ANNOUNCER: The following program is sponsored
by generous friends and partners of Real Life.
ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Real Life with Jack Hibbs.
JACK: But wow, God says, I've got this.
God is saying to you before you ever woke up and
realized that you had sinned and that you have shipwrecked
your life. God is saying, I knew this about you. Come to me now.
ANNOUNCER: Our hope isn't only for this
life, in the midst of our storms, our hope in God's
promise of heaven is to keep our eyes firmly
fixed on what God has promised at the end of our journey.
Stay tuned for Jack Hibbs message, The Hope of Heaven.
ANNOUNCER: In a time when our culture
is increasingly hostile to the teachings of the
Bible and the traditional values they impart. Christians
face the challenge of being labeled intolerant,
defensive, and homophobic. How can we approach controversial
topics with both reason and tact? In "Correct, Not
Politically Correct," author Frank Turek tackles the
sensitive topics of same-sex, marriage and transgenderism,
addressing common arguments about equal rights,
discrimination, tolerance, and being born a certain way. This
powerful and insightful book firmly yet respectfully defends
biblical truth about sexual identity, marriage, and gender.
Don't bury your head in the sand, but learn to stand with a
biblical worldview. You can receive, "Correct, Not
Politically Correct," when you make a gift of any amount to the
ministry of Real Life today. Visit jackhibbs.com or call
(877)777-2346. Order now.
(Music)
JACK: Well, the Hope of Heaven, if
you think about it, it's the desire for
every believer. Heaven. We don't talk about heaven enough,
but in the book of Romans, the apostle Paul is going to argue
for the case of heaven. That's right, argue, like in a court of
law. The book of Romans in your Bible is the Magna Carta of
scripture itself. It's the high watermark. What is announced to
us in deep biblical theology is a gem. In fact, it's more than a
gem. It's a case for the truth. Did you know by the way that
many law schools either used to or some still do use the book of
Romans to educate their future attorneys? Why would they do
that? Because the book of Romans is known to be the greatest
argument presented in antiquity of how to argue your case. So
for attorneys to be raised up to be effective attorneys, they
need to know how to argue a case. And nobody does that
better than the Apostle Paul. He argues the case for faith.
That's right, friends, listen, the case for faith is an actual
life changing experience because it's reality. So if schools of
law use that book of Romans as an example on how to argue and
present a case, one of the greatest arguments of theology
today is of course what God's Bible tells us regarding the
argument of faith itself. We are not to check our brains out at
the door or when we open the Bible at church or in our homes,
we are to engage. So friends, grab your bibles. Let's dive
into a study, the Hope of Heaven.
JACK: Heaven, when you read about it in
the Bible, it's there in black and white to a degree
enough for us to get excited. But
I have to tell you, and I told you this before, is that
I've been victimized by myself for a long time thinking that
when I thought about heaven, I never meditated on it enough. I
should think about it more because when I do think about
it, my first thought is white floor, white walls, white
ceiling, white robes, white lights, just sterile and kind of
like this. Hello. Hi. How are you? Are you? Welcome. You know,
you in a nice restaurant they host says. We have a table for
you right there.And then you read about heaven and there's a
lot of freaky looking things up there with weird wings and
eyeballs, right? Angels that have one head and four faces on
each side of their on the head, one head with a face and a face
and a face and a face that ought to freak you out. You're not
going to walk in there and go like, what? Oh, that's so cool.
You're going to freak when you get there. And the music is
incredible and it's very loud. It's very loud and it's
beautiful. And again, I pushed, this guy should send me
royalties. You know Randy Elkhorn book, "Heaven?" I have
talked about that book all over. It is so good. If you want to
get healed of having this white monochromatic heaven, you got to
read his book. It's a great theological work on the doctrine
of heaven. And the Bible says there's trees in heaven and
here's what we do, trees. What does that look like? It says
trees. Yeah, but it's heaven. So what does it look like? Trees.
The Bible says there's rivers? Really like what? Like the best
river you've ever seen in your life, but better. The Bible
talks about animals being in heaven, horses at least. And
during the millennial reign of Christ, the Bible says the lion
will lay down with a lamb. What could that possibly mean? The
lion is going to go give the lamb a little lick and a kiss.
It's going to happen. That's the government of God. And for the
believer, we get excited about it. We don't talk about heaven
enough until you get older. Then you start thinking about it. But
young people, you need to think about heaven. It's there. We're
going to go there. It's going to be amazing. Heaven, the proof
it's within us. And then also we learned that heaven's love is a
constant contact for us. That the love of heaven is present in
the life of the believer.
