Pastor Skip Heitzig guides us through First and Second Peter in the series Rock Solid.

We are in First Peter, chapter 1, in a series we call Rock Solid; First Peter, chapter 1. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for your people, those who have gathered. We're mindful of those who were unable to gather for whatever reason is going on in their lives and pray a special blessing on them, but I pray that you would meet here with us today, that we would have a fuller understanding of the depth of your love for us. I pray we would be impacted by what we hear and by what we read. Lord, I pray that it would be so transforming to us that we would look at other people around us the way you see them, in Jesus' name, amen.

How does the world value people? What is the standard that the world uses to say, "You are valuable?" Well, typically you know the answer. Typically it's either outward beauty, or personal wealth, or accomplishment, status. Because that is true, that's the reason we find ourselves comparing ourselves with other people. "Are they more beautiful than I am; less beautiful than I am? Do they have more or less finances than I have? Have they accomplished more than I've accomplished?"

And because that is true, we are constantly giving worth and value to ourselves based upon the value and worth of other people on that scale. According to one survey only 13 percent of American women consider themselves to be pretty, 28 percent of American men think themselves to be handsome; 94 percent of American men would change something about their looks if they could, while 99 percent of American women would change something about their looks if they could.

Follow-up question: How does God value us? Well, a very, very different set of standards. God looks at us through a different lens. The Bible says that, "God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise; the powerless things of this world to confound the mighty, and the things that the world despises, God has chosen." There's a billboard campaign, I've seen it in several cities, it says, "We Buy Ugly Houses." I like that sign. It's just one of those campaigns, marketing campaigns that was done right.

Because you look at it, and then you look at it again, and you never forget it. "We Buy Ugly Houses." It was the brain child of a man named Ken D'Angelo who decided that he would look for properties that are run down. He would fix them up, resell them to investors, or to first-time home buyers, and also beautify the neighborhoods around him. "We Buy Ugly Houses." Listen, God has been in the business of buying "ugly houses" long before any real estate investor ever came along. Look at chapter 1, verse 18.

"Knowing that you were not redeemed [or bought, purchased] with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

That is God's plan---to buy up and the transform ugly houses, broken lives, those with an "aimless conduct" that they have received. That's God's plan, and you and I fit into that plan. How's that plan working out? Some of you will remember back to a TV series many years ago called the A-Team. It's since been made into a movie. Anybody remember the A-Team?

Okay, so the head of the A-Team---it's this Special Forces, ex-Special Forces guys. The head of it is a guy named Hannibal Smith. And when everything works out the way he's planned it, at the end of show his catchphrase is, "I love it when a plan comes together." So does God. And God has a plan, and I want to share with you out of this passage five aspects of God's plan for us that include your preciousness, your predicament, your price, your predestination, and your part in this plan.

Let's look at your preciousness. Notice it says in verse 18 the word "redeemed." Just look at that word; that's the keyword of the whole passage. "You were redeemed." The word "redeem" means to set free by paying a price. It's a term that comes from the slave markets of the first century when somebody would go in where people were put on parade in chains, and a price would be given to set that slave free, for that slave to come home, or a new owner, or to go out on his own---to set free by paying a price.

It also was a Greek term, a technical term for paying money to set a prisoner of war free. Now, the fact that money would be spent in this transaction shows that the owner places value on the slave, places value on the prisoner of war. So the idea, the term "redemption" infers value. In other words, simply put, you are precious to God; the old house is worth saving. God redeemed you.

The love of God---what's the most famous verse in the Bible? John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." Does not say, "For God was so ticked off at the world he sent his Son to punch everybody out." He loved the world. The essence of God's character, besides holiness, is love. Twice in First John it says, "God is love." So easy to say; so hard to believe; I'm convinced most Christians have a hard time really believing and experiencing that God values them and that they are precious to him.

Dwight L. Moody that pastor-evangelist from Chicago in the 1800s once got out his concordance and looked up every single reference to God's love. And at the end he said, "There is no truth in the whole Bible that ought to affect us as much as the love of God." The reason we struggle with it, with God loving us the way we are, is because it's so foreign to us. God's love is so diametrically different from human love. Human love is object oriented, it's discriminate; that is, "I see something I like and I get it for myself."

That's human love. It is based on the object: object oriented, it's discriminate, and I would add a third characteristic, it's temporary. "I like it today, will I like it tomorrow?" Or if I'm a child, "I like it now, but in ten minute will it like it?" That's human love. God's love is different. God's love is subject oriented, not object oriented. It's based on him, not the object. It's subject oriented, it is indiscriminate, and it is eternal. So it's very, very different. It's based on God's character.

