Today on Real Life Radio. The gifts are not infallible. Because It is God the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a flawed Creation, us. 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. Are you looking for some solid biblical teaching that speaks to the world today? At jackhibbs.com, you have access to Pastor Jack's entire library of sermons on demand, anytime, anywhere. Whether you're commuting, you're at the gym, or you need a moment of encouragement. you can dive right into some powerful verse-by-verse teachings that make God's word really come alive.
from deep dives into scripture to practical messages on everyday issues. Pastor Jack's teachings help you understand the Bible in a way that's clear, it's relevant, and it's easy to apply. You're going to find sermons that address today's toughest questions with biblical insight and hope in the midst of life's challenges.
Now, whether you're new to the faith or you've been around for a long time, these messages are designed to meet you right where you're at and inspire you to grow deeper in your walk with God.
So don't miss out. Visit jackhibbs.com. Why don't you start exploring the sermon library today? You're going to like it. That's jackhibbs.com, where powerful teaching is always just a click away.
On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack now continues his series called 1 Samuel with a message called Church Growth 101, Part 2. Samuel of the Old Testament, of course, was the last judge of Israel, and he was the first of its prophets.
So here in chapter 16, now we'll continue to draw lessons from the story of David. You see, when Samuel anointed David to be the king of Israel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. To be filled with the Holy Spirit in strength and in power, it's our greatest purpose. Church growth is not merely about numbers, but that the Holy Spirit is welcome in the body of Christ.
So today Pastor Jack teaches that when the church functions with unity and vision through the power of the Holy Spirit, it builds the church from the inside out. Church growth happens when God's choice is more important than our own agendas.
Now with his message called Church Growth 101 Part 2, here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hughes. I'm going to throw a few things out just that has come to my mind, and it's important to me. And it seems to me that the gifts of the Spirit of God, when they're at work in our lives, Hmm? Ought to result in the manifestation that we ought to be a living church, alive. Everybody wants to go to a church that's alive.
Well, how do you think that happens? Jesus told his followers, When he was ascending, go to Jerusalem. And wait.
Now they had to wait, in my opinion, I mean, I'm really impatient, but they had to wait, what, some 50 days? They had to wait for Pentecost. On the fiftieth day, And then the Holy Spirit came. And what were they doing prior to that?
Well, they looked probably like they're kind of in a coma. They're just kind of waiting. And on that day, the Holy Spirit came. And from that time on, you couldn't nail their feet to the ground. They were moving constantly: preaching, ministering, serving, loving.
A church dynamic. Oh, I want to go to a church alive. Are you sure? Do you want to go to church alive because it happens to gather a lot of enthusiastic people? I mean, can you imagine go to a church where, you know, it's all Tony Robbins kind of people?
Motivational speakers. Yeah.
Well, you can get a lot of energy out of that. But it may not be the Spirit of God. We have to be careful in our culture. We can throw so much money at something that it looks anointed. Did you know that?
That's scary. Or do you want to go to church that the Holy Spirit is in control? If the Holy Spirit's going to be in control, This demands of us that we let go. Do you understand that? You have to let go.
Let's get personal. A couple of weeks ago we had a time of afterglow. And Most of you completely loved it. A few of you, you were so precious, your eyes were as big as saucers. Yeah.
By the way, I have to say that some have written to me and it was a wonderful thing. They said, you know what? I've never seen the Holy Spirit in such control of his people. My faith has grown tenfold since that night. That was a great thing.
That was a neat thing to read. But a living church When someone is alive, I can't think of anything better than a little kid. They'll go anywhere, they'll get into anything. But you know what? A good parent A good parent will lift the little one Feel the dirt.
You know what I mean? For some of you who have kids, let em get dirty. Let them get muddy. Let him taste it. He's putting it in his mouth.
He's putting it in his. Let him put it in his mouth. Can I kill him? Let him taste dirt. You got little boys.
Seriously, I'm not joking. You got little boys? Let him crawl under the car with you. Let him get greasy. Let that little girl get all in the baby powder everywhere.
It's great. I'm serious. It's wonderful. The Holy Spirit does that with us. He's so kind and gentle.
Well, wait a minute. That little kid doesn't know how to deal with the oil can. Of course, he doesn't know how to deal with the oil can. But he's going to learn how to deal with the oil can. How's he going to deal with an oil can if you don't let him try the oil can?
You see, we want a church alive. But we won't let the Holy Spirit move. And here's the deal. This may freak you out. But as a pastor, I'm willing to let the Holy Spirit move.
