It’s Time You Quit

Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. I can't wait to break open the Bible. I can't wait to find out what God might say next in the message. I can't wait to see what God's gonna do this week in my life. Listen, when that is in your life, that means the Holy Spirit is in control. He's leading and why is that true because you are now indebted to him. You didn't even know that. You want to know why? You were set free by his salvation which brings you in the debt to his love. 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. How do you know that you're a child of God? Do you want to prove it to yourself? Ask yourself this question. Number one is, are you being led by the Spirit of God? Ask yourself that question. Number two, is the spirit of adoption within us or within you crying out, Abba, Father? Do you want to draw close to the God? Don't answer out loud, just answer on the piece of paper. These are things that must be proven in your life. This is a diagnostic test for all of us as a church. Am I being led by the Spirit? In other words, do you sense the Spirit of God leading you, frankly, on a daily basis? And here's the scary thing about what I just said. If I have to explain it to you, the answer is no for you. Do you have a desire to call him Father? Listen, if you're Jewish right now, you're offended by what I just said. You'll never hear in the Old Testament Scriptures. The Jew being invited to call God Father. Because we say the word Father, Abba, that's Aramaic, I like it a Italian. The Aramaic word in Italian is Papa. The Bible is telling us Jesus said it himself when addressing the Father, he called him Papa. Can you inside say yes when I speak to him? When I call out to him, I have that desire and he's Papa. Now, some legalists are going to say, oh, that's so irreverent. Well, you need to read your Bible. Is it possible that God would want us to have a relationship with him so close? Oh, yes. Thirdly, is the witness of the Holy Spirit happening to our spirit. Third thing is the witness of the Holy Spirit speaking to your internal spirit. Fourthly, and finally, it's this, can we agree with the Bible that because we follow Jesus, there's a sense of suffering in our lives. Are we in any way shape or form suffering for the name of Christ? Now, this is not a weird statement and I don't want to bum me out. It means this, guilty by association. Your mom and dad told you, be careful who you hang out with. You might say, well, I was never like my friends. Well, that's amazing. Usually, birds of a feather get in trouble together. No, I'm kidding, but you had it right. I just changed it, just now. But it's true, you know. And so the fact of the matter is regarding you and I knowing Christ, are we the only ones you know that we know Christ? In other words, do you know that? I know Christ, you say, Jack, yeah, you talk about him every week. Yeah, I make that assumption. Sure, I get it, I get it. But does the world know that Jack belongs to Christ? Does your world know that you belong to Christ? The moment they do, there is a beautiful, wonderful, holy, appointed suffering. People are going to not invite you because you're a Christian. They're going to exclude you because you're a Christian. Whatever it might be. So Church, let's dive into this together. The title for this series is, it's time you quit. How's that? Just quit. So we'll pass through. I was thinking about that today. That's why I came to church. I'm just about right at end, at all. God. Maybe it's time you just absolutely quit because that's what God wants us to do. It's to absolutely quit doing it on our own and to wake up to the realization that we belong to his family. And when you're in the family of God, there is nothing. Listen carefully, there is nothing that you do to put you in that family and keep you in that family. This is going to be some challenges to our legalism today. We are, listen, we are no longer obligated to rules and regulations. Hang on. We are no longer obligated to do anything for God. Listen, did God ever say, you do this and I'll love you. No, you do these five things or these ten things and I will approve of you. No. We are not obligated to do anything for God. Number one, he doesn't need us. Too poster. What do you mean he doesn't need us? He doesn't need you. He doesn't need me. He lets us get involved with what he's doing. It's like you're two-year-old one in the Mo the lawn with you. It's the worst thing ever if you want to get the job done but it's the most beautiful thing for a photo moment or remembering, oh my gosh, because here's what God says to mom and dad trying to move the lawn with a two-year-old who wants to move, they want to push the lawn more is it's going to take me forever and then God says to you, that's exactly what you're causing me to do with your life. Weak Jack, we could go from zero to 100 in a second if you would just stop trying to move the lawn and let me do it Jack. Just hang on or better yet I'll hold you. I'll carry you and this is vitally important. It may sound crazy to you for me to say you are not obligated to do anything for God but read the fine print. You are now church obligated to God that's far broader that's much deeper and so we note this in verses 12 to 14 it's time you quit don't just do something stand there don't just do something stand there God might be speaking to some of you today saying I just want you to stop and just stand there and let my truth wash over you you need to hear this so that you might be liberated and the first thing is this stand in his debt can you write that down stand in his debt the word debt like financial debt or when you're indebted to somebody stand in his debt watch this verse 12 says therefore circle the word therefore very important very key point Jay Verna McGee would say that's why it's there for therefore we are debtors circle the word debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh verse 13 for if you live according to the flesh you will die we already know this as believers if we live according to the flesh it's going to kill us it's it's it's heartless and our flesh wants to do its own thing but it's hard to live like that before you are a Christian you survived maybe you didn't weekends is probably better for you to go back to work on Monday because you didn't treat yourself well during the weekend what was going on your flesh was in control right and all of that sinning and living for self and oh I want this and at your expense I'm going to have it leads to death the Bible says and we become indebted to sin we become indebted to our passions but there's an endearing that is holy and pure and that is to stand in his debt what do I mean by that is understanding this mark it down if you would the word debtors is a word in meaning both listen in Greek or in English it's it's colorful but look at the Greek meaning of the word debtors this is what Paul is saying this is what you need to do not in the flesh no more but to God it means in the negative we are culprits together because it's plural debtors it's not I'm a debtor it's that we were all once children the Bible says listen to this again why would man write this if man wrote the Bible we were once all children of the devil how's that for a strong cup of coffee this morning that's plurality we were all in debt to the things of the world we were culprits together and living out fleshly appetites in the positive meaning this being the debtor to or indebted to owned by or under the obligation of another do you see the difference listen you don't you don't do anything for God to earn his acceptance because of what he's done for you and I we are now in debtors to God because of his great love wherewith he's loved you what he has done causes us not to be grabbed by the era twisted not to be grabbed by the knack and drug the church and you sit down and you learn this no listen the world is probably more full of people like that tragically maybe by ignorance than by what God would have and that is I can't wait watch I can't wait to meet up with God's people I can't wait to worship like we did a moment ago I can't wait to break open the Bible I can't wait to find out what God might say next in the message I can't wait to see what God's going to do this week in my life listen when that is in your life that means the Holy Spirit is in control he's leading and why is that true because you are now indebted to him you don't even know that you want to know why you are set free by his salvation which brings you in the debt to his love you know this on an earthly plane when you're in love listen when you're in love in your girlfriend or your fiance she says you know I would sure I'd love to have I don't know I would love to have a fish taco you know and I know the stores are probably closed listen what do you do when you hear your sweetheart say that oh man you're looking you're calling are you guys open can you stay open I'll pay a 20 bucks extra if you just stay open why would you wouldn't do that for you you wouldn't do it for any of your friends you wouldn't do it for anybody else in the planet but listen because she wants it you love her and so you'll bribe the store owner keep it open 20 bucks I'll be there along my way and you'll go through that for her and that is true on both sides of the equation regarding God's love for you he did it all and our love for him now hit that love displayed to us remember the Bible says listen we did not first love him he loved us first he first loved us that's how we are able to love him don't don't you don't work I gotta I gotta do this what are you gonna do I've gotta I gotta get some more love going on my heart for God every single one of us are in some way ashamed to say we love God because why the moment we say it we know how bankrupt we are insane it it's not enough we want to say I love you God and bring in a bouquet of flowers I want to say I love you God and bring in gifts right don't know where we can do that rightly is say God I love I quit I quit all the stuff of me trying to impress you I quit all the stuff with me trying to earn your favor I quit doubting your love for me I God believe exactly what your word says that you love me and he listen he doesn't love us because he looked down from heaven and saw something in us and said my my heaven would be so much better if Jack were here no that's false doctrine God more accurately looked over a cloud so to speak and said man are those people messed up and they're doomed for hell if I don't rescue them that's exactly where they're going and he stepped off of his throne and he took on human skin absolutely epic remarkable so as we look at this we God is calling us to stand in this liberty and to do that is to stand in debt to him I you we oh God everything it's awesome listen to this I'm gonna it's quite a read we've got a chunk of scripture but listen about you and I being emancipated set free Galatians 5 verse 13 will start there for you brethren have been called to liberty only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh wow I'm a Christian no I can smoke pot really I'm a Christian I can do anything I want really how about getting a heart transplant because when you become a Christian you only want to do those things that please God it doesn't mean we're sinless because you know the battle I still want to do some things that I'm not supposed to do and God says don't do that and I say but I want to and then he says you're not don't do that and here's the part that kills me when God says this I don't know if he says this you are not but he says this to me Jack you have the license you can you can grab the license to do whatever you want to do but it's not good for you listen Jack I'm going to love you no matter what you do but because I love you I'm asking you to do what I say to do and then I have to drop the weapons step back and say how do God how do I wrestle with you like this how do I how do you and I get an argument every argument we get in I lose every time because of your sweetness because of your kindness he doesn't wallet me on the head with a hammer that's the God of religion no my flesh is the problem but through love serve one another isn't that amazing every single one of us are commanded to serve one another why because that's the nature of God for all the laws fulfilled in one word even this you shall love your neighbor as yourself but if you bite and devour one another words beware unless you be consumed by one another look at verse 16 through 18 I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh see the practicality of that it means that the lust of the flesh is constantly pounding on the believer's head just like it isn't anybody else but the believer is fighting that non-believers don't have a fight they're suckers there's no liberty for them they've got no liberty this temptation comes by they grab onto it and they go and they're enslaved to it they can't even say no they're given over we all know what that's like we used to live like that for the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another oil and water for that you do not do the things that you wish but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law why does the Bible say that turn commandments the commandments of the church the commandments of the fathers the commandments of the oh stop it you can't keep the commandments and I realize listen as I'm reading this the only people in this room right now are those that are watching right now the only ones that have a frown on their face are those who are not liberated because they're hearing this and they're going I don't like that why we love it what's the difference a big difference and it has nothing to do with us we're indebted to him because of what he's done you can have it too by the way you can be indebted but you want to add some new debt under your life how about his debt you'll never have to pay back you will eternally be so indebted to him that you will forever be with him in worship in heaven forever but verse 22 but the fruit of the spirit is love by the way if you're a student of the Bible the fruit of the spirit is only one thing and one thing only it's not the other things it's one thing notice it says but the fruit singular it's not the fruits it's the fruit of the spirit is love period in the English it's got a comma and it suggests that the fruit of the spirit is joy the fruit of the spirit is peace long so you see where I'm going no no it's this the fruit of the spirit is love and when you have God's love and that relationship is two ways between you and him and he to you you are walking with him in love and guess what you cannot but have joy when you realize this theological fact you cannot but have peace look you can't have the fruit of the spirits which is the love of God and have no joy it doesn't work are you with me well you know I I have the fruit of the spirit I've got love I've got kindness my faithfulness is questionable you see how funny that is listen it's the love of God and his love for us the spirit dwelling in our lives results enjoy peace long suffering kindness you don't muster these you don't take a course for this goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such there's no law why is there no law regarding these things because it's not done by us God has to do it it's got to be of the spirit of God this is liberating this jack hips podcast as well as all the broadcast out reach opportunities are listeners supported will you consider partnering with us through a special gift go to jackhibs.com to learn more and stay connected