Join us as Pastor Jack Hibbs explores the dynamics of authority, the structure of family, and their divine implications. From dissecting the powerful parable of humility and forgiveness to understanding the modern-day rejection of authority, listeners are challenged to reflect on their own experiences and relationships, learning how the essence of God’s parental nature can transform our understanding of love and discipline.
Isn’t it interesting how much of your relationship with God you either have to enhance or back away from because you bring your relationship with your parents into your relationship with God and it can cloud up the waters.
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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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Hey everybody, we want to introduce you to what we’re calling our Summer Bundle. It’s two great books, and you’re going to want to get them for the little ones in your life. The first book is called Prayers and Promises for Kids. It’s a great resource to not only teach your children about the promises of God, but How do we take those promises and pray them into our lives? You’re going to find this a great resource to develop a prayer life with your child. And then the book, The Redcoats Are Coming, written by our own Nancy Sanders, who attends our church. It is a great, great book. It is featured by Adventures in Odyssey and the wonderful people at Focus on the Family. Prayers and Promises for Kids and The Redcoats Are Coming. They’re two children’s books that are very powerful. Get a copy of both these books as we bundle them for the month of July.
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That’s The Redcoats Are Coming and Prayers and Promises for Kids. A couple of great books available as a bundle for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. On today’s edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack now continues his series called The Parables of Jesus and a message called Parable of the Prodigal Part 2. You know, whenever Jesus spoke to the crowds, he often spoke using relatable stories with common everyday themes that the Bible calls parables. And in this parable, Jesus is teaching about humility and forgiveness. You see, with repentance comes forgiveness and restoration. And in this parable, Jesus, he’s not soft on sin, but quite the contrary. Wrong decisions can cause a whole lot of sinful action and a whole lot of grief to fathers here on earth, as well as our Father God. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that when the prodigal decides to reject authority, many things can happen. The household becomes unstable. The family unit can implode. You know, the prodigal may have to bear hardship and suffering, but hope is on the other side. Now, with his message called Parable of the Prodigal, Part 2, here’s pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
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The human spirit, unrestrained, does not want to be told what to do. Isn’t it interesting that communism demands that they have control of your children, preferably by the age of five? Did you know that? If you don’t know that, you better read about communism. I encourage you to read Marx’s writings and Engels’ writings on the Communist Manifesto. I encourage all of you to read it. Wanna know why? Because you’re living it. It’s shocking. And the whole push was to get people to adopt a system where the government would be your absolute authority rather than God and to have the people get to that place without parents, he says, ever knowing about it. It’s all written down there. Authority. And the human nature, when it rejects authority, it’s funny. The human nature rejects authority and then it turns right around and seeks authority. It throws off authority. The restraints of godliness or God himself or faith or whatever it might be, and then acquiesces or gravitates right toward a tyranny. You see this going on in countries in the Middle East all the time. And you see this in the life of people. I will not have my parents to rule over me. And then what do they do? They go right under the authority of a drug or someone. a group, maybe a gang, whatever the case may be, authority. We need to be very careful as a people. You know, you think about it, if marriage, listen, I read this, it’s very cool. If marriage is the most God-like union and it is vital to the culture between a man and a woman, then parenting is the most God-like ministry that a parent can ever experience. What is the father feeling when his son says, I wish you dead, so give me what’s coming to me. And that father gives it to him. Listen, in the parable, what is Jesus saying? Well, ultimately, I don’t want to let the cat totally out of the bag, but you probably figured out by now that Jesus in the parable is announcing to us, this is the heart of the father. This is the heart of God. I want to do what I want to do. And God will let you do what you want to do. But how much pain do we inflict upon God? And that’s lived out a million times a day in the lives of parents and their children when the kid says, hey, I’m outta here, you don’t tell me what to do. And the brokenheartedness of it. And moms and dads break down and they’re crying and they’re beside themselves because all of a sudden, little Junior, who they poured their life into, turns around and bites the hand that fed them. And it breaks your heart. And the only consolation, if there’s any at all, is someday Junior will have a son who will do it to him. And that’s a very carnal thing to say, but it’s no consolation. It’s the ultimate pain. It’s the ultimate pain. Kenneth Bailey, a Middle Eastern scholar, says that he tells of this story when he was teaching at a Christian seminary in the 70s in Tehran, Iran. And a student of his called him in the middle of the night and said, you need to get over to my house quick. My brother is trying to kill my father. This was a Muslim who had converted to Christianity. And because of that, the son, or the brother, was asking the father for his inheritance in advance just like the parable. Bailey points out that three months after the rebellious son had asked the father for his inheritance, three months after that request, the father dropped dead of a heart attack. And the mother told Kenneth Bailey, my husband died the day, the night that my son asked for his inheritance. That’s what killed him. It’s such a radical thing. I wish you did. I wish you out of here. I wish you out of my life. A prodigal rejects authority. There’s something in someone’s heart. Maybe still, I’m not gonna do that. I won’t do that. They just can’t allow themselves to be brought under authority. Listen, they can’t hold down a job because the boss tells them what to do. They go from job to job to job because they think they can do it better. The only problem is they don’t own the company. They only work for it. There’s a rebellious streak. And there’s a prodigal attitude about them. And then they may get all excited in the service. They might hear great worship. The message might convict them. And they say, I want Jesus into my life. And then the next moment Jesus tells them what to do, they throw Jesus off. The prodigal. People have asked the question, is a prodigal somebody that is lost? Could be. Could be. Or is a prodigal somebody who’s saved and goes back into the world and loses their salvation? I don’t think your salvation can be lost if you have it, personally. Well then, what’s going on? And rather than answer that, which nobody can rightly answer, how about this? Why don’t you let the Holy Spirit speak to you through this parable? Ask God to speak to you where you’re at. But what causes a child to depart from what they have grown up in? What causes a child to leave home? There’s that sense of I can do it better. I can do my life better. I gotta do my own thing. I will not listen to you, Mom. I will not listen to you, Dad, anymore. And they break out of what they view as a prison. I can’t do anything around here. We’ve all heard that. Listen, have we not all said that? I mean, I’m thinking back in my mind. The only thing is in my life growing up, you kept things pretty quiet in my house, private. I grew up with a Marine, and I told my dad one time what I thought about something. I mean it, one time. I remember where I was standing. I remember where I was standing. I remember what time of the night it was. I remember what I was wearing. I was a junior in high school, and I remember waking up off the kitchen floor because I accused my dad of not caring about something. I said, the only reason why you said that is you don’t care. Next thing I knew, I was waking up and I never crossed him again. What causes a child to depart? Well, I think there’s a self-realization of self. I’m me. Look at me. I can actually drive a car now. I’ve got 10 bucks in my pocket. Whoa. And not to mention, all the chemicals are raging. And you feel great. You wake up, you feel great. You go to sleep, you feel great. You fall off the roof, you feel great. Right? You fall off your motorcycle, you feel great. You just feel great. And you feel invincible. A self-realization of self. And self is sin. I can do this without God. I can do this without mom. I can do this without dad. I don’t need anybody, says the person of self-realization. It’s all about me. It’s me, myself, and I. We’re legends. It’s fantastic. And the Bible says in Proverbs 22, 15, foolishness, that’s self, is bound up in the heart of a child. And the rod of correction will drive it far from him. Isn’t that powerful? I know it’s illegal to talk about that in the state of California these days, but it doesn’t mean beat your kid. Self-realization can be very destructive. What about this question? What fear grips the home when such things happen? When a prodigal rejects authority, listen, the home becomes unstable. It’s a painful thing. This father in the parable, I wonder how he slept at night. Don’t raise your hand, but have you ever had a wayward child? How do you sleep at night? Is your child wayward tonight? Isn’t it amazing, it doesn’t matter how old they are? I understand that if your child is 45 years old, there is a sense of, well, let the bum. But you say that out of a broken heart. What? I encourage all of us to start kinda meditating a little bit throughout this series on the whole incredible divine dynamic of God’s creation of family. Family, see family’s tough, of course it’s tough. It’s the closest, listen, it’s the closest thing you’ll ever experience regarding heaven on earth is a family. It’s ministry, it’s life, it’s difficult, it’s productive, it’s powerful, It’s continuing. And you look at a life of a little child, and listen, God is teaching children all about himself through mom and dad. Did you know that? I don’t want to get too far off. This is not in my notes. I don’t want to derail myself or you, but when you study the scripture and you look at from Old to New Testament alike, the Bible speaks, God speaks of himself in certain context with female attributes. Did you know that? Did you know that? In the book of Revelation, who’s Jesus, his face is as bright as the sun, his beard is as white as snow, his eyes are a flame of fire. It’s the most ultimate, masculine manifestation. He’s got a sword in his hand, and when he speaks, it’s like a sword comes out of his mouth. He’s riding a white horse, it’s Jesus Christ. And the Bible says, across his breast is a golden band. You say, you mean chest? That’s the funny thing. It’s, in the Greek, a female word for breast. Why is that? Because in all of his righteousness, he’s the comforter. In all of his glory, he saves. In all of his judgment, he’s merciful. It’s amazing.