That's why that night, when someone, in that afterglow setting, someone spoke in a tongue, I saw some of your eyes. And you know what was fun? Lord, that's cool.
Now let's see. If you're in control. And this is what I'm letting you into my mind, Lord. Establish your authority here tonight. According to your word.
That person either spoke out of turn, Or they spoke in turn And now, Lord, I pray. that you give someone the interpretation. Exactly as the Word of God puts it. And you know what happened? Interpretation came.
You say, well, Jack, that's a tremendous risk. Yeah, you gotta let the kids play with the oil. You understand what I'm saying? It's very, very important that you understand that. Nobody.
Nobody. And by the way, the gifts are not infallible. Because It is God the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a flawed Creation, us. And because you and I are in the factor, in the equation, there can always be a problem. God could give someone a word of knowledge, and God has burned it into your heart, but you won't say it because you're afraid you're going to look foolish.
That's our weakness, and that happens many times. You have to step out in faith, as always, in things of the Spirit.
So we run the risk. You know? When I ask people to accept Christ at the close of maybe a service, and some people don't, don't you think that's a risk? It's a risk. Here's the deal.
If I ask, I would rather look like a jerk for asking. Then wonder, oh, you know, what if I ask, Lord, and nobody raises their hand? I look like a zero person. I don't care about that. It doesn't matter.
Well, the thing is, as a church, we have to be mature enough in the Word of God that if someone tonight or next week or whenever is, you know, we're waiting upon the Lord and there's a move of the Spirit, and for the first time in their lives, they feel a prompting in their heart. They don't know what's going on. And it feels almost like the day you got saved. There's kind of like an, oh man, what's going on? I feel like I ought to do something.
Well, what's happening? What's wrong with me? And somebody says something.
Somebody says, you know, there's a man here tonight and he's got this growth or this tumor and the Lord's healing you. And then all of a sudden you feel it in that spot.
Okay. Oh Lord, that's me. I've been feeling it. That's happened here. I feel it happening.
That's me. And then the person that got healed says, I was just healed tonight. Or we hear about it next week. I was healed. Then there's times when a person is sensing pressure in their heart.
They're a Christian, they're sensing this. Pressure. It's a good kind of pressure. It's an interesting thing. It's like, Lord, what is this?
And you'll hear the Lord, but you won't hear him. I mean you won't hear like Jock Screak. You know, he doesn't talk like that. Do you? But you'll hear, you'll feel his word and it's like, Jack, speak.
Well, Lord, I don't know what I'm going to say. And right then and there, it's so amazing. There'll be a string, there'll be a sentence in your head, a sentence. And it may be, you know, a word of exhortation or a word of wisdom or knowledge. And you know what the great thing about it is?
Remember when Jeremiah said, I tried to keep still and I tried to shut my mouth, but his words burned within me, I had to speak? You know what? Those of you who have ever been touched by the Spirit of God to speak out publicly, you know exactly how Jeremiah felt. You can't go home without saying what you're supposed to say. Because the Lord won't let you.
It's like, man, I don't want to do this. And he's going to do it. I don't want to do it. Come on, do it. Come on, come on, do it.
Lord, I don't want to. And the moment you just say, there's somebody here and they've got, you know, this is the thing, and you. Man. That sounds kind of risky. It is risky.
It's letting the kids play with the oil. It's okay. if the Lord's in control.
Well, what happens if something goes crazy?
Okay, in Corinthians it says that in the public gathering there can only be three utterances of tongues, each one with an interpretation before you go to the next. And then at the end of three, no more tongues for the night. That's true.
Well, what if there's a fourth one? Then we take the guy out and we all beat him up in the back. If I know my Bible, If I'm being led by the Spirit and overseer of the service, at the... Utterance of that last or the third tongue of the evening or for the day, I should say, now, according to scriptures, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, this is the final utterance that the Lord will give tonight. And now we'll wait upon the Lord for the interpretation of it.
Are you with me? It's very clear. And I feel for so many of you who have grown up in backgrounds to where that was not the case. A living Church, a practical church. We can never be a practical church without being a living church.
And we can't be a practical and a living church without the Holy Spirit. If we're living, if we're practical, we're going to be united. You know why? There's no greater thing than for us to be involved in the same project. You know that?
That's the great thing. If you and I are doing something together, we begin to learn about that project, and you know what we get to learn about? Each other. And ultimately, of course, how God is working in our lives. Isn't it fun?
It's fun. It's exciting. And then we're workable. Workable or usable. God will use us.
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.
What is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit? I'm curious. Does anybody know what the answer is? But It's the love of God. Everything, the gifts are absolutely subservient to love.
