A Resurrection of Hope | Dr. David Jeremiah

welcome to an easter celebration with dr david jeremiah they crucified him on calvary [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] with is power and authority [Music] [Music] oh i am [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is you in a place in your life where you need hope dr jeremiah wants to teach you how to move from fear to fear not in his book hope living fearlessly in a scary world in its pages dr jeremiah explores the top seven fears holding so many of us back as he shares practical lessons for facing down these fears learn to walk the path of hope and experience the providential power of god who as dr jeremiah explains still controls even the smallest details of your life discover strength and encouragement in hope by dr jeremiah yours for a gift of any amount and if you give 65 or more in support of this program dr jeremiah will send you in appreciation the living fearlessly set which contains his book his current teaching series what are you afraid of on your choice of cd or dvd and a correlating study guide plus the fear to fear not bookmark which will serve as a reminder to claim hope each day hope and the living fearlessly set yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of turning point today jerusalem reverberated with the aftershock jesus of nazareth had just been crucified it was national headline material everybody knew about this execution everybody had an opinion about the late homeless prophet from galilee his death relieved a lot of people's pressure his presence in the temple city had disrupted and traumatized their lives they were glad he was dead no more trouble now they could go back to a normal life perhaps for once they could have a normal yearly passover without the presence of this revolutionary but for many others the death of jesus meant mourning and despair grief flooded their hearts not the grief exhibited over somebody that you love who has died but more the grief associated with the death of a national hero you see they had believed in him they had believed that he was the messiah they had believed and hoped and trusted that he was the coming deliverer who would free them from roman domination but the object of their hopes had been lifted up on a cross and forced to hang there until dead by the hand of the very roman empire he was supposed to conquer and then he'd been placed in a tomb as far as the mourners knew he was still there there was no bringing him back their hope was gone he was dead and they were so devastated they were just in shock but then on the third day the stories began to circulate some said his body was not where it had been laid others were saying that he had risen from the dead people reported seeing him in fact ten reports altogether and five in one day alone early on the first easter sunday he appeared to mary magdalene and then later to the women who were returning to the tomb soon after that he showed himself to 10 of his disciples in the upper room and then to peter all by himself but the fifth appearance was perhaps the most astonishing of all and it's the one i want to tell you about today on the first easter afternoon as the sky darkened toward dusk jesus appeared to two men who were traveling from jerusalem to emmaus a two-hour journey of a bit over seven miles these two men were disciples of jesus among the greater group of disciples not his twelve but perhaps the seventy disciples who were followers of jesus they had heard the witness of the women that jesus had come back from the grave but they were holding on to their doubt and they were very sad why were they going to emmaus well we do not know for sure but i can imagine they took the trip just to get away from it all i mean to escape jerusalem's hopelessness to clear their minds maybe to go back where they lived and find a new direction for their lives that's the human angle but evidently god had a different purpose in mind for on their way they would be intercepted by a mysterious stranger and because of this encounter with this man they would never ever be the same again interestingly enough the most detailed report of jesus post-resurrection appearances doesn't involve mary or peter or any of the other known disciples the two men who jesus met on the road to emmaus are people we had never met before we know nothing about them in fact one of them we don't even have a name for one was called cleopas whose name appears in the text here the other one's never named two men unknown on the road to emmaus and jesus has the most profound conversation with them about the resurrection than he has with anybody else in all of the history of the bible the story here in luke chapter 24 may be the most dramatic story in the bible in fact it's put together like it was a play like it was a three-act play the first act involves two people talking together on the road we'll call act one discouragement and then we know further along in the play another person joins into the dramatic presentation so now there are three people we'll call act two the dialogue and the final act takes place in the home of one of these men and we'll call that discovery so act one discouragement luke 24 13 says now behold two of them were traveling that same day to a village called emmaus which was seven miles from jerusalem and they talked together of all these things which had happened now often discouragement is made up of three things doubt and disappointment and despair doubt began the journey for these two men they had heard the testimony of mary magdalene and the other women yet they did not believe that jesus was alive and of course because of that disappointment followed their doubt verse 21 describes their disappointment it says we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem israel and beside all this it is now the third day since all these things happened all of their dreams for the future had been crucified with jesus they had probably heard jesus say i am the way the truth and the life they believed he was the messiah the fulfillment of all the old testament prophecies and yet now this one in whom they had invested all of their hopes had been taken to a cross and crucified and for all that they knew he was still dead despite the rumors despite the stories their discouragement didn't stop with doubt and disappointment it spiraled down into despair all hope had been abandoned three days had passed since the crucifixion and there had been no credible news on which to pin any new hope so as they walked back toward emmaus they were overwhelmed with sadness and they were without hope act one discouragement act two dialogue verse 15 so it was while they conversed and reasoned that jesus drew near and went with them but their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him pay attention the plot is thickening cleopas and his friend had been discussing how their hopes had been dashed by jesus crucifixion and at that very moment the topic of their discussion joins them on the road and enters into their conversation but they did not know who he was and verse 17 says and he said to them what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad then one whose name was cleopas answered and said to jesus are you the only stranger in jerusalem and you have not known the things which happened there in these