Author: Justin Hibbard

Justin Hibbard, a husband and father of three, is the Pastor of New Hope Chapel and the Director of Christianity is Jewish. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinoHibbs.

Where is God?

Justin Hibbard

About ten years ago, I attended The Call D.C.  On the National Mall, among tens of thousands of Believers, we prayed for God to bring a revival.  As we prayed and cried out for God, I remember feeling so confused.  “How do I pray for revival?  How do I pray for God’s Spirit to come down and sweep through our Nation and the hearts of our lawmakers?  Where is God, and how to I convince Him to come here?”

These are not only questions we ask when we’re praying for revival; these are questions that float in our minds anytime we pray.  Throughout these Reflections on Intimacy with God, we’ve talked about how you picture God in your prayer life, but let’s talk about where you picture God.  This is extremely important.  When you’re praying, where is God?  Don’t give me the theological answer.  Give me what you’re sensing or seeing.  If you don’t know, close your eyes right now and pray, and as you pray, think about the location where you’re envisioning or sensing God.

For many people, God is distant.  He’s in heaven, looking down, listening to us.  Our prayers have to travel a long way.  In fact, I think sometimes we feel like we have to ask a little harder to give it that extra push to get it to God’s desk.  It’s sort of like that exclamation point we put on our emails to mark it “urgent.”

This even comes out in the way we talk, pray, or sing.  How about that Newsboys song – “As we lift up our hands, will you meet us here?  As we call on your Name, will you meet us here?”  So, lifting up our hands or calling on His Name might bring Him to where we are?  How high do we have to stretch, or how loud do we have to yell? Have you ever prayed, “God, we invite you here to this place?”

I grew up with the idea of the sanctuary.  It’s the place you go to in order to worship God.  Most people associate sanctuary with the church building where the worship service occurs.  Whenever I ran inside our church, an adult would stop me and say, “You’re in God’s house… the sanctuary.  There’s no running or horse playing in here.”  Were they right?  Was I running on hallowed ground, and was it God’s perpetual presence there in the sanctuary what made it holy?

Let me share with you a different idea (and no this isn’t an excuse to run inside the church building).  We are told on a number of occasions that our bodies are the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:14).  In other words, God dwells within us.  As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in a sermon on Yom Kippur, the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and later the Temple was the most haunted and sacred place in the world because God met with the High Priest on top of the Mercy Seat.  Following the crucifixion where the Temple Curtain tore from top to bottom, Paul tells us that God dwells inside the hearts of believers.  The profound implication of that verse is that you, as a believer filled with the Holy Ghost, are the most haunted and sacred place in the world because God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, dwells within you.

In a nutshell, God is here.  You don’t need to invite God into a place or a time of worship, as though it’s “now time to do something spiritual.”  The invitation is for you and for me.  God invites us – our entire being – not into just a spiritual experience but a spiritual life.  I wonder if all those times I said, “God, I invite you here,” has God replied, “actually, I’ve been here the whole time inviting you.”

Entering into the presence of God isn’t so much a place we go physically as it is mentally.  When we realize that we’re in the presence of God, something within us changes.  Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians 3:18 – “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Right now, you are in the amazing presence of God.  Say it.  “I am in the amazing presence of God.”  Don’t use the past tenses; don’t use the future tenses.  Don’t say, “Last week I had an amazing encounter with God,” or “At that place I met with God” or “This Sunday, I’m looking forward to meeting with God at church.”  Rather, right here, right now, you are with God, and God is within you.

One final thought as we close.  When Moses was first introduced to God at the burning bush, God told him His Name – I AM.  Right here, right now, you are with I AM.  The question is not: where is God?  The question is: where are you?

See the Unseen Realm

Justin Hibbard

An exodus out of Egypt, a dramatic crossing of the Red Sea, forty years of wandering, leading the people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land – finally Joshua’s wait was over. However, standing between him and a new life in Canaan was the walled city of Jericho.

One afternoon, the Lord paid Joshua a special visit. Dressed in uniform, He introduced Himself as Commander of the Lord’s Army, and He came with special instructions for victory. But before He revealed the strategy to Joshua, the Lord first asks Joshua to see something – “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands.”

Wait a second. Isn’t the Lord counting the chickens before they hatch? Isn’t this a bit of overconfidence? Does the Lord actually want or expect Joshua to see something that hasn’t come to fruition? Is that even something that Joshua can do? And if it is, how does one even do this?

