ANNOUNCER: The following program is sponsored by generous
friends and partners of Real Life.
ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Real Life with Jack Hibbs.
JACK: Don't you long to be like Him? Is that what you're living
for? I don't want to be me anymore. I want to be Him. Lord,
make me like you. Whatever my plans and thoughts are, just
throw 'em in the back. Bring yours forward. Have you lived or
walked enough with Jesus where it's like, Lord, whatever I'm
talking about, if anything's goofy, just don't even hear it?
ANNOUNCER: Join Jack Hibbs for the message, "The Nature of
God," and together let's discover the true living God
beyond religion. He's the only one who died for our sins. Get
out your Bibles. Real Life starts now.
ANNOUNCER: How many times have you pledged to read through the
entire Bible? How did that go for you? Jack Hibbs has a tried
and true solution to help you feed your hunger for God's Word.
The New King James One Year Bible is the bestselling Bible
that allows you to feast on scripture for an entire year in
easily digestible bites. This plan makes reading through the
Bible achievable with daily 15 minute readings from the Old
Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.
JACK: Hey, everybody, for over 30 years, my family, our church,
everybody, together, we go through the Word of God in the
One Year Bible, get a copy for yourselves and you'll enjoy it
immensely. One year through the Bible with your family and
friends. There's nothing like it.
ANNOUNCER: Order your copy now for a gift of any amount, go to
jackhibbs.com or call 877-777-2346. Start your new
year off right. Read God's Word daily.
(Music)
JACK: The Nature of God. This has been the question or the
pursuit of man, if man knows it or not, since the very creation,
the nature of God. There's a longing within our hearts, and
when you and I look around the world, we see incredible
injustice going on. Do we not? And then we begin to wonder
about the nature of God. Is God there? In the moments of this
global injustice, the pain and the sorrow in my own life is God
even there? What about God's nature? Doesn't He love? Yes.
Listen, God is completely right in all the things that He does
at all times. Here's what you don't want to get confused with
what God is and what He does is not necessarily what's going on
in this world. In fact, most often it's not. This world is
alienated from God. That's why everything that's going on in
this world is so terrible. God is the root and the base of all
love. That's what the Bible says. That's who God is. That's
his nature. But little love do we see in this world, right? But
when He says something like, if you understand if you would
receive this that I love you so much that I gave my son Jesus at
the cross for your sins, that you would become a real
believer. You want to test yourself. Are you really a
believer in what He says? Do you trust Him? Are you struggling
over that? Listen, everyone struggles, but the fact of the
matter is we can get our questions and our doubts
answered in the Word of God and the nature of God is how we do
that. So listen, grab your Bibles and get in to this study
the nature of God. It should bring you comfort. So let's see.
(Music)
JACK: John chapter 15. Jesus said, I am the true vine and my
Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not
bear fruit, He takes away. So you want to ask yourself, am I a
fruit bearing Christian? So what does that mean? Are you watching
seasons of your life go along that over time you are beginning
to exhibit more and more of God in control of your life? Are you
starting to see the fruit of the Holy Sp-? Are you more patient
now than you were last year as a Christian? Do you know more and
are you experiencing more of God in your life? If that happens,
you're going to start bearing fruits. Now outside, I think
they're still orange. Maybe it's kind of past season, but the
orange trees, those orange trees, what they produce?
Oranges. They're orange trees. That's what they do. Not going
to get a cherry off of them. They're orange trees. There's
olive trees. You're going to get olives. You're not going to get
an orange off the olive tree. They're bearing fruit. That's
what they're supposed to do. A believer is supposed to bear the
fruit that God, the Holy Spirit is producing within their lives.
Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes. We, none of us sign
up for this, but all of us experience it. When you and I
are growing in God's kingdom, He winds up. It's like, oh my
goodness, this is amazing. And then we wind up getting pruned.
What is that? He cuts back. Why did that happen? Why am I going
through this difficulty? Because out of this cutback, so much
fruit was being produced this way, but when He cuts this back
so much more, it branches out. Pruning's a great thing. It just
hurts that I may bear more fruit. You are already clean
because of the Word which I spoke to you. Here it comes
abide in me. See the word abide? It means live with me. It means
you and I, Jesus is saying to you, let's live together. You
and I stay with me. I'll stay with you. Let's do this
together. Abide. Listen. He's saying, abide in me and I in you
as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in
the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine
and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears
much fruit for without me, you can do nothing. How does this
work with the sovereignty of God? It works perfectly good
because God knew, for example, that you, Susie would come to
Christ when you heard the gospel you'd respond. God knew that you
would respond, Susie, before the universe was ever created based
on His foreknowledge. Guess what you're going to do, Susie?
