The Epicenter Of The Gospel

Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. You're not going to find this in any other religious writings. Buddha didn't come to service. Muhammad didn't come to service. Lenin didn't come to service. Confucius didn't come to service. God spanned the greatest distance. Come into this world to serve the lost. You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast. Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us, that's like saying amen or yes, then that rating will encourage others to listen. Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. This is what the Bible says. And you test to see if this is true. Ponder this. Listen, friends, if you're hearing this for the first time, judge this new testament statement here in Romans 15 verse 8 against old testament prophets and see if it's not true. How's that? To me, that is just so beautiful and so amazing about God. Because you don't have to have luck. You don't have to, you don't have to hang on to somebody else's faith. God says you have to have your own. And God expects you to use your brain and your wherewithal to find out if these things are true. Is it great? I just love God's opinion of you and your ability to pursue truth is much greater than I think you have of yourself. Because we have this tendency to like sit there and be spoon fed. And God says, no, I made you with the ability to investigate. You get up and you go find out. It's kind of like just God challenging you. This is what I say. Test me to see if it's true. That's what he's announcing to you. Well, you know, somebody said and she said and he said and they said, forget about them. What did you find out from what God has said? That's beautiful. And right here in the scripture, he is saying, Jesus is the Messiah and he has come to be a servant first to those who are of the circumcision for the truth of God. A great, great statement and this word here, be coming. I'm going to give you some of these announcements or declarations we can put it this way. You guys good? You guys all right? Okay, here we go. John chapter one. Look at this. John one in the beginning. Oh, by the way, this is written, it says John in English. This is Johanine. This is the guy. Johanine. This is John. See, what do you say that? Because he's a Jew. I was almost Jewish there a second ago because he's a Jew. Listen to Johanine. He says in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning that is of the physical creation of physical things. With God, verse three, all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made. Verse four, in him was life and the life was the light of men, verse 14. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. He became flesh, folks, and dwelt among us. That is a Christian necessity to believe in, to be a follower of Christ. He dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Wow. First Timothy chapter three, verse 16, first Timothy three, 16 says this, this is one of my favorite verses. You guys know this. And without controversy, ain't no debate. That's how I put it. You want to talk about it? Let's talk about it, but we're not going to debate it because it's not to be one or lost. Watch. What he's about to say is, that's the answer. It is. Well, let's talk about it. Go ahead. Let's argue it. Sure. Let's argue it. At the end of the day, that's what it is, it kind of sounds like a parent. You can do whatever you say, but at the end of the day, you will take out the dress. You didn't give me all the reasons why, because you got an A. You don't have to take up the trash. But when you're all done arguing this, you're just wasting your time because you will take out the trash. God is saying, argue all you want. At the end of the day, great is the mystery of Godliness. Here it is. God was manifested in the flesh. Can you guys like go crazy over that? There's no faith, there is no religion on the planet that says this. And yet it's not a New Testament doctrine. It's recorded in the New Testament. It is declared in the old. He says, and he uses the word servant here, that Jesus Christ would be the servant of the circumcised of the Jewish people, starting their first. Look what that word means. Again, you're not going to find this in any other religious writings. Buddha didn't come to service. The gods of Hinduism didn't come to service. Muhammad didn't come to service. Just whatever you're thinking. Lenin didn't come to service. Confucius didn't come to service. God spanned the greatest distance coming into this world to serve the lost. Watch this. The word means to serve or to be a servant, to be a minister, to serve others. When you read your Bible, do you not get the greatest example of serving one another from Jesus, him, self? Wow. And then John chapter 4, verse 22. This is a very important verse to have memorized at a time like this, because of all the crazy stuff that's going on in the world around us. John 4, verse 22, Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well, she's a Samaritan, and Jesus says, for salvation is of the Jews. Listen, I'm going to tell you straight up, and by the way, leave that on the screen, everybody. Just because you and I are living in the last days, and the rhetoric is what's out there, which is, as I said a moment ago, today being the international day of prayer for the persecuted church, to not talk about it doesn't mean it's going away. Do you hear me? To say, I don't want to pray, I don't want to acknowledge that Christians are being slaughtered right now, doesn't change a thing. And so we pray. In the same fashion, the Bible says Jesus said it himself, for salvation is of the Jews. The word means salvation originates with the Jews, meaning this. God gives his gospel, God gave his gospel 2,000 years ago, first to the Jewish people, to Jerusalem, to Israel. You cannot deny that. At the end of the day, you're going to take out the trash. It's pure truth. And so while everybody's talking about what they're talking about, you can just blow a whole bomb, intellectual bomb, up in the argument saying, well, you know, Jesus did say salvation is of the Jews. Boom! We'll explain what this means in a moment, but very quickly, it doesn't mean that because salvation is of the Jews, every Jew is going to heaven, that's not what it means. It means that the message of the gospel was given to God's chosen people, the Jewish people, to take that message to the ends of the earth. The nation was given that opportunity. The nation, look at it this way, its politics rejected it. And the Bible says in Romans 9, 10 and 11, they rejected it, but not forever. But in the meantime, individual Jews for the last 2,000 years come to Christ. Did you know that? This is important to understand that. No other nation on earth outside of Israel has had this opportunity, but like America, I say, but like the United States has taken up at one time of our history and gave the gospel out to the ends of the earth. It doesn't mean the nation is saved, but individuals within that nation can be saved. Are you hearing me? Right now, the Jewish nation is in unbelief, exactly as Ezekiel said