Today on real life radio. Confusion leads to doubt. If you're going to write this in a chronology, confusion, if we allow it in our lives, if we don't deal with it with the Word of God, it will lead to doubt. He said, Well, you know, what's the big deal about doubt? Doubt can kill you.
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That's jackhibbs.com. On today's edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues now in his series called Disciplines of Life and a message titled The Discipline of Disillusionment. The Christian walk is full of disciplines, the trials, the setbacks, the hard seasons that God uses to shape our faith from the inside out. And one of the hardest is when life lets us down and we feel like we've lost all hope.
You see, disillusionment is that crushing feeling when something we counted on turns out to be false. It's actually stronger than disappointment, and it can shake us to our core. But God never leaves us nor forsakes us.
So today, Pastor Jack teaches that confusion can grow into doubt, and doubt makes us hesitate when God says go. But receiving His Word into our hearts builds a faith that overcomes the world.
Now, with his message called The Discipline of Disillusionment, here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs. Uh The Bible says in Psalm 61:1, Hear my cry, O God. Listen to the psalmist and his sense of disillusionment. Hear my cry, O God. Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth, I will cry to you when my heart is what? overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. You're supposed to pause right there. I don't know if you know that or not.
That's his prayer. He's crying out. He's disillusioned. He's overwhelmed. And you wait.
and you wait and you think about what he's talking about. There's a pause. And then you look at the next statement. For you have been a shelter for me. This is the answer now.
It's come. You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in your tabernacle forever. I will trust in the shelter of your wings. And at the end, it says, Selah.
Selah is Hebrew. It means this. Pause and meditate on this. It means get it under your skin. Don't go to the next statement without getting this under your skin.
How do you like that? Every time you see the word Selah, you're supposed to stop and pray that into your life. How do you fight off disillusionment? There's times, people in life, and it will come to you. Where you'll sit down as Job did in a heap of ashes and just sit there, and no one can understand you.
No one can relate to you. No one feels what you feel. You can't even form words anymore. Have you ever been to that place? And you just sit in that moment and you say, Oh, God, where are you?
I'm filled with fear. I'm filled with confusion. I don't know which way to go. And you wait. Selah, wait.
Wait. My soul waits. For the Lord like those who wait For the morning. In first John four. 18 the Bible says there is no fear In love, but perfect love casts out fear.
That's God's love, because fear involves torment. Are you terrified? Are you fearful and timid? But he who fears has not been made complete in love. What does that verse mean?
It means that if you and I are tormented and confused and disillusioned. Then we have not let, we have not allowed, listen, church, we have not. Become dyed in the wool, as it were, in the love of God. Oh, it's present. The love of God is there.
But I've not let it saturate my life. Why? I'm too busy. Texting. Yeah.
Whatever. And no wonder why we have such a hard time. Listen, if you're going through a trouble in life, The greatest thing you can do right now is grab a Bible and sit down. and say, Lord. In fact, here's a bonus verse, not in my notes, coming right off the top of my head.
It's John 15, 7. Jesus said, If my word abides in you, you may ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified. You just sit down, you let the word of God come in your life. Why?
Because that's what you're going to speak out. If the word's in you, it's going to come out. But when it gets into you It changes the whole situation. James chapter 1, verse 12 says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation. Maybe you're going through it now.
For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he's tempted, I'm tempted by God, for God cannot. be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. With evil. God doesn't use evil to tempt people.
So, right now, if in your life you are fighting the disillusionment. Just know this: that it's coming against you to deceive you, to breed confusion. If tonight you're saying, Man, I don't know what to believe anymore. I was talking to some Mormons and I was talking to some Jehovah's Witnesses. I was talking to some Muslims and I'm talking to them.
And I don't want to believe anymore. Listen, the enemy loves confusion. Get back to the Bible, back to the Word. It's always your rescue. It's always your place to go.
Psalm 127:1 says, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. What does that verse mean in in light of disillusionment and confusion. Lord. I need you.
