Join us as Levi Lusko takes us through a journey of redemption and hope, diving deep into the significance of January 1st, Heartbreak Day, and how it became a symbol of freedom and new beginnings. Reflecting on Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, we uncover how a day of despair was transformed into one of liberty and joy, much like how faith can turn our personal heartbreaks into hope.
00:00:52 Significance of the Emancipation Proclamation
This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. Here at Connect with Skip, our mission is to help you know God’s Word and apply it to your life through clear, practical Bible teaching and real encouragement every day. And if you’d like to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for Pastor Skip’s free weekly devotional. You’ll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights, and and exclusive resource offers straight to your inbox. Plus, when you sign up today, we’ll send you a free digital download of a chapter of Skip’s book, Biography of God. It only takes a minute to sign up. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That’s connectwithskip.com. Now let’s welcome Levi Lusko, our guest speaker today on Connect with Skip Heitzig to share the final message in our series, The Bible Doesn’t Say That.
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One of the most important days in US history, surely, is January 1st, 1863. the day that President Abraham Lincoln fixed his signature to the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in rebel states in this nation. It was not the final act of righting the wrong of slavery, but it moved us closer to the ideal that Jefferson encapsulated in those famous words that are supposedly self-evident that all men are created equal. And again, the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t the end of that work. I mean, it would be two more years, January 31st, 1865, until the 13th Amendment would get passed. And even six months beyond that, June 19th, Juneteenth of that summer, 1865, when news of what had happened finally reached the final pocket of enslaved people down there in Texas. Think about that. For six months, The amendment had been passed. It was ratified. They were free, but they didn’t know it yet. Something can be done, but word not have yet reached those who need to hear it. Welcome to the Great Commission. Jesus paid it all, but church, our job is to get the news to the people who are still in need of the revelation of freedom. Amen? And Lincoln knew it was a big moment when he signed that proclamation of emancipation, that proclamation of freedom. And his hand shook. when he went to sign it. But not because he was nervous, but instead it was because his hand was really tired. His hand was cramping up. Let me back up. There was a tradition that’s no longer in effect in our country, going all the way back to President George Washington himself, where the commander in chief was expected to greet any American who wanted to shake his hand on New Year’s Day. Did you know there was New Year’s Day and not Christmas for a long time in our country when gifts were exchanged? It was New Year’s Day that there was this great sense of freedom and newness and all the things. And part of the process for our country celebrating New Year’s Day was the president shaking hands with anybody who wanted to shake hands with the president. The longest the line ever stretched was in 1907 during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. We have a photograph of people queuing up outside the White House If you can believe it, he shook in one day 8,510 hands with no Germ-X or anything. Gives me the creeps. We don’t think Lincoln signed anywhere near that many, but there were still thousands of handshakes given out. And that will give your hand a beating. So he went to sign the Emancipation Proclamation later in that day in the Oval Office. And it turns out, as he went to sign it, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do a good job signing his name. And he said, and I quote, if my name ever goes down into history, it will be for this act. He knew his presidency was going to be defined by this moment. He says, and my whole soul is in it. And if my hand trembles when I sign the proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say he hesitated. And so he took a break. He waited until he could have his full powers of his signature before he affixed this signature on the screen here you can see to the Emancipation Proclamation, writing his name, Abraham Lincoln, with a steady hand. But it wasn’t just significant because of what he signed. It was also significant when he chose to sign it. There was a ceremonial symbolic significance that went into why he chose January 1st of that year, 1863, to sign this document. It was the worst day in the country if you were black. The worst day in the country if you were a slave. Black people in the southern states where slavery was a financially powerful institution. But make no mistake, it was financial, the reason many people wanted to continue on with the institution of slavery. And that had implications for the end of one year and the beginning of another. Many people in the next few months will, across the country, call their accountant and ask the question, what do I need to do to be in an advantageous tax position going into the new year? And there will be write-offs, and there will be purchases of equipment, there will be things that will be sold, there will be charitable contributions that will be made, tax-deductible gifts that are given, intentionally designed