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Now let's dive into today's teaching with Pastor Skip Heitzig. The text says we're following his steps, literally footprints, footsteps. Like a dad. Putting out steps in the snow, and his son or daughter follows behind him and just puts those little feet in those little footprints, those big footprints. But those footsteps Led to Calvary.
Those footsteps Led to Roman persecution and Jewish persecution that cost him his life. And so, too, the Bible says all those Who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer what? They'll suffer persecution. I've always been compelled by a missionary woman named Amy Carmichael. She lived in the 1920s and 30s.
She was Irish. She moved to India. Her whole ministry was to rescue children who would have been. Um used as Part of a sexual ritual in Hindu temples, she brought them and she raised them. In 1931, Amy Carmichael was praying one day and she said, Lord, Whatever you want from my life.
That's what I want to do. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes, I want you to do whatever you want to do in my life. The next day, she fell down and she broke several bones that rendered her basically. Immobile for years to come. She couldn't have the same workload that she had with the children.
Never one to be bitter, she decided that this was the Lord's gracious way of allowing her a career in writing, letters, books. and poems. Here's this young gal in Ireland following Jesus. She believed to India following Jesus to rescue kids. looking for the Lord's will, this happens, seeing this as Following Jesus.
And so she wrote a little poem that I've always loved. Goes like this. Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot. Or side?
Or hand? I hear thee sung as mighty in the land, I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star. Hast thou no scar? Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archer, spent.
lean me against a tree to die, and rent By ravenous wolves that encompass me, I swooned. Hast thou no wound? No wound? No scar? Yet as the master, shall the servant be?
and pierced be the feet They follow me. But thine are whole Can he have followed far? Who has no wound or scar? And so, like Jesus. Live with endurance.
Lord, toughen me up. to endure. as I follow you. Let's take it a step further. like Jesus, forego Vengeance.
First twenty two. Who committed no sin. Nor was deceit found in his mouth.
Now what Peter is doing is quoting. From the Old Testament, from Isaiah chapter 53. He's quoting what Isaiah predicted. Jesus would be like. And then in the very next verse, because Peter lived with Jesus.
In real time, he says, that's what he did.
So look at the quote again: who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.
Now this is Peter's own experience. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return when he suffered? He did not threaten. but committed himself to him who judges Righteously. Isaiah the prophet looking through the fog.
of time seeing into the future there would come a messiah Who would suffer? Having said nothing wrong and having done nothing wrong, still he would suffer. His actions and his words were pure, were undefiled, were truthful, and were non-retaliatory. He didn't fight back. Notice when he was reviled.
That means verbally abused. People using insulting language against him, untrue accusations. Have you ever thought of all the things just said about Jesus that were untrue? Take comfort because when people say things about you, Remember back to this study. They call Jesus an evildoer.
Can you imagine? They call Jesus a deceiver. An illegitimate child, a blasphemer, and one who would come and destroy the temple. But here's the point. When all that happened, He didn't retaliate.
He didn't say, wait till after the resurrection. I know where you live. He didn't say anything. He didn't fight back. Now, it's not like he didn't have backup, right?
I mean, he had bouncers, am I right? He had how many legions of angels? 12 legions of angels, 72,000. Angels, he told Peter in the garden: Don't you know that I can call 72,000 angels right now? Put your sword away.
He didn't retaliate. At any moment. Jesus could have zapped people. Oh, there's a Pharisee. Yeah.
Ooh, a sad you see. I'll have a little more fun with him. Never did that. In fact, not only did he not do that, Punches pilot. His judge.
Marveled at Jesus, saying nothing. And at one point in the trial, he said, Do you answer nothing? Wouldn't even open his mouth. And then from the cross, what were the first words out of his mouth? Father, for Give them.
They don't know what they're doing. Hey, if it would have been me. I don't know, I could say, Father, forgive them. I might say, Father, fry them. flatten them.
I don't deserve this. Jesus said, Father, forgive them. But herein lies the problem, the little quandary we have, because I said that I wouldn't say what Jesus said, and probably you wouldn't either. Here's the problem we have. You tell me if this is true.
It's a whole lot more fun to get even than it is to forgive. It's a whole lot more satisfying to just get even. Then to forgive me.
Some of you are looking at me like, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm so holy.
Okay, whatever. It is human nature. It's that human nature that has to be restrained and brought in and say no to because it is so natural to want to fight back. Like the maid who was fired. From a large estate, she worked for a family, and the family fired her, and on her way out the door, They were all standing around, and she took a $5 bill out of her purse and threw it to Fido, the family dog.