Didn't Elijah, if you think about it, he was really. He put himself in an awesome position on Mount Carmel. When he was the only one up there? And all the prophets of the Astroth and Baal. By the way, which were 850 in total.
If you count them all up there on the mountaintop, And They're all there with the false gods. And Elijah's there with the real God. He put himself listening You say, well, I want to see God move in my life. I want to see God shake the earth. That's cool.
But you've got to put yourself in the place where God is going to shake the earth. He's just not, you're not going to walk on the street and say, okay, God, I want to see some action. Do something. He's not gonna do nothing. What's he going to do that for?
So you go, ooh, wow, that was great. No, you know what? You follow him. Wherever he's going, there's going to be action. As long as God is active in this church, I'm going to be here.
When he moves on, dude, I'm moving. If he's not moving here, I don't want to be here. Wherever he's going, you can bank on this. He's going to be doing something. Imagine all the crowds.
Jesus is preaching and teaching, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers. He's going along, and no wonder why. Josephus, for example, tells us at one point there's 100,000 people following Jesus. Can you imagine? The Rose Bowl is following Jesus.
100,000 people. And they saw stuff. Why? Because it didn't. Go to the some theater or Rig it up that way, they follow Jesus.
You want to see stuff? Follow Jesus. Keep your eyes on him.
So, how do we get clear of confusion? I'm going to give you a verse. You say, well, Pastor, you told me about it. What do I do? This is what you do.
It's 1 John 5, 3 through 6. 1 John 5, 3, 6. Watch this. For this is the love of God. Yep, God loves you.
That we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. They're not heavy. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory. All right, here it comes.
That has overcome the world. Our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is what? The Son of God. There is no heaven, no salvation, no eternity for you if you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not only by water, but by water and blood, and it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth. Point two tonight. The discipline of disillusionment is this. Disillusionment breeds or deceives, I should say, us by generating doubt. Listen, very important.
Notice the buildup. Confusion leads to doubt. If you're going to write this in a chronology, Confusion, if we allow it in our lives, if we don't deal with it with the Word of God, it will lead to doubt. He said, Well, you know, what's the big deal about doubt? Doubt can kill you.
Doubt's a big deal. Whenever I think of doubt, this is the way my mind's wired. When I think of doubt, I think of. A situation that happened when I was just I was so young and I was Soloing, my instructor He thought I was ready to fly the plane by myself. And so he signs my logbook, puts it in the back of the seat behind me, and he says, and he gets out of there, he steps out of the plane.
I mean, we're on the ground. Steps out of the plane. And he says, okay, you ready to go? Man, let me tell you something. I can't exactly describe to you all the sensations I was having at that moment.
But you are expected to go fly that thing around the county and bring it back down while he stands there and waits. And you're the first time you've ever been alone. And let me tell you something. When you get ready to go, it's either it's you it's do or die And if you hesitate, if there's doubt, then either you were not paying attention And by that at that moment, you wished. that you would have been paying attention.
Doubt will fill your heart. And You probably I mean, I can't imagine you have a heart attack or something.
So you pull into position and the tower says 269 Juliet cleared for takeoff. And you you push in that throttle, man. And you start going and you start thinking. You think thoughts you've never thought before. What if this thing doesn't get off the ground?
What if the wings don't work? What if the engine cuts out? What if a dog runs across your runway? What if I have to go to the bathroom? What if, I mean, it's like everything comes up in your mind.
And it's that moment getting goosebumps. Chris, you know what I'm talking about? You know what I'm talking about. Yeah, you pull back, man, for the first time. You're all by yourself.
It's just you and God. And you start and you tick off. And it's like... I can do this. But if you hesitate The runway is only so long.
Doubt will cause you to hesitate. Hesitating. Hesitating is never good when God said go. Waiting is a great thing. Don't confuse waiting with hesitating.
