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Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skiff Heitzig. A couple of weeks ago, after a service, a man came up and asked a very good question. He said, Skip, I hear that you speak a lot about God's relationship and a relationship, a personal relationship. With God. Versus having a religious experience.
Could you explain to me the difference between religion and relationship? It's a really well thought through question. Um This week, one of our pastors received an email that was very similar. It was a lengthy email where. The person said, Help me understand this whole relationship with God thing you guys talk about.
I mean, I'm reading my Bible and I'm praying and I talk to God and I listen, but I'm not really hearing anything.
So how do you have a personal Relationship. with God.
Now think about that. God doesn't engage in the faculty of speech. Like you and I know it. God doesn't send you a text. He doesn't email you during the day.
God doesn't pick up the phone and say, what's up? This is God. You don't take God to lunch. You don't take them to a park. You don't Go on a bicycle ride with God.
I mean, it's not quite the same. How do you have a personal relationship with God? To make matters a little more complicated, He's invisible.
So, the person you're having a personal relationship with, you can't see. That makes the dynamic much more difficult, right? Because we are visual people. We like to see people that we have relationships with. You recall the book, you'd have to recall it much after the event because it was written in the 1800s, but it's been popularized.
by several retakes on the movie called The Invisible Man. H. G.
Wells, who wrote the book, the idea was that some guy through science discovered a way to become invisible.
Now who of us haven't fantasized that we could be invisible? Wouldn't it be great to overhear those conversations, find out what they're really thinking about us? And it sounds really great, and it sounded really great to the guy who became invisible, but it became a problem. Because the invisible man had to touch the visible world.
So, if he ate food, you could see it when he chewed it and swallowed it, and it was still visible until it was digested. That's a problem. If you were to take something, you would see that thing that he took. Float down the road with him.
So now the invisible man is suddenly made visible. People could see that he's there, which definitely poses a problem. because it's hard to trust somebody you don't see. Hard to have a relationship with somebody that you don't see. It's like a little girl named Lucy who wrote a letter to God and said, Dear God, are you really invisible or is that just a trick?
That's a pretty cool trick. But how do you have a relationship with Him? We want to see God, even Moses. Who heard God's voice and saw miracles God performed? He wanted more.
He wanted him personally. Moses cried out, Show me. Your glory. I want to see you. And at our very core, we want to see and touch and experience God.
Isaiah the prophet said, Truly, you are a God who hides himself. Same sentiment is expressed. We want to see God to have a relationship with him.
So Once again, I ask the question, how do we have a relationship, a personal relationship. with a being who is so different from us. I mean, you know his attributes, right? He's all-knowing. You're not.
He's all-powerful. You're not. He's everywhere present. You're not. You don't have a lot in common with this being.
So how do we have a relationship with God? How do we have a meaningful rock-solid relationship with him?
Well, I'm going to give you three principles to answer that question. Actually, it's simple, it's actually two principles, two ingredients. That makes for any personal relationship with your wife. Husband, friend, children, and God. Two ingredients, three principles.
And the third principle is based on the two ingredients. In any personal relationship with any person, visible or invisible. There are two things that must be present, love and trust. Love and trust. Inseparable, love and trust.
Now I want you to look at the verses that we're going to consider. Verse 8. And 9 of 1 Peter chapter 1. And if you don't mind, I'd like to get a little context with it.
So I'm going to begin in verse 6. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. That the genuineness of your faith Being much more precious than gold, it perishes, though it is tested by fire, May be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now for our verses to consider to day. Whom? Having not seen You love. Though now you do not see him. Yeah.
Believing You rejoice with joy inexpressible. and full of glory. Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. You will notice in verse 8, those two ingredients are mentioned: love and believing, or trust, love and trust. Those are the two ingredients essential for any personal relationship.
If you violate love, the relationship disintegrates. If you violate trust, the relationship disintegrates. One source. Said love and trust are requirements in any relationship. to make it lasting.
When these two characteristics leave from our relationship, then that relationship becomes weak.
So using verse 8 and verse 9, we're going to unpack. These phrases. And we notice what Peter is saying. This relationship with God is based on love. This relationship with God is based on trust.
And this relationship that is based on love and based on trust is a relationship that is deeply satisfying beyond words. Joy inexpressible and full of glory. Let's just take one by one. First of all, this is a relationship based on love. Verse 8, look at it, read it with me.
whom having not seen, you love. Actually, the original Greek language is much stronger, of whom, having never had a glimpse. You love.
Now think of the audience to whom Peter was writing. Peter was not writing to apostles who had been with Jesus personally. He was writing to scattered believers throughout Asia Minor, as we have seen a few weeks ago. Who had never ever met Christ, they had never seen Him with their eyes, they had never heard His voice, they never gazed into His eyes when He spoke. They never ate with him.
They never walked with him. In fact, They were not personal followers of him at all. merely converts Of those who had been personal followers, right? I mean, Peter had seen him, he was an apostle. And these were converts of apostles.
