As I read the words of Jesus as He describes the future eternity, He's speaking about real life. I know a lot of people like to say, Well, this is the real world, man. Get real. This is the real world.
Okay, this might be the real world, but then that is the really real world. Listen to Jesus' words. Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves rake in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
C.S. Lewis once said, If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip explores what a new life in Jesus means for you. At the end of the program, Skip and his wife, Lenya, share how your new birth in Christ gives you hope for your mistakes.
Think of it this way. Following a dead guy isn't hopeful. Following a guy who conquered death is not only hopeful, but it becomes now the greatest possible adventure you could endure. Thank you, Skip and Lenya. Be sure to stay with us after today's message to hear the full discussion. Right now, we want to tell you about a resource that will help you break free from anxiety and experience the peace Jesus offers.
So how is your stress level on a scale of one to ten? Stress as a thief, a robber of peace and joy. Here Skip Heitzig with a pointed observation. If you don't live with an anchor of faith, you're going to drift in a sea of anxiety. And most people in the world, they don't have anything to anchor.
They have no real grand scheme or purpose in life. We want to help you live with an anchor of faith so you can learn to lean into God in times of anxiety by sending you three powerful resources. Skip Heitzig's new booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind. His teaching, Worship in the Uncertainty on CD. Plus, The War is Over Worship CD. This bundle is our thanks when you give $35 or more today to help expand the Bible teaching outreach of Skip Heitzig. Jesus as Savior brings peace with God, but Jesus as Lord brings the peace of God. Call now to request these three encouraging resources when you give.
800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now we're in 1 Peter chapter one as we get into the message with Skip Heitzig. Did you know that America has the greatest number of artificial amusements of any country on earth? And yet our per capita boredom rate is the highest in the world. We are a bored culture. How many times, parents, have you heard teenagers who go, I'm bored. It's boring here. So they think if they move there, it won't be boring. I grew up around Los Angeles.
They said it there. It's life. But Jesus walked into Peter's life one day and hope was born.
It was awesome. But then something happened in Peter's life that caused Peter's hope to die. What do you think that would be? When Jesus died? When Jesus died, hope died in Peter's mind. Because Jesus made a whole bunch of promises.
Now he's dead. Remember the two disciples on the road to Emmaus? They were talking. They didn't know it to Jesus who was alive. They didn't know it. They're talking to one another. And this stranger, Jesus, says, what are you guys talking about? We're talking about this guy named Jesus. And this is what they said. We had hoped that he would be the one.
What are they saying? Our hope is dead. Whatever hope we had died when he died. When he died, the cord of our hope was cut. So Peter had hope. His hope died. But then something happened to revive Peter's hope and keep it alive forever.
What was that? The resurrection. That's what he says in verse one. Bless to be the art. Verse three. Bless to be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through what? The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Boy, that would do it, right? When the guy you hoped in died and he got back up, your hope would go ballistic.
Hope would make its debut. Because that means that all those promises he ever made were true. And boy, did he make a lot of promises.
Here's a few of them. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live. That's a big promise. Here's another one. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Big promise. Another one.
He who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life. Another promise. Because I live, you also will live.
Huge promises. But when the guy who makes those promises dies, what do you say? You go, pfft, whatever. You're going to die. You're going to die. What do you say?
You go, pfft, whatever. But when he gets back up again, when he resurrects from the dead, when he's alive again, it means every single promise he ever made about eternal life now makes sense. Now that makes sense. And that's what I think Peter meant when he says, we have been born again. And the step that we take is a step of hope and it's living hope because Jesus is a living Savior. And somebody will then say, well, how do we know he actually rose from the dead? That's just what his disciples say.
They wanted to keep the story alive. Every year at Easter time on National Geographic Channel, they have some little lame documentary that says something like that. And there have been books written about the research and the proofs of the resurrection.
