God Has Declared You Righteous

Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. When you ingest the Bible it comes out and it becomes I don't even like to use the word second nature. I think for the believer God allows it to be our first nature. Why? Because we've been born again and so you think Bible you speak Bible and you do Bible and when God sees this he's blessed and the world sees it and they realize how is this even possible? This person's got no education. Oh, I know they've been with Jesus. You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to Jack Hibbs.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. I wrote this down. We'll put up on this screen. If it blesses you then God gave it to me. If it doesn't make any sense I made it up and it's this. If the observable universe displays the glory of God what we know that's true from the book of Psalms and it does then shouldn't a glorified life place the observable God on display for all to see. Can I read that again? If the observable universe displays the glory of God and it does then shouldn't a glorified life place the observable God on display for all to see. You see well Jack wait a minute God's invisible you can't see him. My point if you and I have been transformed and we're living for Jesus doesn't the world just like the observe the stars can't the world observe your life and conclude there must be a God. That's the life of the believer. That's how you get into lions dens and you have no fear. That's how you get onto ships that are tossed in the raging storm and you don't panic because our lives are secured in him and settled and as long as the universe is observable I know this that the God who made those things desire something greater and that is for him to be observable in our lives and I believe according the scripture he's so committed to that the witness of God is on display in our lives it's true of all of us followers it's true of his children in Acts chapter 4 verse 12 Acts 4 verse 12 says there is no salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John they just got done saying that and obviously those who heard that watched then they saw Peter and John they perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men I love that verse everybody you want to know why I don't mean to offend anyone but if you have a PhD or if you've got an MD or if you've got a doctorate in theology I don't it doesn't matter and it doesn't matter what your world experiences that's awesome that verse to me is this verse is so encouraging because it announces to me that no matter what you have in this world by degree or by experience it doesn't translate over into your spiritual world of being used by God in other words if you are a brilliant MD that's great and keep doing that but listen God in his kingdom might have you do something completely different whereby he does he didn't need your education to pull it off are you with me he does the supernatural now look I want your education when you apply your medicine to me but God doesn't need that for you to be used in his kingdom so when the Bible says that there are those observing and they saw Peter and John tremendously powerful by the hand of God they concluded immediately how can this be these guys are uneducated unlearned people why because they were approaching a supernatural phenomenon through human physical eyes and the greatest thing about being a Christian is that our lives are supernatural that's why so much that goes on in our world we can't explain it good bad and ugly we can't explain it God's at work but look they perceive that they're uneducated and untrained men they marveled and they realized oh we get it now we know of course that they had been with Jesus that's a that's a good tattoo right there I have been with Jesus if you want the whole verse it would be right about here right is that a great thing think of a statement think of a title take of our argument the world looks at us and they see your boldness because it's hidden in Christ it's anchored to him it's not your boldness it's your boldness because God gave it to you your argumentation because it's biblical you've been at this church for a while you've got Bible now flowing through your veins so that when you talk to people or when you look at something your decision is coming coming up out of you because the Bible says I have hidden your word in my heart when you ingest the Bible it comes out and it becomes I don't even like to use the word second nature I think for the believer God allows it to be our first nature why because we've been born again and so you think Bible you speak Bible and you do Bible and when God sees this he's blessed and the world sees it and they realize how is this even possible this person's got no education oh I know they've been with Jesus I'll submit to you that the more time we spend with Jesus privately the greater the manifestation will be publicly in the life that you live four things I want to run through this little checklist I have in my notes on page three if you're looking at the notes up until this point everything has been necessary to sweep things out to make things clear so that whatever foundation might be exposed only then can you begin to build that's what Paul's doing second thing is chapter four is where Paul brings us into the world of the Jewish mind and the origins of the both Hebrew people as well as what it means to be a real Jew we're going to learn about that third thing we'll see in the chapter is that he will do this by calling them to the two greatest examples calling them calling us of a true listen living and acceptable relationship with God that are founded upon in the lives of Israel's great patriarchs and it's very shocking church listen for you to best understand your own walk with God today in the 21st century you've got to go back and look at the lives of Abraham and David and in Romans 4 you're being introduced to Abraham and David why in the world would a New Testament book drive you back to the Old Testament patriarchs of Abraham and David and if you read about their lives in the Bible you find out that they have the same exact walk that you and I have today they say the thing that's why you love reading those songs resonates with your heart and when you look at Abraham and this situation's going on and taking place and you connect with that these two men had most unique relationship with God that is mirrored today in our 21st century I said it this way it sounds clumsy it's theologically you can't defend it theologically really but it's this it's as though Abraham and David had born again relationships with God now they were not born again nobody could be born again until John 20 in the Bible fourthly that this chapter holds for us is that these two men whose lives were Old Testament examples of what it looks like to be true a true believer today is in the 21st century believer now it's remarkable the Ephesians 13 is blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places verse 4 just as he chose us in him now listen do you and Gentile listen just as he chose us in him before the world or the foundations of the world were ever laid were ever created before time was ever established that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will verse 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved in him we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace verse 8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence having made known to us the mystery of his will the mystery of his will is the New Testament the old had the message the new recorded it that mystery on that which has always been before time ever began was made known according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself verse 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him verse 11 in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will that means God's got a plan for your life and he's going to do it and I love that kind of talk I love when God comes up and takes me by the hand and says let's walk he didn't say would you like to take a walk Jack no listen I put my faith in him and so he comes up to me and he just grabs him and says let's walk let's walk and talk come on let's talk to you about something Genesis chapter 15 verse 6 and 7 says and Abraham believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness Abraham believed in God and God says for that I'm going to declare you righteous then God said to him I am the Lord who brought you out of ear of the Caldys to give you this land to inherit God gave Abraham promises that was the banner over Abraham's life and then David we read a moment ago about David in this chapter David's example is this in Psalm 27 4 and I'm going to ask you do you recognize this verse in Psalm 27 4 does this not describe you and dear church family listen you should know me by now I'm going to lay this out in a second in such a way that it will either cause you to get excited or cause you to probably never come back here again and I want you to know something that's not that's not that has nothing to do with me and and and I love you but I don't care no seriously we're not building a club here's the thing how do you know if you are a true believer David's going to tell you David's going to show you you judge yourself right now nobody else needs to judge you nobody's got the authority to judge you but we're commanded to judge ourselves aren't we so here we go let's judge ourselves can we agree with David three thousand years ago does he sound like us today one thing have I desired of the Lord that I will seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord that's not here that's not this building okay that's not some temple that's heaven that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple does that describe you what what pastor what do you mean are are you longing for heaven do you want to go there now look I know some of you are young and some of you are single and you're thinking yes but I just met a young woman or I just met a young man and we're getting pretty serious and I wanted to all in the house the Lord over the days of my life but can we do that later I understand that struggle but the reality is true nonetheless how beautiful is that struggle because you are a young individual who's got the Lord in your heart you have that struggle and that's a beautiful thing now those of us who are older I mean I don't know I mean some of us we hang out together and have you noticed our conversation especially the last couple of years has been more on heaven than in your the topic why because we're getting excited what did Abraham do church to be declared righteous by God he believed is that bother you I love it you know it bothers it bothers those of you who've come from denominations who all your life you were told by the ministry leaders you better do this you better do this and you better do this we better never find you doing this this or this and if you fill in the blanks and if you dot that eye and if you cross those teas will advance you to the next position and you'll be this thing and then you're gonna get this award and you're gonna be this super saint and you're gonna be this thing and then maybe then maybe you know and you grow up thinking like that this is American Christianity it's horrible that if you're just good enough you're acceptable look there's something called Yankee Know-How and we're famous for at least we used to be and I get that Yankee Know-How was the the Europeans said you know we can't fix this we don't you know what to do about this get an American over here they'll figure it out those crazy soldiers came from farmlands and they would take binding wire and make the airplane work again and we were famous for it this week site story this week my lawnmower wouldn't start actually the backstory was this it started perfectly fine just like it does every time I need it I pulled that thing and I made one two three four and a half passes on my grass right straight lines and the lawnmower went I just filled it up it can't be out of gas wouldn't start got a new spark plug put it in wouldn't start I pulled it go that's all I did and it's set there for two days and I would pull and I would say Lord please no I'm not joking God I'm not kidding you guys I'm dead sir gas Lisa Lord I just want to I don't know about you but I get a lot of therapy out of mind the lawn like Lord please it's all I want to do now Lord I want to remind you the tides are moving fine the moon is working Saturn still has it rings you can start this mower I know you can it's all I want to do just want to mow the lawn boom so do you know what you do in that situation no she said buy a new mower that's the American way no you do the Christian thing to do what's the Christian thing to do I went and got my granddaughter and I said now watch this she had she had just put a big scoop of food in her mouth I don't know what it was and I said I need you to come over here come here I need you to pray for my lawn mower to start and she goes I go just pray for my lawn mower listen for all of you listen all of you who struggle with the gift of tongues check this out she goes and I went and the thing just started right up if it doesn't work get a kid she prayed with food in her mouth God brought down the answer how that applies to our message I have no idea Abraham Abraham's faith Abraham's faith he didn't do anything he didn't do a thing he believed what God had said and that's where the walk of the believer begins the cultist and the legalist says do these things and you enter in God says nope enter in and you get to do these things there's a big difference there's an eternal difference this jack hips podcast as well as all the broadcasts out reach opportunities are listener supported will you consider partnering with us through a special go to jackhibs.com to learn more and stay connected