Stumbling Over Christ

Real life presents the Jack Hibbs podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. You and I without Jesus you know why life is so brutal and you're so tired? And carrying a dead man around all these years. You and you're trying to prop yourself up, parties, drugs, fun, money, whatever, I don't know, it doesn't matter. The response to emptiness is endless, why aren't you tired? 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. Paul is speaking to the Greeks at Corinth and he says, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? He says there is a lot of people who are not going to go to heaven. They're called the unrighteous. They're not going to make it. So don't be deceived. No fornicators, who the fornicator is? A fornicator is a person who's not married, who is having sex with somebody who's not married or they're having sex with someone that is married, which makes them both the fornicator and an adulter. When two married people are committed adultery, it is adultery. Funny enough, it's not fornication, it is pure adultery. But when someone is single having sex with somebody that they're not married to, it is called fornication. That word fornication is the Greek word fornia. Recognize that word? It's the root word to our word pornography. Idolaters, idol worshipers, simply put pleasure seekers. Next adulterers. Next homosexuals. Next sotomites. Next thieves. Covetousness. Drunkers. Revilers. Man, all that describes our era. But now, revilers, you can catch on the evening news almost constantly now. Extortioners. People use in other people to get rich. They'll destroy other people's lives and walk away with their wealth and they can go to sleep at night. Wow. They will not inherit the kingdom of God. They're not going. But thank God for verse 11 because I don't know about you. But I could point to several of those things over there and say that was Jack in 1977. Can you? Has your life changed? Rephrase. Did he change your life? Verse 11 is pure joy and liberty and such were some of you. But you were washed but you were sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God and all God's people said amen to that. If you look at that and say I can't believe I heard that. I'm never coming back here again. You are nothing more than someone who is stumbling over the truth like Israel did 2,000 years ago when Jesus presented himself as Messiah. Your arrogance and your self-righteousness and your passion to justify yourself is causing you to miss the truth. And that is a fatal decision. No one's pointing at you here right now. God loves you and he's telling you the truth and he wants you to have a new life and you'll either say this watch, you'll either say I'm going to reform myself by taking a morality course and a lifestyle change which will never work or you're going to say I can't change. I see what's true. I'm going to come to him and fool surrender because I can't do this. And that's when he moves in to stumble over his offer is to say I don't need this and I don't need him. It's my life and he's going to have to deal with it. My friend you are stumbling over a Christ. Don't do that. We see this in the third argument of this verse is that what do you know for sure? It says there in scripture even the righteousness of faith. How in the world is this possible? By faith you can know that you're righteous? Yes. I know. Look, I understand. People get upset when you when you claim to know something for sure. You know we live in a world it's it's illogic. When you when you say I don't need Jesus I'm good enough. You understand that you wake up to the pursuit. I'm going to do this on my own. You can't because you start tainted the moment you get into the blocks to run. You're every shoes on. I'm going to start running from now on really really good. Impossible you showed up really really bad but I got the uniform. It doesn't matter. Are you hearing me? That's us. That's humanity. And when you hear this you either stumble over it and die. Are you fall upon this truth and you say Lord have mercy upon me? And he changes your life. We've all heard of Saul of Tarsus. You know him as Paul the Apostle. Greatest convert to Christianity to date. Look at Philippians chapter three. Philippians three. Listen to him talk to us about morality versus faith in Christ. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh because people were bragging about how great they were. Paul says all right let's just do this. I might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh I morsel. He's rolling up his sleeves. You want a piece of me? He's rolling up his sleeves and he's saying you want to talk about righteousness according to human effort? I'll take you on. If anyone thinks he may have confidence in the flesh I morsel circumcise the eighth day. That was prescribed by Moses. Did you know that from God? Circumcise the eighth day. Right now Paul would say all right let's start here. What day were you circumcised on? Oh man my parents they had a donkey layover. The camel broke down. I got circumcised on the 10th day or the 9th day. I almost got circumcised on the 8th day. Paul says you miss of the stock of Israel. I know my pedigree. Wow of the tribe of Benjamin. I'm right in line. That's where all the big wheels came out of. A Hebrew of the Hebrews. Concerning the law of Pharisee. Concerning zeal. Persecuting the church. I killed people. I killed people who said there were Christians. I hunted them down and I even got so elevated I oversaw the killing of other Christians. That's how zealous I was for the truth. We're going to eradicate the world from these crazy Christians who follow this Christ man. Did you know that name better remember Stephen getting stoned to death? Who was the boss of the stoning? You're looking at him. He hated Jesus. Concerning righteousness which is in the law. Blameless. But what things were gained to me? These I've counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. My Lord for whom I've suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness which is from the law which is impossible. But that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith. By faith. Israel had the truth but they desired they changed it. It was always by faith but the Jewish leadership said we're going to pursue it by works of righteousness and legalism was appealing to them. It's brutal and it will slay you spiritually. Second thing is this. What do you say about the gospel versus 31 to 32? What do you say about it? Very quickly this won't take long versus 31 to 32. Can you recognize it? Repent and believe. Believe. Simply put put all your weight on Jesus. See right now without Jesus you're carrying your own weight. Listen according to the scriptures you and I are spiritually dead. You know how hard it is to carry a dead man? How is it that somebody who weighs 200 pounds living feels like they weigh 350 pounds when they're dead? Isn't that where their weight