Let me just give you three quick lines of evidence. First of all, Jesus predicted his own death and his own resurrection before it ever happened. He told his disciples over and over again, before it ever happened, I'm going to Jerusalem, they're going to kill me three days after that, I'm going to get back up. They didn't get it. They went, oh, that's very nice. Until it actually happened.
Then he went, wow, he literally meant that. Line of evidence number two, eyewitness accounts, individuals as well as groups. People saw him one on one. His disciples all saw them at one time. And the Bible records a group of, get this, 500 people saw him alive at one time. And so if you ever say, well, it was just a hallucination. Did you know that hallucinations don't happen to groups?
The same thing that they saw. Josephus, the Jewish historian, even writes that his own followers saw him alive after his death because of a resurrection. A British lawyer by the name of Sir Edward Clark said, and I quote, as a lawyer, I have made a prolonged study on the evidences for the events of the first Easter day.
For me, the evidence is conclusive. And over and over again, in the high courts, I have secured a verdict on evidence, not nearly as compelling as that for the resurrection. Frank Morrison was another atheist who decided to write a book showing that Jesus was a farce. And then he studied the resurrection and he got converted and he did write a book. But the first chapter of the book he wrote was called the book that refused to be written. It was about his conversion and the evidence for the resurrection. An atheist, Lee Strobel, who has spoken from this pulpit, now a strong believer, at one time was the legal reporter for the Chicago Tribune said, and I quote, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested to event of the ancient world.
The third line of evidence is alluded to here in verse three, the changed lives of the followers of Christ. Okay, before Jesus died on the cross, what was Peter doing? Denying denying Jesus, denying him right before that whole crucifixion.
He was, I don't know who he is. He was a coward. You open up to the book of Acts and Peter is like suddenly courageous.
He's bold. He's walking around Jerusalem, preaching about Jesus in front of lots more people. And at the point of his own persecution and possible death.
What is it that could turn a coward like Peter into a courageous preacher? The resurrection, that's called a living hope. So the new birth is a step toward hope and our hope is a living hope. But keep reading verse four.
Our hope is not just a living hope, it's a lasting hope. The second step is that the new birth is a step toward inheritance. Verse four, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not have that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. Now we know what an inheritance is. An inheritance is property or money or title that you own upon the death of the previous holder who has made you an heir. And once that person dies, it's passed on to you if you were named an heir.
Usually this is done by parents for children. We are children of God. Jesus came from heaven to earth and died, bequeathing heaven to you. It's your inheritance. Then he rose from the dead, and he became a joint heir with us. Listen to the language of Paul Romans chapter eight verse 17. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs. Heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. For I consider that the present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
So we're born. Step number one, hope, living hope. Step number two, lasting hope, what he calls here an eternal inheritance. Let me just say that only a hope that is a lasting hope is really hope.
I mean, if our hope is only like for right now, but not for later on, it's pretty hopeless. I remember when I first came to Christ, I heard a lot of things. I remember when I first came to Christ, I heard a lot of these kinds of things. Oh, I'm so happy for you. What do you mean you're happy for me? Well, whatever floats your boat, whatever gets you through the life that you live, whatever gets you through today, if that works for you, that's really good.
No, no, no, no. It's not just about hope now. I mean, it really begins after I die in eternity.
I have something that's in inheritance, that's incorruptible, undefiled, that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for me. That's what I have to look forward to. That's real hope. Paul wrote this to Corinth, 1 Corinthians 15, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. Contrary to a popular book that's been out for the last five years, your best life is not now. That's the title of a very popular Christian book, Your Best Life Now.
Really? Your best life is now? Okay, here's Paul writing to persecuted Christians who lost their jobs, got kicked out of their families, and kept hiding, being scattered in different parts of the Roman Empire because they were Christians. He's going to say, your best life is now. No, he's going to say, your best life isn't now, unless you're an unbeliever. If you're a believer, this inheritance, this earth, which is defiled and fading away and corruptible, this is nothing. You've got hope of an inheritance, and your best life is then, not now. In 2 Peter chapter 3, which we'll get to probably in 20 years at our rate, Peter says, therefore, therefore, since all of these things, these earthly things, will be dissolved.