to set you up for success, ending the year and beginning another one. So if you were in an economy powered by these plantations, powered by cotton, utilizing human slaves as a tool to that end, what would happen? People would be balancing the books by selling slaves, by purchasing slaves, by lending out slaves for the year and doing so before the new year began. As a result, if you were black and a slave in the country before 1863, you could wake up on January 1st and find out your wife’s been sold. Your daughter, your son has been sold, or you had been leased out to a different plantation for the next year to settle something on the books for your previous owner. So did you know what the enslaved people called January 1st? They didn’t call it New Year’s Day. They called it Heartbreak Day. Heartbreak Day. Because they knew whatever you were doing on that day was setting you up for what you were going to be doing for the rest of the year. Which is why, if you have any friends in black churches, to this day in the black church, there’s services that will take place on New Year’s Eve lasting until exactly midnight. Because it has gone down into the ethos of a black person in this country that whatever you’re doing when the bell hits midnight, the clock hits midnight on New Year’s Eve, that’s what you’ll be doing for the rest of the year. And so a redemptive arc of it is, I’m going to be found praising Jesus as the ball drops. And that way, hopefully, I’ll be praising Jesus all year long. And that’s a wonderful sentiment. I always knew friends in black churches had these services they call watch night services, but had no idea the implications of it. So think about this. January 1st is Heartbreak Day. Lincoln was asked, when do you want to sign the proclamation? He said, I’m going to choose to sign it on the worst day of the year for the people that this represents a new beginning. And in so doing, signing the document on this day, he forever changed Heartbreak Day into a day of hope. He took what was a symbol of slavery and oppression and turned it into a day of redemption and freedom and liberty. And that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about today as we conclude our series, The Bible Doesn’t Say That. I want to ask the question, what are we to do with our heartbreak days? What are we to do when we find ourselves down in the dumps? Because if you live long enough, you are going to find yourself collecting some bruises and some bumps and some wounds and going through hard and difficult and scary moments in life. Medical setbacks, grief, the loss of people you love. I mean, we just all had Thanksgiving. And for almost all of us, I would say there’s probably something that checked the joy of our Thanksgiving service. During World War I, Winston Churchill referred to the empty chair and the aching heart. talking about how even a time of joy can kind of have a little bit of bitterness to it when there’s a bed that someone hasn’t slept in, when there’s a chair at the table that someone’s not there for, that just causes you to feel a little bit, like I said, down in the dumps. Here’s the question we want to ask of our scripture today. How do we take our heartbreak day and see Jesus turn it into a day of hope and day of liberty and a day of freedom? because I’ve got good news for you. The Bible doesn’t tell you to sit there in your heartbreaks and just say to yourself over and over again, this too shall pass. This too shall pass. Like it’s a bad weather system or something. Like it’s just, it’s eventually got to move on. You know, the weather’s going to Texas. So eventually it’s going to get there. Just, just, just get through it. Just think, just think happy thoughts and stay positive. And this too shall pass. The Bible is much better than that. It’s much, much better than that. So if you have a copy of the scripture, turn with me to Romans chapter eight for a message that I’m calling this too shall last. Because nowhere in Scripture does the phrase, this too shall pass occur, but from beginning to end, we are taught to know that God is doing a new thing, and whatever God does, it will stand forever. Whatever God does, it will last. And this is what can give comfort to our hearts with our heartbreak days. Verse 18, Romans chapter 8, it’s a beautiful Scripture. It would be one that I would commend to you to memorize and hold on to and bring out often. It says, For I consider… that the sufferings of this present life, this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which shall be revealed in us. Oh, thank you God for this promise. Amen.
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We’ll be back with our teaching from Levi Lusko in just a minute. When you give to this ministry, you help reach thousands of people every day with God’s life-changing truth. encouraging them to know Him, trust Him, and walk in His freedom. And this month, we want to thank you with a special resource package. You’ll receive Skip’s book, Biography of God, which helps you explore God’s nature, His power, the mystery of the Trinity, and the hope that comes from removing the false limitations we sometimes place on Him. Plus, you’ll get Skip’s six-message CD series, Expound Galatians, where Skip unpacks the book of Galatians and the freedom believers have through grace, not works. Your gift today helps bring the life-changing message of Jesus to people around the world through Connect with Skip. Request your resources when you give $50 or more at connectwithskip.com slash offer today. or by calling 800-922-1888. Now, back to our teaching today with guest speaker, Levi Lusko.
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My son, Lennox, who is seven years old, he’s in kids’ class even at this moment. When he was six, just a year ago, I don’t know how it occurred to him, maybe he saw it on TV, maybe someone mentioned something to him, but he got this idea in his head that when I die, there’s gonna be a blessing for him somewhere in my will, somewhere in my estate. And he got pretty preoccupied with it for a minute. Here’s how it would happen. We’d be out fishing, and he’d look over at my fishing pole, look down at his fishing pole, and not be pleased with it. And he’d look over at mine, and he’d say, hey, Dad. And I’m like, yes, son. He says, when you die, can I have your fishing pole? Yeah, buddy, you can have my fishing pole. Great, Dad. We’re driving down the road. He says, hey, Dad, when you die, can I have your truck? I said, yeah, you can have my truck. He’s like, can I get that in writing? Come on, get it in writing. Then we’re skiing last winter. And I have this little thing I bought at the lodge where my ski pass goes on it, and I get to lift it up to the ski lift operator to scan it. And then I drop it, and it goes and sucks back because it retracts into itself. And we’re skiing. I could just see him having ski pass holder envy. He looked up at it, looked down at his stupid ski pass just sitting there on his bibs. And he said to me, Dad, I said, don’t you even say it. I’ll buy you your own, right? They’re $2.99, bro. Why do I have to die in all of your scenarios? Can’t we both live and ski and have our own? Ask me. I’ll buy you one. Quit killing me in your hypothetical. I bring this to your attention because we are in Romans 8, and we, of course, just read one verse, so it would be helpful to get some context. The book of Romans is widely considered to be the greatest book in the entire Bible. It’s Paul’s theological masterpiece in which he distills all the teaching he had been doing since the beginning. that went back in his mind from even pre-Pharisee days, all of his wealth of understanding of the Old Testament scriptures. And when he met Jesus and he saw like the matrix, all of a sudden, boom, he knew Kung Fu because now he realized how Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. And as he ministered and taught and planted churches all across the Roman Empire, he was working things out about complicated issues like meat being sacrificed to idols and Jews and Gentiles relating to each other and doing so with love. And he basically kind of took all of these things that were essentially his Beethoven’s 5th And he distilled them all into one masterful book of the Bible, the book of Romans, which has been referred to as basically like the Himalayas of the scriptures. You see sweeping mountains. And you could say that Romans 8 is the greatest chapter in what is arguably the greatest book in the entire Bible. That would make then Romans 8 the Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Someone said Romans 8 is so good that if any of your Bibles, my Bible, your Bible, fell to the ground, they should open up to Romans 8 as they fall because it’s just so well traveled, so well read, so well loved. I mean, it’s a chapter that opens up with there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ and ends with nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ. And in the middle tells us everything is going to work together for God, for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. I mean, who’s thankful for some Romans chapter 8? And the theme of this chapter is our inheritance in Christ. That everything has been opened up to us by way of our inheritance because of our relationship with Jesus. And the proof of our inheritance is the Holy Spirit. And that’s why if you count them all, in the chapter, Romans 8, there are 19 mentions of the Holy Spirit. 19 times the Spirit is mentioned. Why? Because he’s the proof of our inheritance. When I proposed to Jenny and got on my knee and asked her to be my wife 20 years ago, best decision after giving my life to Christ, I ever made in my life, by the way, when I asked her to marry me, I gave her a ring. And that ring went on her finger as a promise or as a pledge. It wasn’t just like, hey, girl, what are you doing later? You want to get married? Right? Right? It was, no, I would like to marry you and promise all of myself to you, but so you know I’m serious, here’s something that was really stupid expensive. Here you go. I was pledging or promising. I was guaranteeing. I was putting a down payment on my love to say I will give myself fully to you. Here’s this to show you I mean business. The Holy Spirit who lives in the heart of every single Christian who is willing to come upon you for service and to empower you and to give you the strength to withstand temptation. The Holy Spirit, wonder of wonder, who lives in you. He’s not just in the Ark of the Covenant anymore, in the tabernacle anymore. He’s not just in one specific locale anymore. In the New Testament, he breaks out of that one area, comes into every single heart, every single life. All of us can have the Holy Spirit like a fire from above. As the mighty rushing wind goes into the whole earth, all of God’s people can prophesy. That which Moses longed for and prayed for is now being realized. We are living out dead men’s dreams. The Holy Spirit is not just for prophet and priests and kings. It’s not just for a few random people. It’s for every single believer, every young man, every young woman, every old man, every old woman, every tribe, every tongue, every language in Christ has the Holy Spirit without measure. You have all of God living in you. We are each bricks composing the dwelling place for God in the Spirit. This is the mystery, Christ in you, your hope of glory. And the Holy Spirit in you is the pledge, is the promise, is the engagement ring promising you your full inheritance in Christ. And what is that? That you’re a joint heir with Jesus. Every one of us in God’s sight are firstborn sons in God’s eyes. Now, most of you girls didn’t give me a woo-hoo for that. It’s like, oh, here we go. No, hold on a second. Firstborn sons in Scripture always got that double blessing, always got that double inheritance, always got that double portion. And God sees you male, female, black, white, Gentile, Jew, slave, free. Every single person on earth in Christ is a firstborn son in God’s sight. That you get everything coming to Jesus because on the cross, Jesus got everything that was coming to you and to me because of our sins. Is anybody grateful for the gospel today? I’m excited about it. I’m grateful for it. And so we have the Holy Spirit as a pledge and a promise that God says, I’m giving to you my truck. I’m giving to you my fishing pole. You even get