[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 7th of May, 2017. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
We are still in the Easter season, leading up to Pentecost in early June. In His day, this was the span of time when our resurrected Jesus appeared to around 500 people before ascending back into heaven. This was not just a one-day event, like could very easily be accomplished in our time. No, it occurred over weeks, and during multiple instances.
One such appearance was recorded by the Apostle Luke in his Gospel account. The outlook for those who had followed Jesus in His ministry was dark and foreboding. Facing an uncertain future and fearing for their lives, many of Jesus’ disciples fled Jerusalem, seeking safety away from the Jewish religious leaders. They had heard reports that He had risen from the grave just as He said He would, but only a handful had actually claimed to have seen Him, only the Mary’s and the original eleven disciples. The rest were scared and they scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
Luke tells us of two in particular, and what they experienced as they walked away from Jerusalem. Listen and follow along to how the Apostle describes this heart-warming incident, in chapter 24 of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 25, and I’ll be reading from the Living Bible…
One such appearance was recorded by the Apostle Luke in his Gospel account. The outlook for those who had followed Jesus in His ministry was dark and foreboding. Facing an uncertain future and fearing for their lives, many of Jesus’ disciples fled Jerusalem, seeking safety away from the Jewish religious leaders. They had heard reports that He had risen from the grave just as He said He would, but only a handful had actually claimed to have seen Him, only the Mary’s and the original eleven disciples. The rest were scared and they scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
Luke tells us of two in particular, and what they experienced as they walked away from Jerusalem. Listen and follow along to how the Apostle describes this heart-warming incident, in chapter 24 of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 25, and I’ll be reading from the Living Bible…
13 That same day, Sunday, two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking of Jesus’ death, 15 when suddenly Jesus Himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. 16 But they didn’t recognize Him, for God kept them from it.
17 “You seem to be in a deep discussion about something,” He said. “What are you so concerned about?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 And one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about the terrible things that happened there last week.”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the Man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a Prophet who did incredible miracles and was a mighty Teacher, highly regarded by both God and man. 20 But the chief priests and our religious leaders arrested Him and handed Him over to the Roman government to be condemned to death, and they crucified Him. 21 We had thought He was the glorious Messiah and that He had come to rescue Israel.
“And now, besides all this — which happened three days ago — 22-23 some women from our group of His followers were at His tomb early this morning and came back with an amazing report that His body was missing, and that they had seen some angels there who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, Jesus’ body was gone, just as the women had said.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You are such foolish, foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures! 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering His time of glory?”
27 Then Jesus quoted them passage after passage from the writings of the prophets, beginning with the book of Genesis and going right on through the Scriptures, explaining what the passages meant and what they said about Himself.
28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus would have gone on, 29 but they begged Him to stay the night with them, as it was getting late. So He went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, He asked God’s blessing on the food and then took a small loaf of bread and broke it and was passing it over to them, 31 when suddenly — it was as though their eyes were opened — they recognized Him! And at that moment He disappeared!
32 They began telling each other how their hearts had felt strangely warm as He talked with them and explained the Scriptures during the walk down the road. 33-34 Within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem, where the eleven disciples and the other followers of Jesus greeted them with these words, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter!”
35 Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road and how they had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread.
--Luke 24:13-35 (TLB)
Let us pray… Father God, it truly warms our hearts when You let us know You are near, when we can feel Your presence in our lives. Speak to us now, Father, through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, that we might receive, understand, and obey Your message this morning. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
A couple bought an old farm and were tearing down a three-seater outhouse when their new neighbor asked if she could have the single-plank, three-hole outhouse seat. The couple said sure and she left happily carrying off that well-worn board.
Six months later, the neighbor invited the couple to her home. There she proudly showed off her newly re-designed family room, complete with a single-plank, three-hole picture frame featuring her three grandchildren.
Sometimes it can be downright funny, and not a little ironic, at just what might warm someone’s heart. I remember one time when I just suddenly burst into song during a sermon to illustrate a point. When I finished I asked the organist, “What key did I sing that in?” She replied, “Most of them.”
