Today on Real Life Radio. I will say of the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God. In him I will trust. You can't live and know and see that unless you dwell under the shadow.
shadow of the Lord's covering. Uh 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. 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 Red Coats 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 that focus on the family, Prayers and Promises for Kids, and The Red Coats 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. That's The Red Coats 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.
Okay. On today's edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues now with his series called The Parables of Jesus and a message titled, Parable of the Prodigal, and this is part 3.
Now, whenever Jesus spoke to crowds, he often spoke using some very relatable stories with common everyday themes, the Bible calls them, parables.
So in this parable, Jesus is teaching about radical love, restoration, and forgiveness. You see, as we learned in parts 1 and 2, this parable is not only about the Son, but about the Brother, the Father, and about God as well. The rejection of authority and wrong decisions that lead to an outcome we never want. But when we repent, God is there to love us and restore us.
So today Pastor Jack teaches us that fathers, including the Father God, can be extravagant towards their children. But when the child rebels, the father's love has got to confront their sin.
Now, with his message called Parable of the Prodigal, Part 3, here's Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs. The picture of this father's love for his boys is awesome. But like human nature is? rejects and pushes against What? We need the very thing we need.
Isn't that funny how we gravitate toward a bag of potato chips? Instead of broccoli? What is that? We're prone to self-destruction, man. It's true.
Luke 15, verse 7 says, I say to you, Jesus is speaking that likewise. There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. And what's interesting is, yes, the angels rejoice. This is my. Look, I.
What I'm about to say. I think I could prove biblically. But This is my opinion. I believe because the Bible says the angels rejoice in heaven when one person turns towards Christ. But this is what I add.
I think the reason why the angels rejoice in heaven when a person comes to Christ. is because the angels witness God rejoicing. Why? Because the parable here has the father rejoicing when the sinners or the son comes back.
Okay? It's the Bible that says that God will rejoice and sing over you and I when we arrive in heaven, He will twirl and spin about us, rejoicing that you and I are in heaven. Are you ready for that? I'm ready for that. God's going to say, oh, Jack!
Welcome. And I mean, I'm thinking right now, who knows? Thank God, the day that the moment you die, I mean, everything's going to be awesome. For the Christian. Yeah.
But still, you know, it's kind of like... Hi God. I'm here. And according to Habakkuk and other portions of scripture, the Lord is. Going to say Yes.
Yes. Yes. Jack, come here! Come on! I'm wondering.
When Stephen was being stoned. With rocks. to death. Stephen looked up. And he says this is radical.
Because the Bible says Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Stephen was dying, and Stephen shouted out. By the way, Saul of Tarsus, later to be named Paul the Apostle. After his conversion, says I see the Son of God standing at the right hand of the glory, of the majesty on high, of the Father. What's going on there?
Apparently, Jesus only gets up from his throne. to receive one of his own. And that's going to be used someday if you're trusting Jesus. That's going to be you that day that you breathe your last. And that's going to be an awesome moment.
I need to hurry up. Actually, you're fine, it's me. But we need to be very careful about this. And we learned last time that, listen, that parents of Older children today, I'll say. We need to be very careful how we intervene.
in, I'll just say, our adult children's lives in their suffering. I'm not gonna win. any friends and influence people this Look, if your three-year-old keeps sticking the fork in the toaster, you need to help them. But when your 23-year-old keeps sticking the fork in the toaster while it's plugged into the wall, you need to get a video camera and film it and make money off of that. Because that's just stupid.
And I'm dead serious about that. I'm going to get notes. Oh, you know, where's the love of God? Here's the love of God. If your knucklehead adult kid keeps doing the wrong thing like this kid over and over again, look, the father didn't run down to the next nation country over and find the pig farms to rescue his boy and grab him by the ear and pull him out or give him, hell, I'm sorry, son, you're living like this.
Here's 20 bucks. Don't do that. You only prolong their destruction. Let them hit the wall the sooner they come home, the sooner they repent. I'm dead serious.
We enable our kids and we let them continue on in the destruction.
Well, you know, your kid buys pot with the money you give them.
So then don't give them any more money. Oh, that's not very unlo that's not very love. I don't know what book you're reading. You love your kid? Listen, if they keep doing that, If they keep doing acid or snorting, whatever, or whatever, whatever.
They're gonna kill themselves. Oh, they would never do that. That's not what I mean.
So now we pick it up, verse 20. We see about the Prodigal father. Verse 20. What do we learn from this? We learn this: that his love is preceding.
Can you mark that down in verse 20? The prodigal father, meaning the extravagant, loving father. has various characteristics.
Now Isaiah lay this down church. I'm going to give you the punchline in advance in case I forget. I'm talking about both the Father in this parable and your Father in heaven. And Jesus was doing the exact same thing to the audience that was before him because it was directed specifically at anyone, but most. Predominantly the Pharisees.
And they're going to get it in the end. It's going to be really great to watch them squirm.
Okay. is preceding So, what does this mean? It says, and look, verse 20, and he, that is the young son, arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father, mark it, number one, saw him. The word saw right here is an amazing word.
Circle it in your Bibles and write this definition down. The word means that the father was aware of his son's absence. The word saw means he was aware of his son's absence. It also means this: he knows that his son is absent. The word means that the father was beholding or wishing to see in advance.
Did you get that? The father, how often? By the hour? We don't know. By the day, by the week, by the month?
How long does this story play out? Jesus is saying that the father is looking and looking and looking, and when the father saw the son, how far off? Way far off. The father had been looking, again, we don't know how long. Relentlessly for his boy.
Don't raise your hand. Do you have a wayward child? Do you not scan, as it were, the horizon for that child constantly? You can't see or hear anything without thinking about them. Think of it.
Jesus is telling you tonight. You who may be far from God, Jesus is saying, Do you know, do you understand, that the Father scans the horizon looking for your face to be heading in his direction? But I'm a prostitute, or I'm a drug addict, or I'm an adulterer. I'm a. Turn to him.
By the way, remember, the bigger the sinner, The greater the glory God gets.
Well, I've only sinned a little bit. Yes, so you think. Guys? Go.
Okay, we'll let you in.
Okay. He's always thinking ahead. He's looking ahead. The Father's looking ahead. Daily, watching, lifting up his eyes, scanning the horizon, waiting.
And God has been watching you and I all along. The Bible tells us in Romans 5. 5, verse 6, for when we were still without strength. Wow. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly.
Isn't that amazing? When did Jesus die for you? 2,000 years ago. Charles Spurgeon, in a very witty, cute moment, said, I'm glad Jesus died. For me?
Before I was ever born? Because he wouldn't have died for me after I was born. That's cute but terribly flawed theology, but it's cute. The fact of the matter is, it goes on, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone may even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That's awesome! See, for those of us who know that, we go, yes! But for the person that's here tonight saying, maybe I'm really working at it, I'm being better. Every year I'm getting better. That's not such a big deal to you, that verse that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When you realize that one little nasty thought ejects you out of heaven, Being available or being Having access to heaven. One thought, one. You're out. All of a sudden, when you realize, wait a minute, that means everybody's out, that's right! That's why Jesus came.
So he can get us back in. Yes, he did it. While we were without strength. Romans 3:21 says, But now the righteousness of God, apart from the law, oh, keep it up on the screen. Any legalistic people in here tonight?
And that's a horrible way to live. I used to live like that. That's a tough way to live. That's a heavy burden, man. That's a tough way.
Listen, but now the righteousness of God. Apart from the law? is revealed. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets, meaning they spoke about the righteousness that was to come.
Okay? Even The righteousness of God Through faith. Keep it on the screen. How are you guys going to go home tonight? Anybody?
I mean my car, my car. You're all wrong. I heard car, motorcycles. No, you're all you are wrong. You gotta go through these doors to get home.
Right? Yeah, yeah. Through faith. Through faith. You're going to go through those doors.
You've got to go through those doors to get out there. Listen, you get the righteousness of God. through Jesus. Why? Because it's his righteousness.
Okay, don't try to dress up your righteousness. You would just do circles in the sanctuary. And you won't be on like the gathered door. No, listen. through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all.
Who believe? That's radical. 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. Listen, the prodigal father, what else do we learn is that his love is confrontational, and I like this part. Combat love. I'm dead serious.
This is gnarly love. This is this is. This is amazing love. Let's combat love. How so?
And Second, He had compassion. The dad looks. Huh? I've been scanning that horizon forever. Here comes that boy.
And then listen, listen, the word, listen, it means this. The word compassion. is that the father felt It's to have the same, this is kind of a, this is what it means. It's to have the same bowels. You say, are you sure you want to say that in church?
It's tough. That's the meaning of the original. Jesus used the word: the father looked at the boy coming back home, and the father's guts began to be. touched by that. grabbed him.
Have you noticed when you're really, really, really in a situation or a relationship. Forget about your heart rate increasing. That's a joke. It's your guts. When you're really, really happy or hurting.
Mostly herding It gets you right here. It loosens your guts. The father looked, and his heart just melted for his boy. What's this friends? This is Jesus Christ Talking.
