Today on Real Life Radio. The call will come at just the right time in your life. You might be saying, God, what are you going to do with my life? What do you want to do with my life? And the great thing about this: it doesn't matter how young you are, it doesn't matter how old you are.
You can be 99 and say, God, what do you want to do with my life? That's a wonderful thing. You're never too old to ask. You're never too young to ask. This is real life.
Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's Word, the Bible. Did you know that epidemics are not always physical in nature? The most widespread epidemic that has taken over the world is not found in a lab. It's found in the disparity of the soul.
Loneliness has swept the earth. People are overcome with despair more than ever before. Our heart longs for relationships, but many times we look for it in all the wrong places. There's really only one thing that can satisfy the soul, and that's having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to meet with him on a daily basis.
Now whether you're alone in your room or in a crowded coffee shop with your phone, your laptop, and latte, You really can find comfort and peace through God's Word and with Pastor Jack's devotions. New devotions written by Pastor Jack are uploaded on a weekly basis, but previous devotions are right there for you to check out. at jackhibbs.com. Easy to find at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.
On today's edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues his series now called First Samuel. and a message titled, Hearing the Call of God for Your Life, Part 1.
Now Samuel of the Old Testament was a man dedicated to God as Israel's last judge, and the first of the prophets who heard and understood the call of God upon his life. You see, the word of the Lord was rare in those days, and there were no widespread revelations. But in desperate times, there are desperate needs and the call from God will come to the proper person. And just as Samuel heard and responded to God, he's called us to respond as well.
So today, Pastor Jack teaches that in order to know the call of God for our lives, We need to be still before him, ready to listen. It's a personal thing. We can't really serve God without knowing Him personally. And now with his message called, Hearing the Call of God for Your Life, Part 1. Here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
In this region, in this area, We are great churches, and there's a great presence of preaching in God's Word. And you know what? If you don't like some church, you can go to some place and find a church that preaches the word of God easily. Thank God. You go on the other side of these San Bernardino mountains.
And you're not going to hit anything until you get to Vegas. There's an excellent several churches in Vegas. That's a miracle, isn't it? After you leave Vegas, you're not going to hit much. You get to the East Coast and they're there, but they're not compacted together like they are here.
Very, very amazing. God has sent a clear message. To the time and to the place in which we live. How does he do it? Through people.
Great. It wasn't like that. In Samuel's time. We look at this also that The call will come at the right time. God's call always comes at the right time.
Verses 2 and 3, it says, And it came to pass at that time. A very specific time while Eli was lying down in his place. And when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, He's old. And before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord, where the ark of God was. We'll stop right there.
The call will come at just the right time in your life. You might be saying, God, what are you going to do with my life? What do you want to do with my life? And the great thing about this: it doesn't matter how young you are, it doesn't matter how old you are. You can be 99 and say, God, what do you want to do with my life?
That's a wonderful thing. You're never too old to ask. You're never too young to ask. But the call will come at just the right time. And my friend, you might be saying, well, this message is for pastors and evangelists and preachers.
Wrong. Why do you think pastors and evangelists and preachers ever got to be? what they're doing because they heard the call of God in their life. It's not, and it's not for men only. God calls his people to To serve.
And that call comes at just the right time. And I believe, personally, that God will stir up your heart, stir up your life. And I love, and I'm praying that if you're in here tonight and you're saying, well, you know, that's fine. But my walk is kinda ho hum. with God.
Things are kind of boring. Oh man, I pray for you. I pray that God would so shake you up. I pray that God would reveal his call to your life. That he would begin to agitate and shake and stir and move you around and get you into that position, that place where you're calling out to God because the time.
and the needs are desperate. And it happens in all kinds of ways. Because Black Doctor bag has so many things in it. That will fix you and fix me. It comes at the right time.
God has his plans, but we have to be open. and expecting them to come to us. God wants to speak to us. And if tonight you're saying, I want to know what God wants in my life, My friend, God wants you to know more than you want to know. He wants you to know more than you want to know.
He's doing that in your heart and in your life. Listen. I came at the right time.
Well, what was the right time? It says here: while Eli was lying down. Interesting. When his eyes had begun to grow so dim It says that the right time is before the lamp of God went out. God was raising up a servant.
