In this enlightening episode, Pastor Jack Hibbs examines the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, as illustrated in the Parable of the Householder and His Heir. Addressing the condition of the religious leaders and the call to authenticity, the message emphasizes God’s unending patience and persistence in reaching out to believers and skeptics alike. Tune in to understand the unmistakable invitation to deepen your faith and align closer with God’s word.
You and I should be striving to be as close and as personal with Jesus as ever. Tomorrow should be our closest day with God ever. And then the day after that should be even closer still.
SPEAKER 01 :
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. You ever find yourself longing for a deeper spiritual walk? For many believers, the Holy Spirit is just a mysterious idea we hear about on Sundays but rarely live out on Mondays. What if his presence could transform your daily life, fueling you with hope and power and unstoppable joy? What if his guidance could help you navigate through decisions, strengthen relationships, and bring genuine peace to your soul? This month, Pastor Jack Hibbs is featuring Living Water by Chuck Smith. It’s a down-to-earth look at the Holy Spirit who can revolutionize the way you connect with God. Inside, you’ll uncover practical biblical insights to help you walk and step with the Spirit right where you are. No hype, no cliches, just real answers for everyday challenges.
SPEAKER 02 :
This book changed my life. Authored by my pastor, Chuck Smith, the book Living Water, incredible.
SPEAKER 01 :
Living Water is available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That’s jackhibbs.com slash real radio. on today’s edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues his series now called The Parables of Jesus with a message titled Parable of the Householder and His Heir, Part 3. Whenever Jesus spoke to the crowds, he often spoke about relatable stories using common everyday themes that the Bible calls parables. But in this parable, Jesus goes even further, exposing the dangerous ministry of the so-called professional religious leaders of Israel. You see, these scribes and Pharisees have hidden the word of God from the people of God. Instead of bringing them into a deeper relationship with God, they deceived their hearts and minds in the name of religion. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that this parable with God as the householder and Jesus as his heir, the people heard Jesus speak with gladness, but the corrupt leaders sought to murder him. Now, with his message called Parable of the Householder and His Heir, Part 3, here’s pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus said to them, hear another parable. This is a significant parable. Hear another parable. There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vine dressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage time had drawn near, harvest time, he sent his servants to the vinedressers that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first, and they did likewise to them. And then last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, they will respect my son. But when the vinedressers saw the son, they… said among themselves, this is the heir. Of course, they’re speaking about Jesus and Jesus is referring to himself in this parable. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. And so they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, Jesus is now talking, which the scribes understood what he was speaking about when the Lord comes back. The last day, what will he do to those vinedressers? And they, that is the chief priests and the Pharisees said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits and their seasons. Verse 42, and Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the Old Testament, the Bible? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord’s doing. It was marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, verse 33, Jesus says, I say to you, and you can almost feel him and see him pointing at the chief priest and the Pharisees, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone… That’s a good thing. Now, when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes because they took him, that is Jesus, for a prophet. It’s awesome. We’ve studied through this, and we’ve come now to the last few installments of this amazing parable. Jesus rips the mask off of hypocrisy. And if we would have been there, I would hope that we would have been kind of off to the side as a cheerleading group going, yeah! Why do I say that? Because I would assume tonight that none of us appreciate hypocrisy. We understand that we all struggle with hypocrisy. You guys know this by now, that to be a hypocrite is to not do what you know is the right thing to do. So that makes all of us hypocrites. But there are some people who sign up to be hypocrites, and then there’s us who don’t want to be hypocrites. But because of sin or our sin nature that we’re fighting against, at least now that we’re born again, we fight this hypocrisy. discrepancy in our spiritual development, and we hate it. But these guys are professional religionists. They were to lead the nation of Israel closer to God. Imagine, their task was to bring people to a deeper knowledge of God. There’s no greater calling in the world. I don’t argue with God on this anymore. I say anymore, I used to, I gave up. But I was very content to be doing the job I was doing before God called me to do this. If you’re here and you don’t know, I had a fine career. And I even had my whole plan. I don’t do many things well, but one of the things I do well is I had a plan. I know how to make money. It’s just a gift. I can do that. And I had a job, and I started out in it very young, and it was going along fine, and I knew that as I stayed at this