In this enlightening episode of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack Hibbs delves into the compelling narrative of First Samuel, focusing on the tensions between David and King Saul. Titled ‘Worlds in Collision,’ the discussion explores the juxtaposition of God’s values against human instincts of power, fear, and revenge. Listeners will be captivated by David’s profound restraint in choosing faith over personal vengeance, revealing that true obedience to the Lord is often a private affair, witnessed by none but God.
You can’t deny the existence of angels. Well, I would never dare deny the existence of angels. Then you cannot deny the existence of fallen angels because those are angels that acted just like Saul. They refused to follow God and obey Him.
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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. Looking for real answers in real time? JackHibbs.com is your go-to destination for resources on faith, world events, and everything in between. Explore Happening Now, where Pastor Jack Hibbs takes a timely, no-nonsense look at today’s biggest issues, blending biblical insight with the latest headlines. Now, whether you’re curious about the world around you or you want guidance on a personal level, Pastor Jack has you covered. And, by the way, don’t miss the Real Life Network. It’s packed with relatable, family-friendly content that really speaks to everyday challenges and triumphs, offering something really valuable for every member of your family. Now, if you’re new to the faith, you want to refresh your perspective, start with that tab that says Know God, an accessible, welcoming space to learn and reflect and find your footing. Now, whatever your path, jackhibbs.com has the tools and the insights and the encouragement that you need. Tune in, log on, find something real. Once again, the website jackhibbs.com. On today’s edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series called First Samuel and a message titled Worlds in Collision. Now, Samuel of the Old Testament was the last judge of Israel and the first of her prophets. So here in chapters 26 through 28, we’ll consider how the material world and the spiritual world are in constant collision. You see, the encounters between David and King Saul were like two worlds colliding. God’s values versus human power, fear, and revenge. Now, David had the power to kill King Saul, but he chose God’s way of dealing with King Saul. This reminds us that having the opportunity to strike doesn’t mean we have God’s permission to do just that. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that David’s restraint to kill Saul when he secretly had the chance proves to us that true obedience to the Lord happens when no one is watching. Faith over personal vengeance produces lasting change and victory over the flesh. Now, with his message called Worlds in Collision, here’s pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hughes.
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And the woman said to Saul, I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth. So he said to her, what is his form? And she said, an old man is coming up and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel and he stooped with his face and bowed down to the ground. These are the final moments of a religious man’s life who personally did not know God, or at least very well. Jesus spoke about events and things like this in people’s lives. Jesus said that when we would come to nearing the end of the world, the end of the age, that all mankind would stand before God in judgment. And Jesus said in Matthew 7, 21, very important verse, Matthew 7, verse 21, Jesus says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven. For many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord. Notice how they call him and who they call him. Have we not prophesied in your name? Did Saul prophesy? Yes. We cast out demons in your name. We’ve done many wonderful things or miracles in your name. And then Jesus says, I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Now it’s interesting, when you circle or study that word lawlessness, that’s the word for sin. You who practice sinful living or sinful lifestyle. But wait a minute. It says that they prophesied. It said that they cast out demons. It said that they did miracles. Ladies and gentlemen, keep in mind, the works that are done in the name of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with the messenger or the character or quality of that messenger. Nothing. God can honor his name any old way he chooses. God will not deny his name. God will give a gift, as the book of Romans says, he bestows a ministry, a gift upon someone, and he says, I give that gift, I give that ministry, and I give it in such a way that I don’t take it back. That’s a scary thing. Because if you and I walk around judging somebody’s ministry by how big the church is, how charismatic they are, or if they have the gift of gab, or if whatever they touch seems to turn to gold, listen, we could be deceived. And we live in a church culture that doesn’t even think that way. Oh, look how big that church is. It must be of