And so number one is love. I could care less if somebody's raising somebody from the dead. If they don't have love, Jesus, I mean, Paul told us, he's just a sign and wonder kind of guy. He's just clanging a symbol. It's love.
That's the thing. The part that concerns me about love in these last days, I pray that, isn't this sad? But I'm praying that the church, not necessarily you, but the church, would be able to identify what real love is. 'Cause I'm afraid so uh too many Christians watch T V more than Their Bible. Because the T V will tell you what love is.
That's sad. Um while we're on this topic real quick and I'm going to share something with you that somebody asked me last week about. And I want to make sure you hear this. What I'm going to share with you Um I've not read in any book. It may be bogus.
It's my opinion.
However, I have not read any book. An alternative answer that suits me fine. In First Corinthians chapter 14, regarding tongues, everybody's wiggy about tongues. which is the least of the gifts. The Bible even says it's the least of the gifts.
Not that we should make fun of it. It's the gift of the Holy Spirit. But People make a big deal about it.
Well, listen, in 1 Corinthians 14, There is the public use of tongues that has to be interpreted.
So direct is the Bible on that. And so much in control is the Holy Spirit of the service that it implies that if there's nobody there with the gift of interpretation, God will not prompt the brother to speak publicly the tongue. But in his mind or in his heart He will pray, God, give me the interpretation before I speak it. That is amazing. Did you know that?
Read it. 1 Corinthians 14. It's genius. It's God. But Paul says privately, he's talking about the private.
Or, excuse me, the public use of tongues. And then he does something completely opposite. He says, Hey, I wish you all spoke with tongues. You know, I wish you all did. But we already know the answer to that.
All do not.
Well, what's he saying? In that same statement where he says, I wish you all spoke with tongues, he says that privately, He Speaks No, he didn't say the actually he didn't say speak. He says he what? He prays in a tongue, and he sings in a tongue. Privately.
Now listen. This is the part that I hold unique to my view. And again, I have not found anybody to agree with me. I believe when Paul says Do all speak with tongues?
Well, the answer in that list is no. It's a Greek rhetorical. He says, are all apostles?
Well, are you an apostle? No, I'm not. No. Do all prophesy? No, not all.
Do all speak with tongues? The answer is no. It demands a no in every question.
Okay, so if all do not speak in tongues, And yet the Bible says tongues is a gift. But Paul says that there is a private use of a tongue in prayer.
Nowhere in the Bible do I see that prayer language. We would call it prayer, very common in spirit-filled gatherings. People call it, you know, have you prayed in your prayer language?
Well, you're not going to find the word prayer language in the Bible. But you'll find praying in tongues in the Bible. And it's alone. It's private. That's in 1 Corinthians 14.
Nowhere is it interpreted. It's not asked to be interpreted. And it's private, it's me praying to God. And Paul, in fact, Paul says, my mind doesn't understand what I'm saying. I have read so many books that tell me in those books.
But they don't have one verse to back it up. That there's the public use of tongues, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and there's the private prayer language of a believer, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. I don't see it as a gift. I see the public use of gifts. As a gift.
Tongues as a gift. But why would God give only certain Christians the ability to pray in a tongue by themselves? To pray more effectively, only certain Christians? Doesn't he want all of us to pray very effectively? Sure he does.
I do not believe to pray in the spirit or to pray in a tongue. Is a gift. I believe it's available to every believer. Why? 'Cause it's private.
It doesn't require an interpreter. And it's prayer between you and God. In fact, Jesus talks about it. Or, excuse me, Paul talks about it, where the Spirit of God groans within us with utterances that cannot be articulated. Have you ever been like that?
You say, I'm not Pentecostal. I'm not talking Pentecostal. Have you ever looked at something? Have you ever been so sick? And that's, oh my goodness, this person, they're so sick, they're hurt, they get ran over by a train, whatever it might be, you're like, oh no.
And you just go, oh, and you go to pray. Have you ever been so like that? Oh. Lord. God, what do I say, oh Lord?
According to Romans, every grown and Mm-hmm. Lament. The Holy Spirit seizes and makes sense to him. Do you think God has to hear things in English? Yeah.
What what if you went, oh What if you stood on the shore and the sun was setting in the sea and it's just awesome, and you just go, oh. What does that mean? Means nothing to me. I can't if I would have said This is so awesome! I would have quenched the moment.
It's Oh. According to Paul and Romans, That can be a prayer. That's pretty cool. groanings which cannot be articulated. Wow.
So the next question is: well, Jack, how do I do this prayer thing? Go and pray about it, honestly. Just talk to God about it. I'm serious. I got to tell you.