Our friend Timothy Meaney years ago, decades ago, maybe a
century or two, I don't know, I don't remember. You used to sing
a song. Heaven's Love is Way Beyond Me and it's a beautiful
song and heaven's love is beyond you. The love of God for you.
Think about this right now, and if you're new to the Bible right
now, if you've just tuned in or you just walked in here today,
you need to know something. The God of the Bible has gone to
great lengths to communicate to you that He loves you. The God
of the Bible wants you in heaven. I got on the plane
yesterday or evening and getting on the plane to my left there
was a young woman, and I'm going to guess, I don't know, 25ish, I
don't know, I'm bad about this, but she had a black beanie on.
She had black makeup. She was just goth looking right and all
that's fine. It's totally fine. I lived through the 70's, I made
it. It's fine. And so here's the thing though, I was walking. You
know how you walk in, it's slow and you walk and then the next
person in the bag and then you move forward and you're getting
to your seat. And I looked and our eyes caught and she looked
and she looked at me and there was a moment where I'm looking
at her and I'm thinking, she's staring. So here's exactly how I
think she's staring. Does she go to first service, second
service? No, really? Is she first service, second service or
third service? And she's looking and I'm thinking what service? I
don't. And then she just put her head down and she looked
mortified. I got the sense that she recognized me, but I don't
know her. She doesn't know me, I don't think. And then I looked
at her T-shirt and it says, I hate me too. That's exactly what
I did in my heart, not so loud as you just did it. In my heart
there was no opportunity to talk to her, but I just said, dear
God in heaven, speak to her. Convince her, show her your true
nature, who you really are. The love of heaven is constantly
reaching out to every man, woman, boy and girl to contact
with us, to make contact with us, to tell us that God loves
us, that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose
again from the dead. Why would He do that? Because He loved us
and He loves us. So church, we dive into it now, it's this
number two is the hope of heaven. It is the hope. And
verse 24 begins by saying and watch it, get your highlighter
ready. I'll exaggerate it when I get to it. For we were saved in
this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one
still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not
see, we eagerly await for it with perseverance. What a huge
statement. You do not hope for that which you possess. You've
got it, you see it, whatever it might be. Oh, I've never owned a
car before and you get a car. You no longer hope for a car,
you drive the car, hoping doesn't apply. But for the
Christian, it's so beyond all that, because we have the proof
of heaven dwelling in us by the Holy Spirit and we have now been
conditioned and prepared for eternity, heaven, even though we
haven't seen it, our hope is confirmed because God has made
us these promises. This gets very, very important here
church, real quick, the hope of heaven. Listen, heaven's
assurance is our hope. Please make note of this. Every time,
listen, when someone is dying and they call the church and I
or a pastor goes to that home or to that hospital and it's a
believer and they want to hear scripture read, I'm telling you
right now, just get ready for it. You and I are going to
experience this unless Christ comes for us and I hope He does,
but listen, every time I go, I better take my Bible when I go
right? Why? Because the believer lying there as the outward man
is perishing. The believer says things like this, pastor, will
you read me scriptures? Pastor, tell me about Jesus. Just talk
to me. Just tell me from your heart again, from the scriptures
about Jesus. I have never once ever have someone come and say
or have me come and say, pastor, just tell me what was on the
front page of the LA Times today. It's never happened. No
one says, pastor, how's my stock? How's my stock doing
today? How much money did I make today? Nobody on their deathbed
ask that question. The believer on their deathbed says- you know
Paul said it in Timothy, 2 Timothy. He says, when you come,
bring the parchments. Paul was saying before, my head is
decapitated in Rome, can you bring the scriptures when you
come and while I'm in prison, will you read to me, oh and
bring my, he said, bring my cloak. It's the outer garment.
Bring my jacket. I'm freezing down here. When you come, bring
it. I left it in Troas. Tell me the truth when I'm dying, tell
me the truth when things hurt, tell me the truth when you speak
about what God has for me in life and God has heaven for the
believer. As believers, we don't make it up being a believer. Oh
believer, what do you believe? We don't make anything up. We're
believing in what God has said and you need to find out right
now with what you're believing in. Does it bring you assurance?