And the family said, what's that for? She said, I never forget a friend. That's for all the time she helped me clean your dishes. Oh, that felt so good for her to say that. And we laugh at that because we know that would feel good.
True story. A man created a product. called revenge. Selling for three dollars and ninety nine cents. He was just sick and tired of smokers.
Blowing secondhand smoke into his face, he decided I'm going to create a little aerosol pocket-sized can called Revenge. That gives smokers a dose of their own medicine, bad air. This foul smelling disinfectant Irritates their nose and their eyes, and he carried it with him, carries it with him, sells it, called revenge. Sad thing is some of you are writing that down. Google Revenge.
Like to get some. Yeah. To forego revenge. That was a lesson Peter, the author of this letter. had to learn.
You remember the time he walked up to Jesus and he said, Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? He was feeling generous. Seven times. Hey, just if right now I came down there and I punched you.
And I said, I'm sorry, I'm just crazy. He'd say, yeah, okay, you are sort of crazy. I forgive you. And then I turned right around and slugged you again. Yeah.
Okay, get away from me. And then I said, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Would you just please forgive me? I'd probably get away with it. But if I did that, number three, and number four, and number five, and number six, and number seven.
You'd have a hard time.
So Peter, when he said seven times, he's feeling pretty good. And then Jesus said, no, not seven times, but 70 times seven. That's not to be an exact count, by the way.
Okay, at 150, I'm going for it. Or 400, what is it, 490? 491, man, come home. Peter's question. was the issue How many times Do I let things happen and forgive?
before I start fighting back. Forgiveness. Is easy to preach on and easy to listen to in a sermon. but try living it out on the street. That's the difficulty.
You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps make clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching available to people searching for truth, direction, and hope. And this month, we want to thank you with two powerful resources to help you follow God faithfully, even when life feels uncertain or challenging. When you give, you'll receive the Expound Nehemiah 7 Message CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind. Together, these resources show you how God rebuilds what's broken, strengthens you when you face opposition, and gives you peace, even in seasons of pressure and waiting.
We'll send both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer.
Now, let's return to today's teaching. One author, Fredrik Buchner, said Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to savor the last toothsome morsel is in many ways a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast It's you.
So, like Jesus, he's writing, live with endurance, and like Jesus, forego vengeance. Here's a third: like Jesus, rest in confidence. Notice how verse. 23 closes out. But he committed himself to him who judges.
Righteously, you know what commit means? Let it go. You turn it over, you commit it, you turn it over, you drop it off. And you let it go. You confidently rest in God's ability to handle the hurt that's been done to you.
Let it go. Look over at chapter 4 for just a moment. 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 19. He augments this thought. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God, here it is, commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful Creator.
Have you learned to do that? Have you learned to do that? Not b not once, but Many times? By the way, do you know that in our text where it says he committed himself, it's in the imperfect tense.
Now in the Greek language, the imperfect tense means not once, but over and over and over continually.
So it could be translated, he kept on committing himself to him. Here's the picture Peter is painting. With every new insult leveled on Jesus, Jesus said, Father, I'm committing that to you. With every abusive word, Lord, I'm giving that to you. With every slap of the hand, Lord, I'm committing that one to you.
With every snap of the whip, Father, I commit that to you. And over and over, repeatedly, until finally on the cross, he said, Father, into your hands, I commit. My spirit. And he bowed his head. And he died.
My brothers and sisters. You gotta do this. If you don't do this. You will be, if you're not already, you'll be a very bitter person. If every time a transaction that somebody has done to you enters your mind, if at that point you don't say, Lord, I'm committing that to you, I've done it a hundred times, maybe more, but once again, I'm giving it to you.
You become bitter. It'll eat you up. Got to get rid of it. Like a hot potato when you were a kid. You got it?
Get rid of it right now. Committed. I read an article about a man in Tokyo, Japan who was arrested. And he was arrested because he had been so upset that he was denied entrance into a college for a graduate degree program. 14 years ago.
14 years ago, That every single night since then, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., he made phone calls to the school, harassing phone calls left on the answering machine, to the professor that he thought was the one responsible for not letting him get into the program. Fourteen years of that. Fourteen years of annoying phone calls, Total to more than 50,000. thousand phone calls.
Dude, let it go! Right? Here's my point. Retaliation costs. Righteousness pays.
Rich dividends. Like being able to sleep at night. and not stay up till two in the morning making stupid phone calls. But think of how many relationships get torn apart by anger and holding on to that grudge. Oh, I got my cool little grudge.
I'm taking my grudge home and I'm going to nurse it and feed it and pet it. No, let it go. Committed. Number four, like Jesus, you think it's been hard so far? Get a load of this one.