There was once an American tourist, who was in Paris, and she went into a little trinket shop, and she bought a bracelet. It was very inexpensive. It was cheap. It was a few dollars, twenty-something bucks. It had amber and different things in it, but she liked it, and she took it home. When she was trying to go back to the United States, they stopped her at customs and looked it over and demanded that she pay a pretty hefty tax, duty, to get back in the country, which raised a red flag.

She took it to a jewelry shop to get it appraised. The jeweler looked it over and said, "I'll give you twenty-five thousand dollars for it now." Took it to another jeweler shop, offered her ten thousand more---"Thirty-five thousand dollars now." So she said, "Okay, so what's up with this little bracelet? Why do you think it's so valuable? I didn't spend much for it." The jeweler said, "Come closer," gave her the magnifying glass. And on the back of that little trinket bracelet was the inscription, "From Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine." That's why it was so valuable.

It wasn't valuable because of what it was made of, necessarily, or the era from which it came, or even that it was given to Josephine, it was based upon the subject that gave that. It was based on the identification of a famous person named Napoleon Bonaparte. Your value comes from the fact that you are loved by the God of this universe. That's your preciousness to God.

Scientist have discovered what they say is the most precious substance in the all the universe---it's very rare, used only for research purposes---called antihydrogen. It makes things like plutonium, gold, and diamond seem like dirt in comparison. The estimated value of antihydrogen, the price tag---one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one trillion dollars per ounce. To get our little minds around that, that's 1-7-7-1 followed by twelve zeros, dollars per ounce.

But there's something far more valuable than antihydrogen---you; you; you are. You, to God, are more precious than anything that he would pay the big bucks to get you. Before we get to that, we have a little bit of a problem, which brings us to the second aspect of this plan; and that is, your predicament. Notice what it says in verse 18. You were redeemed "from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers." You know what "aimless" means; it means without aim, or, better put, the wrong aim.

You were aimed in the wrong direction. You were going the wrong direction, and consequently your life was empty, unsatisfying, vain, tasteless, you might say. And this is true of even the most prominent and wealthy and famous people. I was reading an article about Elvis Presley. The week he died he was in a hotel room in Las Vegas, and he wrote a letter. And parts of the letter, he said, "I feel so alone sometimes," which is curious because years before that he had actually written a song called "Heartbreak Hotel."

Remember that song? [impersonating Elvis] "Well, I feel so lonely." [laughter] He said, "I feel so lonely." And what was sad to me is that he actually became the caricature in the song that he had written about. He was in a hotel; he died that week, he said, "I feel all alone sometimes." Actor George Clooney said, "I'm lonely. I can't sleep. I've used cocaine even though I hated it."

But long before the "King of Rock and Roll" or that actor, there was another king named Solomon who summed up his whole life by saying, "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity," or "Emptiness, emptiness, everything I've tried in life is empty and tasteless." That's aimless living. That's exactly what Peter is writing about here. Jesus said, "What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" Solomon did that. That's the futility of an unredeemed life.

But look closer. "Your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers." When I first read this, I was around eighteen or nineteen when I first remember reading this passage, and it was as though Peter was writing directly about my life. I came from a very traditional church background. I received a tradition from my fathers, a church tradition. I wasn't saved, but I had a tradition. And since then I have met many people who say, "I was raised in the same tradition," or, "These are the traditions I was raised with."

So that when we were younger we would ask things like, "Dad, mom, why do we do this?" "It's our tradition." "Yeah, but is it right?" "But it's our tradition." Now, you might say, "Well, what's wrong with people's traditions?" Nothing, unless you are trusting in those traditions to save you, then it's wrong. They may be good, but a good thing can become a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing. That's what Peter's writing about here.

You know, basically there are only two approaches to God. You might say there are only two religions in the world. If you studied world religions in college, and you studied all the different nuances between this country and that country, and this belief system and that, you might leave that class and think, "Boy, there are so many different ways people have to believe." I beg to differ. Let me give you the Cliffs Notes to that class. Let me give you the irreducible minimum to that religions class.

There are only two religions in the world, only two ways to get to God, two approaches: number one, the religion of human achievement; number two, the religion of divine accomplishment. You could take every single world religion and place it in the first category, human achievement---people believing that by their traditions, their practices, their sincerity, their good works, they're going to make it to God. That's the religion, the approach of human achievement.