Think about that for a moment. That new car you got, enjoy it, because one day it's going to be dissolved. That cool new home that you're redecorating for whatever you're decorating it for, enjoy it, but it's going to go, it's going to burn, it's going to be dissolved. Now, therefore, since all these things are going to be dissolved, what manner of persons are you to be in holy conduct and godliness?
Have you ever answered that question? Since everything here is going to be dissolved, what kind of people should we be? Well, certainly not materialistic people, because everything materialistic is going to dissolve. Hopefully, spiritually minded people who think beyond this life to an inheritance, incorruptible, and defiled, that doesn't fade away, reserved in heaven for me. Don't you see that heaven was more than a destination for Peter?
It was a motivation. See, when I die, I don't die. I know it looks like I'm dead. He's mostly dead. When I die, I graduate.
That's coronation day. That's where life really begins. It's interesting, as I read the words of Jesus, as he describes the future eternity, he's speaking about real life. I know a lot of people like to say, well, this is the real world, man. Get real. This is the real world. Okay, this might be the real world, but then that is the really real world. Listen to Jesus' words. Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
It's a real place. Where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If your best days are behind you, you are not saved. If your best days are yet ahead of you, you are. Your best life is then.
It's then. There's a guy who opened a brand new business and his buddy wanted to celebrate, so he sent him a congratulatory gift and a bouquet of flowers. The problem is the bouquet of flowers had a card attached that said, rest in peace. So you can imagine the shock of this new business owner looking at this bouquet of flowers. Rest in peace.
I just started this new business. What's the deal? Well, well, the owner then called the flower shop and said, I think there's a mix up here. I think I got the wrong bouquet.
And the florist apologized profusely said, indeed, you got the wrong flowers. But, but just to brighten your day, just think right now, somewhere in town, there's a funeral. And the bouquet of flowers, the card on those flowers says, congratulations on your new location. Now, I can't think of a better card to write for Christians who go to heaven. That's what we ought to put on all the flowers for the funerals of believers. Congratulations on your new location. Because if you're truly a believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Not a bad gig. So we get born. The first step we have is a step of hope. The second is a step of inheritance. The third is a step toward power, verse five, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. This is power to keep you secure. The word kept means to be kept safe or safeguarded. And it's a strong word used of soldiers who at the point of death would keep something safe. You are safe guarded by God. God will keep you from earth to heaven. He has the power to do that.
He'll keep you safe. We live in a world that is increasingly more than just a place of faith. We live in a world that is increasingly unsafe. And people are sensing that. And there's an anxiety. I just sense a growing anxiety around a lot of people with our economy, with what's going on in the Middle East. Just these kind of problems that rise to the surface, cause a greater sense of unease, perhaps, than I've ever noticed before.
I know every generation says it's worse than the previous one, but I do sense this. There's a woman who sensed this, and she was worried about the growing crime rate and her own safety, so she went and took a course, one of those concealed carry courses, and got her permit, bought a handgun, carried it around in her purse, loaded, and nothing happened for five months. But one night, five months after she got her permit, she walked out to a parking lot after going shopping. It was dark. She went to her car, and there were four men inside of it. She said, get in the car, get in the car, four men inside of it. She said, get out of the car.
They wouldn't budge. She pulled out her gun. Get out of the car. Those doors flew open faster than you can imagine.
Those guys ran into the night. Then she found her car. Same make, same model. Three parking spaces away. Easy mistake.
Oops. She was guarding the wrong car. Aren't you glad that God, who makes no mistakes, is the one guarding your life and keeping you safe, safeguarding you. You are kept by the power of God, but I want to add to that and say, God will keep you, but you have to want to be kept. Jude, verse 24, now unto him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you faultless before the throne of his glory with exceeding joy. But you have to want to be kept. And what does he keep you for?