You're going to wind up abiding in Christ. The Holy Spirit is
going to be speaking to you and drawing you. Listen, church,
test yourself. Is the spirit of God pulling you closer to Jesus
in these rough days, in these trying times? You are either now
gravitating closer to Jesus or you're beginning to emanate
outward away from Him right now, and Jesus says to you today,
abide with me. That means He's speaking to you and maybe in
your life you're hearing God say, you need to cut this off or
you need to make sure that this or the other. He's doing that
because He loves you and He's speaking to you about abiding
and it's so beautiful. Look what He winds up saying. He says that
if you abide verse 7 in me and my words abide in you, you'll
ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. That's awesome
because that means the Word becomes so much in control that
you're thinking like Bible. By this, my Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit, so you'll be my disciples. As the
Father loved me, Jesus said, I also have loved you. Church,
goodnight. God bless. Let's go home. Seriously, this is Jesus
speaking. Jesus just said, you know how much the Father loves
me? Think about it. How much does the Father love Jesus?
Jesus says, that's how much I love you. That's how much my
Father loves you. Jesus is saying, my father loves me as
much as He loves you. What problem do you and I have that
is bigger than that? This gives me security. This gives me
comfort. I also have loved you abide in my love. Verse 10, if
you keep my commandments, this is fun. Watch this. If you keep
my commandments, you'll abide in my love just as I have kept my
Father's commandments and abide in His love. This is not like,
okay, you keep these five rules and you're going to make it just
come on. You're almost there. Try a little harder next time.
That's not what it is. It's getting back to that
relationship. Lord, I love you so much because you love me so
much. I want to be your child. You say the Word and I'll be
like a slave. I'll do whatever you want because I know whatever
you want is good for me. So when Jesus says, keep my
commandments, it's not like, oh, I knew there was a catch. That's
not what it is. It's like, yes, can I put it this way? If you
listen to what I've told you to do so that you might have an
incredibly bountiful, fruitful life, abide in my love, just as
kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love,
absolutely spectacular. You did not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you. You see, I'm a big fan. Look, you may take
issue with this. That's okay. Don't tell me that you disagree.
I love it. I'm enjoying this all my life. You did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you. You see the word appointed?
I'd live off this verse, off that word. I live my life based
on appointed. Because you know what? If Jesus says I've
appointed, then you know what? It doesn't matter what happens
tomorrow. Tomorrow's Monday you know that? It's supposed to be
my day off. We'll see how that goes. What are you doing
tomorrow as a believer? Guess what? Appointed, oh no, this
happened to me on Thursday. Appointed. You can't beat this
love and you can't beat this plan. Appointed you that you
should go and bear fruit. Where's that? To the world and
that world, by the way, is this beyond my nose to the world that
you might go and bear fruit and look at this and that your fruit
might remain. Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will
give it to you. These things I command you that you love one
another. Verse 18, if the world hates you, you know that it
hated me before it hated you. This is Jesus talking. If you
are of the world, the world would love its own. If you are
of the world, the world would go, oh, you're amazing. You're
just like us, lost, on fire, and going to hell. You're just the
best. And Jesus says yet, because you are not of the
world, I chose you out of the world. Therefore, the world
hates you. You ever prayed this prayer, Jesus, make me like you?
Are you sure you want to pray that prayer? But listen inside
of you, don't you long to be like Him? Is that what you're
living for? I don't want to be me anymore. I want to be Him.
Lord, make me like you. Whatever my plans and thoughts are, just
throw 'em in the back. Bring yours forward. Have you lived or
walked enough with Jesus where it's like, Lord, whatever I'm
talking about, if anything's goofy, just don't even hear it,
and if this prayer was bogus, just flush it because you know.
That's awesome. But when Jesus says this, don't be surprised.
Don't be surprised if the world hates you because it hated me
first. Said I dunno if I like that part. It comes with the
relationship. I walk around with my wife and people think I'm
walking around with my daughter. It makes me feel great, and if
you ever doubt if there's a God in heaven, then you should see
my wife as her and I are walking along, you'll say, Jack, how did
you get a woman like this? Truly, there's a God in heaven.