God. How do you know it’s of God? Well, it’s big. That’s not a sign of God’s presence. Is it holy? Is it loving? Is the fruit of the Spirit manifested in that church? It’s not the size. Didn’t Jesus say, you want to talk about size? Didn’t Jesus say broad? Big. Big is the way that leads to eternal destruction, and many are on that path. You say, well, Pastor, I go to a big church. Well, I mean, I go to In-N-Out Burger quite often, but I’m not a hamburger yet. Going to a big church doesn’t make you a Christian, and a big church doesn’t necessarily mean it’s of God. What is the character quality? What’s the fruit that’s coming out from that work? Saul is the king. The king of God’s nation, Israel. He’s the man. He’s the boss. He writes the checks. He’s it. And he’s absolutely wayward from God and consulting, in reality, demons. And so just because somebody’s very, very successful… What does that matter? What does it mean? For those of you who join us in prayer meetings, especially on our Friday morning prayer groups, a constant prayer of this church has been, by the way, for the last 12 years, is God keep us from success. Why? Because humans can’t handle success. Can’t handle it. Jesus says, watch out. Well, that’s a very powerful thing to keep in mind. We’ll talk about worlds in collision. Look at verses 15 through 18. It says, Now Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? I don’t want to go off because it’s just not the direction we need to go. But you ought to mark that. Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Where was he? This is a very, very fun study. Do it later. We can’t do it now. But jot it down and research it. Samuel was in a place called Abraham’s bosom in your old King James Version Bible. Abraham, with Samuel, with the others, was in a place that was known as paradise. And if you study that, and by the way, years ago, when this sanctuary was about this big, you guys right there, We did a study that I thought was quite hilarious because I tried to find a book. I tried to find other pastors who taught on it. I couldn’t find it. And so we wound up doing it on our own. And it was a study on hell. I mean, they don’t appreciate when you call up like a certain ministry and say, Hi, I listen to Pastor So-and-so on the radio. Do you have any teachings on hell? And what do you want that for? Because I don’t want to go there. I want to know all about it, so I don’t go there. But did you know that there are very, very many wonderful passages of Scripture about hell and given you great definitions about it? Did you know that? There’s various levels of what you and I just easily call hell. There’s the Abuso. You ever heard of that? There’s the Lake of Fire. There’s Tartarus. There’s Gehenna. there are various levels. I say levels. I mean, there’s various depths to hell. For example, Satan and his fallen angels. We’ll talk about them later. When they get cast into what you and I would say hell, it is called Tartarus. It is bad beyond belief. And apparently no humans, even Adolf Hitler, will not be in Tartarus. He’ll be in some other spot. But Tartarus is the worst of the worst of hell. So when we did this study on hell, we wanted to know about it. We withdraw the scriptures on that to study it. what it’s all about. Now when it says that Samuel was brought up from the earth or from beneath, where was he coming from? He was coming from Abraham’s bosom. It was a place of comfort. When you read Luke’s Gospel chapters 15 and 16, you’ll read about a man who died and went to Abraham’s bosom. It’s a comfortable place. It was a place of rest and ease for those who knew the Lord. The weird thing about it, by the way, there’s nobody there right now since Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead. He took all those believing Old Testament saints and took them right out of that place. It’s vacant now. Here’s the trippy thing about it. You have to watch me because I don’t know how else to do this. Over here was Abraham’s bosom. There was the Grand Canyon in between. A gulf, the Bible says, a gap. And on the other side was hell, Sheol. And this is torment. And this is paradise. And here’s the freaky thing when you read Luke 15 and 16. Back in those days, again, since the resurrection of Christ, paradise has been emptied out by Jesus. He took everybody up into heaven. They could see one another. They could hear one another. It was a very bizarre thing. Those people that are in hell right now, they’re in that place awaiting the judgment that you’ll read about in Revelation chapter 20 around verse 11. They’re not in their final destination just yet. But right now, where is Samuel tonight here in Pacific time? He’s in heaven. He’s with your relatives who died in Christ. He’s with Noah. He’s with the brothers and sisters in the household of faith. When a believer dies, no believer now goes to this place called Abraham’s bosom. They go, what? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And where is the Lord? He’s in heaven. He’s not in Abraham’s bosom. Abraham is in his bosom. That’s where he’s at. Keep that in mind.
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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.
