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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Jesus said these words in John 15: if the world hates you, Know that it hated me before it hated you, and they hated me without a cause. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
So even when Christians are kind and wonderful and helpful and magnanimous, they still represent the gospel that is narrow. and exclusive. Because our gospel says that only those who trust in Jesus Christ will enjoy heaven forever, and those who reject Jesus Christ will be forever lost. You think that's a popular message? No way.
I got an email from someone. I'm smiling when I say that. who claim to be A Christian. And said these words to me. I don't understand why every religion thinks they have God's special attention.
It appears to me that Christians are no better than Muslims. I pondered over that little email. And I thought, well, you know, I gotta say, I. I agree with him. Christians aren't any better than anyone else.
But we are better off Then everyone else. And we have a better message than anyone else because our message says: no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, no matter where you live. You can be set free from your sin and you can spend forever in heaven with God, guaranteed. There's no better message than that.
So, listen, here's the deal. And I say this sincerely: if there were 485 different ways to get to God, I would stand up here and preach all 485 ways. But the book that I read and that you read and you say you believe in says there's one way. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me.
And when you say that, And that is so narrow and so exclusive. This is going to happen. But notice, you got to notice this. There's a qualifying phrase. Notice it doesn't say, but even if you should suffer.
Didn't say that. It says, if you should suffer for what? Righteousness' sake. Oh, that's a whole different category now. If you suffer for righteousness' sake, or as it says in verse 17, suffer for doing good.
You see, Jesus never said, Blessed are the persecuted. He said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. It's no great blessing to get beat up. It's no great blessing for people to yell at you. You know, walk home after being hassle and go, what a great day.
Everybody yelled at me, and I got beat up. You're just a weirdo if you think that way. It's like the cannibal who was staring at the missionary. And made that missionary really queasy and uneasy. And he said to the cannibal, Why are you looking so intently at me?
And the cannibal grinned and said, I'm the food inspector. There's no blessing in being eaten. It all depends what you're being eaten for. Is it for righteousness' sake? Because you see.
You can invite Persecution on yourself by being an obnoxious person. I was going out of Pope Joy Hall one night. It's the performing arts center here, and I was going out after a play, and the whole crowd was going out. There was some guy standing on a wall, I think he had a Bible in his hands, raised up. He was yelling at us.
Yelling. angrily his furrowed brow and And he was telling us the good news: you're all going to hell. I'm thinking, so what's the bad news? And I was watching people as they were watching him. I was looking at the looks on their faces.
Nobody had the look on their face like, hmm, this is interesting and compelling. Tell me more. They were like, get away from the bad man quickly, quickly, quickly. It was a complete turnoff to them. Jesus said: Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
I don't know why some Christians think they need to be as wise as doves. And harmless is a snake. I believe the Lord is looking for sharpshooters, not grenade launchers.
Somebody who's going to be very careful and aim very specifically when they speak to unbelievers truth. Rather than just throwing it out there and seeing what happens. But even if you do, you do good. And you share truth. and you might suffer for righteousness' sake.
Notice it says you are Blessed. Means honored. God is honoring you to be in a position where you're experiencing. What Jesus experienced. You're honored.
You're blessed. Then he quotes Isaiah 8, which says, And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. Let me just give you a quick little background on that. In Isaiah chapter 8, King Ahaz of Judah felt threatened because the king of the north. In Israel, Had a coalition with the king of Syria, and they both threatened to come down and pounce on him.
And he's getting all bent out of shape and nervous. And so Isaiah the prophet comes to him and says, Don't worry about it. Don't be alarmed. Don't be frightened. The Lord's going to take care of this.
Don't be troubled by. Their threats.
So, Peter's lifting that up and applying that here. You are blessed if that happens. It might not happen, it probably won't happen. If it does happen, you're blessed. We had a guy on staff several years ago.
He was a part-timer, and he was walking home after work here to his home, which was nearby. and over his ears he had a set of headphones. I mean, they covered his ears. The headphones weren't plugged into a listening device. He didn't have one.
He was just using, get this, the headphones to keep his ears warm. I don't know, he found an old pair of headphones. He had them on. He's walking home.
Well, three guys see him thinking that he's listening to some listening device like an iPod, and they go up and they demand. Did he turn over it to them? His listening device. He goes, I don't have one. It's not plugged into anything, just to keep my ears warm.
But he saw this as a divine opportunity. He said Do you guys know Jesus Christ? They looked at him like he was living on the moon. And the ringleader said, don't tell us about that stuff. And then he said, I have a gun.
Colby said, Okay, whatever. He kept talking to him about the Lord, and the guy said, I'm not afraid to use this gun. And our staff member said.
