God Is For You

00:00 - Speaker 1
Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture.

00:09 - Speaker 2
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Did you hear that? Old things have passed away? What old things, all old things passed away.

00:39 - Speaker 1
What old things, All old things. Nobody can control your life, including your old self. When 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.

01:04 - Speaker 2
Pretend you're not at church today. Let's pretend we're in a really, really good theological course, that you're in a class today. One of the things that I would say in the class is that what is absolutely certain, beyond all of the things that we can actually know about our immediate existence as human beings, is the fact what God has worked and what God has wrought at the cross through Jesus and his resurrection from the dead. Listen, christ actually was crucified. You say, well, I don't believe the Bible, so then read Roman accounts of it. Well, I don't like the Roman Empire. Well, go to the British Museum of History then and look at the artifacts that are there. Why not read about some of the ancient volumes of writings that are records of the first and second century regarding the crucifixion of Christ, it's not just the Bible that announces that Jesus was crucified, but if you decide to go with the Bible which you ought to go with the Bible it's the same book that says he rose again from the dead. The cross is where he paid for our sins and purchased our innocence. Three days later, he rose again from the dead to be the very. The Bible uses the word advocate, attorney to be your attorney and mine to make sure that what he did is finished in all eternity. Wow, innocence, what an awesome thing. The Bible tells us. It goes on there in that verse. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. We remembered that in verse 33,. The word justifies means that to show or to display it's God's desired church to take every one of his children of whom I pray that you trust in Christ to exhibit righteousness, to proclaim, to declare another righteous. It's an imparted righteousness. This is the gospel. This is what the Bible teaches is that God gives righteousness. I'm reminded right now.

03:16
Last Thursday night I had the opportunity. I was asked by beautiful people at PragerU and also at the Israeli consulate if I would assemble pastors and go to Los Angeles and have them see the October 7th massacre from Hamas footage. And I just want all of you to know something. We sat there, we watched it. All of you need to know something, because you know the narrative out there in the world is that it was made up. And here's the funny thing If it's made up, if it's made up and it didn't really happen you know that's what they're saying then why, if I were to play portions of what we viewed last Thursday night and streamed it to the world right now. Why would people be upset? Why would Newsweek and USA Today have an article about this church service tomorrow? They would be absolutely furious. So what are you upset about? You guys said it was fake, you see. Then why are you upset? When we pray to our God, atheists get upset. Why do they get upset? They just think we're a bunch of idiots, a bunch of fools. Why should they be upset If God doesn't exist? Why be upset If it never happened and we viewed it to all of you today? Why would the world be upset? Because it happened and we saw it, we watched it.

05:00
When that viewing was over, we all sat silent and the consulate general's office he stood up and he said verbatim I say thank you for coming tonight. You're all dismissed. And he walks away and nobody moved and I just had to stand up. I walked down to the front and I said excuse me, but I know many of you in here are Jews. I brought a delegation of Christian pastors with me tonight and I thanked Marissa, ceo of PragerU.

05:55
But you may not want to be hearing from a Gentile right now at such a moment, but can I remind all of you that, according to the Bible, if a Christian and a church does not love and support a Jew and Israel, that they're not a New Testament church, they're not New Testament Christians. And I said you're not going to like who I'm going to quote in a moment, but he's the guy you have the biggest problem with. A couple of guys chuckled. There were rabbis there, they knew where I was going and I said it's the apostle Paul. And they laughed they don't like Paul, jesus. They said Jesus was crazy Paul. And I said so.

06:50
I want to quote the renegade Paul who said the just shall live by faith. And I said if any of you are listening carefully, that's actually not Paul. That's Paul quoting your prophet, habakkuk 2.4. It's Habakkuk 2.4 that says the just shall live by faith. Those who are justified. How do they get justified? By faith in God, not faith in ourselves, faith in him. And so they're watching, they're listening.

07:18
If you've ever spoken to a Jewish audience, it is a thrill For those of us who are old. It's called an e-ticket ride. Ask somebody what we mean by that. Because they love, they're beautiful man, they love to argue, they know how to argue, they are taught how to argue. It's very, very great. It's very good for your mind, by the way, very stimulating. They question everything and we should be like that.

07:46
And so I just said, before we go any further, I happen to be a Gentile who's been grafted in to the family of the God of Abraham, isaac and Jacob, based upon what your prophet, isaiah, said to the Gentile nations will come to Israel and will receive the light of salvation through Messiah. And as soon as I said that I was a Gentile who's connected to Isaiah, they started going okay, I'm talking their language. Now what was the language? You could see the lights coming on in their minds and said a few more words about love and about if you need anything and what our church is doing to help families right now, in real time, throughout Israel, that are suffering. And what happened was is, when I said thank you and I started to walk, people got up. They came over, they're hugging me. I got a couple of kisses from men.

08:53
It was not that kind of a thing. It was a Middle Eastern thing, it's legit, it's not goofy and it was precious. You know why? It was a dark, sinister hour and a half, but we were not. There's no way, as a Christian, I could have walked out of that theater and leave the atmosphere the way that it was.

09:19
You can't do that. You can't do that, you can't do that, you can't do that. But how do we do that? Because we know that we've been declared innocent by the work of Christ. It's not us. Well, jack, weren't you nervous to get up there and stand Nervous to the core? Did my mouth go dry? It always does. No, I'm serious, see, you don't seem nervous when you're speaking. I'm lying to you. I tremble before I come out here. You just get, after 33, 34 years, 35 years, you get used to it. You just learn how to manage it. It's all of God. But he did the work and we honor him when we obey him, because what he bought for you and I is eternal life by the blood of Christ, forgiveness of sins in a brand new world.