days are you getting the irony of this and he said to them what things and they said to him the things concerning jesus of nazareth who was a prophet mighty indeed and word before god and all the people and how the chief priests and rulers delivered him to be them to death and crucified him but we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem israel when jesus approaches cleophus and his friend he asked them what has made them so sad and cleopas responds to jesus questions with one of the most ironic responses in all of the scripture cleopas accuses jesus of being a clueless outsider who missed what had just taken place in jerusalem and the scene just drips with irony we get to see what human blindness looks like from god's perspective and then these men proceed to tell jesus what they believe about jesus still unaware that they're talking to jesus they confess that they believed he was a prophet that's good they talked about his mighty works and his words even better they described his suffering his crucifixion and their hope that he was their redeemer but they had not yet processed the one thing they needed to believe and that is that he was risen from the dead in fact it says indeed besides all this today is the third day since these things happened yes and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive and certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said but him they did not see i feel obligated right now to stop and tell you something it is possible to be a christian and not understand the resurrection it is not possible to be a christian and deny the resurrection because without the resurrection there is no christianity if all we have is the death and burial of jesus we have nothing more than the martyrdom of another good man if you can go anyplace and find the bones of jesus and his remains there is no such thing as christianity what sets christianity apart from every other belief system in the whole world is this our leader our savior overcame death came out of the tomb of his own power and was resurrected and is alive today if that is not true [Applause] if if that is not true according to paul we are still in our sins and we don't have any faith at all the resurrection isn't just a nice story that we celebrate at easter time the resurrection is the core value of the christian faith if he is not risen we are of all men most miserable says paul you don't have to understand the resurrection but you cannot deny it notice these two disciples believed everything except the essential thing they believed jesus was a good man a prophet a redeemer a miracle worker yet he said he was going to rise from the dead and they did not know that he had done that very thing they were discouraged and they were sad it's interesting that up to this point jesus is just walking alongside of them and then he asks them two questions have you ever wondered why jesus asked so many questions well he's oh if somebody asks him a question and jesus answers the question by asking them another question you know what i've been practicing that's pretty good somebody asks you a question you know the answer to it ask them a question put them on the put them on the response why did jesus ask them these two questions he was trying to draw them out and help them understand where they were in all of this why are you sad what things are you talking about jesus knew the answer to all of that but he asked them anyway by the way jesus didn't just dump everything on people he will get to the gospel in a moment but first he asks them penetrating questions to get them involved in thinking through the process jesus was a question asker and obviously he knew the answers as well then he said to them in verse 25 o foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken ought not the christ who have suffered these things and enter into his glory and beginning at moses and all the prophets he expounded to them and all the scriptures the things concerning himself as the threesome are walking down the road and jesus has finished preaching himself from the old testament the bible says they come to the turn off where the two men are getting ready to go to emmaus there apparently was a turn off from the main road where they go to their home and as they got ready to turn to go to their home the bible says jesus acted as if he were going to go straight ahead and the two disciples cleopas and his friend insisted that jesus go home with them to emmaus and stay with them for the night once again the plot thickens end of act two dialogue finished the final act discovery the bible says as they get to the home which was probably the home of cleopas they sat down for an evening and they're about to make the greatest discovery anyone can ever make the bible says in verse 30 now it came to pass as he sat at the table with them that he took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished from their sight jesus opened up the scriptures to them and he opened up their eyes so they could see but ladies and gentlemen it wasn't the opening of the scriptures so much or even the opening of their eyes that caused them to recognize jesus watch what's going on in this third act they discovered it was jesus when he broke bread for the evening meal remember the two men had been on a long journey it had been a long day they were emotionally spent they came in they sat down at the table and jesus took over this is really astonishing it wasn't his home and yet he decided to be the host instead of the guest he breaks custom by distributing the food and he asks the blessing on it and he presides over it the meal even though he was the guest and he took the bread and he began to prepare it and he broke off a couple of pieces and he handled it to the men and cleopas and the other man looked down and they took the bread out of jesus hand and what did they see they saw a nail print right in the palm of his hand a nail print can you imagine the reaction all of a sudden the light went on this one about whom we have talked about is the one we have been talking to this one who has traveled with us is the very jesus who we thought was still in the tomb and i can imagine cleopas turning to his friend and saying look it's him it's the one about whom we've been talking he's here in our home he himself he's at our table and just as quickly as he joined them the bible says he vanished he was gone and they said one to another did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road and while he opened the scriptures to us that was a day when jesus was majoring on opening he opened their eyes he opened the scripture and now he's going to open their mouths watch what happens verse 33 so they rose up that very hour and they went back to jerusalem same day and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together and they said the lord is risen indeed and has appeared to simon and they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread how truly astonishing this is what a change has happened in the lives of these two men these men had endured a long and emotional day they had taken part in a bible study beyond anything you could ever imagine and then jesus had vanished and then and then they were so energized that they got up and they went seven miles all the way back to where they started and you take that pretty simply