Okay, so here's the thing. I'm blessed by association. Well,
when you walk in this world with Jesus, you're blessed by
association. When the world picks up a rock to throw it at
Jesus and they miss, they hit you. That's an honor. Did you
know that? It says it right here? Well, it was on the
screen. They hated me Jesus says before they hated you, so don't
be surprised if the world hates you. Friends, can you live with
that in this social media world? I mean social media, in my
opinion, I'm sorry. It stinks. It created a bunch of wimps.
This guy doesn't like me. Who is he? Tell me who he is. Well,
that's the thing, I don't know who he is. Then who cares? It
cracks me up, just blows my mind. But if you do something
that if you're walking with Jesus and somebody, oh man, I
just hate Jesus, and they throw a rock and it hits you, Jesus is
going to hold your hand. He's going to say, I told you. Just
rub it off. Shake it off. You'll be fine. You say Jack, I don't
know if I like that. That's just the way that is. This thing, by
the way, I'm in so much trouble. It's not going away. It's
getting more trouble. But wait, I'm going to show you something
in a moment. Here's the thing. I was at the store the other day
and a woman came up to me and she started crying and I said,
and I thought, she has cancer. What is it? What is it? I'm so
sorry you're having to go through all this stuff you're
going through, and then I thought to myself, oh my gosh, I
didn't read the newspaper today. I didn't check CNN or Fox app.
What's up? And I'm thinking, what happened? Then you know I
start thinking, gosh, I hope I left the house with my pants on.
What's wrong? All this attack about your prayer in Washington,
and it's not going away. I was on four or five news programs
just this last week and what happened? What happened? I
prayed a biblical prayer. I prayed a Bible prayer and watch,
church I thought it would be over. Wait, wait. I'm running
out of time. I'm running out of time. I prayed a Bible prayer
and I didn't pray it to Congress. I prayed it to God. It
was to God, but listen, pastor who prayed before Congress
reacts as dozens of dems, 26 of them call him ill qualified hate
preacher. Oh wow. Jesus said, I told you, right? So put your
helmet on, put your pants up, you put your mouthpiece in, and
in this world, if they're going to throw rocks, just know
they're trying to hit me, Jack, not you Remember that. You can't
engineer this, but the fact of the matter is church family,
when we abide with him and walk with him, awesome things are
going to happen. You can expect Him to move. We also know this
in verse 7, it says, nor are they all children because they
are the seed of Abraham. This is an amazing statement regarding
Israel. Listen, Israel is a nation chosen by God nationally,
everybody listen nationally, Israel has been chosen by God.
The future of Israel as a nation will be forever says God. That's
why they became a nation a second time. The future is all
about, read your Bible. It's all about the millennial kingdom and
God sitting on this throne in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ will sit
there. It's in the Bible. It's all going to happen. The point
is this, the nation of Israel throughout its history has gone
from one bad disobedient act upon God to the other. Read the
Old Testament. It's one big mistake, one big sin, one big
act of rebellion against God, one after- How many times do you
read about the bad kings of Israel setting up all of these
horrific pagan sights to worship and offending the God of heaven,
the God of the Bible? So many times nationally, God speaks to
Israel and says, you're wayward, but there'll be a day when I
will bring you back, but individually as individuals, did
you know that God is saving individual Jews today? Some say
like never before, the words we're getting out of Israel, and
not just Israel, but all around the world, Jews are coming to
faith in Jesus all over the world right now, and so what are
we talking about? Nationally at this moment the nation's lost.
It's in unbelief. It's in their homeland. They're back in the
land, but the Bible says moving forward, the nation is going to
be brought in and established, but there'll be some Jews who
will believe not all. That's why he says not all of those who are
Israel or of Israel, it's an amazing statement, and so when
it says here in the scripture in verse 7, he makes this
announcement and we'll develop it more next time together, but
it says now, nor are they all children because they are the
seed of Abraham. This is remarkable. The DNA, the
descendants of Abraham. Well, we're the descendants of
Abraham. We automatically go to heaven. I'm going to give you
this passage and you hang on your seats. I know that we have
this concept of Jesus, meek and mild and looking like He's
walking down the beach in Newport, kind of a Jesus perfect
hair flowing in the breeze, awesome seagulls in the back,
robe, sandals, beach day. Listen to Him. Look at John 8. Wow.
Jesus says, I am one who bears witness of myself and the Father
who sent me bears witness of me. That's two. Then they said to
Him, where is your Father? These are the scribes and Pharisees.