they would be, until Christ would start to work on them again in the last days. But there are Jews coming to faith in Messiah every day, hope that makes some sense to you. There's national, there's national salvation, there's national judgment that God has promised regarding the nation of Israel. But personal salvation, Nicodemus, Nicodemus was a member of a nation that rejected the Messiah, but Nicodemus himself winds up accepting the Messiah because we see him taking the body of Jesus down from the cross with Joseph of Arimathea and bearing him in the tomb. Amazing. Keep that in mind, everybody. There's great hope and excitement in all of that. Philippians chapter 2, verse 6, who, being in the form of God, speaking of Jesus, did not consider it robbery or something to try to get, to be equal with God. He didn't have to try. He was, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of man or mankind. Is that awesome? You might say, well, I think Jesus was a very important person. He uses a lot of people to say that. Right here the Bible says that Jesus Christ came in the likeness of humans. Just that statement should wake you up. Look, you and I did not decide to come to this world like a human. You are going to be a human if you like it or not. Your mom and dad got together and you came out and it wasn't going to be a puppy. They didn't know if they were going to have a dockson or a chihuahua, but they were waiting to see what you were. No, no, no. They knew what would be coming out. It would be either you boy or you girl, but you human you. That's the one that comes out. God sends his son into the world just like us. By the way, if you want to go in deeper in a theological course and a seminary, guess who Jesus didn't die for? He didn't die for angels. You mean Satan, know the demons that were deceived and were cast into hell? They don't get a chance to accept Jesus. Zip, not a net, nope. Wow, he died for us. He didn't, listen, he didn't come as an angel. The next time you are down about your self-worth, you ought to think about what he thinks about you. And so being found in the appearances of man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Isn't that a remarkable declaration? This is what Jesus chose to do. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Bible prophecy. Colossians chapter 2 verse 8 tells us this, beware, let's anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ, for in him dwells all the fullness of the God had. Wow, what does this mean, God had means one God, three persons. Go figure that out and when you figure it out, come and tell me because nobody knows how to explain it. And you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. All authority belongs to Jesus, the Bible announces us. And the Messiah would be promised, and I'm saying all this, I'm laying this down because that verse 8 talks about him being a servant, a minister to the circumcision, to the glory of God, to the Jewish people. The Messiah was the promised one who had come out of Zion, Romans chapter 11. Watch this, this is awesome. Verse 11 verse 25, blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Man, I wish we had the time to talk about this. The nation has been blinded by God because of their unbelief. Individual Jews are coming to Christ as they come to Christ. There's a time coming when the last Gentile that God knows will say, yes to Jesus and the fullness. See the word fullness? It means, I know this sounds, it's going to hard to imagine. But imagine God having a counter in its going. Every time a Gentile accepts the Lord, the number goes up. You know how you're watching the national debt? You know that thing? Don't watch it. It'll give you a heart attack. And that thing's going to be... Right, imagine there is a number. We do not know, maybe we'll never know God knows. God knows that there is a number that when that last Gentile accepts the Lord, all right, shows over. Next chapter, next act. The fullness of the Gentiles is complete or full. Wow, if you're that person today, will you please accept Jesus now? You say, well what if I am or not? Look because we don't know except Christ today. Repent of your sins, receive Him, let's get out of here. And so all... Look, look, when that happens, look at verse 26, and so all Israel will be saved as it is written, the deliver will come out of Zion. And he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. Wow. Next verse. I think we have another one. Yeah, Luke 2. And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just in devout waiting for the consolation of Israel, a title of the Messiah, folks. Okay, you got to stop right there, 2,000 years ago. It is recorded that there's a Jewish man, old man, who believes, call him crazy. He believes that the consolation of Israel is soon coming. The Messiah is on his way. Watch. This is all we know so far. We haven't read the rest of it. Why would you think this way? What's this guy thinking? After all, he's an old man, maybe he's kind of lost it. Let's see. He's waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. That's the answer. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he would see the Lord's Messiah, the Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. Wow. And when the parents, that's Joseph and Mary, brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. He took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all, what is that word? People's, what's another word for people's in the Bible? Thank you. Nations. What? Nations. Salvation is of the Jews first. And to the nations, wow. Verse 32, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel. You'll see that? To the Gentiles that's maybe all of us and to the Jewish people as well. All peoples, the Messiah, Jesus is for all. We're not inviting you to join the church or a club. We're inviting you to meet Jesus Christ. Well, I'm an Arab. And meet Jesus Christ. I'm a Hispanic. Meet Jesus Christ. I'm Caucasian. Meet Jesus Christ. Fill in the blank. I don't care what. Do it. Father, we praise you. We praise you for your word. We thank you for your truth. May our foundation be Bible. Nothing but the Bible, so help us God. We be a people full of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of the Word of God, the wisdom of God, knowing and understanding that for God's soul of the world, that He gifted, gave, His only begotten Son, that who so ever, anybody who would believe on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. Lord right now, in this room or around the world, may someone, somewhere say, Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. I want to be forgiven. I want to be made new. I want to be born again. I want to live forever with you. I want my sins washed away. I want my name written down in the Lamb's Book of Life. I want to have someone, something greater to live for than my meager life, someone something so great that you're worthy of my life. Let it be, Lord, we pray in Jesus' name and all God's people said, Amen. This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, are listener supported. 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