It's Not Too Late!

Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. Hey, New Year's, it's January 4th and you're already into it. How's it going? What about a believer? Have you already skipped the day on your devotion? Have you missed a prayer moment? Oh goodness gracious, I know how that feels. Listen, let's stay tuned because we're going to dive into how to live a devotional life this year and it's not too late even though it's January 4th, it's not too late. I'll tell you why in a moment, let's dive into this. 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. Hey everybody, welcome to this podcast. We are kicking off the New Year. We are delighted to be with you. We're honored to be with you. And so listen, Psalm 65 11, let's just get that out there. I know some of you are watching, some of you are driving, some of you are jogging. Doesn't matter whatever you're doing, this is very, very great about this whole platform of podcasts is this. You can hear me say right now or watch me say right now, Psalm 65 11 and here it is you guys. You crown the year with your goodness and your paths, drip with abundance. What a verse to have on your dashboard or your mirror when you're shaving or whatever you're doing at your cubicle. Psalm 65 11, let's do it all year long. God has promised as you walk with him, as you walk with him, he'll crown your year with goodness and his paths, drip with abundance, meaning that Proverbs chapter three verses four, five, and six are still in effect. That would also mean that not only that if we do not rely or lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge him and he shall direct our paths. Psalm, excuse me, Proverbs three, but it also means that Romans 8, 28 will be in effect for this year for 2024. You see what is that? That all things work together for good. Here it is, here's the qualifier to those who are or to those who love God. That's the number one thing. And number two, qualifier, those who are called according to his purpose. All things work together for to those who love God. I see a lot of people say, oh, all things work together for good. Not true. They do not, unless you practice the first two qualifiers to the year ahead of you. All things work together for good. You can have this bold confidence. Number one, if you love God, number two, if you're called according to his purposes. Okay. That means you know that you're a believer and that you love God. I know it's often challenging to believe and to stay true to the fact that you are called as a believer because we mess up. We have insecurities. We start thinking. I don't even feel like a believer. What I tell you what? If you could write a book on telling me, convincing me on how it feels to be a believer, I will buy that book and I'll promote that book. I don't know what it feels like to be a believer. I know what it is like to be a believer. Are you hearing me? Our emotions will lie in trick and fool us constantly. You might wake up Monday. You're so courageous because you had a great sermon on Sunday. You had great fellowship and you're ready to hit the world. But by Tuesday afternoon, you're thinking, do I even know God? Hey, listen, it's not based on feeling hallelujah. It's based on him keeping his word of faithfulness. You, my friend, are to do what my pastor said here at the church that I pastor and he spoke it from this pulpit years ago and that was Chuck Smith and he said, keep yourself. It's an old saying. Keep yourself under the spout where the glory comes out. I love that. That's so biblical. Hang out with Jesus. Walk with him. It's all going to work out. Some 65-11 is really the preface to what we're going to be doing and kicking off this new year. And I wrote down some notes so I wouldn't miss anything. And that is this. That I want you to nurture now, starting right now, a new year routine that will last you the entire new year. And you say, yeah, good luck, Jack. Sure. Fine. And I understand that too because we all start out with our new year's resolutions, even as Christians were terrible about it. Oh, man, I'm going to pray longer. I'm going to follow Jesus closer. I'm going to read 10 chapters of the Bible every day. I know the feeling and I know the commitment. But after about January 5th, we blow it. And then we feel so defeated and so satanic about our lives. Hey, let me encourage you right now. Everybody who you know that's breathing struggles with their devotional life, everybody. If they don't tell you that, they're not being honest. Okay, I've got some great friends in my life. You don't need many of them. I can count them on a half a hand who have walks with God that I radically respect. And they all agree on this. Hey, yeah, uh, my intentions is to be perfect every day. I fail often at that, but I get back up and I get back on track again 10 times a day, 100 times a day if I have to. And what's beautiful about that is, as you continue to do that day after day, see, there's liberty and freedom in that. There's not bondage in this. When you realize that this is a devotional life that's dedicated to God and you're not bound by a routine, that's religion. Did you do this? No. Go sit in the corner. That's religion. Jesus says, hey, I know you're sick. You know, you had COVID or you had flu or you had a car accident or you've been so busy. You've been flying business meetings. Jesus says, yeah, I know that is. I know busy it can be. Well, here's a deal. Today's January 5th, for example, I have no idea, by the way, when this podcast is dropping, if it's actually New Year's day, that's the fourth. Oh, okay. So I just found out it's the fourth and you already realize, oh my gosh, I forgot about my devotion. I was supposed to start. That's okay. Start today. Start tonight. But here's what