Jesus answered, neither me nor my Father. You're going to
feisty here. If you had known me, you would've known my Father
also. Wow. Verse 37, I know that you are Abraham's descendants. I
know you've got Abraham's DNA in your blood, but you seek to kill
me because my Word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen
with my Father and you do what you have seen with your father.
They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus
said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do
the works of Abraham, the works of Abraham. Jesus said, if you
are of my Father, you would do the works of Abraham, and I
thought about this. Now, maybe you already, you are light years
ahead of me, but all these years it dawned on me yesterday, I am
going to make a list of the works of Abraham because it's
such a big deal that Jesus says, if you're my Father, you would
do the works of Abraham. All right, here we go. Write 'em
down. There's only one. It's faith. It's faith. Try to write
'em down. What are the grand
works of Abraham? Every step
along the way, it's faith with him and God personally. But now
you seek to kill me Jesus says to the Pharisees, a man who has
told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham did not
do this. You do the deeds of your father. Then they said to
him, we were not born a fornication. We have no father
but God. Do you get the drift of this? We know what your mother
was and we know what you are, and then they claim to be of
God. Verse 42, Jesus said to them, if God were your Father,
you would love me for I proceeded forth and came from
God, nor have I come of myself, but He sent me, why do you not
understand my speech? Because you're not able to listen to my
Word. Oh my goodness, friend, are you not able to listen to
His Word? I hope not. I hope you can. You are of your father, the
devil Jesus said that. God's Word, the logos goes out,
doesn't matter. Listen, it doesn't matter if you're a Jew
or Gentile. When the Word of God goes out, what do you do with
it? Do you lean back on your religion and your manmade
requirements or do you embrace the word of God for what
it says. It's very black and white.
It's very simple. It's very clear.
JACK: So listen, the very nature of God should bring you and I
comfort. Doesn't that make sense? Isn't it true that the
people in your life who you love and that you enjoy, it's because
you know them better? You know them deeper, you know them more
than other people know them, and you know the nature of them. If
you and I could know others like that in little, we can know God
like that in large. The nature of God, we can see His goodness.
I mean, I'm not trying to be cute or silly when I say this,
but how can you look at a puppy or a baby and not think about
the nature of God? When you look at a little kitten? What a cute
little thing. Say, well I'm not a cat person, but everybody's a
kitty person. Why? Because this exposes to us the amazing loving
nature of God. Take that beyond God's love for you is not about
exposing Himself to you through religion. You don't have to go
to a pastor, a pope or a priest or some sort of bishop to find
out the nature of God. God has revealed His nature to you in
His Word, the Bible, and so we don't want you to follow a
religion. It's not in your membership that saves you. You
need to know the fact that God is personal and God says, listen
to this. How personal can you get? When God writes you a love
note and it says, I have loved you with an everlasting love,
therefore with loving kindness, have I drawn you. This is of
power. This is a force of God's love and His nature that
frankly, my friend, you cannot avoid. You can only reject.
God's love and the evidence of God's love is everywhere. You
can only reject that. You can't avoid it. Even right now, if you
can hear me, it's because God is being loving and gracious to
you. Listen, if you want to know more about the Lord, this is
what we're about here, so please go to jackhibbs.com, find out
how you can connect with us, that we might be able to lead
you further on in your walk with Jesus by pointing you to the
Word of God. Until then, God bless.
ANNOUNCER: You are watching Real Life with Jack Hibbs.
ANNOUNCER: How many times have you pledged to read through the
entire Bible? How did that go for you? Jack Hibbs has a tried
and true solution to help you feed your hunger for God's Word.
The New King James One Year Bible is the bestselling Bible
that allows you to feast on scripture for an entire year in
easily digestible bites. This plan makes reading through the
Bible achievable with daily 15 minute readings from the Old
Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.
JACK: Hey, everybody, for over 30 years, my family, our church,
everybody, together, we go through the Word of God in the
One Year Bible, get a copy for yourselves and you'll enjoy it
immensely. One year through the Bible with your family and
friends. There's nothing like it.
ANNOUNCER: Order your copy now for a gift of any amount, go to
jackhibbs.com or call (877)777-2346 Start your new
year off right. Read God's Word daily.
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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?
ANNOUNCER: Jack Hibbs truly believes we are living in some
of the most exciting days in history, which brings some great
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presentation of the gospel to this generation who are
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ANNOUNCER: The preceding program was sponsored by generous
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