These were The very ones Jesus prayed about in the seventeenth chapter of John, when after praying for his own apostles, said, I pray not for these alone, but for all of those who will believe in me through their word. That's who he's writing to. They had no first-hand experience with Christ, but they believed in Him. And according to Peter, they loved him. Whom having not seen you love.
It's normal. To love, let's put it this way: it's normal to fall in love with somebody. When you see them. You know, in the old days, they used to plan for marriages before you even saw the person. Not a great idea necessarily.
Because you could be surprised once you see the person.
Now, when I first met my wife, I saw her across the room. I hadn't really met her yet, but I saw her across the room, and I noticed her. And I can tell you to this day what she was wearing and what she looked like. Red jeans, white blouse, flip-flops, beautiful hair, and I looked at her across the room and I thought, I want to meet her. But it was visual.
I saw her, there was an attraction. Later on, it was verbal. We exchanged words, we had met each other. But Peter is saying, You love someone you don't see, and you are growing in love with that someone you don't see. In fact, that's really the intention of the language here.
It's in the present active indicative, whom having not seen you are loving. It's ongoing. An unbeliever in hearing what I'm talking about will say, impossible. This is not possible. Mean he Ah.
How do you Christians know that you didn't just make this up? You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Every day, your generosity helps reach more people with God's Word, changing lives through clear, practical Bible teaching. And this month, as you grow in your own faith and leadership, We want to thank you with a powerful new resource, The Making of a Biblical Leader, a Practical Guide to Leading Others by Robert L. Furrow.
This inspiring book, featuring chapters from Skip and Lenja Heitzig, Gary Hamrick, Daniel Fusco, and others, shows how to lead with integrity, humility, and a servant's heart following Christ's example. Request your copy when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skiff Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/slash offer.
Now let's return to today's teaching. Maybe Jesus is simply a projection of yourself, and you're just loving a projection of yourself, calling it God or calling it Jesus, but he's a mythical figure. You can't love somebody you don't see. Oh, contraire. After I met my wife and after we had started dating, she had moved to Hawaii and she was there for two years.
And two years being separated visually, you know what? I grew in my love for her. I wrote letters, she wrote letters, I still have them. We made a few phone calls, but I discovered phone calls from California to Hawaii are pretty expensive, so, not many phone calls. I was cheap.
But a lot of letters. And through those letters and those few phone calls, There were things that I understood about her. I discovered. Her character, I discovered her values, I discovered her dreams, I discovered her fears. And at one point, even I sent a bouquet of flowers with a little note attached that said, I love you.
And you could say, well, you can't love her because you can't see her. That's not true. And that's my point. Invisible doesn't mean unlovable. My love was actually growing for her, even though I couldn't see her.
And isn't this really the essential part of Christianity? Isn't the irreducible minimum? As a description of a Christian, here is someone who loves. The Lord. That's really a good description.
He, she loves Jesus Christ. With a love of the will. That's what agape love means. It's a choice that one makes.
So he says, you've never seen him, but you love him. In fact, would you look with me at chapter 2, verse 7? Therefore, To you who believe, he is What does it say? Precious. Isn't that precious?
Do you believe he is precious? That's how much you love him. He's precious to you.
Now that's personal relationship. And that's what Jesus meant when he summed up the entire law by saying, here, you can sum it up all by saying this: love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, and all of your strength. That is the essence. of relationship. It's based on love.
Now As opposed to that, unbelievers are described in the Bible as those who do not love the Lord. They don't love him. 1 Corinthians 16, verse 22. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. The Lord comes.
Now, let me suggest to you: this is where we should make our examination. This is where we should make our probe. Ask a person, do you love Jesus? Try that. When you're witnessing to somebody, instead of saying, have you heard of the four spiritual laws?
Just Ask a basic question. He's like, oh, four spirits are what? I didn't know there was one spirit so law. Just ask him this. Do you?
Love Jesus Christ. You'd just be amazed by the answers.
Now, if you hear somebody describe a consuming, intimate love for Jesus, you're dealing with a transformed heart. But often you're going to hear things like, uh-oh, they'll get real nervous with that question. Do you love Jesus? You know, uh my grandma went to church. Good.
Let me ask that question again. Maybe you didn't hear me. Do you love Jesus? Well, you know, me and the big guy, we have an understanding going on. They just get uncomfortable with the whole idea of emotion and love.
for Christ.
Now, if the person says, yes, I do love them, because that's a nice thing to say, and it's a pretty easy thing to say. Let me ask a deeper question. How do you know you love him? I'll just ask you: you say you love the Lord. How do you know you love him?
What's the proof that you would love him? Obey his commands. That's exactly what Jesus said. If you were to say, well, I know that I love him because every time you say that name, I get really warm and fuzzy inside.