Listen, is what you're hanging onto going to walk you through
the valley of the shadow of death? Is what you believe in
going to comfort you in that hour of decision? In that moment
when you come? No wonder as you're reading scripture to
somebody, the Bible says, God says, precious in my sight are
the death of my saints. It's amazing thing, but note this,
would you? It says, for we were saved, compound, past tense.
Notice it says, were saved, for we were saved in this hope,
church, family, whatever we're going to learn, we're going to
learn from the Bible. The Bible makes commentary on the Bible,
so get excited about this because you have an assured
hope. It's Ephesians chapter 1. Listen to this, grab all these
as you see them happen again, I'll try to exaggerate it so
that you mark it. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, blessed,
past tense, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ. What does that mean? It means that in
heaven is reserved for you, everything you need, forever.
Verse 4, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, meaning before the foundation of the world was ever
laid, that physical universe was ever created, that we should be
holy and without blame before Him in love. Verse 5, having
predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of
the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the
Beloved . Can you look at that? Right now Christian, you are
accepted because of the blood of Jesus Christ that guarantees
your assurance in heaven. It's the blood of Christ and this is
speaking from God's perspective. Where are you so to speak,
seated in the stadium? What's your vantage point? I can't see
because of this. I'm over here and I can't exactly see the
whole field. We're up here and everybody's too small. God is
right over every moment, every play, so to speak. He sees it
all. And before you were ever brought into this world, God had
gone before us with His redemption plan. I'm so glad He
wrote it down in advance. Why would He do such a thing? We're
not making this up as we go along. I'm reading to you
something that's 2000 years old and what's 2000 years old is
quoting the ancient scriptures. It's absolutely awesome. Verse 7
says, in Him, we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which
He made pest tense to abound us in all wisdom and prudence
having made known to us the mystery of His will according to
His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself that, here
it is that in the dispensation of the fullness of times. That
means God worked in seasons to bring man to a glorious
conclusion. That word that in dispensations of fullness of
times is one of your favorite verses. Jeremiah 29:11 answers
to that. God says, I know the thoughts I think toward you,
thoughts of hope and for a future not of destruction, to
bring your life to a glorious and full completion. That's
right out of the Old Testament and reminded us again in verse
10 of Ephesians chapter 1, the fullest of the times He might
gather together in one all things in Christ. That's the
body of Christ, the church, church age believers and more
tribulation, saints, Old Testament saints, all of us,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him, and
in Him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according
to the counsel of His will that we who first trusted in Christ
should be to the praise of His glory. Boy, that is deep stuff
and it's kind of shallow in English. It's deeper in the
original languages, but wow, God says, I've got this. God is
saying to you before you ever woke up and realized that you
had sinned and that you have shipwrecked your life, God is
saying, I knew this about you. Come to me now. I knew that
you'd flub it up. Come to me. See you, and I think I flubbed
it up. I cannot come to Him. Again, I was away this weekend
and I had a chance to speak to a group of people, small group of
people. I found out are gazillionaires who support
Christian ministries all around the world. These people, I'm not
going to mention their names, some of them are household items
you have in your house, you have under your sink and they don't
care about that stuff anymore. All that stuff they just said,
all that stuff was just to make money and it's the money that we
take and that's how we build hospitals in Africa. This is
what we're doing to build this center in South America. This is
how we're reaching the people in these abandoned nations in
Africa and it's so impressive. God designed to work and move in
our lives in whatever position or station we are in life and
all they cared about was not their money, but the fact that
hey, God's done this for me. I can't wait to go out and bless
other people, and you think about that. Now, you guys are an
amazing church and I'm not just saying that your faith is spoken
of all over the world literally. You want to know why I said
faith? I didn't say your attendance. I didn't say how
beautiful you are, your faith because some of those people
came up and they said, we know about your church. We've seen
what influence it has for righteousness and for what's
good. That's all of you. That's not me. That's you doing the
right thing and that honors God. How do you do that? Because
you're secure in Christ. You've got this assurance of this hope
that you're not hoping for. If you are today saying, I hope I
make it to heaven, friends, I want to introduce you to Jesus
Christ today. If you're hoping you're going to make it to
heaven, let me just cut to the chase. If you're hoping to make
it, you're not going to make it because that's not how you get
there. You want to be certain that you're going to make it and
that's the hope the Bible speaks about, not a hope, I hope, it is
a hope I know. It's a hope assured and that scripture there
in Ephesians backs up Romans beautifully, saved and hope that
you can have now. This upsets people every time I bring it up,
it's unnecessary. It's wrong that you should be upset by
this. Listen carefully. The Bible says, saved. Jesus said
the Nicodemus, unless you're born again, you will not see the
kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus, all of our righteousness put
together stinks compared to the righteous deeds of Nicodemus and
Jesus says, you're not making it. You're not going. Nicodemus
was befuddled. He said What you would say, how can this be true?
