Today on Real Life Radio. You want a victorious Christian life. You must make room. for your Christian life. You will not succeed, you will not grow stronger, you will not be dynamic for the kingdom if the things of the world come first.
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. The culture is shifting. Pressure is rising, faith is being tested.
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That's jackkids.com slash real radio. On today's edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues his series, now called First Samuel, and a message titled Getting the Victory in Life, Part 2. Samuel of the Old Testament was, of course, the last judge of Israel and the first of its prophets.
So as we continue now in chapter seven. We'll learn how to live a victorious Christian life with hope and a renewed vision to start doing what we should be doing. You see, we often take the baggage of our old life and what we've gone through and project the trouble we've had onto God. Instead, we just need to keep the good and acknowledge that God is good not just sometimes, but always.
So today, Pastor Jack teaches that Samuel knew the vital importance of creating a life of memorable worship that reminds us of all the things that God has done in our lives. The sacrifice of praise might be costly, but it's powerful enough to overcome our greatest challenges.
Now, with his message called Getting the Victory in Life, Part 2, here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs. The Lord and I made a deal a long time ago that if the offer comes, I'll pray. That God would not want me to go, that I'm going to go. Lord, if you don't want me to go, just p not have it happen. Because I'm going to use my body for you until I die.
So I'm going to go and do this. If you don't want me to go, you stop it from happening. I'm very open to you stopping it. And I'll go. And it's it's a weird torturous thing.
Because flying there or driving there, I'm thinking, God, what am I going to say? Talk to me, okay? Tell me whatever. Go ahead, you can talk right now. It'd be great if you told me what to say.
It's a weird thing. And um Paul said it perfectly. He says we die daily. And I gotta tell you, I die daily. It's the weirdest thing.
But the good thing is Lord. Keep letting me die. You live your life through me as much as you want. Please keep me out of the way. And do your thing.
Because I tell you Sometimes it's very, very good to be Afraid. I love seeing a little kid when they're afraid. They hide right behind their dad's knee. Have you noticed that? They hang on to his calf.
or his knee or his thigh and they just peek out once in a while. That's a great place to be. Why, it's all of the Lord. Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6 tells us this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. And I tell you, with a name like Zerubbabel, you want to have the word of the Lord being spoken to you.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Not by pulling off a big show. Not by forcing your way. But by the Spirit of God. That's how things are done the right way.
Verse 8: We learn living a dependent life upon God. There's a calling upon God's, listen, a calling upon God's others. Say, what? Yeah, his people.
So the children of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us. Living a dependent life upon God. Is a very important thing because God wants to use us to touch others in the family of God. Very important. Isaiah 55 verse 6 tells us, Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he's near.
There's a window right now for all of us that are in the hearing of this message that God is calling you to bless other people. That's quite a project, you know that? To bless others? Do you imagine if we didn't get anything out of this message tonight, but this: leave this building determined to bless other people.
Well, what does that mean? I don't know. That's for again you to find out for me to find out Because I'm gonna Guess That The blessing is going to be as diverse. as the situation that you encounter. I think it was yesterday.
I'm not sure if it was yesterday. But a man A man came into the church. He's a homeless guy. And uh the the church was closed, the door happened to have been unlocked and and yet he came in and Um it was late. And He needed help.
Well, everything's locked up and I don't even have access at that time of the day even to money if I if my life depended on it for this man. There's just I had nothing in my wallet financially, zero. Not a penny. And while the guy, I go, what do you want? What what what do you s what are you saying?
What's going on? And he was very cool. He says, Well, first of all, I'm a brother in the Lord. And, you know, you hear that all the time. And especially as I'm listening to him, I could smell something funny.
Coming from them. And um I said, let's step outside, okay?
So we stepped outside, and I got him away from the other people who were there, and I said. You smoke pot. 'Cause you smell funny. Yeah. He just goes, No, ma'am.
I just ate a grapefruit. And I said, what? He said, I just ate a grapefruit. I said, you smell like you're smoking pot. And he goes, Smell my hands, I just ate a grapefruit and Oh you're right, it's a grapefruit.
I'm sorry, come on in.
So I brought him back in because I didn't want to ask him in front of people. And um But I was gonna bust him out there if he was doing drugs and wanting a handout. But he wasn't. I just said, listen, we have access to no cash, but we don't want you to be without. And um So listen, go down to this hotel, and that's going to be your place for the night.
And he was just so sweet. Oh man, thank you so much, and praise the Lord. And uh You know, I may never see that guy again. Was he an angel? I hope not.
Jack, remember that day that you insulted that angel? He was sent from my throne room directly. But the scripture says we need to be careful. You know, we could be entertaining angels without knowledge. You know, they appear as men at times and...
That's pretty wild, you know?
So much so that Peter would write about it. Be careful, you know, how you treat a stranger, because you could be. Entertain an angel unaware to you. I don't know who this guy was, but the thing is, he went away blessed eventually. Yeah.
God has called us in this world to bless other people. Yeah, and that's kind of a fun thing. That's a great calling. Point number 5, verses 10 through 12. Getting the victory in life, and that is creating a life of worship.