I want you to do. Start a routine right now. And the routine is this. Ready? We'll call it devotional practices. Okay. That, watch this, that you can still get a copy. You can get this anywhere. I'm sure you can. But it's best to get it at jackkibs.com. You can get it at jackkibs.com. By the way, thousands and thousands and thousands of people have gotten the one year Bible to start 2024 with. Imagine how cool this is. We're a community online. We are, right? We don't have a chance to sit down and sip coffee or walk through the court yard or the sanctuary at church. But you know what you get to do? We get to stay together in spirit in the one year Bible. I love this. This is the new King James. One year Bible put out by Tyndale. We've been pushing this for years, man. It's so good. And it's not a study Bible. You need to understand that. This is a Bible for devotional reading. Okay. That will take you through the Word of God an entire year. If you have already missed one, two, or three days today being January 4th, if you've missed, don't let that defeat you. Order this now. And if it's too expensive, I have no idea how this happens. But you know, the provider of these books, probably Tyndale, blah, blah, blah, you can get it for a certain price. And I don't know what that is, by the way. But just find it somewhere. But get the one year Bible by Tyndale. Here's a reason why. There's a thousand of them out there. But Tyndale, one year Bible, new King James, means you're on the same page that I'm on, that Lee Sinai are on together every day, that the church is on. Imagine this. I was informed by our bookstore that we're talking about over 11,000 of these one year Bibles are operational right now, right? So join us. Why? You'd go to January 4th or whenever it arrives at your door. And you'd start with us. And so here's the devotional routine or the devotional practice is, oh, they're probably not going to like that. There. How's that? The devotional practice is this that you approach this saying, I'm going to, I'm going to do this every day. And when I miss, I'm not going to try to catch up. I'm going to dive into the day that says on the calendar, I'm going to be with Jack and Lisa and 11,000 other people and probably millions of others who've got this all over the world. And I'm going to be with them in spirit. Hey, jot this down, would you? It's Colossians 2.5. That's what we're going to do together. Colossians 2.5 says, though we be absent in the flesh, yet we are together in the spirit rejoicing in each others steadfast faith. Colossians 2.5 is a great companion to Psalm 65 11 for our relationship. Let's go through the word of God together. God is going to bless our year because he blesses obedience, guaranteed. And what's cool is that we're separated maybe by tens of miles, thousands of miles. Doesn't matter, we are spiritually being welded together by God, though we be physically apart. We are spiritually being welded. That's part of the devotional practice. It's remarkable. I always tell the church, you know, you get to remember this, you guys, when we, when we have church every Sunday, you know, Wednesday, we have one service on Wednesday. On Sunday, we have three different services and that's three different churches that happen to come to the same physical address. And boy, for those of you who know what I'm talking about in ministry, all three services have a different personality. You can feel it. They respond differently to the message. There are services that worship louder. There are services that are very, very, very, I think they're sleeping sometimes. I wonder, I even say it, are you with me? Anybody awake? And, you know, sometimes there's a service that's the giving service. There's a service they give. They're just givers, man. And the other services don't have to show up financially. The other service gives. Well, the same is true about this other service is the one that always signs up for everything and the other ones don't. It's very strange. There's a service that lifts their hands in worship. The other services, they're not prone to do it. I don't know why. I just know this. They have a personality that I'm reading. How is it that thousands of them come to that exact service? I don't get it. It's not my business. It's God's business. I give them the same Bible study every time, but they have different personalities and different practices. Don't they? So do you. So don't say to yourself, my practices for this new year has got to be just like my friend John or my or my friend Susie. Forget that stuff. Find your own personal discipline. There are things that are immovable, the Bible. This is just the one year Bible to get us all together. But that doesn't take the place of you and I studying the Bible. And this is where it gets to be a lot of fun. It might be kind of, I don't know, anticlimactic for you to think, but if you were to be with me in the morning, oh, dark 30, right? And I'm just, I get up in the morning just like you do. And it's January 4th. And I'm like, there's so much going on. There's so much happening. Lord, give me your grace. Give me your mercy. I ask you, Lord, before my feet hit the ground, before I get out of bed, fill me with your Holy Spirit. Give me your wisdom to deal with everything that comes my way today. Cause me to represent you. And that's a big lift. So it's got to be by God. Cause me to represent you and all that I'm doing. Well, what is Jesus like? Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the book of Revelation. Think about it. What's Jesus like? That's your goal for today, right? And so I want to be like him. That goes from him, giving the gospel to a woman whose life has been abused at the well of Jacob, so to speak. She's made nothing but horrible decisions. She's been married a ton of times. And she's even living with a guy now. And how did Jesus treat her with absolute incredible respect? But he didn't pull any punches. He unpacked her soul. And she came to the awareness, oh my gosh, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. And that woman got saved in John chapter four. I think it's four. Sorry, I'm old now. I believe it's John four. She got saved. And then she ran into the city of Samaria and told them and they they all got saved. Then Jesus goes to the temple and overturns the tables and rebukes all these people. Now, I'm not saying go out and do that. I'm just saying that it could happen in your life where God will call you to do that. You better make sure it's God calling you to rebuk. If there's a fire that's in you and it's holy and sanctified for righteousness, then this you got to be led by God. And here's the cool thing. When that happens in your life, it will be unusual for you just as it was unusual for Jesus. When he said woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, that word woe, it's hard for me to say the word in Greek without sounding like I'm saying Hawaii. The word is uai, uai, or just remember Hawaii to you. The word woe unto you is condemned or damned be you, cursed be you, woe, bad unto you. Jesus said, you say, Jackie, you sure Jesus said that? Yeah, he said it in technicolor, cursed be you scribes and Pharisees. You preach about the kingdom of heaven, but you yourselves, you keep people from getting in and you yourselves are not even going to get in. Jesus said that. Jesus said woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. On the outside, you are so pure, white and beautifully holy looking, but inside of you, you're full of dead men's bones and hypocrisy. Wow, if God is speaking to you about that, you're going to be terrified and it's not going to be the norm. So study Jesus and you'll experience that joy as you go through your devotional study and your private study of the word of God. But when you get up early and you seek the word in a Bible study, not the one your Bible, but Bible study, you might be shocked to see how little progress you make in the word. You might only cover about three or ten, I don't know, depends on what the Bible is saying in that chapter versus just a handful. Why? Because you start reading, for example, last night, my granddaughter was watching some program on her iPad, and I don't know what it was, something it was good because I was listening, right? She's a teenager, so you're like this. And it was fine. But I thought, you know what? I'm going to go on over there and I'm going to have her shut that thing off and I'm going to go do something that I did with my other grandson up in Northern California. And here's the reason why I'm giving you this backstory because this is how this is this is part of your devotional life is it's not relegated to 20 minutes in the morning. Oh, did you have your devotion today? Sure did. It's not what I'm talking about. Your devotional time in your Bible study time is putting gasoline in the tank. You're at the gas station, spiritually speaking, you fill up and then what do you do? You fire up the engine and you take off not a fan of electric cars as you can tell. Turn that baby over, take 500 horsepower, spiritually speaking and drive it. What does that mean? When you leave your devotional moments with God, punch it all day long and this is part of it. So I said to my granddaughter, hey, you want to see what I did with your cousin up north a couple weeks ago? Well, that's any kid will say, yeah, what's that? Right here, turn that thing off just for a moment. We're going to do something right now. Okay, I opened up the Bible and I don't know what's going through her teenage mind, but I said, I'm going to read verse one. You're going to read verse two, but we have to talk about it. Ready? All right. In the beginning was the word, the word is with God and the word was God. So I talked about 60 seconds about this. This is what I said. I said, wow, what do you think about this in the beginning of what? When is that? I said to her, that's a time, it's what's known in Bible studies, a time statement, a time in the beginning, beginning of what? Think about it. What do you think he's talking about? So she had a couple of guesses because she finally got to the right answer. And then I said, so in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God, who's who's God? She said, well, the words God. And I said, that's right. Now you read verse two. She reads verse two. And now I'm asking her questions. Watch what happens. She starts getting into it. She scoots over closer. She takes the Bible from me. So she's looking on, okay, as I'm holding it, she's getting into it because she's participating and we're doing every other verse. Guess what we're doing? We're having a devotion. We are setting the course for the day. And now she takes the Bible from me and she starts reading. Guess what happened, you guys? Instead of me doing all the odd numbered verses and she does the even numbered verses, she kept reading. She read about four verses and then she starts telling me, well, this is what this is talking about. She took over. You know what happened, you guys? That's exactly what happened a month ago when I was with my grandson in Northern California. I did the exact same thing and the exact same chapter of John's Gospel and he did the exact same thing. And why am I bringing this up to you? Because watch, this is real life, man. This is real life. Here it is. The reason why I did that last night with my granddaughter is because about an hour and a half or two hours earlier, my grandson had called from Northern California and he said to me, remember