But the only way that God says he will be approached is the second category, and that's the approach, or, if you will, "religion," for lack of a better term, the religion of divine accomplishment. It's not what you do; it's what he's done. It's not what you work toward; it's the work he has given and done on the cross. It's not what you earn; it's what you receive. That's how you get redeemed.

Now, that takes us to the third aspect of this plan, and it's your price. What did you cost? What is the price tag that God was willing to pay to get you to heaven? Look at verse 19, "With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." That's how valuable you were. If a young man walks into a jewelry store with his fiancée, and he wants to buy a diamond ring, which is always a mistake to do it together.

And here's why: because the first question the jeweler is going to ask the young man is---what?---"How much are you willing to spend?" It's a trick question, [laughter] Because she's standing there and she is going, "Yeah, how much are you willing to spend? How much am I worth to you?" Because he's thinking in his mind, "That Cracker Jack ring looks mighty fine." [laughter] And she's saying, "Not gonna happen."

The Hope Diamond is the most expensive diamond in the world, $250 million it's estimated at, 45-carats of a blue-hued gemstone. Well, he might feel, "That's what she's worth to me." Dude, you'll never be able to even come close. Don't even think about it, but you do have to set a price. You know what you cost? Everything; you cost, we cost the very life blood of the Son of God, and God was willing to pay it, and Jesus was willing to go through it.

It's why Vance Havner the one-time Senate to the United States chaplain said, "Salvation is free, but it is not cheap." God gave his very best. Years ago Alan Shepard one of America's great astronauts who walked on the moon, one of the few men who did, was interviewed. And he was asked, "When you were up in space looking back at the earth, what thoughts were going through your mind?" Listen to his response: "It's a sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that your safety is determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract." [laughter]

Whoa, that's a whole different way of looking at a space travel. "I am here and will get back based upon the lowest bidder on a government contract." Listen, when God purchased your soul, he didn't go for a lowest bid, he paid the highest price---the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Why is it so precious? Why is it so precious? It's so precious, because Jesus Christ is the only person who never sinned, never sinned, lived a perfect life, never committed a sin.

Notice what it says, "He is without blemish and without spot." Blemish is an inherent defect; a spot is an acquired defect. That's imagery to simply say he was not born in sin, he did not commit a sin, without spot, without blemish. Now, most of you know that in the Bible, in the Old Testament especially, lambs were used for redemption, lambs were used for substitute. So that you wouldn't die, a lamb would die.

It goes all the way back to Genesis, chapter 4, when Adam and Eve blew it; God took the skin of animals and covered them. And most scholars believe it was a skin of a lamb. It would feel good, lamb's skin. In that case, it was one lamb for one person. As time goes on in the Exodus of Egypt, in the Passover, they were to take the blood of a lamb and put it on the lintels and doorpost of their homes. In that case, it was one lamb for one family.

As time went on, in the book of Leviticus, chapter 23, on the Day of Atonement the high priest would dip the hyssop in blood of a lamb and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and the whole nation would be atoned for. So, you have one lamb for one person, one lamb for one family, one lamb for one nation. Then you get to the New Testament, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to the Jordan and says, "Check it out!" "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Now it's one Lamb for one world. And the reason his blood is so precious is because it is the only antidote to the sin virus for the whole world---the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Joseph Parker said, "An extreme condition demands an extreme remedy. Until you see that you are doomed and damned apart from Jesus Christ, you will never truly count his blood precious in your sight." It's precious in God's sight; is it precious in your sight?

Consumer Reports, you've all heard of that, they put out a great little book called How to Clean Practically Anything. A very practical book, How to Clean Practically Anything, and solvents are given for different substances. For example: glycerin will remove ballpoint pen stains, boiling water is all you need for berry stains, vinegar will take care of crayon stains, ammonia will handle bloodstains, alcohol will take away grass stains, hydrogen peroxide will remove magic marker stains; bleach, mildew stains; and lemon juice will eradicate rust stains.

But there is nothing in the book of how to get rid of sin stains. But there is in this book. There is in this book. In First John, chapter 1, "The blood of Jesus Christ God's son cleanses a man, a woman, from all sin." That's how you get rid of sin stains---the precious blood of Christ. Now, folks, something on my heart, and I've noticed it for years, the blood of Jesus Christ is being depreciated by many people and many churches will want to make it absent.

They don't want to mention the blood of Christ. They want lots of happy songs---"You're okay, I'm okay." But even seeking to remove any reference to the blood; there are churches who have a concerted effort to remove from their hymnology, their song books, any reference to the blood of Christ. Because for a long time now people are saying, "We don't want another bloody religion." "We don't want this old-fashioned gospel blood dripping places."

One female theologian by the name of Delores Williams said, and I quote, "I don't think we need a theory of atonement at all. I don't think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping down and weird stuff like that," close quote. Ah, she is so wrong, and here's why. I'll give you an example. I'll give you an illustration. True story: Years ago two trains collided that took the lives of several people. One was a commuter train filled with people. The commuter train stalled on the railroad tracks.

A ways off, but coming toward the commuter train was a high-speed freight train. Because the first train stalled, a conductor was sent out with a flag to wave the second train down to get it to stop. The train came around the bend, but was still moving at a pretty good rate. Though it had slowed down, it did not stop. And just before impact the conductor in the freight train jumped out and saved himself. The trains collided, body parts strewn everywhere, people died, trains like pretzels were spread all around the countryside---high impact.

The investigation that followed brought a court case. In the courtroom the conductor of the freight train was brought in to ask why he would jump out of the train to save himself, but didn't stop the train. And he said simply, "I saw the flag, but the flag that was waved was a yellow flag, which in the train business means slow down; it does not mean stop. I saw a yellow flag, I slowed down, I didn't have enough time, I bailed out last minute, and there was a collision."

So they brought the flag in that he wove, and that was Exhibit A. Indeed this flag that was one time bright red had faded due to sun damage over time and now had turned a dirty yellow. The church that at one time had a bright red gospel, that gospel has faded and it saves no one. And we do people a disservice, in fact, a worse disservice than waving the wrong kind of a flag for a commuter train; when we don't tell people the truth about hell and heaven and how to get to heaven. That kind of a gospel will save no one.

The blood of Jesus Christ needs to be front and center, because it is in the Bible; over three hundred times the word "blood" is mentioned. If you don't like a bloody book, get a different one than this. It is mentioned three hundred times. Blood atonement is centerpiece in this book. We need to need get back to that truth of the great, old hymn written by Robert Lowry in the 1800s. "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." That's the price.

Look at the next verse. Verse 20 tells us a fourth factor in this plan; and that is, your predestination. "He indeed was foreordained," there is it is. "He [Jesus] was foreordained [preplanned] before the foundation of world, but was manifest in these last times for you." Let me paraphrase it: You were never an afterthought to God. It's not like you came along and God said, "Oh, yeah, what am I going to do with you?" You were never an afterthought; you were a forethought.

A lot of people think that God was first the Creator and then he became a Redeemer because things changed. So, he created the heavens and the earth, and it's like, "Oh, this is cool. This is good." And then Adam and Eve came along and they botched it up so bad that God said, "Oops! I didn't see that coming. I gotta do something now," and then he became a Redeemer. Not so. God's redemption is as eternal as his power. Jesus Christ in Revelation 13 is called "the Lamb that was slain from the foundations of the world."

It was always God's plan. You were always God's plan. You were never an afterthought. He thought about you in advance and he sent Jesus in the nick of time to save you. Somewhere in the counsels of eternity God the Father said to God the Son, "You need to go down there. You're going to have to save them." It was all part of the plan. And for you to be here right now and hear this message is also part of God's plan for your life, which leads us to the fifth and final part of God's plan; and that is, your part in it, your part.

Verse 21 tells us, "Who through him," that is, you. "You who through him believe in God," that is, through Jesus Christ you have come into a relationship with God. "Who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." In other words, your part is the believing part, it's the faith part. You can't work for it. You can't buy it; it didn't come from silver or gold. You can't work for it; it didn't come from the tradition of your forefathers. But you can believe it; you can receive it.

You don't have to clean up your life. You know, so many people that I meet with---I've heard this for years. Have you ever heard this? "Yeah, I know I need to come to God." Or they'll say things like, "I know I should come to church, but I gotta work on some things first. I got clean up my act first." What part of "redemption" are we not getting here? You don't clean up anything first. First of all, you can't clean up your life enough to be good enough for God, so give it up.

Don't come and clean up your act first, you come as you are and let God clean up your act. He's in that business. He catches the fish, then he cleans them. He doesn't say, "Fish, clean up first, and then I'll catch you." Most fishermen know that. [laughter] You get the fish, then you clean it. You come as you are; you believe. Now, if you're thinking, "Oh, good, good, good, good, because I believe." Well, let me ask you how you believe and what you believe. Because a lot of people will say, "I believe God exists out there somewhere."