Every time I go to Russia, I don't know why, but Germany just doesn't do it for me. I don't, I love it, but. I always ask God, God. I would love right now, just to be touched by you, to speak Russian right now to somebody. And I'll tell them about you.
And you may say, well, that's awful childish. That's right, and that's exactly not childish. How about childlike? Is my argument to you? Because why?
In the book of Acts chapter 2, Peter and the gang, they didn't know. Ethiopian and Aramaic and/or the List is there in Acts chapter 2 of all these languages of the world. These guys just started speaking without learning all the languages that were represented in these people from all over the world. And they said, oh my goodness, listen, these guys are speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. They had never learned them.
That's the tongues of men. Then Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians. Uh 12 and 14, tongues of angels. Where there are tongues that need divine Interpretation. Because they're not earthly words.
There's two. It's exciting. I tell you, Paul again in 1 Corinthians. 14 talks about singing in tongues. And um I've heard that many, many times.
It's beautiful. The thing that That uh I know from scriptures that no matter if it's a singing or if it's a speaking. In a tongue, it must be interpreted publicly. It has to be interpreted publicly. Tongues are worthless.
Without interpretation. But privately To sing in a tongue is a great thing. I want to encourage you guys. Praying in your Your prayer language, people would say, or a tongue, privately, alone. I can pray.
20 minutes for something that's really important. in English. I'm just praying, and it's like I'm not getting through. You ever feel like that? It just, I'm not connecting.
What's the deal? It feels like there's a lid on the roof. And I can spend Three minutes praying in the tongue. And Instant release and victory. And I can't even explain to you why.
Just though it's like somebody turned on a fan and the cloud is gone. and you know that you connected with the Lord. That's why I don't believe it's a gift. I believe that experience he would want for every one of his kids. I think it's just you want to step out in faith and And get a loan?
Yeah.
Because I can tell you, I have prayed like that for 20 Four years. And never once has the Lord allowed me to pray like that with was some one. But then listen. The amazing thing is And I mean this with with all due respect. Jesus said that when he rose from the dead and ascended, he would send the Holy Spirit.
What's the proof that Jesus made it to heaven? Pentecost. The day of Pentecost proves that Jesus made it to heaven. Not that any of us need to be convinced. But it's pretty exciting.
And when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the scriptures teach us that He's going to be in the world. Not only with us, but with even the ungodly. He's going to be with the ungodly. Until the end of the age. That's amazing.
Don't ever think That when the rapture takes place, people say, well, the rapture can't take place until after the tribulation period because the Holy Spirit has to be here to save people.
Well, no kidding. Nobody ever said in the pre-tribulation rapture view that the Holy Spirit was leaving. The word doesn't even say the Holy Spirit's going to leave. The Bible says that he who hinders will do so until he's taken out of the world. way, then shall that wicked one be revealed.
It's the same word used in a football game. The Holy Spirit's holding back evil, and then a whistle's going to blow, or a trumpet's going to blast, and he's going to stand sideways and let all the evil go. That same thing, the Holy Spirit, when basically Jesus said when He left, okay, Holy Spirit, I was down there for 33 and a half years, now you stay down there for the next 2,000. And he's been here ever since. Since the day of Pentecost.
And it's the Spirit of God that's creating the church and working the church and gifting the church. That's why it is vital that we have the Holy Spirit. We must have the Holy Spirit or we will be nothing. but a shell. We will We will look Christian, but we will deny the power thereof.
And the power is the Holy Spirit. Uh Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio, and his message called Church Growth 101, Part 2. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called 1 Samuel, a series that highlights the prophet Samuel who was called by God during one of Israel's darkest times to bring the people back to a heart of true worship. And will continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. I've got Pastor Jack in the studio with me, which is always a thrill.
Hey, Pastor Jack, you've got a new devotional out, and it's called Watching, Waiting. Give me a little rundown of what's going on with that. Yeah, we're very excited. It's the first time ever I've put out a devotional, to be honest with you. It's just.
Didn't think about it until you look around at the world that you and I are living in. And I think everybody needs a little bit of infusion, a little bit of a booster shot when it comes to getting excited and becoming really biblically focused again. All of us are called to be watching. And to be waiting. for the Lord's coming.
And so yeah, it's a 40-day devotional. And we think people are going to like it because it's filled with hope, it's filled with encouragement. And by the way, you know what? Think about it. The more we see the world coming undone, the more it's indicating that we're going to see Christ soon.
Watching, waiting. It is our featured resource for this month, and it's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com/slash real radio. 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.