God says, wait upon the Lord. And so you say, okay, God, I'm going to wait. I'm waiting. And then when he says, okay, now go. You don't hesitate.
One. 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. When the Lord says to Moses, he's got two and a half million Jewish brothers and sisters behind him. Coming out of Egypt? And the Lord says, Moses, pull into position and hold. Moses, stand by.
Wait. Wait, Moses? You're cleared for takeoff. You know what Moses did when God said that to him? Gus is Go!
And Moses says, he turns around. Hey everyone! I want you to see the salvation of God. And the Lord says, Moses, Moses, what are you doing standing here speaking to the people? I said, go!
And then he gets into the water and then the rest is history. Wait upon the Lord, but when the Lord says go, you go. And listen, doubt will keep us from going. Doubt is what. You and I hear all the time in our heads, it ain't gonna work.
I'll look like a fool, nothing's gonna happen. Do you hear that in your head? We yes, you do. We all hear that. We hear that.
That's why we don't sign up for stuff. I'm limited. You sign up. I'm living. I can't.
We don't want to fail because we have doubts. Disillusionment generates doubt. In 1 Peter 1, verse 3, the Bible says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That's your foundation.
To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that does not fade away. Thank God. You need to write that verse down if you just looked at your stock portfolio there. If you looked at Wall Street, you're going to want that verse. And it's reserved in heaven for you.
Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while. If need be, You have been grieved by various trials. Disillusionment. That the genuineness of your faith being more precious than gold that perishes.
Hmm. Though it is tested by fire. May be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Man, that's awesome. I don't want to beat this with a stick, but All of this stuff about Buying gold, buying silver, buying gold, buying silver.
I wish I was a bazillionaire because I would have commercials come on right after that guy's commercial. And say The Bible says your faith. And God is worth more than gold and silver. And you can have all the gold and silver in the world. But if you don't have faith, when the Lord comes back, you ain't got nothing but gold and silver, and you can't eat it.
The greatest thing. You say, well, Pastor, you make fun of gold, but you know what? That's going to be the currency, man. That's going to be the big deal. You know what?
So what? I read my Bible. I read all the way through. And the end of my Bible says there's going to be a day coming. You want to be rich?
First of all, put faith in God. Number two, if you don't want to put faith in God and you want to go through the tribulation period, With your hair on fire and stuff like that? The Bible says you better have a lot of wheat.
So start buying. Go down to Wonder and at Wonder Bread. Get a bunch of bread. Because the Bible says you're going to have to work all day for one slice of bread. Think of that.
I'd rather have faith in God. Why? Well, if I get shot, get old, drop dead, get hit by a truck. Lightning strike me, fall off this pulpit and break my neck. It's an insurance against everything.
Think about that. What do you have? Affleck, I heard that. Holy shit. I can hear everything from up here.
Yeah. Jesus, man, it's Jesus. Yeah. You guys, Satan, Satan hates our faith. He hates our faith so much.
So I read it in the opening. We'll read it in totality. Matthew 13:18. We looked at it earlier, but watch it all the way through. Jesus said, therefore hear the parable of the sower.
When anyone hears the word of God or the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who received the seed by the wayside. Off to the side, didn't care too much about it. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word of God and immediately receives it with joy. I got born again, I went forward, I went forward.
They're all happy about it and you're all and you're happy for them. But watch this. They immediately receive the word of God with joy, yet verse 21, he has no root in himself, doesn't let it. Sela. Doesn't let it grow deep.
But endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, they mock him for being a Christian. Immediately he stumbles.
Now, he who has received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word of God and the cares of this world. and the deceitfulness of riches choked the word. and it becomes unfruitful. But he who received the seed on good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, and who indeed bears fruit and produces.
Some a hundredfold, some sixty. Psalm 30. Listen, Satan hates your faith. Charles Spurgeon said, and it's a wonderful quote, he says, when we doubt, We are putting faith In Satan. That's the world he traffics in.