What God is asking Joshua to see is victory. It’s as if he’s saying, “Don’t look at the obstacles – the walled city and the impending battle, look at the victory. It is not a victory that you will achieve by your own means. It is a victory I have already achieved. I’m giving the city to you.” It reminds me of an old hymn – “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.”

In Hebrews 11 we read, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see… and without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Last week we talked about the power of our minds and how we can surrender to God by inviting Him into our senses, thoughts, and imaginations. We saw how powerful it can be to not only pray vocally but to picture ourselves in His presence. Let me suggest to you that when you do that, you are committing an act of faith.

Faith doesn’t merely mean that you have to say, “Ok God, I can’t possibly imagine this, but I’ll do it.” Nor does faith necessarily mean that you say “yes” to God without any planning. In Joshua’s case, God asks Joshua to participate in this vision with Him. “Joshua, see what I’m going to do. See that it’s already done. Now, here’s the plan. Here’s how we’re going to do it. Here’s how the temporal is going to line up with the eternal.” For Joshua, faith meant participating with God in eternity through vision, planning, and obedient execution.

In 2 Kings 6, we read of Elisha and his servant surrounded by the Arameans. When Elisha’s servant became afraid, Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened, and suddenly the servant saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

Hebrews 11:1 said that “faith is confidence.” If faith is confidence, then we are asked to be confident. How can we be confident? Well, we sure can’t be confident if we’re staring at the surrounding armies or the walled city. We can’t be confident when we’re staring at the giant monster of a problem. Peter looked at the wind and waves, and the realization of reality (that human beings are not buoyant) caused him to sink.

So if looking at reality caused Peter to sink, then what caused Peter to successfully take those few steps toward Jesus atop the water? He saw Jesus, and he heard Jesus invite him to get out of the boat and come to him.

Brothers and sisters, you can see now how vital it is to see and hear God. Our reality, what we perceive with our external senses is so incomplete. There is another realm – not just in heaven – but all around us. Faith means seeing and participating in that realm. Brother Lawrence called it “practicing the presence of God.” I call it “letting God show your brain what your eyes can’t see.” In time what happens is that we become like Elisha. Our eyes catch up to our brain. We see with the eyes of our heart. We see the realm of God, and in turn, we run with confidence.

Now you can see why the writer of Hebrews follows up a chapter about faith with these words from Hebrews 12:1-2. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Transformative Prayer

Justin Hibbard

One evening I talked with my daughter Annalia about hearing God’s voice. Just before I put her to bed, I instructed her, “Just listen with your heart Annalia, and you’ll hear Him talk to you.”

A little while later, I heard Annalia crying hysterically in her bed. I ran upstairs to see what was wrong. “I can’t hear God talking to me,” she said amidst the tears.

In my eagerness for her to hear what God was saying, I forgot to teach her how to hear Him. It made me think of my own prayer life and ask, “How did I learn to hear God? When did that begin in my own life? Do only a few people have that gift, and if so, why does the Bible emphasize heading to God’s instruction? If it is for everyone, how do I teach others not only the importance of hearing God but how to hear Him?”

That’s my focus for today in continuation of these reflections on intimacy with God, and I want to begin this discussion by talking about your mind. Our minds are powerful circuit boards. There’s so much that goes on in our brain that affects what we perceive and how we act. In fact, our minds are so powerful that Jesus tells us that we could commit adultery or murder within the confines of our thoughts. So my question is, if our minds are that powerful to make us guilty of heinous crimes (even though we physically didn’t commit them), how powerful must they be to help transform us to be more like Jesus?

Have you ever had a day where you were really wrestling with your mind? Maybe lustful thoughts popped into your head all day, or you struggled with guilt and self-esteem. At the end of the day, how did you feel? If you’re like me, you felt worn out and spiritually maimed. You may have never said a word or committed an action, but your brain took a beating from the forces of darkness.

Is it any wonder why out of all the armor of God, we’re told that our salvation is best represented by a helmet. In Romans 12, we’re instructed to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If we want to act differently, we have to think differently. Last week we saw this with Isaiah when we studied his encounter with the Lord in chapter 6. Once Isaiah saw himself atoned with the blazing coal, he thought differently. He no longer cowered in the shadows of his own fallen state; he raised his hand and said, “Here am I, Lord; send me.”

As I began to learn how integral the mind is to our lives as Believers, it helped me to give some instruction to my daughter. “Annalía,” I said, “I want you to close your eyes and picture and sense Jesus. Do you see Him? What does He look like? Now, what’s He saying to you.”

As I left the room that night, I said, “Whenever you get scared, I want you to close your eyes and see Jesus.” Annalía interjected, “You mean, you want me to imagine Him?”

