EMMAUS Teaching | 9.8.13 | The Road to Emmaus

Hey good morning welcome to Emmaus this is it this is the day that we've been praying for and waiting and seeking and asking and just hoping for and to see how God has brought it all together is absolutely amazing I just want to welcome y'all here in the name of Jesus and I was telling my wife during worship like this is so so surreal Emmaus for those of you who don't know this story I'll just kind of give you real quickly the backstory to it made us kind of begin as a whisper it was about seven years ago and I used to be a pastor by the way in a place that most of you know of called Hawaii suffering for Jesus like you do in Hawaii taking up my cross daily and so I was there for eight years as a pastor and you know that it's God if if God's telling you to leave Hawaii like who in the right mind would ever want to leave there and yet that began to happen about seven years ago our hearts were beginning to be stirred we had this sense that we weren't going to be in Hawaii forever and so we started to pray and God began to put the east coast on our heart and I'll never forget about seven years ago I'm up on this mountain called Haleakala and I'm praying and God put raleigh-durham the whole triangle area on my heart like really really strong and it was such a random thing I call it my wife and I'm like I have we ever been there and she's like no and she do we know anyone there she's like no do we have any relatives there she's like no and I'm like I think God may be calling us there some days like you're crazy but I'm like no I think we really need to pray about this and so we we started to pray about it long story short 2010 it's kind of a year of transition for us we moved away from the islands had this amazing transfer to another pastor of the church a church continues to do well just an awesome time and we moved to another Island slightly colder islands called England and I was actually born in Oxford England so it's kind of like coming home for me sadly I don't have the accent if I could like somehow recapture the accent the church would triple in size I'm confident of that something about English accents so but we go to Oxford I had a chance to do a two-year degree there at the University and it was during that time that we're really beginning to pray again about the East Coast and it was last year they were like okay you know what we should just take a whole month and let's pray specifically for the raleigh-durham area and then let's ask I got that's where you want us to go make it clear just provide that confirmation and so that's what happened within two weeks of that month and this is an England by the way of all places we had five different people individually contact us and Families contact us saying you know you should pray about starting a church in the raleigh-durham area and it would be like the most random thing I'll be like teaching in a small church in some village in the north of England and a couple coming up to me and saying yeah you should pray about sowing your church in North Carolina and like what where's this coming from and finally after a few weeks of this like we we should probably go check it out like we should go and see if that's where God wants us to go and so we did last summer we went fell in love with the place we got to meet some people here from it some of you as well and last summer too that's when we made the move to Portland Oregon to be a part of solid rock you guys met John Mark earlier lead pastor solid rock and he invited us to come and he said you know what come and and put out the word and start a prayer meeting and see if anyone would be interested in moving with you in fact he said he announced he's like you know be really cool if 50 of you would move with Dom and go help start this church when I heard him say 50 I'm thinking he's on something right that's just crazy I who in her right mind would want to move thousands of miles away and as it turned out we started the prayer meeting and 50 people not just from Portland but from Virginia and Colorado a missionary from Mexico Sacramento Seattle Connecticut like all these different places God put it on their heart to come and to be a part of this and so it's been amazing to see what the Lord has done over the last couple months now I'm kicking myself I'm wishing John market said and I'm praying that a hundred of you will come right o me of little faith but it's been amazing to see what God's done guys this is just the beginning God is writing a story with Emmaus we believe that God's Spirit is working in this area we believe that his kingdom is expanding and growing in all kinds of exciting ways and he has called us to be a part of that and God is going to do phenomenal things I believe in and through your lives in and through this church in and through the missional communities and so this is just the beginning as John Mark said you know it's not just really about a day to have a meeting in a park for the last couple months most of you know this is slightly more comfortable than a park we even have some humidity or I guess I don't know what this is in the air I kind of reminds me of the park right like it got the whole deal only slightly nicer not quite as humid I'm not sweating like I was last week so we have a lot to be thankful for we have a lot to just thank Jesus for and we have a lot to to be hopeful for as well so why don't we just pray one more time let's give Jesus this time and our church in our lives and then we'll get into the word sound good all right let's pray father I'm just really overwhelmed Lord at all all the things you've done and what you are doing and God for the opportunity that we have to be here in this area thank you first of all God just for your provision that we get to meet an amazing place a 400-seat theatres is crazy a place is comfortable in the air-conditioned all that we just thank you for that God and we recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from you and Lord we thank you even on a deeper level