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David J: Today, on Real Life Radio.

Jack Hibbs: Those are interesting. Most people are ignorant about Satan's schemes. They're ignorant about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and they don't even want to know anything about the Lord's coming. And yet, those are three things that the Bible warns us about.

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. What do you say when a friend says their marriage might end? How do you help a co-worker dealing with depression? Do you have the right words when your child opens up about school stress or family issues or something else? The Biblical Counseling Reference Guide by June Hunt. It's your go-to resource when real life problems demand some real answers. Now, it's an easy to read book and it's simple to find answers that are from the Bible for every situation.

With more than 580 topics and over 11,000 scripture references, you'll find what God's word says about pretty much anything from anxiety and anger to loneliness, death, and a whole lot more. Now, this isn't a book that you're going to pick up and read cover to cover, but it is one that you'll reach for in a moment of need. And it's our thank you gift for your donation of any size to real life this month. And if you'd like to order your copy, and we hope you will, just visit jackhibbs.com/realradio. That's jackhibbs.com/realradio. Order your copy right away.

On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called First Samuel with a message titled Worship at War, Part One. Samuel of the Old Testament was a man dedicated to God who was Israel's last judge and the first of the prophets at a time when Israel was facing difficulty, adversity, and real uncertainty. You see, the Bible is filled with acts of worship as well as acts of war. But worship is rarely linked with spiritual warfare in the life of a believer. When we worship, we are waging war against evil. It's the kind of warfare that honors God and sees us through the difficulties of life.

So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that true spiritual worship comes from a militant faith where we're not blind to the Lord's return or ignorant of the Holy Spirit or of Satan and his schemes. Now, with his message called Worship at War, Part One, here's pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: Right now, you would take your word and Lord, out of it you would cause our hearts to see and to understand and to look at your word and this world around us in much more clearer light than what we do even now. That Father, having time invested in you would result in a life changed and a life that would result in changing the world around us by changing the hearts of men. Father, we pray not only now for this time together, but Father, for your people, wherever they may be in the world, that you might strengthen the body of Christ.

And Lord, that we might be faithful stewards of your truth until you come again. And all God's people said, Amen. Should you grab your Bible and turn if you would to First Samuel. First Samuel and we're in verse 21 this evening, starting at verse 21, First Samuel chapter one, verse 21. And the title of the message this morning, or this evening I should say, is Worship at War. Worship at War. Yep. Worship at War. First Samuel one 21. And the man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow.

But Hannah did not go up for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child is weaned. Then I will take him and he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, do what seems best to you. Wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish his word. So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Now, when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, listen, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and one skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.

And the child was young. Then they slaughtered a bull and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh my Lord, as your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood stood before you here praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me my petition which I have asked of him. Therefore, I also have lent him to the Lord so long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord. So they worshiped the Lord there. And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the Lord. My horn or strength is exalted in the Lord.

I smile at my foes because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord for there is none beside you, nor is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly. Let no arrogance come from your mouth for the Lord is the God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread and those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has born seven and she who has many children has become feeble.

The Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of his saints, but with the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces.

From heaven he will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth and he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. Then Elkanah went to his house, but the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. Verse 12. Now, the sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord and the priest's custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged flesh hook in his hand while the meat was boiling. Then he would thrust it into the pan or the pot and the priest would take himself all that the flesh hook flesh hook brought up so that they did in Shiloh to all the Jews who came there.

Now, check this out. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servants would come and say to the men who gave offering there, give the meat roasted to the priest for he will not take boiled meat from you but raw. And it and the men came and said to him, they should really burn the fat first. So then they so that they might take as much as your heart desires. He would then answer, no, but you must give it to me now. And if not, I will take it by force. Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

Huge portion of scripture, no doubt, important to cover. Worship at War. And you might say, well, what do you mean by that? Listen. Very important. The Bible is filled, of course, with facts and accounts of war. The Bible records war. The Bible actually sanctions war. A lot of people are confused about that, that war is somehow evil. Well, first of all, we live in an evil world and God is not pleased with that evil. But concerning war, God has sanctioned it and that God uses it. Now, there is a day coming, praise God, when Jesus will sit upon the throne and there will be no longer any war.

That is going to be a great day. But until that time come, there is war in the earth. But listen, there has always been worship in the earth as well. But how do the two come together in the life of the believer and in the life of those here in the scripture? Well, we need to realize this evening that we as Christians, we actually when we worship, we engage in warfare. Did you know that? Now, hopefully tonight, if we accomplish one thing this evening, that is to maybe move away the smoke or the dust or the the fog that we're so easily engulfed in concerning spiritual darkness.

There is a wickedness that is at work. Listen, 24/7. When you and I are out and we're dreaming, it's still at work. But what overcomes the wickedness and the evil of the spiritual activity that is relentless and non-stop, it is worship. It is worship that will get you and I through the difficulties of life. It's interesting to me that there are three things listed in the Bible that at least in the New Testament we are warned not to be ignorant of. The first thing is that we're not to be ignorant concerning the coming of the Lord.