Ooh… imagination. Is this what I’m talking about? And when I say “imagination” do all sorts of red flags go up in your mind? When people start talking in terms of thinking, sensing, feeling, perceiving, imagining many people sum it up to either psycho-babble or some eastern religion type of therapy.

If that’s the case, then what did David mean when he wrote, “Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night?” What does it mean to meditate? Might it be similar to what Paul instructs in Philippians 4:8, “whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

In 2 Corinthians 10:5, we’re told, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Take every thought captive? What about Satan? When do we take him captive? Perhaps taking control of our mind is one way we take control of Satan and his stronghold. Maybe Paul is giving us a clue that many of the battles of spiritual warfare are fought on the fields of our mind.

In Colossians 3, we read, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” When you incorporate your imagination, your mind, your senses in prayer, you are doing just that. Instead of letting your mind drift to all sorts of dark places, you are controlling your mind and surrendering it to the Lord.

Can you see now how Isaiah 6 can be a reality for your life? You too can see the Lord. You can ask Him to show you His glory. You can close your eyes, even right now, and meditate – imagine, sense, see, perceive, and be washed by visions of glory. This is where prayer becomes transformative.

I Saw the Lord

Justin Hibbard

In Isaiah 6, the prophet writes, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord…”

Let’s stop for a moment and focus on the first words of this chapter where Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord.” Last week I mentioned how we often focus on the past (the problem) or the future (what the solution may look like) in our prayer life, before we let ourselves be consumed by the Person of God. In continuation of our series on Intimacy with the Lord, let’s see what we can expect from our prayer life when we begin by seeing the Lord.

“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple,” Isaiah writes. What Isaiah saw in those moments, for however long, must have been a sensory overload, too powerful and breathtaking for his pen. He quickly begins describing the angels soaring around the Throne, covering their faces, talking to each other. What are they saying? They’re saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The picture I get in my mind is like two buddies watching a sports game. They see an amazing play, and even though they both were there, they can’t stop talking about it. In a much more profound way, the magnificent holiness of God is so compelling that these angels can’t stop talking about It, even when they’re experiencing it.

Isaiah continues with the marvelous descriptions until he suddenly stops. “Woe is me!” he says, “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

Have you ever been to a social gathering, where you felt like you were too insignificant and didn’t belong? I imagine that if I was ever invited to a White House social event, I wouldn’t stop thinking, “How is it that I get to be here with all of these important people?” And at the same time, I’d be paralyzed with the fear that I might accidentally open the wrong door and be tackled by a dozen Secret Service Agents.

Isaiah demonstrates an important truth. When we see God, we realize our depravity in the midst of such holiness. I remember one afternoon after a prayer time, my friend asked me, “What did God reveal to you?” My answer was, “I realize how messed up I am.” Many people can relate. Maybe you walk away from church like you just took a stroll down Guilt-Trip Lane. You’re bogged down with feeling so inadequate and unable to change. If that’s how you feel, then the really Good News is what happens next.

If we miss the next part of Isaiah’s vision, then we’ve missed the entire Gospel. While Isaiah entertains thoughts about how he doesn’t belong in the presence of God, one of the seraphim, with a hot coal from the altar in hand, flies over to him. With the coal, he touches Isaiah’s mouth and says, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

This is a breathtaking moment of identity. In the story of the prodigal son, the father restores his son with a robe, a ring, and a party. Here, God does it with a burning coal. The realization of our sin leads us to guilt and depression. But God’s desire is not for us to find our identity in our fallenness; He longs for us to find our identity in the atonement that He provides. Our sin enslaves us to a lifelessness, but God gives us the gift of true living – the atoned, redeemed, and resurrected life (Romans 6:23).

Isaiah’s soul is awakened. In fact, God asks, “Whom shall I send?” and guess who responds. Yes, it’s Isaiah – the very man who felt so unclean and unworthy just moments before. Once he sees who God says he is, he anxiously raises his hand and volunteers, “Here am I Lord, send me!” Isaiah is no longer a man cowering in the shadow of his depravity. No, he has seen something. He has seen the forgiveness of the Lord. His soul has been stirred. Now we know why Paul, a man who committed horrific persecution, could see the Lord, be transformed, and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

How did this transformation begin? It began with seeing the Lord.