corporation, a very large global corporation, I knew that at 52 years of age, I would be retiring and be completely fine. And I was on track for that. And what happens? We move from Costa Mesa out here to Chino Hills, and we’re commuting back and forth to church to Costa Mesa. And then you have children, right? You have kids, and you’re commuting with kids. You wake them up on Sunday morning. You get them dressed. You drive 30 miles to church, and they fall asleep on Sunday morning. And then, again, right in the car. They’re all dressed up. They look beautiful. But when you wake them up a second time after that drive and try to get them to Sunday school, it’s like waking Satan up. And it doesn’t work. We tried really hard, Lisa and I did. And as time went on, Pastor Chuck Smith had encouraged us, you need to start a home Bible study. And we put that off for a couple years. And then finally we wound up doing that. And we did that out of sheer desperation to meet other Christians in our community. And God began to bless and it blew our minds. And even still, I tried at the time as it was growing, I tried to get Pastor Chuck to give this fledgling new church to somebody at Costa Mesa. I had my plan. And God completely overruled my plan. And he forced me out of that job. They laid off a thousand employees and I couldn’t wait because I thought that’s gonna be my answer. God is gonna get me laid off. I’m gonna get a severance package and I’m gonna be able to go do the church and it’ll be an easy thing and it’s gonna be great. Guess what? They laid off a thousand people And at the end of the day or the month of laying people off, on that last Friday of the month, my manager walked by and he said, how you doing? I said, well, I’m still waiting. He goes, haven’t you heard? Layoffs are over. It’s done. And I said, what are you talking about? I guess it’s God’s will I stay here then at the company. You know what? God does this stuff in our lives. He causes us to take steps of faith. Sometimes he doesn’t make things easy. I could have gotten laid off and had money in the pocket and go to the church without drawing an income. It would have been fantastic. God didn’t do it that way. I had to go back right after the layoffs. Three days later, I go back on a Tuesday and I tell him, I’m resigning. You what? No, you don’t understand. We just laid everybody off. I said, I got to go. God made it so clear to my heart. I had to do this by faith. Step out. And I got to tell you, all along the way, I thought, you know what? I could have just done that job and I would have been judged in eternity before God on that job. Being a dad, being a husband, bad job. And now it’s this. Called to tell people about God. To teach the body of Christ through the word of God. Discipling them in the word, the Bible. That’s what we’re doing right now. I wouldn’t have picked me for this. But God did. God has picked you to reach the kingdom through you. To reach the world through you. And listen, just stop arguing with him. You’re gonna lose. Yield to him. Take it from somebody who got a bloody nose running up against God. Just give up. If God’s calling you, respond to him in obedience. But be very, very holy, reverently fearful about giving out the word of God, the Bible. Because, listen, God takes this very seriously. The scribes and the Pharisees, the chief priests, they began to do things based upon their own interests. And so listen, church, as we looked at this before, this is what we covered, and then we’ll end it tonight. We saw number one, point number one regarding this parable, that it’s all about the lordship of God and that it was a qualitative thing. And verse 33, look at verse 33. Jesus said, hear, that is, listen to another, that is, you’ve heard many, but you’re not responding. This is another, meaning this is the big hitter, parable. He’s casting truth alongside their head. And he says that there was a certain landowner, he’s speaking about God and they knew it. And that culture, they understood that fine. Who planted a vineyard. Now they know he’s talking about Israel. And set a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower and leased it to vinedressers. These scribes and Pharisees, they knew the Bible and they knew Jesus was speaking about them. And it’s very, very amazing because qualitatively, Jesus is announcing that God the Father has done everything to see to it that his people has gotten or would get his word. He built a tower. He dug a press for it. He provided fencing and everything that the nation, the Jewish people might have the word of God. And it was the religious professionals that kept people from hearing the word of God. They, so to speak, went to church and left, or they went to synagogue and left, and they were never more any closer to God. They were never more stimulated to draw near to God. It was just mundane. That could sound a little familiar. It all depends on who’s handling the word of God and how you gather around. Is it real? Is it life? And look, in light of America, in light of the world, in light of the atmosphere of culture today, I think things are gonna get real clear real soon. Christianity is under attack, big time. And if you don’t see that, if you haven’t read articles on that, if you haven’t heard about that, then I don’t know where you’ve been. But listen, it’s okay. It’s only gonna increase. It’s not gonna go away, ladies and gentlemen. Have you ever squeezed toothpaste out of the tube and then have your mom tell you to put it back in? It ain’t going back in. And it’s out. Persecution is rising. That’s okay. Because the church is going to get really healthy. It might get, I don’t mean this church, I mean this church and every church, the church in the world, the church in America might get real small compared to its size now, but get real healthy and powerful. And I don’t know about you, but that’s exciting.