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And so this is an amazing thing. So this had to be kind of freaky, you know. Samuel says, why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? I tell you, there would have been a cloud of dust. I would have been running like a rocket. And Saul answered and said, I am deeply distressed. For the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore, I have called you. In other words, nobody else will talk to me. And I can’t get any direction because I’ve sinned so far and gotten away from God. I figured you would compromise and talk to me. He says that you may reveal to me what I should do. Then Samuel said, why then do you ask me? Seeing how the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy. Can you imagine having God your enemy? People, whenever we… Listen, I’m not saying we, you, us, believers… Non-believers. Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that says, smile, God loves you? Did you know that’s only half the truth? That is true. Smile, God does love you. But the Old Testament says, but God is angry with the wicked every day. We should have a bumper sticker that says, smile, God loves you. But he’s angry with the wicked every day. God is angry. You know, God can be angry and he doesn’t sin. You and I get angry and we blow it. God gets angry and it’s holy. It’s perfect. It’s righteous. God says, that’s it. I’m not talking to you. You don’t even want to hear from me, Saul. I’ve tried to lead you. I’ve tried to guide you. You don’t even listen. The Bible says in the book of Genesis, my spirit will not always strive with man. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs, he who is often rebuked will harden his heart and shall be taken away and that without remedy. I don’t know the meaning of that. I thank God you don’t know the meaning of that. That God can convict and convict and try to lead you and try to guide you. And you keep dancing and you keep trying to schmooze over God and do your own thing and do some song and dance and think you’re getting away with it. And then God says, after a while, that’s it. He’s reached a point he won’t listen. He won’t listen to a word I have to say. He won’t let me lead him. He won’t let me guide him. And then all of a sudden, without fanfare, without fireworks, without any shout or with any boom, God just stops talking. And when God stops talking, it’s hopeless. He shuts the door, as it were. It’s a tragic moment. And we don’t know when that happens in someone’s life, but we know it happens at some point in time before they depart from this world. And so Samuel tells him the truth. Why are you talking to me, seeing how the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? Verse 17, And as the Lord has done for himself, as he spoke to me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Verse 18, Because, here it is everyone, mark it, I have it in bold in my Bible, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord. There it is. Verse 18 is probably the most important verse of this entire book. Is it easy to obey the Lord? No. I heard someone say yes. I want to hang out with you for the rest of my life. It’s not easy because you know what? You see this stuff? You see that? It’s like it’s got a mind of its own. How can these little stinky collection of molecules be so powerful? How can I get up in the morning and say, God, I’m going to sing you a song? I’ll be right back, though. First, I have to go to the bathroom. And then I go to the bathroom, and then, you know what? Oh, man, you know what? It’s getting daylight, and this is a huge day. And, Lord, can you hang on just one more minute? I’ve got to make a phone call. I’ll be right back. Then you get on the phone and, oh, by the way, did you know that you were supposed to call? No. Where are they at? Oh, they’re over there. Okay. Oh, are you there? Yes. Can you come right now and just take a look at this piece of concrete? And then you can go back home and, Lord, you know what? I’ll be right back. You know how that goes? It’s not easy to obey the Lord. But when we, like Paul the Apostle said, we buffet ourselves. You know what that means? Now, I have to be careful. It means that you beat yourself into subjection to the will of God. That doesn’t mean you sit around and you slap yourself. It means that you tell that flesh to sit down.
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pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio and his message called Worlds in Collision. Thanks for spending some time with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack’s series called First Samuel, a series highlighting 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 we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
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Hey everybody, Pastor Jack here. And joining me today is Hediya Miramadi, author of this month’s featured resource called Living Fearless in Christ. Now Hediya has an amazing story. She became a Muslim in college, but ultimately her search for truth led her to Jesus, but at great personal cost. Her story is honest, courageous, and deeply relevant for the times we’re living in. Hediya, Welcome to Real Life Radio. Thank you so much for having me. So in Living Fearless, you talk about the moment Islam began to unravel for you. And we have been hearing about this going on in the Muslim world. But take us back to that moment. What started it all for you?