Pastor, are you nuts? I've been a good student. Good citizen.
Good. You don't get points for that you're supposed to be, that
doesn't get you to heaven. Isn't it amazing if God writes the
Bible and He just writes in the Bible, all of you be good
citizens. Vote in every election, mow your lawn, use a
deodorant, be nice to people, and heaven's going to be
fantastic. It's going to smell good too. He didn't say that.
The Bible says that we are all lost, selfish, sin bent, and
that God sent the Savior, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for
our sins and to be risen from the dead for our eternal life.
Listen, your salvation is only as secure as Christ is alive.
Did you hear that? Your salvation is only as secure as
Jesus in heaven. Let me make this very clear. If you're born
again, then you're in the family of God. The word here is called
saved and if you're saved, you cannot find me a verse that says
you can become unsaved. People want to argue about this.
They're wasting my time. You want to argue about it? You go
and sit in the corner and argue about it with yourself all day
long. When God says, you come to me, you repent of your sins,
eksomologeo, say the same word about sin that I say about it.
Believe in me and you shall live. You'll have eternal life.
JACK: Well, the Hope of Heaven. Listen,
God said, I'm not excited really to live
in a building. He made that clear to David.
David wanted to build God a temple. God said, I don't need
it, but it seems to be the nature of man to build something
and then say, hey God, this is yours. Listen, in the wilderness
wanderings, the children of Israel walked across the desert
with the Ark of the Covenant, but when God showed up that ark,
that covenant, that box could not contain Him. Here's the good
news, friends, God does not want to live in a building. He
doesn't live at your church. He doesn't live at your fellowship.
He lives everywhere, but He lives everywhere, mostly in the
hearts of those who love Him. Has God actually been invited to
move inside of your life? Do you know what it's like to have
Christ living in you? Friends, listen, this is that high
watermark of the book of Romans is to know God personally, not
religiously. So you might say, I've been going to church all my
life. Don't you dare talk to me like that. Listen, going to
church isn't going to get you to heaven, but this will. Will you
pray this and will you agree? Dear Lord, in heaven, I believe
that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I'm a sinner.
You are the Savior. I give you my life because today I proclaim
the case for faith. Christ died for me at the cross and rose
again from the dead for my justification, and I today
become a Christ follower and I do this in Jesus' name. Amen. If
you have in fact prayed that, listen, you have agreed with
God, you and I are sinners, you're a sinner, you've sinned
against the holy God, but this same God who says this is sin
and you are a sinner, turns right around and says, but I'm
your Savior. Call unto me He said, and be ye saved all ends
of the earth, but it requires for you to invite Him in and I
hope you've done that. So listen, to help you in your
decision, we want to hear from you. You can reach out to us,
get a hold of us at jackhibbs.com. We'll connect
with you there and help you in your walk with Jesus Christ.
ANNOUNCER: You are watching Real Life with Jack Hibbs.
ANNOUNCER: In a time when our culture
is increasingly hostile to the teachings
of the Bible and the traditional values they impart.
Christians face the challenge of being labeled intolerant,
defensive, and homophobic. How can we approach controversial
topics with both reason and tact? In "Correct, Not
Politically Correct," author Frank Turek tackles the
sensitive topics of same-sex, marriage and transgenderism,
addressing common arguments about equal rights,
discrimination, tolerance, and being born a certain way. This
powerful and insightful book firmly yet respectfully defends
biblical truth about sexual identity, marriage, and gender.
Don't bury your head in the sand, but learn to stand with a
biblical worldview. You can receive, "Correct, Not
Politically Correct," when you make a gift of any amount to the
ministry of Real Life today. Visit jackhibbs.com
or call (877)777-2346. Order now.
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ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Real Life Radio with Jack Hibbs.
JACK: God's Word never will return void.
God's Word is spirit, it's power, and it has its effect.
God did not give us Bible prophecy to scare us, but
to prepare us. You are the light of the world, Jesus said,
you are the salt of the earth. How does that happen?
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