for the presence of your spirit and we thank you so much that you are working in this place and I thank you so much my brothers and sisters for friends for family that you've put it on so many people's hearts to be here and to be a part of the amiss or and God as we get started now I would pray that you would use this church to touch lives and to impact this community and that we would see your kingdom come and your will be done and so father we we give you this time we give you our hearts and we pray as we get into your word Lord that you would speak to us may it just be exactly what we need to hear may your spirit move in this place God and equip us and prepare us for for what you're going to do in the years to come and we pray these things in Jesus name and God's church said amen amen well I want to invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 24 just so you guys know next week we are starting a series through the Gospel of Luke line by line chapter by chapter and by the way that's one of our distinctives as a church it's one of the things that we're committed to it is going through Scripture together and so next week on encourage you read ahead I will be starting Luke chapter one next week so you may want to just read that chapter be praying it through be thinking it through next week we'll dive into that line-by-line but for today kind of as it is a special day for us we're gonna look at this story of the Emmaus Road in Luke chapter 24 and I think it's a fitting story we're starting at the end of the gospel but it's fitting for us because the church's name is Emmaus and so we're gonna unpack a little bit together why Emmaus and what is this story all about and just so you guys know reading this and studying this the last couple weeks like I have been just struck by how powerful and how deep this this chapter is I wish we had like four and a half hours today to go through it we don't so there's a lot that we could say that we're not just don't have time to say I'm one scholar that I read this last week he said the story of Emmaus is the most powerful story that Luke ever told in the words of another scholar Shrek it's like an onion there's layers layers of his and philosophy and meaning and prophecy just a beautiful beautiful chapter so really my prayers we get into this chapter that at least it could begin to spark some interest and hopefully they can go deeper in this so let's just dive right in I will start in verse 13 of Luke 24 now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem and they were talking with each other about everything that had happened and as they talked and discussed these things with each other Jesus himself came up and walked along with them but they were kept from recognizing him and he asked them what are you discussing together as you walk along and they stood still their faces downcast and one of them named Cleopas asked him are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened here in these days so the story of Emmaus is the story of a couple of guys it says that they had left the city of Jerusalem and they're on their way to this relatively unknown village that's called Emmaus and we really don't know a bunch about who these guys were in fact we'd really don't know anything other than one of the guys verse 18 his name is Cleopas but but other than that we don't know their background we don't know their future we don't know anything from them in the word there's a ton of speculation about who they were but one thing that we do know about these guys is that for whatever reason they had chosen to leave the city of Jerusalem and now they're going to this obscure small village called Emmaus and Bible scholars kind of have a field day with this at the top of the list of the questions that they have is why on earth would they leave Jerusalem and I keep in mind like Jerusalem is ground zero for the Christian movement Jerusalem is the place where Jesus said hey he said don't leave Jerusalem he said stay here and wait for the promise of the Father wait for the Holy Spirit Jerusalem was where all the action was happening it was where Jesus was betrayed and crucified where he was buried and rose again from the dead Jerusalem was the place where all the other disciples were so there they're encouraging one another and sharing stories of Resurrection together and helping each other through what was a very difficult and interesting time and so the question is why on earth would these guys leave all of that to go to this place called Emmaus now we have a clue I think in our text in fact if you want to look down in verse 17 we begin to get some insight as to why they would want to leave if you're gonna look down at the end of verse 17 it says their faces were downcast now if you're taking notes the word downcast is kind of a downer of a word in the Greek it's the word ski through us and it means gloomy solemn embittered depressed and melancholy we're talking or we're talking me ski through posts is me before I have my morning coffee like you have the makings of a country-western music video here you have a couple guys on a dirty road they're super depressed all they need is a guitar pick picture perfect right and so we begin to gain some understanding like okay something's happening deep in their heart they're discouraged they're down they're depressed they're walking away from everything that God was doing in Jerusalem they seemed to be in the state of discouragement wanting to distance themselves from all the other believers now what I love about this story and you probably noticed this right off the bat is that even though these guys are walking away from Jesus Jesus is walking after them he's pursuing them he's tracking them down in fact in verse 17 he shows up he asked him the question he's like what what are you guys talking about as you walk together on the road and Cleopas is kind of taken back by this he's like what are you talking about like haven't you been around Jerusalem don't you know all the things that have been happening don't you