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Well, I was a devout Muslim for a very long time, over 20 years. And in that period of time, I constantly was asking myself questions. where I was going to go when I die, because Islam does not promise eternal security. So there was this sense of will my deeds ever good deeds ever outweigh the bad? Because there’s this portrayal of Allah was that there was going to be a day of judgment and your deeds, your good deeds better outweigh your bad or you would spend an eternity in hellfire. So I was constantly plagued by this fear that the good deeds were never enough. It was something that lingered in my mind the entire time that I was a Muslim. So why do you think that question kept pushing on you? Because in my devotion, I was so regimented. I did everything that I was supposed to do. And it really it drove me crazy that nobody could say, OK, you’ve arrived. You’ve done enough. You’re dressed as you’re supposed to be. You’re doing all the things you’re supposed to do. And yet nobody could say this is the finish line. And it was exhausting because the rituals were extremely demanding. The lifestyle was very demanding. And I got to the point where not only did I have the lingering question about where I went when I died, but that I was exhausted from the rituals. I was exhausted from trying to reach a destination that nobody could tell me I would reach.
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Now, you’re very clear in the book, and this is one of my favorite parts of your story, but finding Christ wasn’t an emotional decision for you, but a very real, surprising, in-your-face thing that happened. What was it specifically that brought you to the Lord?
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Well, first of all, I had a supernatural encounter with the Lord. Well, that’ll do it. The Lord. So I met the Lord online. I did not walk into a church. I had no Christian friends. It was listening to the simple gospel on the internet from a pastor I had never met or never heard of that was in another state. And so through this, um, listening to his preaching of the simple gospel, I started to pray. And I was a devout worshiper, so I knew how to pray, constantly asking God to reveal himself, because the more I listened to the reality of who Christ was, the more confused I became of who God actually was. And it was in those prayer times, one in particular, that the Lord called my name. So I audibly heard the voice of Christ say, Hetia, it’s me. Imagine that. After that supernatural encounter, I was struck because it was an absolute reality. And now I had to kind of work my way backwards and basically say, okay, now that he has revealed himself to me, how do I line up my intellectual understanding of God with the reality of the Bible? And then I bought a Bible. And then once I started reading it, I realized the historicity of the Bible, the authenticity of it, was undeniable. It was a continuous story of God’s promises to humanity from creation to the last day. And that resonated with me, just the authenticity and the veracity of it. The fact that you could verify so much of what was in the Bible was extremely compelling to me.
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Wow, I love that. That’s so good. A lot of people don’t realize that we serve a God that can be verified historically, right? Yeah. You wrote this book not just to tell your story, but to point people to Jesus. If someone listening right now, especially a Muslim, is searching for truth, What would you want them to know about Christ?
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That Allah in the Quran has hid the power of the cross on purpose. He only told half the story. He told about the divinity of Christ, the ascension of Christ to heaven, the return of Christ in the last days, but he hid the power of the cross because if you knew that Jesus died and rose again to defeat death, hell, sin, and the grave, you would know for sure that he was the way, the truth, and the life. And that if you just open your heart to know the truth of the cross, that who else could have died on that cross? Because historically, someone died on that cross. And that, you know, Allah tells this fake story of his body being you know, changed into Judas and his soul ascended, that that’s just a lie. And that if you were to just rationally, spiritually, emotionally open your heart to the truth, pray to God to reveal the one true God to you, that he will respond. He will reveal himself. People have to understand a lot of Muslims like myself are devout worshipers. They believe they’re worshiping God. And so I fully believe that with an open heart, Muslims will encounter the one living God because he is alive, he does speak, he does respond, and Muslims all over the world have experienced it. My supernatural experience is nothing compared to some of the things that people have experienced throughout Iran and China and the Muslim world, encountering the living God. And so I just want to invite them to open their heart. They don’t have to leave their house. I didn’t. They can encounter Jesus exactly where they are, and he will respond.
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Hedia, thank you so much for joining us. You are an inspiration, and your story is one to be told. Thank you so much for having me. It’s an honor. The book is called Living Fearless in Christ, and it is the featured resource for this month.
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Living Fearless in Christ by Hedia Miramadi. Available for the month of February for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com.
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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. If you’d like to partner with us and help support spreading the gospel around the world, you can do that there too. 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.
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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.