but when was the last time you walked seven miles you should go out today and walk seven miles and it'll help you appreciate this story this is now 14 miles they've walked in this one day but the second seven was a lot different than the first i don't think they walked slow with their heads down i think they walked in an animated way they were rehearsing what had happened that day their steps were quickened and their journey back was a lot shorter than the journey down to emmaus because you see once you've met the risen savior everything about life changes if you don't know that he's alive that he has overcome death and that he is really the savior of the world you carry around on your shoulders the burden of your own sin sometimes that can get really heavy but once you meet him i want you know that everything that you need he has everything that you've always wanted he's ready to supply once you know that he can take your guilt and remove it and he can replace your sin with his own righteousness because of what he did at the cross and that you don't have to doubt that it is really him because he's overcome the grave and he is living today by the way an event which is more clearly documented both in christian and secular history than almost every any other event you might want to investigate the lord jesus christ the son of god broke through death on that day and lives today as testimony to the fact that he is indeed the savior of the world and that his life is for your life and his death for your life the greatest encouragement that you will ever know in your whole life is the encouragement of knowing the risen christ and when i read this story and i've read it many times over the years and i've preached on it some too i think about three things and these are the things i want to leave with you this morning number one it's a good reminder to me that jesus always comes to us in our situation wherever we are he didn't meet these people at the temple they weren't in the synagogue if this wasn't a feast day he didn't make an appointment and go to their house he caught up with them in the routine of their life he met them in the moments of their despair and grief and there in that moment jesus showed himself to be who he was and how wonderfully present that is even in our culture today i've been doing this for 40 years plus and i've been watching what happens to people when jesus christ gets a hold of their life more than that i've been watching carefully how he gets their attention oftentimes it's through a divorce or through the loss of a loved one or through some business issue or some sickness but he comes to them in the midst of their crisis and shows them who he is and what he can do how often he has done that not only does jesus christ come to us in our situation but notice also he comes to us through revelation even though jesus was present with these men himself could have easily presented himself without any revelation the scripture says he preached jesus to them from the old testament and i'm here to tell you men and women that you cannot know god nor can you ever get to heaven nor can you be a christian without the revelation of this book without the bible nobody becomes a christian you say well i know somebody who who somebody told them about jesus and they didn't even have a bible in their hands well that may be true but whatever they told them came from the bible if it's going to take him to heaven and then the last thing not only does he come to us in our situation and come to us through the revelation but he comes to us by invitation only by invitation jesus was on his way down the road and about to go right past where these men lived and he would have had they not invited him into their home you see the lord jesus doesn't bully us he doesn't push his way into our lives even though he is the risen son of god with the power of god resonant in himself he does not use that power to make us do something we don't choose to do but he opens up his arms like this and welcomes us to come if we will but invite him in and just as those two men invited jesus into their home that day for dinner the lord jesus asked us to invite him into our lives to live within us and to be our savior and to walk with us and forgive us of our sin and give us new life and new hope and how do i know that's true and how do i know it's real and how do i know that it's relevant because he came out of the grave victorious over death as he said he would no one's ever done that no one ever will do that he was the son of god and he was proven the son of god by his resurrection from the dead and it's that son of god who stands before all of us today with his arms wide open and saying come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest thank you for watching turning point dr jeremiah would like to offer you his book hope living fearlessly in a scary world to help you learn to move from fear to fear not dr jeremiah's book will be sent to you as a thank you for a gift of any amount in support of this program and for a generous gift of 65 or more dr jeremiah will send you in appreciation the living fearlessly set which contains his book his current teaching series what are you afraid of on your choice of cd or dvd and a correlating study guide plus the fear to fear not bookmark which will serve as a reminder to claim hope each day receive these resources when you support the ministry of turning point today if you personally have never taken the step to believe in jesus christ as your lord and savior you can do that today and if you will allow us dr jeremiah would like to send you two resources that will help you the first is a booklet called your greatest turning point which will help you as you begin your relationship with christ and the second is our monthly devotional magazine turning points to give you encouragement and inspiration throughout the year these resources are yours completely free when you contact turningpoint today in addition to these free study resources you can connect with turning point on the go anytime anywhere download the newly redesigned turning point app to listen to turning point radio watch turning point television read daily devotionals and more plus for the young ones in your life the new airship genesis pathway to jesus mobile game available now for free on the app store next time on turning point he said i want you to believe in me first i want you to believe in the place i'm going to prepare for you and then i want you to believe in this promise listen to me jesus is saying to you and to me i've got it all under control everything's going to be okay and while you're going through some issues down here in light of what i prepared for you those are just little skirmishes on the way to the father's house thank you for being with us today for today's easter celebration join dr jeremiah next time as he begins his series living with confidence in a chaotic world here on turning point

Channel: David Jeremiah

Views: 76,422

Rating: 4.9202657 out of 5

Keywords: Dr. David Jeremiah, David Jeremiah, Turning Point with David Jeremiah, Turning Point, God, Jesus, Christ, Bible, 2021, overwhelmed, overwhelming, death, fear, comfort, easter, resurrection, rise from the dead, tomb, judas, hope, life, eternal

Id: QD1SILBfepg

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 02 2021