We will continue learning not only what it means to enter the presence of God in our prayer life but also how to do it. In the meantime, let me encourage you to do this. As you pray today, close your eyes, and begin by verbalizing the angelic words found in Isaiah 6 – “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory.” As you keep repeating those words, try to picture or sense yourself in Isaiah’s shoes, standing and worshipping before the magnificent Throne of God. You may have burning issues you long to bring to the Lord. First exalt Him, worship Him. Let this heavenly vision speak to your heart. In the process, you might find the answers you’re looking for, but chances are, you’re going to find so much more.

Praying with Expectations

Justin Hibbard

When I went to Colorado this past spring, I went with a lot of questions. “God, what do you want me to do? Am I supposed to quit my day job to focus on ministry at New Hope Chapel? And if I do, how can I make sure I have the money to support my family? Am I supposed to start my own business and do that along with ministry? What do you have for our church down the road?” I went to Colorado, hoping that God would answer those questions.

As I shared with you before, what I got was a very different answer. “Love me, Justin. Just love me.” The Lord didn’t answer the questions like I thought He would, but He did answer some deep needs burning in my soul.

How the Lord answered me and what He has been teaching me since has given me a lot of insight about praying with expectations. And that, friends, is where I want to begin in this series on intimacy with God.

What do you expect when you pray or when you worship? What do you think will happen? Do you have a picture in your mind about what’s going to happen when you turn your countenance towards God’s?

Maybe you feel like your prayers are sort of a shot-in-the-dark. Maybe it’s more like a Hail Mary (no pun intended). Maybe deep within your mind, if you were honest with yourself, you come to prayer like the skeptic – “I don’t think this will work, but it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

My advice to you is to expect nothing and to expect everything.

That might sound like a contradiction, so let me explain what I mean. First, when I say expect everything, I mean to say – expect that you are about to interact with the Almighty God, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. You are about to address a God who spoke and worlds were formed. He has no limit of wealth, of intellect, of power, of time, of space, and most importantly of love.

Do you believe that? Is your prayer life a testimony of that? We say things like God speaks to people, but then sometimes we qualify that with, “well, at least He used to.” Christian, the Bible is not merely a history book; it is a testimony to the Person of God. He has not changed. It’s not like 2000 years after amazing stories of healing and freedom, we are addressing a God, who is rather tired, worn out, and who has used all of His miracle magic.

James tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:3). In Matthew 13 and Mark 6, we read of Jesus not doing many miracles in His hometown because of their unbelief. The people didn’t realize who Jesus was. They thought they knew him – the little kid they watched grow up. Their unbelief centered around their limited understanding of the Person and Power of Jesus the Divine. Are we guilty of the same?

This is why I also say come to God with no expectations. By that, I mean limitations. Like Jesus’ hometown, we can easily put a box around what we think God will do. This has convicted me. I pray sometimes struggling to expect God to intervene. Sometimes, I try to picture what His intervening will look like. Either way, I’m focusing on the seemingly insurmountable problem or the image I’ve conjured up as to what God will do. Instead I ought to be focused on One thing… coming before the all-powerful Creator and King of the Universe. I’m trying to imagine God doing something before I’ve even begun to see Who He is.

As we begin this series on intimacy with God, we will begin with inviting God into our senses… or perhaps I should say inviting our senses into the presence of God. But before we get to that, let me leave you with this. Today, spend some time with the Lord. Turn the cell phones, the iPads, and the TV off. Get alone with God, and as you begin to pray, see yourself, get in the mindset, visualize, or sense yourself walking into the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Focus and concentrate on you coming into and being in the very presence of God. I guarantee that beginning with this step will transform your prayer life.

Why They Walk Away

Justin Hibbard2 Comments

The other day, a coworker shared with me how her daughter has walked away from the faith. This woman is not alone. Many people walk away from the faith, and it seems to happen especially during college years. Certainly the college experience – peer pressure, social liberalism, and the classroom evangelist – contributes to the epidemic of children leaving Christianity. But the problem is much deeper than college.

We the church are great at teaching people how to act like Christians, but so often we don’t show people how to have a relationship with God. We emphasize things like church attendance, ministry, service (which are all good), but we don’t always model intimacy with Jesus Himself.

Perhaps we struggle with modeling it because we ourselves don’t know how to do it. Or we think that a spiritual relationship comes naturally. We talk about the importance of prayer, but has anyone showed you how to pray and meditate? We say things like, “Listen to what God is telling you,” but when’s the last time you heard teaching or attended a workshop on “how to hear and discern the voice of God.”

It’s much easier to teach people how to act like a Believer than how to be intimate with Jesus. But we must remember that acting like a Believer is not the same as being a Believer. This is one main reason why people walk away from the faith.