10:11
In 2 Corinthians 5, 21,. The Bible says for he made him who knew no sin. Wow for us that he might become, or that we might become, the righteousness of God in him. Jesus Christ took upon himself all of our sins and this is the result. I'm reading it backwards if you think about it, that's 2 Corinthians 5.21, but before that it's 2 Corinthians 5.17, but I read it backwards intentionally. This is how he did it, or this is the result, I should say, of what he did. He who knew no sin, jesus. I'm going to say it again when I say he who knew no sin, shout Jesus right, just for fun. He who knew no sin, god laid upon him, god imparted to him, god put all our sins upon him and we received his righteousness. For what reason? Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

11:15
Old things have passed away. Did you hear that? Old things have passed away? What old things? All old things. Nobody can control your life, including your old self. When you wake up to this awesome biblical truth Old things have passed away Behold, isn't that beautiful. Open wide your eyes. All things have become new. Did you know you're all new? You know you love new things, and I think God put that in us. You're to be a new creation. You got to love it. I think we're going to walk around heaven. I don't know how this is going to work Of course not, but I think every day we're going to have that sense of this is all so new. Well, for how long Forever Can you imagine exploring eternity? It's eternity for crying out loud. We will forever be going on a hike somewhere. We're forever going to be making some sort of an expedition or journey to see what God has made. It's going to be absolutely awesome.

12:24
The next thing is this everybody in verse 34, is that his death is now my death. You say, jack, is that good news? Yeah, listen, what are you going to do about Bible prophecy? Because this is a prophetic utterance. The Bible announced in advance that it would be God who would die for our sins on the cross. It would be that little baby born in Bethlehem, micah, chapter 5, verse 2 of the Old Testament, that would die on the cross for our sins. It would be the very one who would be pierced in his hands and his feet and hung on a cross in Psalm 22. He's the very one in Isaiah, chapter 53, that he would be there and he would suffer. His beard would be plucked out. You ought to read. When's the last time you read Isaiah 53? You ought to read it again. It's Isaiah's prophetic utterance about the suffering of the Messiah. His beard would be plucked out, his back would be laid wide open. And the Bible tells us that all of that abuse he took for us that we might receive not only healing spiritually, but also. The Bible talks about physical healing as well.

13:30
Wow, his death. Now, if I was to leave Jesus's death right there at that, jesus died, okay. So here's going to. People are just they're used to me saying something that they can twist and make weird. So here's another one. Don't want to have them run out of material.

13:51
Do you know the difference between a Christian crucifix and a Catholic crucifix? Anybody, that's right. A Catholic crucifix has Jesus on it. A Christian crucifix does not. That may be a revelation to some of you, but Christians view that as anathema. To be honest with you, that Christ, he's not on the cross. He's not on the cross. He was on the cross one Friday afternoon, that's it. That's all it took. And when he rose again from the dead, never to suffer again, never.

14:32
The book of Hebrews we're studying on Wednesday nights says that he offered himself up once and suffered and never again. He's not on the cross, he's enthroned in heaven above, and the Bible makes it very, very clear that his death, my friends, his death, you got to remember something when we talk about the death of Jesus Christ. We're talking about the death of his physical body. His spirit didn't die. His soul didn't die. His body died. If you were to die today, your body would die. That's the only part of you.

15:11
Look, you're, listen. You are three parts body, soul and spirit. The Bible tells us body, soul and spirit. The Bible says that, apart from Christ, we're spiritually dead. So our spirit is like in a state of coma. And the Bible says it's the Holy Spirit that awakens our spirit. And then the mind psuche in the Greek root word of psychology psyche is the thinking. Psychology psyche is the thinking. We're born spiritually dead but we have a soul, which is our mind, and we have a body. Listen, without Jesus we're running on two-thirds of what we are. Did you know that when we're born again, that third part comes alive, the spirit is made alive. And what's great is that as you feed are you listening? As you feed your spirit the word of God? As you feed, more and more you attend Bible study, you serve, you put the Bible into action and you grow and you get yourself.

16:19
Honestly, I'm not saying this to invoke anybody signing up for anything. Don't do that. I'm not saying this to invoke anybody, sign up for anything. Don't do that, but go somewhere, do whatever. But when you begin to put into practice what you know, when you go, do Christianity, that's when the fire works. That's when things connect and the power of God shows up.

16:39
Because, honestly, why would God give you power if you study the Bible and you're just going to sit down the rest of your life? He's not going to give it. I don't see anything happening. Look, speak for yourself. God wants to do stuff with you. When you read it, tell him Lord, I just read this today. I'm going to go, I'm going to get up and go do that. Watch what happens. You'll be trembling, you'll be dry mouth, you'll be scared, and the spirit of God shows up. And then you walk away, freaked out, galvanized. When he died, god says okay, all those who will trust in my son, it's as though they died also. So think about this Trust in my son. It's as though they died also. So think about this.

17:26
The death of Christ is waiting for some of you. You've never come to Jesus. You've never asked him to forgive you of your sins, you've never asked him to take control of your life. You've never once have you done that. But this is what God's waiting for you to do, to do that very thing.

17:44
Why? Because when that happens, he announces to you now that you're alive, do you see who you used to be? Yes, I do. My goodness. People, if you're here today and you've never experienced that, it's like being lost in the fog. And then, when you get out of the fog and you look back at what you just came from, you had no idea where you were until you got out of it. The moment you realize that is the moment that the believer revels not only the death of Jesus, but the fact that God has listen, god has deposited upon my life, in your life, the death of Jesus that our life died 2000 years ago. You say how can that be? And I'm not even a Christian today. You might say he's waiting for you, it's all been bought.

18:37 - Speaker 1
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