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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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God speaks of himself in the Old Testament, obviously with masculine characteristics and female. Whenever there’s comfort needed, he’ll speak to us with female characteristics to bring us comfort. And you think of the family, there’s a mom and a dad. And the dad is supposed to say things like, did you do that? And the little guy runs to mom and she says, what’d you do, sweetheart? What is it? It’s perfect. It’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. Out of the effort of two who are one flesh, the Bible says, they raise up a child. And I know, can I say this? Can I take the liberty to say this? If not for many of us, all of us. All of us could say, I would have liked to have had a better parental upbringing. No kidding. I came from a dysfunctional home. Get in line. But isn’t it interesting how much of your relationship with God you either have to enhance or back away from because you bring your relationship with your parents into your relationship with God and it can cloud up the waters and you got to deal with that. We all have to deal with that. It doesn’t make the family wrong. Our generation rejects marriage, rejects family as though it can get along without it. And it cites the example as being the reason. And listen, the example does not divorce us from the model. God invented it, man destroys it. Remember that. Don’t say a word right now. But what’s your opinion of marriage? If it’s negative, it’s because you’ve got your eyes on destructive marriages or you’re in one that it’s ungodly. You might say, well, my experience with marriage is awesome. It’s been fantastic. I talked to a pastor in Orange County, and we were talking about the book Lisa and I wrote. And he said, man, I’m just loving this. And he said, it’s amazing. I kind of leaned a little bit more toward Lisa’s side, he said, because I grew up in an amazing Christian home. And I said, well, you know, obviously you read the book. I did not on my side. She did. And he said, in fact, listen. And he talked, he goes, my mom and dad, I saw them praying on their knees every day of my life. My grandma and grandpa, I saw them praying all the time. My great grandpa, I got to see him a few times. All the Christians, amazing people of God. I said, dude, you’re amazing. Let me touch you. I mean, that’s awesome. Did you know that if it was left up to God, that would be the norm? So you young people tonight, don’t divorce yourself from marriage or the concept of it because all you look around to see is failure. You keep your eyes on God and God will transform or give you a great marriage. He made it. He doesn’t make junk. We goof things up. The prodigal rejects authority. Without God as our authority, we will seek some form of authority. Isn’t it weird? Genesis chapter three, verse one. Genesis three, one says, now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. So that’s why Satan possesses it. Isn’t it freaky weird? Satan gets inside of it. And he said to the woman, listen to this. Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Sowing seeds of doubt, ladies and gentlemen, mark that. And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die. False doctrine. Number one, so doubt. Number two, false doctrine. Verse five, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, undermining authority. Knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw, see she looks at it differently now, right? So when the woman saw, she takes another look at the tree, that it was good for food, that’s the flesh. Now she’s thinking, mmm, flesh. That it was pleasant to the eyes, mmm, lust. And a tree desirable to make one wise, ooh, pride. She took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate also. Rejecting authority. Listen, you cannot reject authority without getting in trouble. It’s a law of God. You go out here and run around on the freeway, you’re rejecting authority, you’re gonna get hurt. You go driving down the street 100 miles an hour, you’re rejecting authority, you’re gonna get hurt. God says this is the way that it is and we’ll either acquiesce or submit to his authority or to our own. It’s amazing. The prodigal son says, had a problem with authority. Secondly, look at verses 13 and 14. The prodigal son makes the wrong decisions. This is the next manifestation. Once you begin to reject authority, you start making ridiculous decisions. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with extravagant money. Lavish, prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in the land. Listen, famines come and go. They come from droughts. We’re in one right now, right here. He should have been ready, but he wasn’t. There arose a severe famine in the land, and he began to be in want. So we ask this question, what is the child thinking about when he departs? Watch this. Watch this. I can do it my way, I’m out of here, I’m rejecting your authority, and I’m in the midst of making really stupid decisions. And they launch out, and they’re going to go cut a path for themselves, and they have no ability, they have no craft, they have no skills, they don’t know anybody, and they wind up sleeping at their friend’s house for a month. Right? Right? And then they can’t, they get sick of him or her, and they wind up putting her out on the street, and then she’s wandering or he’s wandering around, and this stuff begins to unfold. And listen, this is a tough thing. Are you guys sitting down? Are you listening? This is tough. Imagine now, we’re talking about a 22, 25-year-old person, 18-year-old person. and you don’t tell me what to do, and your friend’s parents, you don’t tell me what to do, and then they’re fighting with their friends, and everything begins to fall apart. Does this sound familiar? Everything begins to deteriorate around them. And the first action for the parent is one most often they need to resist. There’ll be a message on the phone. Mom, this is goober. And I could sure use a couple of bucks. And you’re gonna miss your dad. And then stop right there. Our emotions as a parent will go insane. You call the National Guard. You got the Marine Corps, the Air Force. Everyone’s hunting. You call the police. You gotta find my boy. And you start driving around town all night long. You know what I’m saying? And you’re looking and you’re looking and you’re looking and you’re looking and you’re looking. Listen, that’s a mistake. You need to stay home and you need to pray. And you don’t give them a dime. Did you hear what I said? You cannot give them a penny. That’s one of the most heartless things I’ve ever heard. Not at all. To give them a penny would be the most heartless thing I’ve ever heard. Because you are perpetuating, A, you are perpetuating them in their sin. B, you are pushing them further away from God and from authority. C, they will never come to themselves or their senses if you let this continue. If you enable that, you will be an accomplice to their ultimate demise. Listen, parents, God didn’t call us to be our kids’ friends. Listen, you can have sex with somebody and create a baby. That’s all you’ve done. That doesn’t make you a parent. A parent studies and figures out who this kid is and what do I need to do to reach this kid. And by the way, how many kids do you have? It doesn’t matter if you have one or if you have 100 of them. It’s this. Every one of them are different. Have you noticed that? Every one of them are absolutely different. See, but they came from the same place. It doesn’t matter. Isn’t that weird? You need to know your child specifically and deal with them and work with them and learn them. That’s parenting. It’s not creating a child. It’s what you do after you have one.
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pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Parable of the Prodigal Part Two. You know, this message, by the way, is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Parables of Jesus. It’s a series highlighting the teachings of Jesus while he was ministering right here on this earth. And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
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Everyone, it’s almost impossible to keep up with what’s going on in the world today. I think we’ve all come to that realization. My goodness, just the news regarding Israel and Israel’s neighborhood. We’re looking at what’s going on in North Korea. We’re seeing what’s happening in China and other parts of the world. It’s just overwhelming. But I want to encourage all of you. Be in the Word of God now and more systematically than ever before. In fact, as we are in this season of maybe the first quarter or second quarter of the year, I want to encourage you to join me actually at 5 a.m. Pacific Time, 5 a.m. Pacific Time, And whatever time zone you’re in, you can join me at my Facebook page live for five minutes as we are praying together with people all around the world. And you can leave your prayer request right there. You can leave it in the comment section and people will be praying for you. So listen, with all that’s taking place in the world, you don’t have to walk through this alone. There’ll be others with you to pray with you and love on you. But friends, more than ever, If you draw near to Jesus and practice the presence of God more and more, it means you’re going to have to turn some things off and minimize the distractions. You will see some pretty miraculous things start to happen in your life. So I encourage you to do that very thing. So listen, 5 a.m., you can do it. West Coast time, 5 a.m. For those of you who are in Cape Town, South Africa, it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. And listen, we’d love to have you. And even if you can’t be with us live, you can always view it, pray with us, and leave your prayer request there at the comment section.
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The Lift Daily Prayer. That’s every day on Pastor Jack’s Facebook page. That’s at 5 a.m. Pacific time, so don’t miss it. Make it a habit if you would. Come get prayed for and join Pastor Jack in the Word. That’s the Lift Daily Prayer every day this year on Pastor Jack’s Facebook page. Be sure to join us. You’ll enjoy it. 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.