He keeps you for this. Verse five, you are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Now don't misunderstand that. That does not mean that you can't know if you're saved until you get to the very end and God says no or yeah.
Doesn't mean that. It talks about the ultimate salvation. Now let me explain something. The New Testament speaks of your salvation in three different ways, past, present and future. You have been saved by faith. It's done.
It's done. You place your faith in Christ. If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. So you have been saved past tense from the penalty of sin.
Number one. Number two, you are being saved right now in the present tense from the power of sin. The grip that sin has had on your life. You are in the process of sanctification. We talked about that last week, that breaking free of sin. But number three, you will be saved ultimately from the very presence of sin in the future. That's the day when you have a new body, a resurrected body.
The old nature is gone. You don't even have the capacity to cooperate with sin. You can't even get tempted. That's when salvation reaches its climax, its ultimate. So God has the power to save you. God has the power to secure you and God has the power to send you to heaven. And all comes to the new birth.
One final thing as we close about this new birth. It's your only hope for new life. Back to that conversation. Well, I'm a Christian, but I'm not a born again kind. Then you ain't one. Because Jesus said, unless a man is born again, he will not see the kingdom of God. He said to Nicodemus, the Pharisee, the religious guy, Nicodemus, marvel not, but I say to you, you must be born again. There's very few things in life that you must do. You must breathe to survive. You must have fluids to sustain life.
You must have food to continue living. But if you ever want to see heaven, you must be born again or you never will. And you are deceiving yourself the whole way through.
Simple formula. If you're born once, you'll die twice. If you're born twice, you'll die once. I know you've been born once. I'm looking I know you've been born once.
I'm looking at you. That's physical birth. I grant you entrance into physical life. But Jesus said a man must be born a second time from above, again, begotten again. That's spiritual birth. If you're born once physically, you'll die twice physically and spiritually, eternally separated from God. But if you're born twice, physically, spiritually born again, you'll only die once. You'll only die physically but never spiritually so that when you die, we can truly say congratulations on your new location.
That's the formula. That wraps up Skip Heisig's powerful message for you from the series Rock Solid. Now here's Skip and Lenya as they share how your new birth in Christ gives you hope for your mistakes. Today we learned that a person has to be born again in order to enter heaven. And you said that one step to take after being born again is a step toward hope. So how does the hope of Christ release us from the dull monotonous life this world offers? In a single word by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, the resurrection, Jesus' resurrection was the most hope-inspiring event in human history. There's life after death. Exactly.
And here's why. When Jesus got up from the grave, it meant that every other thing he said was accurate, was true, because he made a lot of promises. But one of the promises he made is that he would live again. No man takes my life from me. I lay it down of myself.
I have the power to lay it down and take it again. And he kept telling his disciples, I'm going to rise from the dead three days after I'm put on a cross. He kept saying that. And that never happened before.
No, that's right. So it happened, not that there hadn't been resurrections in the past, but no one who predicted his death and resurrection ever did. And so Jesus did that, which suddenly means every other promise he made is possible. And it just generates hope. So, you know, think of it this way, following a dead guy isn't hopeful.
Following a guy who conquered death is not only hopeful, but it becomes now the greatest possible adventure you could endure. So being born again, you know, gives us this opportunity that we're born into new life, that there is just a future and a hope. And I love how Peter put it, he called it a living hope. You know, isn't it great? It's not like, it's a hope, it's a living hope.
It's alive because Jesus is alive. Thank you, Skip and Lenya. We hope this conversation with Skip and Lenya encouraged you in your faith. Now we'd like to tell you how you can help keep these biblical messages coming to you and others so you can keep growing in your walk with Jesus. Call now to give a gift, 800-922-1888.
Again, that's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. Connectwithskip.com slash donate. Thank you. Come back again tomorrow as Skip Heiseck shares how God can use the struggles you face to make you into the person you were created to be. Connect with Skip Heiseck is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
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