when we were in John chapter one, we never made it to John chapter two, by the way, when we were up there. He said, I can't wait for you to come back because we're going to do John chapter two. You guys, that was a month ago and he's preteen in his age. That was a month ago, maybe longer than a month ago. You say, Jack, I wish that could happen in my home. Listen, I didn't, I didn't have a plan. I just did that and she wound up loving it. He wound up loving it. I loved it. What were we doing? We were having a devotion together. So here's what I need to do. I need to encourage you to have a devotional life that is thrilling and exciting, not burdensome and boring. Don't leave this podcast and say, kids, sit down. I'm going to give you a Bible study. You'll kill him. They're not wired that way. Let them tell you and then you can engage them. The next thing I want you to know and we'll go through these quickly because we're running out of time, is find a church that teaches the Bible. I mean, we hear it all the time. Pastor Jack, I live in Kalamazoo. No, don't use Kalamazoo because I have a friend who passes a church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We'll pick some other town. And I can't find a Bible study there. I can't find a Bible teaching church. Well, here's a deal. You can supplement your spiritual growth by programs just like this or watching the real life network or whatever that's fine, but you've got to go to a church. Here's a reason why. So yeah, but it's so sleepy there. Get your Bible study here or somewhere else. But go to go to a local church. You're so boring. I don't care if it's boring. You've already had your spiritual life meal online maybe, right? Go to the church, sign up for the parking lot ministry or the cleaning ministry or children's ministry. Please do this. You want to change the church in your community. Get, get, get spiritually pumped up or filled up by any means necessary. And then go to your local church and change it. Did you hear what I said? Stop waiting for the perfect church to come to your town. You make it a church that works. You. That's your marching orders for 2024. Do what you learn. Go to it. Jesus went to goofy churches. Isn't that what we're learning in the book of Revelation? To a seven letters to the seven churches. Most of them were pretty goofy. If you think about it, read it. They're issues, man. Big time. One of them I don't even think was even a saved church. The church at Leo to see Jesus is outside knocking on the door trying to get into a church. I think when you read from that moment on in Revelation to the church at Leo to see him, I don't even think it's a saved church. I think it's a church. It's got a 501c3 and a cross on the building. They might have hymns or praise music or whatever. I don't know, but they're not a saved church. He's trying to get into their hearts and their lives. Go to a church. Share the light. Get to know people. That's how you minister. That's how you serve. Find people. God will bless you, man. You do that. My other church is now fits doctrinally off. It may be a dead church, but if it's doctrinally off, don't go there. If it's saying Jesus is not God, get out. Run quick before you caught up in the judgment of an all. If it says you can't trust this Bible, there's parts I'll tell you what's real and what's not. Run for your life. Get out of there. If they say, hey, everybody, let's sing another song. Let's pass the plate. Then they come back 20 minutes later because they just counted the money and in a dollar 50 came in because God's not providing because God's not being honored. Let's sing another song and pass the plate. Get up and run for your life because God's not there. Flea. Like Christian did in the in the Pilgrim progress. Flea, the city of destruction. Flea, the church of destruction. But go to a church that is doctrinally sound, even if it's sleepy. Make it right. And then finally, we'll end with this. Kind of goes back to what I said earlier. Not only be with your kids this year, 2024, but let's dial down on this. It's how to be with your kids in 2024. So number one's an assumption. Listen, guys, you're going to hate me for this. But the cool thing is if you just calm down and sit down and ask God about what I'm about ready to challenge you on. You're going to hear God say, yeah, you should listen. You should listen to what he's saying. And here's what it is. You might have to cut back on your golf game 50%. Or you're bowling. Listen, don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. I talk to Christian man all the time. And I hear how great they are from themselves. And then I meet their wife in the courtyard at the supermarket. And she'll say, yeah, you know what? My husband loves the Lord, you know, and all, but he's lacking in leadership. He's not leading me. He's not leading the kids. But man, on Saturday morning, he's the first one out of the door to the to go bowling or to go golfing or to go surfing. And I just wish he had spent it just 30 minutes with us and the kids in the Bible. Man, you know what? Surfing is not a bad idea. Neither is golfing or bowling. It's a bad idea when it's on a list of priorities right up there at the top. Let's be honest, those things shouldn't even be a priority. Oh, Jack, back off, man, don't judge me. I wouldn't steal a lot of my friends while we're sitting on the board waiting for a wave. I could care less if you lead the entire beach to Christ. What shall it profit you? If you if you win the gospel to everybody, everybody on the beach and everybody on a board gets saved and your family winds up in hell. What shall it profit you if you gain the entire surf community and your family winds up in hell? Right? Think of that one. You're going to be God's going