So how do we overcome doubt? Matthew 14, 26. Matthew 14. Verse 26. Yeah.
And when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, They were troubled. Saying it is a ghost. I think you guys know by now, we haven't gone through the Gospels. In the Jewish mind, Right they believed in their traditions that right before you die, The proof of your impending death was that you would see a ghost before you died. That's why they shouted, it's a ghost.
Translation, we're all going to die and there's no hope for us. We're disillusioned. And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, Be of good cheer. What an awesome contradiction.
Yeah. Jesus walk alone. Hey, what are you guys doing? Be of good cheer. Come on, man.
Imagine, he's not going. No, guys, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He's just walking along on the water. Oh man. Be of good cheer.
It is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered and said to him, Lord, if it's you, I love this, watch this. Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. You can analyze that forever. Why did he say that?
Was it a God moment? Did God put it in his head? Probably.
So I don't know. That's reading too much into it.
Okay, well, what was going on? He's in a boat. He hears. Jesus said, peace, it's all good, don't worry about it. Mm-hmm.
Not Bible. My thought. Peter says, I'm out of this. Call me. If it's you, call me.
I think Peter's saying, get me away from these guys. Get me out of this boat. I don't want to be in this boat with these guys. We just go from thinking we're going to pass from one world into the next in death. You come walking on the water.
I want to be with you any old day, even if it's walking on water, than in a boat with a bunch of screaming, maniac, panicked people. I can't take it.
Now, you would say, well, Peter's just like them. They were all crying. Yes. But when you see the light... You don't want to hang around that anymore.
When Jesus is Be of good cheer. It is I, don't be afraid. The last thing on earth you want to do is hang around with people. who are absolutely terrified at their shadow. Come on, let's go.
It'll never work. No, come on, let's go. Let's follow Jesus. It'll never happen. You're going to get killed.
Watch out. You're going to poke your eye out. Peter says, That's it, I'm coming. It's safer with Jesus on the water than in a boat. With all these cry babies.
It's amazing. Doubt is dangerous.
So How to overcome it? I'm going to give you just two little statements, and I think it's beneficial. Receiving the Word of God into our hearts. The Bible says faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10, 17.
So receiving the Word of God, determining I am going to receive the Word of God. You see, what does that look like? Listen, tonight, tomorrow morning, get up and you say, I'm going to receive the Word of God right now. And you're going to read it. Number two.
is putting ourselves into a place where faith has to be exercised. This is The number one I can handle. I'm going to take, I'm going to pick up the word of God. No, watch, watch. I'm going to pick up the Word of God.
Okay, and the next thing you're supposed to do is put yourself in a place to exercise faith. You guys the Bible You guys, are you with me right now? Can you hear me? The Bible, we read it. What are we reading it for?
If we're not determining to put it into practice, then read the newspaper. When we read the Bible, We're supposed to put it down after we're done. And Put on our gloves and strap on our helmet. and go out into this world. That's why we're in the Bible.
It makes all the difference in the world. Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio, and his message called The Discipline of Disillusionment. Thanks so much for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called Disciplines of Life. It's a series on the disciplines that God builds into the Christian life: the trials, the setbacks, and the hard seasons that He uses to shape a believer's character and to deepen our faith.
And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. This Independence Day doesn't just celebrate, stand for what this nation was built on. Our Faith and Freedom Collection is bold, patriotic apparel that declares your convictions and starts conversations, perfect for July 4th and all summer long. Order now and will include a free Happy Birthday America Kids Guide, a faith-centered resource for the children and grandchildren in your life. Visit jackhibbs.com or call 877-777-2346.
Hey, thank you again so much for listening. And if you'd like to hear or see more of what we do here, you can always go to jackhibbs.com for all the latest on what's going on with this ministry. And please, if you're ever in the Southern California area, come see us at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. We'd love to see you there in person. It has been so good to be with you today, and I pray you find yourself in the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
See you on the next episode. 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.