When the stage disappears, and suddenly an individual finds themselves without those externals that defined their Christian experience – their church, friends, youth group, adult leaders, they don’t know how to act. The Christianity that they’ve practiced is public, but there is no private intimacy with Jesus Himself. Young people aren’t the only ones at risk. Adults, especially pastors, have walked away for the same reason.

This is nothing new. This was an epidemic that plagued God’s people throughout their history. The Lord said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). Then some 700 years later, Jesus echoed the same words when referring to the Jewish leaders (Matthew 15:8).

Christian, there is something you need, like you need water. There is something you crave deep within your soul. It is intimacy with the Lord Jesus. And until we taste it, we never know quite what it is. But when we taste it, we know it is everything we’ve ever wanted, and nothing can be its substitute ever again. It is as the poet writes in Psalm 42, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

Jesus is the constant. Our life experiences may change. We may end up at different places with different churches and different peers. But the Holy Spirit never leaves us. He is the one constant, and if we have a relationship with Him, then our faith will not falter when the seasons of life change. A prayer relationship with Him must be what defines your Christian life, or I dare say that your Christianity is not really alive.

This is the message that the Lord has been laying heavily on my heart. There’s a need in the church today. The need isn’t how to behave better or how to be more involved in the church. The need is to teach the church how to have intimacy with Jesus. Over the next few months, these Reflections will focus on just that. I’ll be giving biblical and practical instruction on prayer and intimacy with Jesus, and I pray that this will be helpful in your own life.

But today let me leave you with this thought: your prayer life is your lifeblood. It is your umbilical cord. Jesus demonstrates how essential prayer was to His existence. How often we read of Him leaving the crowds to get alone with His Father. If Jesus – God Himself – could not neglect communion with the Father, then certainly, neither can we.

The Parable of the Mars Rover

Justin Hibbard

A couple of weeks ago, much of the world tuned to the heavens to watch the highly anticipated landing of “Curiosity” – NASA’s newest Mars Rover. The descent onto the Red Planet marked the culmination of years of research and a 354 million mile journey.

You can understand the elation that erupted from the mission control room. Curiosity’s landing was one of the most technically complex. If anything went wrong, it could have turned a $2 billion robot into scrap metal.

And despite the research, the construction, the long journey from Earth to Mars, and the complex touchdown, the Mars mission has just begun.

On Sunday, I had the amazing privilege of baptizing three people. Our church celebrated, as these three publicly announced, through baptism, that they are a committed Disciple of Jesus. Sunday was a very special day for me personally. I, along with many, have prayed for each three of these individuals for many years (one of them being my daughter). Participating with them as they made this public profession was an absolute honor.

When someone makes this type of commitment to follow Jesus, we as fellow Believers might give a huge sigh of relief – “Phewww, at least they’re saved now.” But like the Mars Rover, the mission has just begun.

Jesus tells us in the Great Commission, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Two things stand out to me about this passage.

First, Many people think about the Great Commission in terms of foreign mission and getting people saved. However, the emphasis in the Greek verb tense is not on the word “go,” and there’s nothing in here about “getting people saved.” The emphasis both from a contextual and grammatical standpoint is on the words “make disciples.” The tremendous opportunity which Jesus entrusts to us is to turn believers into disciples.

Secondly, He tells us to baptize them in the name of the Triune God. The word baptism means immersion. I think what Jesus is insinuating goes much further than baptism into water. He’s inviting us to immerse people into life with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

How do we do this? First, as parents and as fellow members of the Body of Christ, we need to see this person in their new identity. If they are Believer, then they are a child of God, just like us.

Secondly, we can treat them as such. To us they may be just a little child – the kid we watched grow up or our own son or daughter. However, now the Holy Spirit indwells within them. We should expect God to do big things through them, just as we expect Him to do within us.

Thirdly, we need to remind them often of their new identity. Now that they are a Believer, they have an enemy, and that enemy is going to try to take them out. Often Satan’s attacks come through accusations where he whispers, “See, you’re just the same old guy, trapped doing the same old stuff. You’re not really a Believer. Believers don’t act like that. You’re such a failure.” We can help people overcome this by reminding them of who they are in Christ. Have you ever thought of waking up in the morning and saying to your spouse or child, “Good morning child of God?” When we encourage and help people find their identity in God, we are bringing them to Jesus – immersing them in a life full of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Congratulations Brian, Peyton, and Annalía. I rejoiced seeing your landing. Now I’m so looking forward to the great mission and the journey ahead.