Like Jesus, love with extravagance. Verse 24, who himself bore our sin in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes. You were healed. Hey, do you know what? Jesus loved extravagantly.
Do you know that? He was all in. It was all in. He so loved the world. It's not that he just endured.
It's not that he just put up with People saying bad things to him or making fun of him or slapping him. It's not that he just endured that. He gave his life's blood for those people who had said and done those things. Romans chapter 5, verse 9: God demonstrates his own love toward us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is the heart.
of the gospel. Because that is the heart of God. And that ought to be the heart of God's people. toward people out there for the sake of showing a witness to them. to love extravagantly.
You can be a good doctor and not love your patients. I've worked with a bunch of them. You can be a great lawyer and not love any of your clients. I've seen a few of them. You can be a good scientist and not love science.
But you can't be a good Christian. without loves. It's part of it. And if you don't got it, you commit to him. You commit to him.
You turn it over to him and you ask God to replace it. with his love. You know it's true. People can be stupid. Let's just say it right there.
People can be stupid. Amen? They can say stupid, nasty, hurtful things, right? That's precisely why they need to be forgiven. That's why they need to be forgiven.
Their imperfection as sinners. Demands. Forgiveness. And loves. Jesus said, Love your enemies.
Ouch. I was good till then, Lord. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who spitefully use you.
Pray for them. I did this somewhat recently. There was someone in my life who had slighted me over the years on many occasions, and so I decided I'm going to send that person a gift basket. And write a nice letter of encouragement, and prayer, and love. Because I remember once somebody saying, love your enemies, it'll drive them nuts.
So I thought I'm gonna drive him nuts. I'm gonna love on him. I'm going to shower God's love on them. Love with extravagance. I've discovered That when you pray for someone long enough, that you regard as your enemy, they can't stay your enemy too long.
You keep praying for them, asking God to bless them. Pretty soon, your feelings change toward them. A woman came to me after a service and she was telling me about her ex-husband. She said, I didn't love him as a husband. I do not love him as a man.
He is my enemy. I said, Well, Jesus said, Love your enemies. Love your enemies. Just love him as an enemy. And see what happens when you start there.
And we finish this off by looking at the fifth. Like Jesus, display patience. Like Jesus, display patience. Verse 25. For you were like sheep going astray, but now have returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls.
Here's the point. God let you go and sow your wild oats and do your own thing and live in rebellion. and he waited for you to come to your senses, And come to him. and rest under his authority as the shepherd and overseer of your soul. He let you do that.
He lived patiently. He was patient with you. in the past. Like the father of the prodigal son, who saw his son leave and sow his wild oats and live with the pigs, but finally come home. I heard a story about a father and son in Madrid, Spain.
They had a big blowout. Words were exchanged, anger went back and forth. Finally, Finally, the young teenage son ran away from home. Is dad so brokenhearted. Started looking for him all over town, couldn't find him, called his friends.
went to his digs, found nothing. Finally, last Desperate hope, he took an ad out in the Madrid newspaper. that read dear Paco. Meet me tomorrow in front of the newspaper office at 12 noon. All is forgiven.
I love you. Come home. Signed ad. The next day at twelve noon, in front of the newspaper office in Madrid, Spain. There were 800 young men named Paco, all waiting to receive forgiveness from their fathers.
from whom they were estranged, seems to be a common problem.
Solution Patience. Display Patience. Give people a chance. They're running away from you. The relationship has been broken.
Give them time enough to reconcile with God and then come back to you. Paul said, Love is patient. Love is kind. Love bears all things. All things.
Bear it, endure it. All things. So here we are called to put our life over the image of Jesus Christ and to trace. in our letters, in our communication. A life for ourselves that models his life.
In closing, let me just say: God has been patient with some of you for such a long time. Long time, right? Long time. He's waited for you to come to him for such a long time. He'll never force himself on you.
Did you know that Jesus never met a disease he couldn't cure? Jesus never met a demon he couldn't cast out. He never met a dead person he couldn't resurrect, but he met plenty of people he could not convert. Many people left Jesus' presence. Not believing in him.
Because to believe in him, to receive forgiveness, means you receive it, you have to take it. There's part that you have to play in it. It requires an act of your will. And if you haven't done that... He's waiting for you.
Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God's word with people all around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it's needed most. And this month we'd love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you the Expound Nehemiah 7 Message CD series with digital download. Along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind. These resources will help you see how God rebuilds what's broken in your life and gives you peace, even in the middle of pressure and uncertainty.
Give today at connectwithsgift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. We'll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skiff Heitzik Weekend Edition. Make a connection at the foot. Of the crossing. I catch your burning.
Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