Okay, I just want you to know I'm not afraid to die for Jesus Christ if it comes to that. And by the way, why are you so afraid whenever I mention the name Jesus Christ? Those three guys Beat him up. and broke his jaw. and it had to be surgically wired for it to function again.
But he got up from being beat up. And he went home singing. He didn't even have anything to listen to, right? He's just singing. rejoicing that he is Blessed, honored.
That he was persecuted not for weirdness' sake, not for obnoxiousness' sake, but for righteousness' sake. He felt honored by God.
Well, there's a third thing. Yeah. And that is. Practically Reasons are beneficial.
So, normally, goodness is profitable, but eventually persecution is inevitable.
So, that means, practically speaking, having reasons. is beneficial. Look what it says, verse 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, is really the heart of the passage. And always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness.
And fear. In other words, people are going to come along and ask you why you believe the stuff you do. When they ask you that, And they wanting reasons to figure you out and why you are a person of faith, have those reasons ready to share.
So how do you do that?
Well, first of all, it says, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Here's a better translation, and I believe the most accurate. Set apart. Jesus Christ As Lord, in your heart. In other words, before you go out and face the world every day, you make sure that you are.
Inwardly. in the right spot. That Jesus is your Lord, you're loyal to Him, that you love Him, you affirm your commitment to Him, know that you believe in Him, you belong to Him, you're beloved by Him. You better have that firmly in grasp before you meet the unbelieving world. Jesus is my Lord.
Chuck Colson has written a lot of great books, but he wrote a book. where he he reminds us that two thousand years ago, In the early church, if a Christian were to stand up in a public arena. and cry out in public. Jesus Christ is God. He would have had no problem at all.
No one would have batted an eye. Because the Greeks and the Romans were polytheistic. They believed in many gods.
Okay, you believe Jesus God, he's one of many gods, cool, whatever. But if a Christian would have stood up in public, and said Jesus Christ is Lord above all, and there is no other. He would endanger his life. Because now He's saying Caesar. Is not my Lord.
There's somebody higher than him. Caesar took the name Lord. And to proclaim that exclusiveness like this would place his life in jeopardy.
So here's the deal. It has to start inwardly in your heart before you can take it outwardly to your world. The only way you can stand publicly is because you kneel privately. Daniel stood before Nebuchadnezzar with great boldness. You know why he could do that?
Because in chapter one, it says Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. It all must begin there. You sanctify Jesus Christ as Lord in your heart. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, and direction for real life.
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Now here's more from Pastor Skip. Then Always And always, I looked it up. You know what it means? Always. Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
So, get this: the word defense here, you want to give a defense, is the Greek word apologia. We get our word apology. From it.
So doesn't that sound weird? Always be ready to give an apology to everybody who asks you a reason for the hope. You might say, you know, I'm really good at that. I'm really good at telling people, I'm sorry I'm a Christian. That's not what it means.
Peter isn't saying that from now on, when you meet an unbeliever, you say, I'm so sorry if I offend you because I'm a Christian. That is not what that means. We get the term apologetics also from that same word, and it means to have a defense or offer explanations or give good reasons for. Apollagia Apology. apologetic, was what lawyers used to do And giving a formal proclamation in defense of one of their clients.
It means to stand in a courtroom and give good, compelling reasons. on behalf of your client. That's what it means. And you know why he chose this word? I think I know why.
Because we live in a world. Or we are always in the courtroom. You are never out of the courtroom. This world is a living courtroom. And every day where you live and where you work and people who know you.
We're always on trial. People are always deciding at any given moment: am I going to believe in Jesus? Am I going to reject Jesus? They're wrestling with issues of faith. And that will largely be determined by what we say and by how we live.
This is what I've discovered. Unbelievers have really good questions. Christians ought to have really good answers. Yeah. You might know what you believe.
My question is, do you know why you believe what you believe? Here's my story. I was raised. In a religious home. Let's just put it that way: I was not a Christian.
Until I was 18. But I was raised in a religious home. Always thought I was a Christian. When I was 18 years old, Uh it was legit. I was saved.
It was repentance and faith. And I came alive, and for six months, I got into the Bible, and it was so exciting. And then something happened to me. It was called college. I went to college.
And everything that I had been taught for six months to believe in was challenged in my face. Overturned, argued against my very first day of school in my integrated zoology class. The professor said, Show of hands, how many here in the classroom are foolish enough to believe in Jesus Christ? I raise my hand. I didn't know if it was a trick question or not.
I noticed one girl put her hand up, and then when he said foolish, she went like this. Do you want to be embarrassed?
So I was like completely outnumbered. I didn't know you could ask that in a college classroom and slam Christianity, but apparently you can do just about anything in a college classroom. He went on the rest of the time to talk about how stupid those with that worldview were. A few months later, I was in my anatomy class. And then my radium physics class.
And I was taught that believing what I believed was a myth. A feel-good myth. And I walked home so confused and so challenged with my head in my hands. I said, I don't want to believe a myth. If this is just a myth, I'm not going to believe this any longer.
I'm not going to go to church to feel good once a week, and then that's it.
So I started studying and Researching. I discovered something really great. I discovered Not only do unbelievers have great questions, There are great answers for those great questions. They're really good ones.
So I studied and researched and was equipped. And I started looking for unbelievers. I wanted to find the deepest, most intellectual pagan doctor, professor, and say, dude, let's have a chat about this. I've discovered some really cool stuff I'd like to talk to you about. And you know what I discovered also?
The Bible always encourages Christians to think. to use their heads. Never once does the Bible say, when you come to church, please check thy brains at the door. And come in and have a mystical experience, then put on your normal hat and go back to the real world. Never.
Jesus said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, your strength. That you can apply objective reason and logic. And you can be ready. And it's fun. One author said, Any Christian who cannot present a biblically clear explanation of their faith will be insecure when strongly challenged by unbelievers.
In some cases, that insecurity can undermine their own assurance of salvation. The world's attacks can overwhelm them. But notice He says, don't just be ready to give an answer. But you should be ready to give an answer. Notice what it says with meekness.
And fear. You know what that means? Gentleness. and respect. My problem?
I studied and I was ready for unbelievers. and I wanted to win the argument. And I won a lot of arguments and lost a lot of people. The goal is not winning the argument, the goal is saving the soul. That's where gentleness and respect come in.
That's where you listen to them. You spend time with them. You are concerned about the details of their spiritual journey and what they wrestle with. It's not like, oh, dude, dude, don't even finish the question. I know the answer.
You listen to them. And it's not going to take just one time, it's going to take perhaps several. Times. to meet with that person and give them good answers.
Well Let's look at the fourth and we'll close it off. Verse 16. having a good conscience. That when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Here's the fourth principle: inwardly, conscience is indispensable.
There is no greater personal possession than a Clear conscience. a good conscience, as he says here. You know what your conscience is? It's that divinely implanted mechanism. whereby you are either feeling accused or excused.
Convicted or affirmed. At salvation, your conscience is cleansed. That's why you feel so good. Your conscience, all the accumulation of guilt and shame, is forgiven. Hebrews chapter 9: The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanses your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
But Once that happens, we have to carefully guard our Conscience. And win the war with sin on the inside, that's what keeps your conscience clear. There's no greater way to live. Paul the Apostle stood up in Acts 23 and he said, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And Peter's point is: a clear conscience will help you face a hostile world as you're criticized by other people.
Your conscience is clear. They might accuse you of all sorts of things, but you have a clear conscience. Therefore you are bold. Several years ago, it was a very difficult time in my own ministry. I was during that time not without my share of critics.
And I remember somebody coming up to me during that time, and he said, Boy, this has got to really keep you up at night. I said, no, actually, on the contrary, I go to bed every night and I sleep like a baby. He said How is that possible? This would keep me up every night. I said, I sleep well because I Uh I know the truth.
I have a clear conscience. There's no greater gift than having been there, and you know what you know. You know what happened, you know what the truth is, and you have a clear conscience. And the point Peter is making is even when you're slandered. You are bold because of your clear conscience.
Before God?
So, I opened up talking to you about that missionary in India. That was burned with his two sons, as tragic as that was a few years ago. Let me conclude with that. Let me come full circle. His wife, Gladys.
Survived. His daughter Esther. survived. They moved from the West as missionaries to India.
Now they're bereft of father, husband. She wrote a letter that was published in every newspaper in India. That's over a billion people could read it, over a billion people. This is what she said. I have only one message for the people of India.
I am not bitter. Neither am I angry. But I have a great desire that every citizen of this country establish their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who gave his life for their sin. Let us burn hatred and spread the flame of Christ's love. Then she said, I'm not leaving this country and going back home.
I'm staying here. God called me here. I'm going to raise my daughter in your country.
So now the world could see. What a Christian says when his thumb gets hit by a hammer. Big time. That's how they respond? with love and forgiveness and grace.
But she saw that as this is my opportunity to tell a billion people that Jesus loves them and died for them. When holiness meets hostility. Pure conscience. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder.
When you give $30 or more this month, we'll send you biblical wisdom for everyday living as our thanks. This special collection of four LifeStyle booklets from Pastor Skip Heitzig offers biblical encouragement for prayer, joy, forgiveness, and standing firm when life feels uncertain. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry reaching people around the world with the life-changing truth of God's Word. Give today at connectwithsgift.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, never foot. Of the crossing. Castle burning.
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