to hold your responsible guy, husband, man, for you leading your wife and your kids. And they want to be led by you. So I don't know what to do. Well, back off of the hobbies and find out, and I'm giving you some big hints in this podcast, starting off the new year, get a one year Bible, read it with your wife and your kids if possible, but certainly with your wife. And then start studying the Bible, get a picture early. I know you do it. I know you leave your house at 430 to go surfing before work. I know that. We used to, oh my gosh, yikes. I remember leaving on Monday mornings, my day off. There was a time in my life where the three of us guys, we would leave at 4 a.m. on a Monday and we would drive to the Colorado River from Chino Hills. And we would water ski because we just skied really hard, nonstop, three guys riding a boat, water skiing, two hours nonstop. You meant just it was so intense. And then we'd get back in the car and we would drive back from the Colorado River to Chino Hills and be home by 1 o'clock? Insane. Insane. Why? Why did I do that? Because at that time, I just loved water skiing. It was awesome. But thanks be to God, I was raised spiritually enough to know that's got to come at a time and it's only for a time that doesn't take away from my family nor from God. Now the good thing is these were two really great brothers. We talked about Jesus all the way there, all the way back. It was awesome. But the thing is they weren't my, they, none of those guys were my wife. They weren't my kids. And so you've got to make some adjustments in what you think is important and you've got to change it up because your kids number one are going to follow Christianity by what is caught by you. Here profound truth, your kids are going to do dad, do husband, your wife and your kids are going to do Christianity the way they observe you doing Christianity. They're going to learn a lot more by what they see than what they hear. It doesn't mean you don't give them what they hear means you give them both. And then I'm going to end with this. Not only spend time with your kids, but I highly recommend that that time can be spent finding something in your community or your church of ministry that you can do with your kids. And I want to end with this, but I want to punch you right in the nose right now spiritually. That doesn't mean you go to something like, for example, our own church here in a Saturday morning, our church goes to the local, well, I mean, it's not local, but it's close enough where families will get together and they'll go in a Saturday morning to walk around silently the abortion mill, plan parenthood in LA, they'll walk around silently their praying, are their praying softly for one hour, to an hour. And then they go to breakfast. Kids are telling me husbands and wives are telling me that has changed their lives. Why? Because your kids are seeing that you're leading them this way, and you're walking with mom, dad, kids, whoever, whatever, and you're just praying, or maybe you're too shy to pray, but you can hear other people praying on the prayer walk around the building. And then little Mikey is going to say to your little Johnny, hey, you want to go to breakfast with us and get a bunch of pancakes? No kids going to refuse pancakes. Your little Johnny's going to turn to you and say, Dad, can we go get pancakes with them? And your first thought is, I don't know who those people are, and what if I'm stuck with the bill? Suck it up, do it. What an investment spiritually. It's amazing. Go do it. So I don't know them. Then that's why you should go do it. They're with you on the prayer walk, or they're with you painting the fence of one of the seniors in your church and one of the elderly. Go do it. So I don't like a paintbrush. I don't care if you like a paintbrush. Go do it because you're not there for the paintbrush. You're not even there for granny and her fence. You're actually there because you're going to do something with your kids. We could go on all day. We're not going to do that. We're going to end right now. One year Bible and also you see the fact that the days of deception is going to be dropped physically in bookstores, wherever books are sold, February 6th, February 6th is going to appear in bookstores. Pray for me because the moment that happens, I've got to be all over the U.S. at these Barnes and Nobles and Mardel and other bookstores at book signing commitments, which sounds really cute, right? I've never done that before. So I'm kind of terrified. So pray for me, but here's the deal. God has blessed this already. He hasn't even hit the shelves yet. And God has made it an Amazon bestseller just by pre-orders. You can pre-order this, living in the days of deception. And this is not reserved for Christians only. This is a really, really strategic and there's a reason why we could have launched it earlier, but the publisher, the harvest house, publishers wanted it to go out in an election year. It's not a political book. It's about deception in all areas of life. And they thought this is something that we want to make sure that people get a hand on because deception is everywhere. Living in the days of deception, the fog of deception. And so listen, friends, as always, we want to make sure that you do what we strive to do here. It's time that you live out what you believe in. It's time for real life. And to do that, we're here to help you. Go to jackhibs.com. Jackhibs.com. You can find out much more there, including getting your own copy of your one-year Bible. So God bless you. Let's do this year together, seriously. Let's stay tuned. Let's do it together. And please share. Share this podcast if it's meant something to you. Tell others about it. God bless you guys. Have a nice new year.