Oh, this is so vital. You guys. This is essential, creating a life of worship. And I really don't want what Samuel is trying to teach us here to fall upon deaf ears. This is so critical.
Now, as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. That's a total commitment, you guys. He said, Well, yeah, it was a total commitment for the animal, but you know, Samuel's going to live another day. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. To offer a burnt offering.
Yes, it was costly, but listen, the thing is, their hearts were not callous like our hearts are today about blood and about animal and about death. They were very earthy people. Can I put it that way? They were in touch. Look look can I offend somebody in here right now?
They were more in touch with nature than the most devoted tree hugger who's ever lived. There's nothing Profound about sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest, meditating on your navel, about being one with the universe.
Okay. God's people Love his creation. You don't have to Yeah. environmental Person to love his create or to want the creation to be protected. I think Christians should be the best custodians of what he's made.
Here's the problem where you and I live, and here comes the offense. We're a culture that worships the creation more than the creator. It's terrible. We would rather have babies die and people perish to save. A burrowing owl.
Or a spotted owl. Or a A gnat. This area is protected. Why? You can't walk over here.
Why? There is a rare gnat That Breeds in this area. How do you know? Because there's everything in the area that tells us that this is where they live. I've been told that before.
You can't go here. You can't build here. Because The area Historically, could Good. Breed This little bird that lives in the Prado Basin, this region. It's migratory.
Have you seen one? No, but they could live in this area. I'm serious. I had to spend 8,000 bucks to find that out.
So then, okay, now that you're telling us, can I have the money back? Oh, no, no. But, buddy, you better hope that there's no kangaroo rat on your land. This is crazy. It's worshiping the creation more than God.
We have to be careful. Samuel takes this little lamb. And he loved that little life of that thing. He knew how precious it was in the sight of God, the life of that little lamb in its blood. He makes a burnt offering, knowing what it costs.
Yeah, right. They were much more in tune than we are today. He knew what he was doing. It was costly, but it was a sign of worship to God. Lord, I'm giving this life for you.
And Lord, in a real way, there's a transference that's taking place that what I'm offering to you right now is on not only behalf of me, but these entire nation, this whole group of people. This is being conveyed through this little lamb. He makes an offering. of worship. And so the Bible says the Philistines drew near to the battle against Israel.
Can you see it happening in your mind's eye? This is kind of weird, Israel standing there like a deer in the headlights. The enemy is rattling their swords and chariots. They're massive. And they're big.
Samuel has got an altar, and he takes this animal, and there's smoke ascending as the people are looking on, defenseless.
Now somebody who didn't know anything about God would say, gonna get creamed. They're gonna get slaughtered.
Somebody who's not aware of God would say, Run for your. Look what happens. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day. Isn't that great? Wouldn't you have loved to have seen that?
And so confused them. That they were overcome before Israel, and all the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued. the Philistines and drove them back as far as Beth Kar. Then Samuel took a stone and he set it up between Mizpah and Shin and called its name Ebenezer, saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us. To worship.
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. To learn more about this ministry or to catch up on some previous episodes, go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And now, let's get back to today's message. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
Man, are you troubled? Do you have a tendency to be troubled by the pressures of life? Listen, you guys, this is free, what I'm going to give you right now. It's totally free. No charge.
Worship. Worship. I'm serious. Listen, test this and see if it's not true. When you could get home tomorrow, put a worship C D on.
I'm not talking about DC talk or... You know, uh You know, and none not that. Worship. And begin to worship the Lord and watch and feel, literally feel your troubles be lifted.
Okay, having said that, having you hearing that, put it to the test, and then you tell me later if I was wrong. It's that powerful worship is. That's why when we come together, why do we put worship before the word? To strip your life of what's plaguing you, to lift your spirit into the presence of God, to touch His heart, to bless Him, and then He responds by giving the word. That's why it's that way, biblically.
Very important. Very quickly. Verse 10 says to us, really, that worship is to be continuous in the life of the believer. Continuous. We also learned that worship is to be powerful.
Look how powerful this worship was. You say, Well, I don't get it. They're worshiping God, God takes care of the problem. That's powerful. I love that.
Worship is to be continuous. Verses 10 and 11 teach us that worship is to be powerful. Verse 12 teaches us that worship is to be memorable. Thus far they say the Lord has helped us. and they set up a stone in memory of that.
We need to be altar builders. in our lives. Seriously, I mean it. You ought to be able to point to something. And, you know, this may sound silly to you, but I think you ought to do this, especially if you have young kids, you ought to do something.
In our backyard we have a tree, it's called Zacchaeus. The kids named him Zacchaeus. He was in a five-gallon pot.
Now the guy's gigantic. But it's cool because they remembered all these years that's Zacchaeus. It's a sycamore tree and it fits Zacchaeus and a sycamore tree. But to them, you know All their life they've known about this tree. And the week that we moved into our house in Chino Hills, we went up on top that big.
A hill where the tree there is the logo for the city, that big tree that's on the police cars and all that stuff. That big tree, that big tree is up there in the. On that hill? And we stood there, we didn't even know what we were doing. We stood there and prayed for.
The area. And I'll never forget it. The four of us were there and And we just said, Lord, deliver. This land into your hands for your glory. And we prayed that prayer in 1986.
And we don't know what we're talking about. We just thought, you know what, maybe God wants to do something. Set up an altar. That tree can be an altar. It could be that you're somewhere and you say, you know what, from this point on, we're going to be faithful to each other, husband and wife.
Or from this point on, a youth teen might say, you know what, from this point on, I'm going to stack these rocks over here in this part of our yard or over there in that area. And this is a dedication. This is a memory between me and God. I'm going to follow him. I think that's a great thing to do.
And then finally, Verses 13 to 17, getting the victory in life. That is, maintaining a life with God.
So the Philistines were subdued. And they did not come any more into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel again, from Ekron to Gaph. and Israel recovered its territories.
Also, there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. And so Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all of those places. but he always returned to Rama. for his home was there.
And there he judged Israel. And there he built an altar to the Lord. Quickly, verse 13: the flesh must be kept in check. The Philistines are a type of the flesh. As long as Samuel was building altars and making worship unto God, listen, the flesh was held.
Back. When you and I get sloppy in our worship, the flesh begins to rear its head. You know what I'm saying? The flesh begins to resurrect itself. The old man begins to come back.
And then here. Verses sixteen to seventeen. the new life must be given air, must be given room. The new life must be given air. It says here in verse 16.
He went from year to year in the circuit, that is, he judged these people in these cities, discerned. But the scripture says That he always returned and that he built that altar. The new life. He always made room for the new life. You want a victorious Christian life.
You must make room. for your Christian life. You will not succeed. You will not grow stronger. You will not be dynamic for the kingdom if the things of the world come first.
You must discipline your life to put God first. We have to do this. And here's the deal: we end in this.
Well, I need prayer, you say.
Well, we all need prayer. No, things, you know, in my life are just falling apart, coming apart at the seams. I'm not walking with God like I once was.
Well, what do you want to pray about?
Well, I think I need counseling. Oh, you don't need any counseling. Jesus says Remember where you fell down from, repent, and go do your first works. What's your first works? Putting God first.
Remember when you first fell in love with Jesus? You are a wacko for God. We need to be wacko for God again. Samuel As we'll see next week in chapter 8, He grows old in fact, too old to perform his office. But he never stopped being an altar builder.
Dad? You better have an altar in your house. Your kids better know they're prayed for. Mom? Be an altar builder.
Let your family know. That you love them. That there's something in that house that speaks of your dedication to God and to them. Teens Build an altar. Get radically dedicated to God and watch what happens.
It's amazing. He's waiting. For us to determine in our hearts, Lord. We're going to be victorious with you. It's his will.
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, God, for the hope that we have. Father, that. You want us to be victorious. You want us, Lord, to succeed.
So Father, we pray that This would not be just a passing Message. Lord, that Tonight would make a difference in our lives. Father, I pray for all those tonight that are saying, Yes, Lord, I want to be victorious. Father, that you would interrupt us like you would Like an earthquake or a tornado, that the norm is shattered. Lord, that our normal, safe, little Now complacent, apathetic, sometimes sleepy life.
Too predictable. Too comfortable. Too easy. We ask, Lord, that you would cause us to be shaken to the point where We cry out. For your hand to deliver us.
save us. This would be a good thing, Lord. And Father, we pray that you would By this time next week, touch our lives in such a way, That we're so Different. In one week. We're so blessed by you.
So encouraged. that our lives were touched by the hand of the living God. How exciting, how Great. Thou art. In Jesus' name we pray.
And all God's people said. Amen. Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Himms. Here on Real Life Radio. and his message called Getting the Victory in Life Part 2.
So glad you took the time to be with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called First Samuel. It's a series that highlights the prophet Samuel, who was called by God during one of Israel's darkest ages, to bring the people back to a true heart of worship. and will continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
So as you heard from our broadcast, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And if you'd like to know what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life personally, we would love to help you out with that. Go to jackhibbs.com slash no God. That's K-N-O-W-God. And there you'll be guided through what commitment to Christ can mean in your life and the freedom that you'll find in knowing God.
Don't miss out. That's the Know God tab at jackhibbs.com. Hey, have you ever looked at a burning fire? Maybe it's in a fire ring, or you're at the beach and the logs are burning, and someone was to pull out one of the logs and set it off to the side. Have you noticed how quick it cools down?
Because it's not with the rest of them. The rest of the fire continues to burn, but when you break it up and pull it apart, Those pieces begin to grow cold. Friends, listen, that could describe your Christian life right now. But don't let it continue to be that way. You are part of God's family all around the world.
As you and I continue to stand in the truth, we are standing in the very beautiful, refining fire of God. Let Him have His way with you. And you will come out ablaze for his glory. We're near the finish line, friend. Don't give up, don't quit, keep standing because God's truth will never fail.
In Jesus' name, Amen. 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.