Did Eli know? I don't think he knew. Did little Sammy know? I don't think he knew. Listen, while you're following after the Lord, God's going to speak to you.
And while things seem difficult and hard and impossible, God's going to speak to you. Before it's too late and the lamp of God goes out, that is the opportunity to minister and to serve. God's going to speak. Ezekiel 22:30. tells us so i sought for a man among them Who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me, God speaking, on behalf of the land?
that I should not destroy it, but I found no one. That's a sad thing, isn't it? It doesn't have to be true in our life. Isn't it terrible to think that during Ezekiel's day, God wanted to do something? God has said, I want a man to stand up.
And be like a wall. And God looked and searched and no one was crying out to God. Are you crying out to God? Is it a passion of yours? Are you just even saying, God, it's not a passion of mine?
Make it a passion of mine to cry out to you. Isn't that so good about our God? Isn't that great?
Well, I don't love him anymore. I don't love her anymore. Are you guys married? Yep. All right, suck it up.
What? Yeah, so I get up and here's what we're going to pray. We're going to pray that you We'll start praying. For God's love toward her. And both of you, one toward another.
But I don't love them. I'm asking you to ask God to put love in your heart for Him. Why? You're married. What God has put together, don't separate it.
You see, you and I live in that Culture, get on an airplane, away we go. Punch the button, kaboom, there it is. If things aren't working, out we go, get a new one. Geez doesn't make me happy. I want a new one.
Watch out! Don't be guilty. Of destroying what God has put together. Just because it's gone south or sour. Doesn't mean it's over.
It just simply means that God hasn't been involved in your marriage in a while. You haven't asked them. No, brother, it sounds like marriage counseling or something. That's exactly what you need. You need to read your Bible.
Listen. hearing the call of God in your life. Are you single or are you engaged? Are you thinking about it? Has God called you to be with that person.
Very important. Hearing God's call for your life. Second point. Verses 4 through 8. We're asking this question: how can I know God's call?
For me. How can I know? The first way, verses 4 and 5. is when you're still before the Lord. It says, and he answered.
This is little Samuel. And he answered, here I am.
So he ran to Eli and said, Here I am. For you called me. And he said, I did not call. Lie down again. And he went and laid down.
This is cute. You got it. You got Eli laying there. He's fine. He's probably sleeping.
Knowing how God is, is he's... I know Eli, he's just like Who knows what, you know, he's like. Looking at, you know. The stars through the roof, or whatever. He's just hanging out there.
He's laying down. Little kid, fidgety. Samuel So you can hear these little feet. To Eli's room. Eli, what?
What? What do you mean what? You called me. I didn't call you. Go back to bed and lay down.
Great to see this. God's going to speak to you when you're still. It may be when you're laying down. It may be when you're still When things have been moved out Things have been uncluttered from your head, unplugged from your heart. You gotta get still with God.
In Isaiah 55, verse 6, the Bible says, Seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near. You want to know God's call for your life? Get alone. Doesn't that sound like I'm almost... Sinning and saying that to you?
Get along. Whoa, what does that mean? Unplug the TV. What? Turn off the radio.
Take a drive climb a mountain. I don't know Go row a boat. Get alone. Lock yourself in the bathroom. Get along!
Talk to God. Get still and say, Lord, do you want to say anything? I mean this. I mean it. Do this.
I challenge you for 30 days. Do this. Are you ready? Get a notebook and a pencil. And go Get alone somewhere and ask God, God, do you want to say anything to me?
And then start writing it down. And you're going to come to a very interesting... Challenge Two minutes into this. Experiment. How do I know what I'm writing down is from God or from me?
Oh, that's the great thing. After you write it down? And you come out of your little prayer closet, your bathroom, or wherever you're at. Lay it before the Lord. Lord, what is of you?
Confirm it to me. Speak to me. And you know what he's going to do? I promise. I promise you, he is going to start.
highlighting things that you wrote down. Because quite frankly You wrote down What he was giving you. And some of the things may seem crazy. Just write it down. And God will begin to illuminate some of those things.
It's exciting. I tell you, you do that. You will be pumped up. Just be ready. You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs.
You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And for now, let's get back to our teaching. Once again, here's Pastor Jack. You can sit down.
Lord, speak to me. And he might say, Go to your backyard. Go to my backyard. That can't be God. Just write it down.