Okay, but that's not what we're talking about. The idea of here believing in God, believing in Jesus, do you lean on him? Are you trusting him? Now, that's personal because he's a person. Not, do you believe a God lives out there? You know, it's one thing to talk about the greatness of a parachute, it's another thing to jump out of the airplane. "Parachutes are great. I love parachutes. They're wonderful things. I believe parachutes exist." Cool. Will you take one on your back and jump?

You know, in that business, by the way, there's a saying that says, "Always pack your own parachute." That's the saying, because, you know, you don't know if anybody else is going to pack it like you are. That's true, but they live by that. The very first time you jump, you do not pack your own parachute. You cannot pack your own parachute; you don't know how to pack your own parachute. When you first jump, you hold on to an instructor who has packed a parachute.

Why would you do that? Because you trust that he knows how to pack a parachute. Will you trust Jesus to pack a parachute for you? That's faith. That's faith. Redemption is appropriated by faith and some of basic things for you to believe in are implied in this text: you must believe in his death, you must believe in his resurrection, and you must believe that he is Lord, his ascend to glory. He died, he rose, he's Lord of all---that's faith in Christ, and that's personal. So whether you think you're pretty or handsome or ugly, you are valuable to God.

In all the gyrations you go through life in---"Am I good enough?" "Am I pretty enough?" "Am I handsome enough?"---just know that behind the scenes you've got a God who says, "You are worth everything, and I gave everything to purchase you to myself." And no sin is too great, no life is too evil, and no one is too good. We all come exactly the same way. We all must be redeemed. And religion can't redeem you, tradition can't redeem you, money can't redeem you, sincerity can't redeem you, but blood can, his blood.

A woman lie dying in her home, and a parish priest came to visit her. And he thought, "This woman needs the last rites," that "everybody who dies in my parish needs the last rites." And so she saw the priest come into the room, not knowing him, he said, "What are you doing here?" He said, "I have come to give you absolution. I have come to forgive you." And she said, "Show me your hands." And she looked at his hands and said, "You, sir, are an imposter. For the one who forgave my sins has nail prints in his hands. I'm redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish and without spot." Are you? Is that who you trust in? "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness."

Father, we close this time together with that thought, with that truth ringing in our ears. The plan that Peter has so beautifully and simply laid out includes the fact that we are valued by you. But we're messed up; our lives without you are aimless---wrong direction. But you were willing to pay the ultimate price, because we're that valuable to you that you would give your very best, the precious blood of Jesus. You were willing to pay that price.

And it was something you planned long before we ever showed up, and our part is to latch onto that plan, to believe, to put our faith and hope, our trust in the living God who can raise the dead and can give us life. And I pray for anyone here this morning who may not personally know that. They've heard it, they've sung it even, but they're trusting in their works, they're trusting in their religion, they're trusting in the church they grew up in. They're trusting in their own sincerity, or what their parents taught them, rather than personally trusting in Jesus Christ alone.

Some have strayed from that and need to come home. I pray, Lord, you would buy that house and restore it. As our heads are bowed, I'd love to be able to pray for you if you're willing to give your life to Christ or come back to him. I need to know who I'm praying for. I'd like you if you desire to receive Christ right now, just raise your hand up so I can see it. Raise it up high enough so I can see, if you don't mind. Just raise it up and keep it up for just a moment. And you're saying, "Pray for me." God bless you.

"Pray for me, I know I need to give my life to Christ." Anybody else? Raise it up. God is speaking to you, raise up your hand. He's been dealing with you and calling you for some time. He was willing to give his blood for you. You just simply raise your hand and say, "I'm willing to receive that gift." God bless you, toward the back. Anyone else?---In the very back. Any others?---Yes, sir.

Thank you, Father, thank you for your love that reached down today, right here, right now. Thank you that we have seen just in this acknowledgment of a few what Peter wrote about, that he was foreordained back then, but manifest now for you. Lord, I pray for each one. Behind that hand is a life, and a set of needs, aspirations, ambitions, hopes, dreams, fears. I pray, Lord, that as you've convinced them of their need, and hopefully of your love for them, that you would change these hearts that bear the image of redeemed hearts, fix up the house, beautify it.

If you raised your hand, would you simply say to the Lord right now: I give you my life, Lord. I admit I'm a sinner. I'm asking you to forgive me. I believe in Jesus, that he died on a cross and shed his blood for me. And I believe you raised him from the dead, and that he's alive right now. I turn from my sin, I turn from my past, and I turn my life to you as Savior and as Lord. Help me, help me to live for you, in Jesus' name, amen.

For more resources from Calvary Albuquerque and Skip Heitzig visit calvaryabq.org.