Okay. Not good enough. Jesus to his 12 apostles, his men. In the upper room. Sharing Passover before he died, by the way, that whole upper room discourse, Especially in John chapter 14, there are two themes that run through it.
You know what they are? Love and trust, love and trust, love and trust. You believe in God, that's trust, believe also in me, that's trust. Believe me, or believe me, for the very sake of the works themselves. That's trust.
But then he speaks about love. This is John 14, verse 15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. That is Christianity 101. If you love me.
Obey me. Keep my commandments. Yeah. Verse 21 of the same chapter, he said, He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him.
and manifest myself to him. Verse 23, Jesus speaking again: if anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Very next verse, verse 24. He who does not love me does not keep my words. Listen, if you don't love Jesus Christ enough to do what he says, you don't love Jesus Christ.
Love. basis of relationship. How do you prove it? You do what he says. It shows that you love him.
So invisible. does not mean unlovable. Also, invisible does not mean unavailable. Just because you can't see God doesn't mean He's not available to help you. He is your helper.
I can prove that point in the physical world. Try calling 911 and see what happens. You'll talk to somebody you can't see on the other end of the line. But I'll guarantee you, you will see a visible manifestation of the call that you just made because they will send people out, they'll respond to that call. Invisible doesn't mean unavailable.
A couple weeks ago, I had to call a fencing contractor because This last storm that blew through blew an elm tree that almost took my house out, but it took my fence out and the backyard just wiped it out.
So I made a phone call to him. Never met him. He was invisible to me. Couple days he had somebody sent out, a representative, and now it's fixed. Invisible doesn't mean not available.
Now, when I called him, he could have been in his office. He could have been out on the golf course. Maybe the golf course was his office. Doesn't matter. I couldn't see him, I didn't know, but he made himself available.
And God does too. Jeremiah 33, it says, Call on me and I will answer you. God says, call on me and I will answer you and I will show you. great and mighty things which you do not know. That's availability.
That's all part of the love relationship. Invisible doesn't mean unlovable. Invisible doesn't mean. Unavailable.
So that's the first ingredient in a personal relationship with God or with anybody else for that matter. It's based on love.
Second, relationship is based on trust. Look again at verse 8. Though now, second sentence, though now you do not see him. Yet Believing. or trust.
Same idea, trust. You see, love and trust. Go together. You can't really separate love and trust. The soul that believes cannot but love, the soul that loves cannot but trust.
You can't separate Love and trust, they go together. It's like a baseball and a mitt. It's like peanut butter and Jelly. It's like coffee and donuts. I didn't say it's like policemen and donuts.
I wouldn't go there, but it's like coffee and donuts, they're inseparable. Like popcorn in a movie. Like a lock and a key. Love and trust. Go together.
You will recall the great chapter, the love chapter, First Corinthians 13. Paul said, Love bears all things, love hopes all things, love. believes all things. True love. Truss.
Notice something in verse 8. It's the word now. It's very important. Though now you do not see him. You know what that implies?
You will. You don't now. But you will sometime, you will then, there will be a time when that which is invisible becomes apparent, invisible, and tangible. 1 John chapter 3. When he appears.
We will be like him. for we will see him. as he is. That was the great hope of Job, who suffered the loss of his family, the loss of his health the curses of his wife, And he said in Job 19: After my skin is destroyed, this I know. That in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself.
My eyes shall behold and not another. How my heart yearns within me.
So now you don't see them. But now you trust him. You believe in him. In fact, until we can see, that's what we have. That's what Paul said, for we walk by faith and not by sight.
But you got to know something and here's the part of the hope. That which is faith right now. will one day pass away. And you'll see him. Horatio Spafford, who is a lawyer in Chicago.
Wrote one of my favorite hymns called It Is Well With My Soul. And he wrote that hymn after his wife and children died. He lost them all. They died at sea, and over the very spot, it is said, where his boat sailed. as he was out there to recover.
The damages. He wrote, It is well with my soul. And do you remember one of those phrases, one of those verses in that great hymn? O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, the trump shall resound, and the Lord will descend.
Even so it is well. with my soul. That's trust. And that is personal relationship.
So now, right now, we trust, we have faith. And when I say we have faith, we trust, we believe, I doesn't just mean, I believe God exists somewhere up there. It means I personally lean on him, I depend on him, I confide in him. That's trust. So these two things bind us together in intimacy with Christ, love and trust.
Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heidzig. Before we go, remember that your generosity helps share God's word around the world, bringing truth and hope to people who need Jesus. And this month, we'll send you The Making of a Biblical Leader, a Practical Guide to Leading Others by Robert L. Furrow as our thanks for your gift. With chapters from Skip and Lanya Heitzig and other trusted pastors, this book will equip you to lead with integrity and purpose in 2026 and beyond.
Give now at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-8888. We'll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect the Skip-Heitzig Weekend Edition. Make a connection. Shit. Never fool.
Of the crossing. Castle. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