Paul tells us don't be ignorant about the coming of the Lord. The second thing is is that we shouldn't be ignorant about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the third thing is that we shouldn't be ignorant about Satan's schemes. Now, isn't that interesting? Most people are ignorant about Satan's schemes. They're ignorant about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and they don't even want to know anything about the Lord's coming. And yet, those are three things that the Bible warns us about. So in our study tonight as we look about this thing of worship at war, I want you to be thinking tonight of putting maybe uh a helmet on your head, but your arms lifted up to glory.

That you have a a sword on your hip, but also wearing the gown, the wedding gown of the bride of Christ. So in our first point this evening, jot it down if you would. God's way of waging war, it's rather radical. God's way of waging war is that we are first of all confronted here that Hannah, who was childless now, has sought the Lord and she's praying and God blesses her and she becomes pregnant. And so we see that her prayer is answered. We remember last time that when she was praying, remember her head was bowed down and she was praying, but nothing was coming out of her mouth.

Uh her lips were moving and Eli thought that she was drunk. And he says, woman, get your drunkenness out of here. And she said, hey, listen, I'm not drunk. My heart is so grieved. I I want to have a baby so bad. I'm I'm grieved in my heart and and I I I just want God to bless. And he just says, you know, the Lord bless you, the Lord minister to you according to your request and sends her on her way. Well, lo and behold, she becomes pregnant and God blesses her. And the first thing that we realize is that God wages war in a totally different way than we would.

We said, well, Jack, I I don't see anything about warfare in here. Well, you notice that this story begins with the conception of a righteous child that God has a special plan for. And the end, verse 17, chapter two, ends with the horrible witness of Eli's two sons. One is dedicated and promised to God. The others are neglected and really taken for granted for that these kids are just going to grow up knowing God. And the exact opposite happens. One's dedicated from birth and the others just kind of stumble into the things of God. One is spiritual, the other flesh.

Worship at war. It's always been that way. And by the way, when we were singing praises, when we were singing songs tonight and worshiping the Lord, the fact of the matter is is and was, this is great to think that the enemy can't stand to hear you sing. I mean, have you ever dragged fingernails across the chalkboard? I mean that sound or when somebody takes a fork and rubs it on a plate. It kind of makes I don't know why I've heard this, but people say it makes your teeth itch. I've never had my teeth itch, but if anything would make my teeth itch, it would be that.

And that horrible sound, I believe that true spiritual worship uh sounds like that to say, I really if you don't believe that, don't tell me because I want to believe that. That it just drives them crazy. Makes them sick. I think it'd be fantastic.

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: Listen, there are two things concerning the church that the old Puritans used to say, that there's a militant church and there's a church triumphant. That there's a militant church and there's the church triumphant. And the militant church is the church that you and I belong to right here right now. So in that respect, the church is divided, not in a bad way, but in a great way. The militant church is the church that is on the earth right now waging war against evil. The militant church and the triumphant church is the church that has died and gone into glory.

They're there. They're they are as Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12:1 that therefore also there's uh a great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us. Well, then we believe that that verse means that from heaven there is an understanding that there are those who have gone on before us. The church triumphant. We don't enter into our absolute victory and glory until we die and go to heaven. Those brothers and sisters that are there are the church triumphant, but the church militant, that's you and I right now. And what is that church to do? That church is to worship.

In Second Timothy 4:6 the Bible says, Paul speaking, he says, for my time of my departure is at hand. Here's a militant warrior for God, Paul, who's about to go into glory and make that transition. He 's going to go from militant faith to triumphant glory. Hannah has been struggling half her life with a barren womb and all the chiding and all of the mockery and ridicule from her opponent really in her own house and all of the jeering. And now God has blessed her. And that's though she's a woman back from the dead. It's amazing.

The church militant. Paul writes in First Timothy 1:18, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you that by them you may wage a good warfare. That's the Christian soldier is one who worships yet is at war. We are a strange contradiction of people. We are to walk around with our Bible in hand. Don't we look docile? I mean, we really do. We got our Bible. I mean, some people struggle of I think it's mainly men with carrying a Bible. I mean, I have actually seen on a Sunday morning out my window as people are coming to the church, I've seen husbands hand their wives the Bible as they approach the church building.

Isn't that sad? It's like, here, honey, uh I'm going to look kind of girly holding this thing. Well, I don't know why you should think that because most men haven't read the Bible. And I think if you're holding it like that, you'd be quite a challenge to somebody. Let alone coming to church without a Bible. I I don't get it unless you're unless you don't know the Lord, that I understand. But having the Bible, why would we have it next to us? Why we why would we have it on our heart? Because we are waging a good warfare.