my sucky, extra retractable ski pass. If Jesus has it, you’re getting it because I look at you as my sons because of Christ. And that’s what Romans 8 has us to know. No wonder Donald Gray Barnhouse said, every movement of revival in the Christian church has been connected in some way with the teachings set forth in the book of Romans. And on Paul’s mind in the 8th chapter, the 18th verse, is the connection, the symbiotic connection between suffering and glory, between trials and triumph. And so I want to examine the way that these two are interconnected in your life and how they can help you see hope in your heartbreak days. The sermon in a sentence is that God wants to do more through you than you think he can. but it’s gonna hurt more than you think it will. Think about that part in Romans 8 where Paul gets kind of gangster, and he starts rattling off all the things that can’t separate you from the love of God. It’s like, can death do it? No. Can demons do it? Uh-uh. Right? Not height, not depth, not created thing, nothing, not famine, peril, nakedness, or nothing can separate us from the love of God. And the crowd goes wild. It’s like, who wrote this? Tupac Shakur? It’s so interesting. I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I take a look at my life. It’s like, dude, the spirit of Coolio just came upon me reading the book of Romans. Like, what is actually happening here? And Paul knew full well what it was like to suffer. He recounted his list of travails frequently, letting everybody know what he went through. And it was that list. What did Paul face preaching the gospel? Height, depth. I mean, literally, he had to get let out of a city wall one time, let down in a basket. Could water separate? No, no. He said, I spent a day and a night in the deep, in shipwrecks often, in hunger, in nakedness, in perils of my countrymen, in perils of the city. Gentiles went after me. People who I thought were brothers turned their back on me. I was forsaken. I was whipped. I was stoned with rocks, not weed. Just throwing that out there. So I’m like, oh, Paul got stoned. No, listen, settle down. So here’s a big revelation. Just because these things can’t separate you from God doesn’t mean they won’t try. And when he tells us all these things that are not going to work, part of us should be excited and part of us should be like, oh darn, because that means they’re coming for us. And yet every time we face things on this list, we act all surprised. Oh my gosh, I faced death. What went wrong? I faced nakedness. I faced peril. I faced famine. I faced the sword. When we come against these things, we freak out, even though the Bible has promised them that they’re going to come. So they will try. They won’t work, but they will try. And when we face them, God’s solution isn’t to go, this too will pass, this too will pass. He’s to know that they were coming, to know they’re not going to work, but to know even bigger than that, they are going to be the things that God uses to produce the glory. If you took away all Paul’s pain, you would take away all his opportunities to preach. Because it would be through every shipwreck, every heartbreak, every time he was down in the dumps, literally. He says, when I was at Ephesus, I despaired even of life. And that’s a pretty impressive thing, considering Paul was a perennial optimist. And yet he despaired of life, wrestling with savage beasts, he would say, while trying to preach the gospel. We don’t know if those are demonic forces or actually just human beings he was dealing with. But both can be true, I suppose. And you’re going to experience difficulties. I want to let you know that you know that. I found that out. And it was always in connection with us doing works for God. And that’s why we get so surprised. I was doing something so great. Why would this happen? Because you were doing something so great. The devil wanted to stop you. When Jenny and I got married, we just put our hands up and were like, God, what would you have us to do? Because that was both what we were doing individually. And that’s what attracted us to each other. We’ve got to get deeper than just looks. We’ve got to get deeper than just chemistry. For Jenny and I, these 20 years, what has kept us glued together is both of us are committed to following Jesus. And as we follow Jesus together, even when we’re frustrated, even when we’re angry, we’re still moving in the same direction. And so trusting Christ, we started out, as you heard, doing youth ministry here. preaching in the hub. Our first sermon I ever preached was in one of these kids’ classrooms over here to like six people. I worked just as hard as I do preaching for 20,000 people, putting my whole heart in it. I gave everything to preach to the youth in the hub. And we’ve always had that heart of, God, whatever you want us to do, we’re willing to do it. The answer is yes. What’s the question? A guiding verse of our lives has been, here am I, God, send me. Because God was never looking for someone with great abilities. He’s always been looking for people who have availability. God, I’m willing. Send me. Where do you want me to go? People always say like, why did you pick Montana? Do you love skiing? Right now, it’s like, now everyone’s like, oh yeah, that Kevin Costner life. That’s what you were after. Like, get out of here. We would go to Russia tomorrow if God calls us to. He’s God. Whatever He wants, that’s what I want in my life. And as we’ve had that as our posture, God has indeed done more through us than we ever thought He could. We give Him glory for everything He’s done. It was Him, not us. It wasn’t our great talents or great abilities. He does the most high, does what He wants, and He works through lives who put themselves out there and want Him to get all the glory. And it has hurt more than we ever thought possible
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Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig with our special guest speaker, Levi Lusko. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God’s Word around the world, bringing truth and hope to people who need Jesus. And this month, we’d love to thank you for your support by sending you a special resource bundle, Skip’s book, Biography of God, along with his six-message CD series, Expound Galatians. Together, these resources help you explore who God really is and how to live in the spiritual freedom He offers. Give today at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip. Make a connection.
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Make a connection at the foot of the crossing.
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Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God’s never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