doesn't change? You and I without Jesus you know why life is so brutal and you're so tired? You've been carrying a dead man around all these years. You and you're trying to prop yourself up. Hardies, drugs, fun, money, whatever. I don't know. It doesn't matter. The response to emptiness is endless but aren't you tired? Now see young people today. Young people go oh man let me know and I'm just getting started on that whole thing. Oh can we spare you some grief? We could actually save your life if you listen. Nothing in this world has given you and I. We're taken into heaven. Nothing. Well Pastor I just won the lottery. I just won 500 million dollars and what are you going to do with it? Are you going to wind up like 75.6% of the people who win lottery? Broke in 10 years. On drugs divorced. Completely messed up. Why? Because it's not the answer. He's the answer. That money's not going to hold you. That money's not going to cuddle you and call you and give you peace in the midst of a storm but Jesus will. Jesus does. That's what the gospel does. Recognize that. Secondly will you respond to it? And Romans 9 verse 32 the Bible says why? Why? Because they did not seek it by faith as it were but the works of the law that they stumbled at the stumbling stone. The answer to what he's saying is in verse 31 when it says but Israel pursuing the law of righteousness has not attained to the law of righteousness. Then when he says why at the verse 32 it's because they pursued righteousness by trying to keep the law and not by faith. In other words to pursue it by faith is to lean on Jesus' righteousness. To do it by works is to lean on your own. And so will you respond to this gospel of his? Now this gets fun to me. I love. Here we are reading the New Testament but I just love how this church goes. People will often say when they come here is I just I get so much Old Testament with the New Testament. Well there is no other Testament. It's the Old and the New. There's not another. There's not a third. The Old is what announces is coming and the New records what has come and what has come is exactly what the Old said would. No contradiction. Beautiful harmony. You guys ready? We're almost done. You ready? All five of you are ready? So watch this. Almost 3,000 years ago. Isaiah 28 verse 16. Therefore thus says the Lord God. Behold, I lay in what? Zion. God says I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a trite stone which means it's been tested proven and found to be true. A precious cornerstone is sure foundation. Whoever believes will not act hastily or the word is will not be anxious. Isn't that amazing verse? Almost 3,000 years old. God is saying I am going to establish. This is a prophetic verse. Hey, how about this? It's not been fulfilled yet. It started with Jesus first coming. Where's Jesus returning to? Jerusalem. Where's the throne of David? Jerusalem. Powerful. You guys might remember when there was a warrant as it were out for the arrest of the apostles because Jesus had ascended back to heaven. Holy Spirit came down to the day of Pentecost. They were filled with the power of God and they're out preaching the gospel and they're really shaking it up. They're preaching the gospel. Thousands of people are getting saved. Eyes of the blind are opening up. I mean, they're doing that. They're doing it. Look at Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. Now as they spoke to the people, so this is think of the apostles. They're all in trouble. They're all in trouble for being just like Jesus. That's what they're in trouble for. Now as they spoke to the people, the priest and the captain of the temple and the sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they had taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Hey, you can't say that. You imagine. Jesus Christ, he rose again from the dead and he'll raise you from the dead too. Don't say that. Why would we not say that? Because we don't want you to say it. We know his tomb's empty. We know he's gone. But don't say it. But this is one religious group beaten up on people who had experienced the personal risen savior. You remember that now. This doesn't meet our stand. We have a tradition. Whatever. We're going to follow Jesus. And they laid hands, verse 3, and they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed and the number of the men, this is male men, men, males, not male men, but that's not mankind, mankind. It's males. This doesn't include women and children. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000. Can you imagine? One sermon and you have a mega church. And it came to pass on the next day that their rulers and elders and scribes, all of the religious hierarchy, as it was well as the High Priest and Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the High Priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem and when they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name have you done this? You know what they did? They had prayed for a man and the man got his legs back power and to walk again. Only legalism would be upset at that. Hey, we're not in on that. How dare you give somebody the ability to use their legs again? You should have checked with us first. Is that funny or what? And so, verse 7, and when they had set them in the midst, they asked by what power and by what name, then Peter, verse 8, filled with the Holy Spirit. The old Peter has gone now. He's a new one. Said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed, done to a helpless man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, you can see him insert that. Who you crucified? Who got raised from the dead? By him, this man stands here before you whole. Notice what the Holy Spirit, this is awesome. Just act like you're impressed by this. When the Holy Spirit, not yet, timing, everything. Peter, who's just like you and I, the difference, right? The difference in Peter's life is now he's full of the Holy Spirit. So, what does that mean? It means the Holy Spirit is speaking Bible right out of his mouth. Are you watching this? Watch what happens. Peter's mouth might be moving, but it's the Spirit of God just delivering the Word. Watch what happens. It's so cool. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. He's quoting Isaiah. Why? Because the Holy Spirit wrote Isaiah. Nor is there salvation to the other. For there's no other name under heaven, giving a wrong man whereby we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, that they had gone to, I was going to say Yale, MIT, Harvard, UCLA, USC, and untrained men, they're Galileans, they marveled. I love this next part and they realized they had been with Jesus. How do these country bumpkins have this kind of power? Oh, wait, they were friends of Jesus. Man, I hope that's said about us. This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, are listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. 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