one of Israel's darkest times to bring the people back to a heart of true worship. And we'll continue it on the next edition of Real Life Radio.

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/knowgod. 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 Know God tab at jackhibbs.com.

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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.