And Jesus Christ is telling us, when you turn toward the Father, his heart, his very bowels are moved with compassion for all the pain, grief, and heartache you've gone through. And he's so delighted. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 4:8, love covers a multitude of sins. Yeah. And that's a great thing.
Don't you want people to love you? I mean, honestly, really, when people really love you, they overlook so much. Isn't it amazing how messed up we all are? Man, that was a weak response. We're messed up.
We are missed up. I mean we're messed up in the We're so messed up in ways we don't even think that we're messed up in those ways. Think about it. Um If I'm in an airplane, I have to sit at the on the window. Not on the window.
I have to sit at the window. Do you want to know? Look, I'm not the only one weird in here like this. Why? Because if the plane's going down, I want to see it coming.
You say, that's weird. Wait a minute, the guy in the aisle doesn't want to see it's coming. He doesn't want to look. That's weird.
Well, then there's the guy in the middle seat. He's really weird. He's like lukewarm. He can't figure out what he wants. But we all have our thing.
We have our thing. I have to have my napkin folded this way. What's wrong with you? We all have our thing. And when we love each other, what is marriage all about?
It's overlooking the interesting parts of the other person. Lisa and I were two babies. Two babies of the family should never get married. Why? Because when you're a baby, all the everybody else picks up after you.
So we get married.
So we come home our first day home and we open the door and you know off goes the shirt and y and my mom always picked that stuff up before. And Lisa's like, hey, what are you doing? I don't know. What are you doing?
Well, I mean. We're all weird. Love covers a multitude of sins. Of course, that's. funny light stuff, but what about the big stuff?
I've had people literally say, Well, my wife committed adultery. Guess I have to divorce her. Do you want to divorce her? No, I don't. It breaks my heart.
Our vows have been broken. But the Bible, listen, I have grounds for divorce. I got a divorce now. No, you do. That's second choice.
First choice is, love covers a multitude of sins. Um That's serious stuff. Love is strong. Kant, it's a combat love. Confrontational love.
The Bible says in Psalm 91:1, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High. shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Listen to the results of this action, if you so choose to take it. Verse 2: I will say of the Lord. He is my refuge.
And my fortress, my God, in him I will trust. You can't live and know and see that unless you dwell under the shadow. Shadow. of the Lord's covering. There's that precious place.
God becomes your defense. In my opinion, that's confrontational love, meaning this: look, God brings you in like this.
Okay, he you're right here. And the world comes like this, and God just says, You just stay right there. Pack? He just goes like this. Pink.
That's awesome. You say, How do you get that? Because the father In his compassion for his prodigal son? That compassion cannot be stopped. A mam a mama bear?
A mama? Of anything will sacrifice itself to protect. That baby. And what should only trump that display is a man is a father. Because that's the picture.
Listen, if you don't know, friend, that's the picture that God tells us how He is toward you. For God so loved the world that he gave. His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. Based on what? His compassion for the lost.
So we should be. Yeah. Confrontational love. Would you, will you? And how far will you go to love someone into the kingdom of God?
In this sense, I like to Believe that our gospel, listen, don't take this wrong. that our gospel is a violent gospel. I don't mean let's create a riot. When I say violent gospel, What I'm suggesting is The Bible, God's Grace God's love. will pursue you And hound you.
The old Puritans used to call the Holy Spirit the hound of heaven. Yes. Because he never stops barking. to get the attention of a lost person. or a wayward child.
God's love is not weak. It doesn't sit in the corner and say, well, you know, I don't know, maybe, I don't know, I'm not sure. God's love says, get out of my way. I'm going to get that person. Get out of my way.
God calls out. God is crying out to you. Calling. Amazing. In Matthew 11, Verse twelve.
This combat gospel, this combat love, confrontational love, I think is displayed in Matthew 11:12. Jesus said, it's an often misunderstood verse, mind you. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence. That is, the gospel is under attack. and the violent take it by force.
You can read commentators until the cows come home, and they're completely divided down the middle. What that means. probably believing what I do believe. about it because I'm probably dumb, but When Jesus says, from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God suffers violence. Meaning, the world attacks the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God is.
Expanding the gospel is being preached around the world. People are getting saved, lives are being changed. But the violent take it by force Means that those who seriously take the gospel will not be shut down by a world in opposition to us. Job said it perfectly, though he slay me, yet shall I trust him. That's, listen, that's believing in the violently in the gospel.
Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio, with his message called Parable of the Prodigal, Part 3. Thanks for joining us today. 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 ministering right here on this earth. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
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