And yet, we are worshipers. We come in, we set the Bible down, we lift our arms up and we worship God. And we really do damage in the spiritual realm of darkness, I believe. And we bless the Lord and yet we study the word of God which the Bible tells us is the sword of the spirit. This thing is sharp. And it can do a great, great thing. God's way of waging war. First of all, jot this down. It's not up to human logic. It's not up to human logic. Uh human thinking. God's way of waging war completely is divorced from human logic.

We always think we got to figure it out. Okay, I think it's going to go this way. Hannah could probably have said, I bet that it's going to go like this way. God did something that she couldn't figure out. You guys, God wants to do something in your life that you can't figure out. It's going to be beyond what you're planning. It's going to be greater. Why? Because human problems, God loves them. Human problems is when God's wisdom shines forth the most. God's wisdom over the human problem. We always fail and panic when we see just the problem.

If you and I are Christians, then the fact is when we have problems in our lives, there is a great suggestion from that problem that we run to God and seek the Lord because he's got an answer. Is our nation tonight dealing with a problem? It's it's sickening. It's disgusting. But thank God, last night on one of the nine channels I watch for news, somebody stood behind one of the reporters and she had a sign. Did you see it, anybody? And it said, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and seek my face, then I will hear from heaven and I'll heal their land.

And then she turned the sign around and it said, pray for our nation. And that is so great because I have been so grieved and I have been so hard at prayer. And I was encouraged when I saw that lady's sign. She made that sign. And she went down there and she got in that crowd and she got behind the camera and 3,000 miles away I was sitting down watching. That was live on TV and I saw that. And I said, thank you, Jesus. That blessed me. Why? Because this whole thing has nothing to do with human logic.

That's why it's all confused. That 's why the all things are messed up. But you know what's great about it? This great problem that our nation is in a conundrum over and uh in fact is absolutely uh befuddled about. The great thing is the wisdom of God is the only answer for this thing. Did you know that? The wisdom of God, not the manipulation of men and the arguments of men. It's the wisdom of God. We need to be praying, God, your wisdom prevail. And it prevailed in Hannah 's life. Let God's wisdom prevail in your life.

Do you have a problem? Oh yeah, I got a problem. Search for God's wisdom to prevail in your life. Concerning this worship at war, Ephesians 6:10. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10 says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age. Listen, those are demonic, nasty, invisible forces. Against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, that is in the spirit realm.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit.

That's what the believer is to do and that's what the believer needs to do for victory. Listen, whatever your life situation is, if we are not getting up in the morning to start our day and putting on our armor, then we're going to get shot somewhere where we leave it off. You know what I'm saying? You leave your helmet at home, you're going to get shot in the head. Your helmet of salvation, you're going to be doubting your salvation. You leave your breastplate of righteousness off, you're going to get uh hit with temptation and evil and you're going to give in.

You leave your sword at home, you've got nothing to attack the enemy with. You don't have any gospel knowledge on your feet, you won't have anything to tell a needy world. On and on it goes. We need to get up. I've seen in the bookstore that cute little Have you seen at the little kids uh uh Ephesians 6 armor he can put on. He can get up in the morning and he can strap his little plastic breastplate on. He's got his helmet with a little broom thing on the top and he looks like a Roman centurion and he's the he's the Christian.

Worship at war. Man, you go out there with these things on and I bet the enemy And don't you want the enemy to tremble? I mean, really. We are not to be vandalized and victimized as believers. We want and we should be a real thorn in the flesh to the enemy. Wouldn't that be a nice turn of events? You know, we poor things, we kind of get up because we're weak in knowledge of the word and we're not applying the Bible. We get up and we put a big target on our head. And we walk around and we wait to get shot when we should be putting a helmet and all of the gear on.

Wouldn't it be great if if you know demons drove by this church and said, man, keep going. That's Calvary. They're praying. Go. Go get out of here. Wouldn't that be fun?

David J: Pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Worship at War, Part One. You know, this message by the way 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 ages to bring the people back to a heart of true worship. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Are you looking for some solid Biblical teaching that speaks to the world today? At jackhibbs.com you have access to Pastor Jack's entire library of sermons on demand, anytime, anywhere.

Whether you're commuting, you're at the gym, or you need a moment of encouragement, you can dive right into some powerful verse by verse teachings that make God's word really come alive. From deep dives into scripture to practical messages on everyday issues, Pastor Jack's teachings help you understand the Bible in a way that's clear, it's relevant, and it's easy to apply. You're going to find sermons that address today's toughest questions with Biblical insight and hope in the midst of life's challenges. Now, whether you're new to the faith or you've been around for a long time, these messages are designed to meet you right where you're at and inspire you to grow deeper in your walk with God.

So don't miss out. Visit jackhibbs.com. Want to just start exploring the sermon library today. You're going to like it. That's jackhibbs.com where powerful teaching is always just a click away. 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.