What makes us all warm inside? What sets our heart racing? What lights our inner fire? In verse 32 of our scripture reading, the two disciples noted that listening to Jesus as He explained all the Messianic passages to them warmed their hearts. I believe the New King James Version of verse 32 makes what really happened to them more understandable and more meaningful to us today…
A couple bought an old farm and were tearing down a three-seater outhouse when their new neighbor asked if she could have the single-plank, three-hole outhouse seat. The couple said sure and she left happily carrying off that well-worn board.
Six months later, the neighbor invited the couple to her home. There she proudly showed off her newly re-designed family room, complete with a single-plank, three-hole picture frame featuring her three grandchildren.
Sometimes it can be downright funny, and not a little ironic, at just what might warm someone’s heart. I remember one time when I just suddenly burst into song during a sermon to illustrate a point. When I finished I asked the organist, “What key did I sing that in?” She replied, “Most of them.”
What makes us all warm inside? What sets our heart racing? What lights our inner fire? In verse 32 of our scripture reading, the two disciples noted that listening to Jesus as He explained all the Messianic passages to them warmed their hearts. I believe the New King James Version of verse 32 makes what really happened to them more understandable and more meaningful to us today…
32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
--Luke 24:32 (NKJV)
“Did not our heart burn within us?” If our heart is burning within us for something, it would certainly be warm, wouldn’t it? The prophet Jeremiah was also familiar with this concept of a heart set on fire. Listen to what he says of his own personal relationship with God, in chapter 20 and verse 9 of his prophecy…
God’s word was in his heart like a burning fire! And did you notice that Jeremiah said he was weary of holding back that fire, and indeed could not hold it back! If our heart is really on fire for something, can we successfully hold it back? Can we for very long constrain a raging fire!?
Haven’t we all experienced a desire so strong, so deeply embedded within us, that we had no choice but to follow it as far as we could? That fire inside cannot be quenched or restrained. For Jeremiah, that fire came from God’s word.
And this is pretty much the same as for the two disciples on that dusty road to Emmaus. Jesus lit a fire within them as they walked together, chatting with them and reminding them of what the scriptures said about the Messiah and what must happen to Him. Jesus filled them with the word of God. And while Jesus might no longer physically join us in the flesh in our walk, He can still light a fire within us. He can still remind us of what the scriptures say about Him, but only if we take the time to stop and read our Bible.
The two disciples did not recognize Jesus until He broke the bread, just as He had done a few days before at their last meal together. When do we recognize Jesus? What does it take to open our eyes to who He really is? We say we believe in Him as the Son of God, but do we spend enough time in God’s word for it to fill us and set our hearts afire?
The author of Psalm 10 tells us how we can better put ourselves into a position to receive the message Jesus brings us. His wise counsel to us comes in a statement he makes to God, in the first part of verse 17…
If we humble ourselves and ask God for His help, He will prepare our hearts to receive His word and understand what Jesus tells us. Jesus will explain the scriptures to us, through God’s Holy Spirit. And our hearts will be warmed by the fire that He sets deep within us, a fire we simply will not be able to hold back or constrain.
As a church family, we have a lot going on and a lot more planned. We’re trying to carry on the work Jesus started, to continue the mission He gave us to go into the world sharing the Gospel and making disciples. There will come times when we grow tired, when frustration sets in, when we can’t see that we’re making any head-way at all. To press on, we all need to have our hearts on fire for serving our Lord Jesus. We need to humble ourselves before God and ask for strength and courage. We need to trust in our Lord, remembering that Paul assures us we can do all things though Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We need that fire raging within us that we simply cannot hold back! Stoke that fire within!
