The Called Ones

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
What will you do with the information and how do you process all that's going on in the world? You name it From what's happening to the Middle East, outer space, on your street, in your yard, at your dinner table, on your skin. The target is your heart.

00:29 - Speaker 1
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.

00:58 - Speaker 2
Galatians 4.19,. He says my little children this is Paul the apostle speaking. My little children, this is Paul the Apostle speaking my little children isn't that not beautiful? For whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, christian. That is the salvation life and then the sanctification life that follows.

01:18
So Romans 8, 28 says and we know that all things work together for good work it's the word ergon, you can write it down, it's on the screens Actions, behaviors, deeds, the doings. An example of the meaning of the word is, as Hughes described, the work of a designer or a craftsman using his tools to create or to finish his thought or idea. I love that by bringing into a physical existence. I just love the fact that God made us creative individuals. Now some people are not so creative. That's okay. You're not supposed to apologize for that. God died for your sins. He didn't die for your personality. You know that. Well, he's really loud and she's really quiet and I'm somebody in between and this person's that way and they're the other. God loves that. It's the sins that God hated enough to go to the cross to die in our place, okay. So if you're quiet, be quiet unto God. If you're a big mouth. Be a big mouth unto God, but don't try to be somebody else. If he wanted you to be somebody else, he would have made you that person. So stop trying to be like them. Plus, they're probably trying to be like you anyway. Now, the math of God is amazing. In fact, listen to this.

02:32
This word work implies that all things are activated in the believer's life. In other words, all things are online Not online online, but online in power. They're working. See, you and I, we fail to recognize this because we get bogged down in the mundane of life. See, we lose it because it's the routine. This is what happens, friends. Listen, please listen carefully. The more predictable your life is in some areas, fantastic, but also the predictable things of your lives that are not effective. That's not good. God wants to take the predictable things where you're seeking after him with all of your heart and you're loving on God. You're going after him, and then he takes your life and he transforms it into something incredibly active. I don't mean busy, we need to get away from busy. When I say active, I mean activated. Your life in the spiritual realm, okay, well, now you're alert to things. You're hearing from him. He's leading you and you don't want anything else but him to be speaking to you. And when that happens in our lives and we can decide today to have it happen, that the word of God is going to be supreme, period, you make up your mind. That's it. All things work together for good to those who are called, to those who love God according to the purposes that God has engineered for my life, I'm going to go for it. When that truth takes hold of your life, when verse 28 takes control of your life, everything changes. I'm going to actually show you what happens when verse 28 takes control of your life.

04:17
So I don't know if you've ever heard of the National Bible Bee Championship. It's insane. I mean. I mean that in a good way. I've learned that from young people. It's, it's fire, hang on, it's bussin', it's bussin'. That's something coming from somebody that I came from, groovy. This is amazing. What happens when the spirit of God takes the word of God and gets a hold of your heart and it becomes real. Put your eyes on the screen.

04:57 - Speaker 3
All right, here's your last passage. Both riches and honor come Madison. First Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18. Sorry, that is incorrect. For the rest of you, bethany oh. First Chronicles 29, 10-13. That is correct. Please recite it. 1 Chronicles 29, 10-13, wherefore David blessed the Lord Before all the congregation. And David said Blessed be thou, lord, god of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Thine, o Lord, is the greatest, and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, o Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all, and in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to be great and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee and praise thy glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29, 10 through 13.

06:56 - Speaker 1
Bethany, bring us into your heart and mind what was going on there.

06:59 - Speaker 3
I just realized how powerful and in control God is and how everything is just because of him, and he's so great and amazing.

07:10 - Speaker 1
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the way the Word of God should impact us. Praise God. That's awesome. That's what this is all about. Wow, right.

07:19 - Speaker 2
I mean, excuse me for a moment, that's what this is all about. Wow, Right, I mean, excuse me for a moment. No, there's no horseradish here, Not on that one. Wow. So when trouble yeah, when trouble comes to her life, she knows that there's a great one that she can go to. She doesn't have to have all the answers. He's got the answers, she's got somewhere to go.

07:49
So many in our world today do not know. You and I know people, we have relatives, we have friends, we have spouses or we have children or grandchildren. They don't know where to go. They don't know that that kind of God is available. But he is.

08:08
I'm going to give you an equation. God gave it to me. It's personal. I think I'm going to make don't make a shirt, I'll make a shirt. But God showed me some math this week preparing for this message.

08:24
One plus two equals one. You see, you need to figure that out. Yep, Number one is all the good things in life are working out for my good. All the good things in my life are working out for my good because I love God. It might be a little bit of love, but I love God and I do know that I'm called because I can't walk away from him and that he's bringing his purposes about. All the good stuff. Number two is all the bad stuff. One good stuff, Number two bad stuff. The bad stuff is working together for the good exactly as the good stuff. I don't see it, I don't understand it.

09:05
God says I got it, I'm doing something here. When one plus two equals one, God says I'll take the bad, I'll take the good, I'll take the good and I'll take the bad, and when I get done it's one. And it's this way I'm in them all To bring you to one spot in one place, and that is the likeness of my son, If you're a believer here today, the only reason why you're alive today. You may think that there's a thousand reasons why you're alive. I get it, I understand that. But according to God, there's one reason why you're breathing right now as a believer and that is to bring his son glory, says the spirit of God. John 14, John 16. And all the good comes out from that. What about the bad? God's gonna work the bad out too. Bible says in James, chapter one, verse two. James one two.

10:06
It says my brethren, count it all. Joy when you'll fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. That means that that perfection is not holiness perfection. It means that God's got absolute lordship over your life and you're yielded. Isn't it amazing? God says come with me. Where are we going? We ask where are we going. He says come with me, You're going to find out.

10:35
You want an exciting life, follow God. You want to, rather, jump off of a building? Yeah, well, I don't know, eventually you're going to get. You know, tired of doing that, or your parachute won't open. But if you want a thrilling life, you ought to follow Jesus radically.

10:54
It's funny in this world, everything's about extreme. Join us for an extreme adventure this fall. You know what? Sign up. You know on this tour. It's an extreme. Get on your kayak and go down the Colorado River. It's an extreme, extreme. End of the world. Yeah, let's sign up. It's extreme. And then I show up and say, hey, follow Jesus. It's totally extreme.

11:24
And people are like what? Go be quiet, but listen. You start at one end of the river, you end up. It's over With him. It never ends, Never ends with him.

11:46
And when it says that all things are working together. This is awesome. The word together in the Greek language means it's coming from the outer limits to the center. It's coming from what's outside to the middle, All that's going on in life and the world around you. You name it From what's happening to the Middle East, outer space, on your street, in your yard, at your dinner table, on your skin. The target is your heart. What will you do with the information and how do you process all that's going on in the world? Friends, listen.

12:19
People are losing their minds right now because of what's going on in the world, because they will not look at the Bible Seriously. People are all caught up in rioting and all kinds of opinions and they're protesting and violence. They don't even know what they're doing. They don't understand there's an eternal plan at work. But listen, when there's no God in your life, you're gonna lose it. Listen, if there's no God, then drink all you want. You need it, but if there is a God, you need to know him and listen. Just this is free. Young people, stop with being offended.

13:08
What people are saying on your TikTok or whatever your thing is? Did somebody say something to you and they didn't like you this week and it hurts your feelings. Yeah, who said that? I don't know. It was Story Puffyfish13 said it. Do you know Story Puffyfish13? No, Then what are you upset about? They said something. Do you see how nuts our world is? First clue kid Anybody who names themselves starry puffy fish 13 ain't worth a minute conversation. And the other thing is no matter what you say to them, they're not going to be happy with your answer.

14:01
If you really want to get involved in something that is social and extreme, follow Jesus. And instead of being a victim to the internet, why don't you become a victor in the internet? Why don't you become a victor in the internet? Why don't you throw some Bible verses out there? See what happens. Give them John 3, 16, all the way to verse 21,. Watch what happens. You'll have 50% people loving you and 50% of the people will hate you. Go ahead. That's John 3, 16 to 21. When you follow Jesus, you're going to be loving. When you follow Jesus, you're going to be hated.

14:43
If Christ came back today, do you know what the world would do to him? Crucify him? They'd kill him again. Don't think that we've evolved into some more tolerant creature. No, If Jesus showed up today. The only people who would love on him would be those who recognize that they're sinners. Did you know that? Read your Bible. All those who wanted to kill him did not believe they were sinners. He's the friend of sinners. The Bible says so.

15:16
I want to be in the front of the line. That doesn't mean I go out and sin. In fact, as I am now, I sin less than I ever have, but I'm a sinner. I see my sin worse now than I ever have. I'm getting closer to Jesus, but what still remains is disgusting. Look at me. Look, I'm dressed up for you today. See this Inside.

15:44
You don't know what this is doing right now. You don't know where this is at. You know it's true about you. You can be sitting right here and your mind be a thousand miles from church, and God knows it all. But when the Holy Spirit gets a hold of you, he goes to work and he does a beautiful thing. And so, church, we revel in the fact that when it says to those who are the called, so it's the number one prerequisite to the verse being applied to your life is in the first part of verse 28,. Do you love God? First part of verse 28,. Do you love God? We're called to love him, and you can't love someone unless you find out about them.

16:24
There's people who have fallen in love on online relationships or what are they called Long distance relationships and stuff, and it's kind of, from what I've heard, it's been kind of cool for a lot of people because they lived so far away that they couldn't cross any moral lines. So they conversed with one another and he made he makes comments like this Wow, this relationship has been amazing and we plan on getting married, but I didn't realize I could talk so much. Well, why is that? Because all we do is talk online. She lives in another country and our relationship came about this way and it was all listen, how did they get to know each other? Conversation and then listen. Here's another tip Boy, I'm just giving out the relational tips here right now in this service.

17:14
Girls, this is especially applicable to you. If you're interested in the guy and he says he's interested in you, ask him to pray for you and not like this so, hey, Rocky, will you pray for me? Yeah, sure, babe. No, I mean now, you mean like over the phone. No, I mean now, you mean like over the phone. Yeah, hey, that's a warning. Don't get messed up with some guy that you're not impressed with. I'm not talking about his biceps, I don't care about his pocketbook. Is he humble enough to pray for you and pray over you? That's somebody to consider. Think about that. It somebody to consider. Think about that. It's all free. Again, it's all free, wasn't even in my notes? Second prerequisite is being called. Called, those who are the call, definite article, the called meaning those who have been invited into the family of God. How does that happen? God invites you. Did you know that church? The Bible teaches that God will invite you into his family to be one of the called ones.

18:26 - Speaker 1
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