SPEAKER 01 :
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.
SPEAKER 02 :
The church in America might get real small compared to its size now, but get real healthy and powerful. And I don’t know about you, but that’s exciting. Because people who are playing on the fringes and just wanting to be religious, they’re going to go where it’s easy. They’re not going to hang out at church where people are being mocked and ridiculed and attacked and shot at and beat up. Jesus is saying that my Father has provided everything. The second thing we saw last time is that the Lordship of God is faithful. In verse 36, Jesus said, again… That’s a merciful statement. Again, he sent other servants. More than the first, and they did likewise to them. God sends warnings and warnings. He sent to Israel prophets. He sent to Israel judges. He sent to Israel kings. He sent to Israel his word. Imagine, think of it. The Jews, according to the Bible, have been given the custody of the Bible to give to the world. Isn’t that incredible? Isn’t that amazing? Paul the apostle said, seeing how you now estimate yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we go to the Gentile world. Isn’t that amazing? That’s how you and I got saved, by the way. The gospel going to us non-Jews. Listen, if you’re a Jew, either listening tonight, watching, you’re here tonight, and you’re born again, man, we want to meet you. That’s amazing. Because the early church was 99% Jew and very few Gentile. Think of it. And over the years, that’s shifted. But here’s a cool thing. My goodness, in the last 25 years, many more Jews now are coming to faith in Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus as Messiah, Savior. God’s starting to lift the veil. But God is faithful, and the gospel goes out. And Jesus said, again, he sent other servants. And the third thing is this tonight. We pick it up right here at church, mark it down. The lordship of God is persistent. God is persistent. Aren’t you glad about that? God is persistent. Man, if you’re backslidden tonight, if you’re not walking with God tonight, if you’re kind of sloughing it off in your Christian commitment, God is so persistent that he warns us as believers. He’s saying to us, come on, come meet me again. Renew it again. Return to your first love again. You ever heard God tell you that? Why is it quiet in here? You should have said yes. Okay, let’s rewind that. I’m going to say it and you go ahead and respond. Have you ever heard God say that? Yes. Of course you have. Because listen, when we think about God saying to us, well, come back to your first love, we think of some person who’s like the prodigal son, who’s miles from God. No, no, no, no, no. You can be walking with God and two hours later, your mind be a thousand miles from the Lord. And the Lord might say, come on back now, come on back. Any of you had kids, you’re now walking a two or three year old around. I mean, I would not do this, but I’ve seen some parents that have leashes on their kids. You know, and I kind of understand, when I see the kid, I see why they have a leash on them, but you know what I’m talking about, it’s kind of like, you know, it’s like, is that a 35 pound test you’re using there on that kid? But God kind of does that in the sense of, stay here. Okay, come here. Come back over here. He’s persistent with us. He never gives up on us. He never quits on us. And Jesus is saying this. Look at verse 37 and 38. Then last of all, he sent his son. To them. Now imagine the audience, church, as we keep reading this verse. They are speaking to the man who’s rumored about the nation. It’s already been well broadcast for 30 years. This is that guy with all of the scandalous conception. There were strange atmospheric disturbances at his birth. We’ve written that off. It was some strange thing, swamp, fog, light, gases. And yeah, you know what? The people have been saying that the prophets make reference to this guy, this son of David. Some say he’s the son of God. They knew who they were talking about just if it’s by a scandalous thought. Are you with me? Yes. They’re no stranger to who he is. And when Jesus says to them in verse 37, he finally sent his son to them. You can almost see him point to his own robe on his chest. And they will respect my son. But when the vine dressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and season his inheritance. That’s guts or ignorance. No, that’s the wrong word, huh? Ignorance. Ignorance would mean they’re kind of innocent. Nah. This is pure evil. You’re not ignorant of who Jesus Christ is. You hear his name mentioned at least a few times a day. Right? Jesus Christ this. Jesus Christ that. Right? You ever been on a construction site? Any of you in the Navy? Navy? For that matter, have you been on a school campus? You’ve been walking through the mall? Jesus Christ this, Jesus Christ that. Last Sunday night, 170 nations around the world tuned in, millions and millions of people tuned in on Discovery Channel and watched Nick Wallenda walk across the Grand Canyon. on a rope, on