In the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, Your holy word, our Bible, contains everything we need to know, if we could just understand it all. Even Your Son’s disciples couldn’t quite grasp everything, and Jesus had to explain it to them, including those passages that told of His life, His death, and His resurrection. Help us, Father, to set You as our number one priority each day. Show us how to set aside time to study Your word, no matter the busyness that engulfs us. For Father, we cannot begin to understand Your word if we don’t spend time in it. We cannot build a closer relationship to Your Son Jesus without looking at His life and all He tried to teach us. Thank You, Father, for giving us Your wisdom in Your word. Please help us gain more from it by spending more time in it, that our hearts might be set afire as was Jeremiah’s.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, acknowledging our belief in Your Son Jesus and our acceptance of Him as our Master, rededicating ourselves to Your service, promising to repent of our disobedience and sin, seeking Your forgiveness, listening for Your voice…
Lord Jesus, You walked alongside Your disciples and reminded them of what they already knew, but did not seem to understand. You repeated the passages of scripture to them that spoke of the Messiah’s fate, Your fate. You helped them grasp the significance of what had happened, and Your words and actions, Your very presence, lit a fire in their hearts. Come to us now, Lord Jesus. Walk along with us as we set about the task You gave us. Show us in God’s holy word what is to come and how we can deal with it. Fill us with Your presence, encourage us with Your strength, equip us fully for the journey ahead.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.
--Jeremiah 20:9 (NKJV)
Haven’t we all experienced a desire so strong, so deeply embedded within us, that we had no choice but to follow it as far as we could? That fire inside cannot be quenched or restrained. For Jeremiah, that fire came from God’s word.
And this is pretty much the same as for the two disciples on that dusty road to Emmaus. Jesus lit a fire within them as they walked together, chatting with them and reminding them of what the scriptures said about the Messiah and what must happen to Him. Jesus filled them with the word of God. And while Jesus might no longer physically join us in the flesh in our walk, He can still light a fire within us. He can still remind us of what the scriptures say about Him, but only if we take the time to stop and read our Bible.
The two disciples did not recognize Jesus until He broke the bread, just as He had done a few days before at their last meal together. When do we recognize Jesus? What does it take to open our eyes to who He really is? We say we believe in Him as the Son of God, but do we spend enough time in God’s word for it to fill us and set our hearts afire?
The author of Psalm 10 tells us how we can better put ourselves into a position to receive the message Jesus brings us. His wise counsel to us comes in a statement he makes to God, in the first part of verse 17…
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart...
--Psalm 10:17a (NKJV)
As a church family, we have a lot going on and a lot more planned. We’re trying to carry on the work Jesus started, to continue the mission He gave us to go into the world sharing the Gospel and making disciples. There will come times when we grow tired, when frustration sets in, when we can’t see that we’re making any head-way at all. To press on, we all need to have our hearts on fire for serving our Lord Jesus. We need to humble ourselves before God and ask for strength and courage. We need to trust in our Lord, remembering that Paul assures us we can do all things though Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We need that fire raging within us that we simply cannot hold back! Stoke that fire within!
In the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, Your holy word, our Bible, contains everything we need to know, if we could just understand it all. Even Your Son’s disciples couldn’t quite grasp everything, and Jesus had to explain it to them, including those passages that told of His life, His death, and His resurrection. Help us, Father, to set You as our number one priority each day. Show us how to set aside time to study Your word, no matter the busyness that engulfs us. For Father, we cannot begin to understand Your word if we don’t spend time in it. We cannot build a closer relationship to Your Son Jesus without looking at His life and all He tried to teach us. Thank You, Father, for giving us Your wisdom in Your word. Please help us gain more from it by spending more time in it, that our hearts might be set afire as was Jeremiah’s.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, acknowledging our belief in Your Son Jesus and our acceptance of Him as our Master, rededicating ourselves to Your service, promising to repent of our disobedience and sin, seeking Your forgiveness, listening for Your voice…
Lord Jesus, You walked alongside Your disciples and reminded them of what they already knew, but did not seem to understand. You repeated the passages of scripture to them that spoke of the Messiah’s fate, Your fate. You helped them grasp the significance of what had happened, and Your words and actions, Your very presence, lit a fire in their hearts. Come to us now, Lord Jesus. Walk along with us as we set about the task You gave us. Show us in God’s holy word what is to come and how we can deal with it. Fill us with Your presence, encourage us with Your strength, equip us fully for the journey ahead.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment