Join Pastor Jack Hibbs on this special Christmas episode of Real Life Radio where we delve into the profound promise of Jesus’ return. With insights into Genesis 3.15 and other biblical references, we uncover how the plan of redemption was set into motion right from the beginning of humanity’s journey. This episode emphasizes the deeper meaning of Christmas beyond its traditional narrative, challenging us to reevaluate how we’ve come to see the Christmas story.
Anticipating. Oh God, I need help. Anticipation, listen, is a great thing in the midst of great need. Think about it, everybody. When things are fine, things are fine. But when you need help, anticipation’s a big deal.
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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.
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Your week is packed. You’re running on empty, and sometimes Sunday already feels like a distant memory by Wednesday. That’s exactly why real-life devotions exist. Each week, Pastor Jack Hibbs brings you a short but powerful moment in God’s Word designed to encourage, equip, and refocus your heart. It’s not another podcast or a long sermon. It’s a few meaningful minutes that meet you right where you are. Whether you’re on a commute, going for a walk, or you just need a reset in the middle of your day, Real Life Devotions are ready when you are. Fresh encouragement straight from the scripture. And it’s all just one click away. Check out the newest devotion now at jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. Your place for real faith, real encouragement, and real life. That’s Real Life Devotions at jackhibbs.com.
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On today’s edition of Real Life Radio, we’re going to take a break from 1 Samuel to bring you a special Christmas series called His Return. The return of Jesus was a promise from God, and it’s deeper than we can ever imagine. Genesis 3.15 is the very first Christmas verse. God’s plan of redemption was already in motion after Adam and Eve sinned, and their relationship with God was broken. So today in this special Christmas message, Pastor Jack teaches us that God anticipates our every human need. We have air to breathe, seeds for food, and intimacy for conception. Spiritually, we’re complete in God’s Son, Jesus, when he took our sin and redeemed us through his death on the cross, his resurrection, and his promise to come again. Now with his special Christmas message called His Return, Part 1, here’s pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.
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that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess. Oh, I hope your tongue has confessed this confession. That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father and all God’s people said. Amen. For you to make that confession is for you to say that I believe that God sent his promised one. His return was actually him not leaving us alone in Eden vanquished by Satan and by our own flesh, but his return, we can at least talk to the point of him coming to a little town in Bethlehem. He returns. Can I put it this way? He returns to the scene of the crime. He comes back to earth. Where it all started, having made it perfect, establishing Adam and Eve, they reject him. Instead of him writing us, look, he could have bundled up our universe and just threw us out into oblivion. Did you know that? He could have. He could have just flicked us like that. He could have. He didn’t. He returned to the scene of the crime to buy us back, to be our redeemer. to be the actual point to the Christmas story. Christmas story or Christmas fact? Oh, tell me the Christmas story. Look, if you want a story, read Humpty Dumpty. How about if we sit down with the kids and grandkids and read them some Christian facts or some Christmas facts? The second thing is this, is that it’s a promise unique beyond all chance. It’s unique beyond all chance. The promise of his return, that as the weary world is being sustained by a breath, the meaning of the Christmas message, frankly, is impossible to miss, let’s be honest, unless you’re determined to miss it. Think about all that’s going on around the world today. If you miss the meaning of Christmas, then that’s something intentional. Because it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out, is it really about this fat guy with a red suit on? And the black boots and the beard? What’s the story? Flying reindeer, what’s the deal? What’s with the tree? Say what? Why are we giving gifts to each other? What’s this stuff all about anyway? You don’t have to think too deep to discover all that stuff is fluff. There’s something going on here. And it’s real. And it’s unique. There is no possible way outside of the Bible itself That anyone or anything at any time has ever announced that the promise of his coming is so absolutely unique, it’s beyond chance. Unique because God had planned it 100%. I love this. God had planned it 100% from the very beginning. Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14. Here it is. Isaiah said, you’re already getting Christmas cards with this on it. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call his name Emmanuel, God among us. Isaiah. Chapter seven, verse 14. Written 743 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, my friends. Every synagogue in the world had the book of Isaiah, the scroll of Isaiah. In fact, it was the book, Isaiah was the scroll that Jesus commissioned his earthly ministry with. Isaiah. It’s this Isaiah. Can you imagine? Jesus in the flesh, starting his earthly ministry. It’s his day where as a male at a particular synagogue, every Sabbath, a male gets the reading of the scriptures. And on that day, Jesus… receives the scroll from the attendant, the attendant would have had a mark of where all the synagogues in the world would be reading from that day, and here it is. Jesus stands up and says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me. Uh-huh, I just heard that collective. To preach glad tidings to the, you know the verse. And when the scripture says, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and there’s a comma, and the day of his vengeance. Jesus stopped at the comma, right in mid-sentence. Everybody, the Bible says, their eyes were fixed upon him. He rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the attendants. And he said, today is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing. Amen. And that’s the christening of the physical ministry of Jesus on earth. And from that moment on, for three and a half years, Jesus Christ fulfilled Bible prophecy after Bible prophecy. And the weary world rejoiced. Absolutely awesome. Beyond all chance. Isaiah 9.6. For unto us a child is born. No big deal. Children are born all the time. I just got a report from… One of our staff leaders, Pastor Jack, here’s what’s going on. This is where we’re at, and this is looking ahead to the new year. And by the way, we have really been fruitful and multiplying as a staff. And I said, I don’t like the way that sounds. Coming from a business perspective, because we have to pay the light bill and stuff around here. What are you saying? It means that all the young people on staff… You know, they’ve gotten married. Some of them have met each other here on staff. Gotten married and making babies. They are. And so we got a bunch of babies that will be coming. And that’s a very sweet thing. But a child is born all the time. That’s no big deal for the spectators, you know. A child is born. If that prophecy ended there, people would have said, well, so what? Here’s where it gets super interesting. A son is given. Say what? A woman who has to be a virgin is going to be pregnant without intercourse, conceived of the Holy Spirit. And that child within her will be the creation of God. And will also be the creator, God. Becoming like what he made. And he’s gonna be given. The word given implies offered. a child’s gonna be born, a son will be offered. Friends, listen, if you’re a doubter in the Bible, it’s time to stop. Whatever your excuse is, it’s pathetic. The Bible is announcing right here, 743 years before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, that the one coming would be a child born. He’s gonna come as a child because a son will be the one that is offered up. He was born to die. Remarkable. The third thing under this point is this church, it’s that it’s a promise anticipating every human need. The fact that his return has been promised, its promise is anticipating every human need. In Psalm 141, the Bible tells us, verse 1, Lord, I cry to you, make haste to me, give ear to my voice when I cry out to you. Let my prayer be set before you as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Wow. Anticipating, oh God, I need help. Anticipation, listen, is a great thing in the midst of great need. Think about it, everybody. When things are fine, things are fine, but when you need help, anticipation’s a big deal. You’re anticipating this. Look, listen. Look, I’m older now and I’m a horrific, I’m an incurable saver. You know, listen, people walk by and there’ll be a dime or a penny on the street and I learned from the youngest of ages, grab it, grab it. And then later, by the way, I found out later on when I grew up that Abraham, I mean, Ben Franklin said a penny saved is a penny earned and I thought, oh man, that guy thinks just like I do. Grab that penny. I was told years ago, the reason why you should grab that penny and put it in your pocket and save it is because it says, in God we trust, which makes it priceless. So I’ve been hoarding pennies all my life, and then pennies accumulate over time. And now I’m old, and here’s the thing. I’m not rich, but I’m not hungry. Are you hearing me? The moment, though, the moment I realize, hey, you know what? I don’t have to go to work this week, is trouble. And God, listen, God and his mercy will sometimes get our attention when the well dries up. And we gotta go somewhere else to dig a hole. God is in that. I don’t know how we’re gonna make it. Listen, it’s tough, because Lisa and I, we’ve been married forever, and we’ve seen God do amazing things. So when young couples, they freak out, we don’t know how this is gonna happen. We remember that. And it’s like, it’s gonna work out. And they think we don’t care. because we say to them, it’s gonna work out, just keep your eyes on Jesus. Oh, brother. I knew you were gonna say that. It’s true. It’s true. Anticipating your next meal is not a bad thing. Most of the world has to anticipate their next meal. The moment we get all comfortable and velvety about things, Our hearts can depart from God. Anticipation. Christ’s coming anticipated every human need. And I’m not talking physical only, mostly spiritual. 1 Samuel 16, verse seven says, for the Lord does not see as man sees. Thank God. For man looks at the outward appearance, do we not? To the point of a fault. But the Lord looks at the heart.
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You’re listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. And for now, let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s Pastor Jack.
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A friend of mine, I’m not going to mention his name, is a pastor. He dressed up like a homeless guy. And he went and hung out in and around his church. to see what people would do. And after about a week of doing that, he preached the Sunday message. And it was probably the best message he ever gave because he was so disappointed nobody from his church helped him out as a homeless person. So he really let it have it, which might explain why he was removed, but anyway. I thought that was quite a great move. He was just trying to make an illustration, a living parable. God knows the heart. In Luke chapter two, verse 25, the Bible tells us regarding this great Christmas event that behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. We talked about him earlier. This man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Palestine. Of what? Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation. That’s what Jesus’ name means. Emmanuel, God among us, Jesus, Joshua, Yahoshua, Yahoshua is salvation, God’s salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all nations. That word peoples is nations. A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles. Say amen to that. Woo! Listen, that verse right there, tell your Jewish friends, I’m in on this. Hey, Jesus may have come to Israel, But he’s the light to the Gentiles. I qualify. I can come to him. And I’ve come to him. Ask them, have you come to him? Have you come to your Messiah? It’s thrilling. And the glory of your people Israel. Verse 33. And Joseph and his mother Mary marveled at those things which had spoken to him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child is destined for the fall of and rising of many in Israel. This child will be a lightning rod. This child will be a point of contention. This child will be the source of division. Boy, you think about that. And for a sign which will be spoken against. That’s why you hear Jesus’ name as the most cursed, defamed name on the planet. It’s remarkable. There is not a need in your life where God’s consolation, God’s comfort cannot comfort you. And I wrote some thoughts down. You know, if you Google this, the answers vary, but what’s man’s greatest need? And you’ll see things like this. And the order changes up. Jack, you’re crazy because how can God meet all of my need in Jesus, the Christmas Christ? How does that play into me breathing air? I have to have air. Well, according to the Bible, he’s the inventor of the air you’re breathing. And if that’s not enough, he’s the inventor of your lungs and your heart and your entire human system that’s processing the atmosphere around you. He’s also invented the atmosphere you’re breathing. Somebody might say, well, the biggest need is for food. You gotta have food. How does this correlate to food? God invented food. Imagine, not only God invented food, but the seeds, he said, are to produce after their own kind. An apple does not become a banana. Isn’t that great? Isn’t that great? You like apples? Good for you. You like bananas? Good for you. Now Israel has tampered. This is not a joke. Israel actually made a banapple. But they had to make it. They had to cross. The point is this. A banana will always be a banana. Who says? God says. And so does science. But food, isn’t it amazing that even the food colors, the color of food matters as to the season in which you should eat it. Now, we live in America, we’re all messed up. You know, honestly, we eat foods at seasons where we ought not to be eating them. The way the world is supposed to work is that there’s certain foods that grow at certain seasons in certain climates for certain people to live in those environments. amazing. But you know what? We have to have summer every day so you can get watermelon 365. But God made that. And he made your body able to process that. And somebody, it depends on where you look, what’s at the top or what’s in the top three, is the sex drive, intimacy, closeness. Well, what does God have to do with that? Really? Just check the plumbing. God made it perfect. It works perfect. What’s the chances of that? I don’t believe in God. I think you need to take a look around. Because if you don’t believe in God, then you’re saying that life is an evolutionary accident, but you’re gonna have to have a male and a female in evolution mature at the exact same month, week, moment, in sexual maturity for a baby to be conceived. Just that fact alone makes evolution impossible. That takes more engineering than anything that this known universe could ever imagine. That is so cool. That is an amazing thing. Number two in our study, it’s this. His return is the purpose of his return. The purpose. The Bible says in Luke chapter two, verse six, and so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her, that’s Mary, to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. I’m not gonna get into the meaning of swaddling clothes. You can listen to last year’s Christmas, but swaddling is what you wrapped Mary The sacrificial lamb, after it had been approved of by the priest, you wrap the sacrificial lamb in swaddling clothes. They’re ribbons of cloth so that that lamb, it’s like bubble wrap. Think of bubble wrap. You can’t have this broken or messed up with. So how are we gonna ship it? Bubble wrap it. We’ve got the lamb. How do we make sure between the lamb and the day of its sacrifice that there’s no scratches and it doesn’t break a bone? Bubble wrap it. And this, wrapped in swaddling clothes, it was an announcement. Nobody wrapped their kids in swaddling clothes in those days. But this is the Lamb of God, my friends, we’re talking about here. And they laid him in a manger, a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the end. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were greatly afraid. And the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all nations, all peoples. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord, and this will be the sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, see it was unusual, lying in a manger. The shepherds might have said, who does this? God does this. And suddenly there was with the angel A multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Remarkable. It’s a purpose. His return has a purpose and it’s to give answers. Him coming 2,000 years ago into this world answered the ancient prophecies. And by the way, his coming again will answer those same prophets in different chapters. and in different books. Jesus is the answer, makes for a great bumper sticker, but do you know why? The Bible tells us in Colossians 2, verse eight, Colossians 2, eight, beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit. That sounds like, that should be a warning on the curb of every university. There should be lights out in front, beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit.
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pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his special Christmas series called His Return. Thanks for listening today and Merry Christmas from Pastor Jack and all of us here at Real Life Radio. You know, our prayer for you this Christmas is that your 2026 be filled with contentment and joy that can only come from knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Christ is the reason we celebrate Christmas and we look forward to His return. It’s given us great joy sharing our Real Life Radio program with you today and throughout the past year. Thanks for welcoming us into your home and into your life. And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Hey, Pastor Jack, this is the time of year when we normally start talking about the one-year Bible because we like to get together as a church and as everybody who listens to our various broadcasts to do the one-year Bible together, right? This is the time of year we start talking about that. But we’ve got this special deal going on where you can get the one-year Bible and your new book, Watching Waiting, the devotional, the 40-day devotional. Yeah. For a gift of any amount, we’re going to send you both of those books. Tell us about the one-year Bible. Tell us about watching, waiting.
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Yeah, thank you. Wow, you’re making me go back now four decades, and I mean many decades. Could be three decades where we as a church, the entire church family, you know, how do you have a big church stay small, feel small? Well, here’s what we do. Every year, we all start out reading the one-year Bible, starting on January 1st. And so every November, every December, we make sure that those who don’t have the one-year Bible, that they make sure that they get it. And so on January 1st, all of us dive into the Word of God. And my goodness, I think we’re coming up on 30 years of going through the Bible. 30 times. Isn’t that amazing? And so it’s been amazing, and we’re just encouraging people. And then, of course, as you mentioned, getting a copy of the brand new devotional. It’s a 40-day devotional, watching, waiting. It’s a devotional written about really the expectancy of Christ’s coming. Are we ready? How do we get ready? What does it mean to be ready? And so it’s all Scripture-versed and Scripture-referenced, and we think that you’re going to love it. I think it’d be a good addition to your one-year Bible.
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the one-year Bible, and the 40-day devotion by Pastor Jack called Watching and Waiting. Get your copy for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash realradio. That’s jackhibbs.com slash realradio. 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.