a wire. Massive global audience. Did you see it? Anybody see that? Everybody’s there. All this stuff’s going on. It’s amazing. He gets up there and he’s got his thing, right? And You know, at first, the first step, he’s like, he’s nine inches over the canyon at that point. First step. Second step. You know, he’s like 13 feet over. Third step, it’s like 125 feet over the canyon. Okay, by the tenth step, he’s 1,500 feet above the Grand Canyon floor. And did you see it? He goes like this. I should have played it on the screens. He goes… Thank you, Jesus. Lord Jesus, you are God. You are Christ. You are my defender. He’s walking. And the cable starts wobbling, remember? And he’s out like at about 500 feet out there. And it started going like this. And he sits down out there. His family’s like sweating blood. And he goes, Lord Jesus, I ask you to rebuke this wind because the wind was blowing. Lord Jesus, Jesus, Lord Jesus, Jesus. And he got to the other side and people went crazy around the world and all that kind of stuff. And so all these people heard the, listen, you know what cracked me up? What cracked me up is, I’m surprised, Discovery Channel, I’m surprised it wasn’t like this. Dear beep, and beep, And beep, beep, beep, beep. And Lord, you’re beep. And I’m calling upon beep. And right. That guy preached Jesus going across that wire. And… He may not have the gift of evangelism. He may not have the gift of whatever, but that guy took his feet and he went across that canyon. Now, look, don’t talk to me about tempting the Lord thy God and all that stuff. I’m thinking, that’s crazy! But the name of Jesus went out, and I’m thinking to an unbelieving world for crying out loud. You hear the name of Jesus all the time, all everywhere. He’s the number one curse name word in the universe. Everybody in the world, no matter where they’re from, if they’re going to cuss, they’re going to use his name. You don’t speak Chinese, but Jesus Christ. You got that part. I’ve been in Israel. Germany. Jesus Christ. I got that part. You don’t even have to know Hebrew. You’ll be in Israel and you hear somebody cuss, they’ll use Jesus Christ. Isn’t that amazing? God’s persistent though. He never gives up. He’s waiting. He’s waiting. And Jesus said, well, you know what? The son came, but they said to themselves, let’s kill him. Let’s remove Jesus from the scene. Let’s remove everything about God from the scene. Let’s take away any resemblance of God. Let’s get him out of here. Every culture, I think, lives in an age where that is manifested to some degree or not. In Psalm chapter 2, verse 12, the Bible says, “‘Kiss the son, lest he be angry, “‘and you perish in the way “‘when his wrath is kindled but a little. “‘Blessed are all those who put their trust in him.'” Isn’t that amazing? Psalm, ladies and gentlemen, 1,000 years before Jesus was born, the psalmist writes, “‘Kiss the son, lest he be angry.'” What does this verse mean? Jack, you just said God’s persistent. Oh, yes, He is persistent, but make no mistake about it, my friend. God’s persistent, but there’s a coming time that God has designed where He will stop being persistent. Did you know that? It’s already built into the deal. God will stop reaching out to those who are saying no to Him. But when a personal individual says no to God, no, no, no, I don’t want you in my life, and they slam the door on God… It may be your last time. It may be their last time. And God’s done. He’s persistent. But there’s times when a person comes to the end.
SPEAKER 01 :
pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Parable of the Householder and His Heir, Part 3. Thanks for being with us today. We really appreciate you being here. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Parables of Jesus. It’s a series that highlights the teachings of Jesus while he was here on this earth. And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. Are you looking for some solid biblical teaching that speaks to the world today? At JackHibbs.com, you have access to Pastor Jack’s entire library of sermons on demand, anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re commuting, you’re at the gym, or you need a moment of encouragement, you can dive right into some powerful verse-by-verse teachings that make God’s Word really come alive. From deep dives into scripture to practical messages on everyday issues, Pastor Jack’s teachings help you understand the Bible in a way that’s clear, it’s relevant, and it’s easy to apply. You’re going to find sermons that address today’s toughest questions with biblical insight and hope in the midst of life’s challenges. Now, whether you’re new to the faith or you’ve been around for a long time, these messages are designed to meet you right where you’re at and inspire you to grow deeper in your walk with God. So don’t miss out. Visit jackhibbs.com. Why don’t you start exploring the sermon library today? You’re going to like it. That’s jackhibbs.com, where powerful teaching is always just a click away. 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.