Go to the backyard. Get up and go to the backyard. There may be something going on back there that God wanted to say to you, God might want to show you. I'm dead serious. Last night.
At the little pet store, we bought our dog a big, well, it's like two, three inches long, as big for this dog. It's a little dog. A little chew bone thing, you know. We thought she'd like it. We take it home.
She grabs it and takes off.
So we walk by her and she's going, ah, ah. What's worth this dog? She's got this thing in her mouth. She's all upset when you walk by. You try to get it.
She tried to bite us. I didn't know she'd turn into a demon dog if we bought her a gift. What's the deal? And she got really goofy, and she began to try to stuff it under the couch and under a chair, and she's panicking. She's panicking and now she's like...
all weirded out.
Well, my daughter and I was watching her do this, and I told my daughter, I said, Isn't it bizarre how possessions? can totally mess you up. The dog was fine until she got that tube on, and then that's it. She wouldn't lay on our lap, she wouldn't even talk to us. I'm serious.
And then she had to go to bed last night with it. Possessions, things. I don't know why I brought that up, but it was when I started out. Be still before the Lord and let him clean out our hearts and let him speak to us. You'll hear God's call when you first of all determine to be still before him.
It's very important. Secondly, We see here. How can we know God's call for me? When the call is persistent, verse 6: And the Lord called yet again, Samuel.
So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. And he answered, I did not call my son, lie down again. That's great. Persistent. God is Knocking.
Remember Jonah? Boy, what a lesson in persistence. Oh no, Jonah wasn't persistent. God was. Personally, what would you have done with Jonah?
When you got on the boat, the Bible says that God put the call on Jonah. Jonah went and bought a boat ticket. to get out of there and it says to run away from God. He gets on a boat. Surely God doesn't go out in the water.
So he gets on a boat and he goes. God hounds him. Persisting. Are you running from God? Does God want to do something in your life, but you're going and going and going?
And you're so afraid that He's going to tell you to be His, you fill in the blank. I want you to do, you fill in the blank. He's calling you. And you're like, well, you know, I got a business to run, or well, you know, I got to make money, or well, you know, I'm not. You know, cut out for that.
Hey, listen, the Bible says God has taken the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. That means all of the fools he calls into ministry. It's true. Why? So the glory will be of God and not of us.
It's so true. His call will be persistent on your life. You won't be able to get away from it. And I have to say this personally. The call can be so persistent that you will want to get away from it like Jonah.
You'll try to push it off. You'll try to give it to other people. You'll try to downplay it. And you'll try to hinder it. How do I know?
Because I not only did that, I do that. In my life. I do that. I fight. Even though I know I'm called, I know that I know I'm called to do what I'm doing.
I fight God so often. Because I feel so inadequate. I get so overwhelmed. God, surely, you know, now my time is up. It's not for me to continue.
You must be calling somebody else. And yet he is persistent. He'll hound you and hound you and he'll stay on you. And you won't be fulfilled until you do that thing. How we know God's call upon your life?
He's persistent. Thirdly, under this point, The call is personal.
Now, Samuel, verse 7, did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him. That doesn't mean he was a non-believer, it means that God was not speaking to him. directly at this point. Verse 8, and the Lord called to Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you did call me.
Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. There was a direct correlation, by the way, between him. and personally knowing the Lord and his service to the Lord. Notice here, it says that The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to Samuel. The call comes, then God instructs him.
Isn't that excellent? That is very, very good. The call God had determined. God knew what he was going to do. In your life, God, listen, according to the Bible, When did God call Jeremiah to serve him?
Before it was ever born. When did God call it Call Paul to serve him. Before Paul was ever born. God has called us to serve Him before we were ever born. It's so funny.
It should be natural for us to get into the ministry of the Lord. But we find it, don't we? We kick, we drag, we Resist? God's word had not yet been revealed, but the call comes. And here's a wonderful truth.
God does not call the equipped. He equips the called. And all of a sudden, we're all available for service and ministry unto our God. He's faithful to do that. He's so very good.
Boy, I tell you, the Apostle Paul in his personal experience in Galatians chapter 1, verse 15. through 18, a dear passage of scripture for my own life. Paul says, but when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb, Or sanctified me, or set me apart from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace. to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles. I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.
Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went into Arabia. My friend, that's the desert. I went into the desert. And I returned again to Damascus.
Listen, then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him 15 days. If you put all of Paul's waiting Period together. You come out to be somewhere around six to seven years, Paul had been converted. before he preached. Wow.
God was instructing him all that time. This was Paul's life. Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio and his message called Hearing the Call of God for Your Life, Part 1. Thanks for spending some time with us today. We're glad you did.
You know this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called First Samuel. A series highlighting the prophet Samuel, who was called by God during one of Israel's darkest ages. to bring the people back to a heart of true worship. and will continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Two things that you've made a major difference in my life.
Can I throw this out in front of the audience right now? Two things particular. The kind of coffee that you like, I drink it every day. Yes. I won't mention the name, but I drink it every day.
Still, I think it was 10 years ago, maybe 20 years ago. Oh, yes, sure. Also around that same time, you turned me on to Charles Spurgeon. Absolutely. You were the first guy that said the word Charles Spurgeon to me.
Let me ask you something. Go ahead. Do you remember doing for, I believe it was for TBN, you did a Charles Spurgeon video series. I did. You were Charles Spurgeon.
That's exactly it. In your voice. You were acting out sermons and devotions by Charles Spurgeon. You did that back in like 1893. 1894.
94. When I was a younger man.
Well, listen, I mean, Charles Spurgeon's worthy of anyone mimicking his sermons or his devotions. And so the resource for September, this wonderful book, Words of Warning, that's the title of the book. But Davey, I love the subtitle. For those wavering. between belief and unbelief.
All people waver at times between belief and unbelief. It depends on what's going on in your life. I actually think. Everybody needs to get this book because who does not struggle at times where, is God going to show up? Am I going to get that new job?
Is he going to heal my son? You know, when I die, am I really going to go to heaven? This is a great book by Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest communicators ever in human history, truly.
Now Spurgeon was a guy who didn't hold back. No. Right.
So how do you think this book lines up with what you're always encouraging us to do today? Live bold. Live a bold and honest faith.
Well, he lived it. He did. He preached. He crafted his sermons. Again, all of them biblically based.
He crafted them. And then he went and delivered them. And then after he said amen, Spurgeon was famous for going out and living them. Yes. And a lot of people don't realize that you're talking about an era, say, 1863, where When he issued a sermon in London, His sermons were Reproduced and sent out in newspaper form all around the world.
All around the world. He was probably the most read minister of his time. And the power behind Charles Spurgeon was his command of English.
Now, many of us don't have that command. Oh, fantastic. His understanding of the truth, well, we. Thank God, understand the truth. But he lived it out and We can say We can't tell.
My favorite quote from uh Charles Burgen. as a as a not very small man myself. He said, The barrel chested man is probably called to be a preacher. You are talking about the book Lectures to My Students by Charles Burton. And that's exactly right.
Think about it. In those days, he doubted a man's calling to the pulpit if he didn't have a barrel chest. He weren't large-chested, no microphones. Because he was speaking to over 10,000 people in the audience with no microphones. No microphone.
Isn't that something? And so his understanding back then was you got to be able to bellow, he said. You got to bellow. He's going to be a big feller. And God is not going to call a little feller.
To preach, he's got to call a big filler.
So for people who don't know much about Charles Spurgeon, why is he such a big deal to today's church?
Well, first of all, Spurgeon was a self-taught, basically Genius of a young man. I think he was saved at the age of 16. Having said that, At the age of five and six years of age, he read the famous book, for example, Pilgrim's Progress. He read it nearly 100 times. That's not normal, folks, but listen, here's the deal.
his ability to paint pictures with words, is what I would say was the original technicolor. He's able to communicate in ways. And he, by the way, he was a profound student of nature.
So in his sermons, he would often talk about how this particular time of harvest or this time of seeding or this time of spring or winter, he will communicate in ways that your mind. Will just drive that devotion into your soul in the colors of the rainbow and beyond. I mean, it is high definition. Articulation and logic. That truly glorifies God.
I mean, He just raises the bar in your life to come up into the clouds, where Spurgeon, I think, spent so much time with God. Get words of warning by Charles Spurgeon for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That's jackhibbs.com slash real radio. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com.
That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