follow Twitter you know at Messiah underscore Jerusalem like there's a ton of stuff happening right now and you're not even aware of this so he's kind of blown away by this and I love Jesus response verse 19 what things now if anyone knew what was happening in Jerusalem it was Jesus right Jesus had been crucified we were talking nail-pierced hands a wounds on the forehead his back had been torn up he was the one who had died and yet he asked them the question he's like no tell me what are you guys talking about what's happening tell me about this Jesus guy and so he asked them the question what things and now we're gonna see this as we go through the Gospel of Luke Jesus absolutely love to ask questions he asked questions more than anyone else in Scripture questions they have a way of causing us to open up within our own assumptions a questions causes to reevaluate our biases and to ask whether those biases correspond with reality and what Jesus is wanting to do in this Emmaus story is to set these guys free from the brokenness and the discouragement that was in their heart and introduce them to the reality of resurrection and the kingdom of God and the way that he does that is through a question what things he asks now look at their response verse 19 about Jesus of Nazareth they replied he was a prophet powerful in word and deed before God and all the people verse 20 the chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him but we had hoped that he was the one who is going to redeem Israel and what is more it is the third day since all this took place in addition some of our women amazed us they went to the tomb early this morning but they didn't find his body they came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said but they did not see Jesus so here are a couple of strangers telling Jesus all about Jesus okay you want to know who this guy was will tell you and so they start to share their narrative their story well Jesus was this guy he was mighty in word and deed they talked about his life his ministry his miracles they they mention his crucifixion verse 24 they talked about rumors of the resurrection and you can tell just the way they're framing the discussion is that they don't fully buy into the resurrection story yet from their perspective they haven't yet seen this Jesus maybe they're looking for evidence or proof but what really jumps out to me from this is verse 21 in fact if you're taking notes I'm going to circle it or underline it because a scholars say this is really the verse that helps us to unlock the whole section it says in verse 21 we had hoped that he was the one who is going to redeem Israel so now we understand this is why they were ski through us this is why they were a or like this is why they were so discouraged this is why they were so upset because they thought that Jesus was going to be the Messiah they had these expectations of Jesus the last thing in the world they expected was for the Messiah to suffer if we could put it this way they had hopes of Jesus that Jesus in their perspective did not meet why well these two guys like most first century Judaism in those days they're looking for a messiah who would come kind of like a Moses they were looking for someone who would come and bring political freedom from the oppression of the Romans they were looking for someone who had come with power and authority and put an end to everything that was wrong in the world they were looking for someone who had come and put an end to sin and injustice and war and disease and Justin Bieber and anything else is messed up in our world they were looking for that kind of Messiah the last thing in the world they were expecting was for a messiah who would come and then suffer and die and be crucified at the hands of the enemy I mean we have to know this would have been deeply deeply demoralizing discouraging no wonder their hearts were ski through us they were hoping for a Moses and from their perspective Jesus had not been that Moses now how do we know they were looking for a Moses well scholars point out in this section the way they tell his story is that it's absolutely loaded with all kinds of Moses imagery in fact if you're taking notes draw your attention to verse 19 it says as they're talking about Jesus that he was mighty or that he was a prophet first of all and that phrase prophet actually comes from Deuteronomy 18 verse 15 it's this prophecy that says that some day someone like Moses will come and he will be a prophet so that's how they refer to the Messiah they're looking for someone who is mighty in word and deed verse 19 again in first century Judaism that phrase was used to describe Moses acts 7:22 that they described Jesus by saying he was before God and all the people again this was said of Moses in Deuteronomy 34 verses 10 and 12 and finally they're looking for someone who would come and redeem Israel this is Moses language again from Acts 7 verse 22 so here's the point these guys are discouraged they're down they're embittered they're disillusioned because they were looking for someone like Moses who had come and overthrow the Romans bring them into a Promised Land they were looking for a Exodus type of story and when Jesus died their hopes were crushed now look at how Jesus responds verse 25 he said to them how foolish you are and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory and beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself so Jesus who obviously knew what happened he now enters into their story and he says okay well that's an interesting way of putting it that's an interesting narrative but let me enlighten you here let me tell you what the scriptures actually say and it says that he began here with Moses okay you want to talk about Moses you want to talk about Exodus you want to talk about freedom and Promised Land let's begin there and working his way through the Old Testament he explained to them how all of the scriptures were speaking of him and verse 26 how that the Messiah had to suffer now that's the key because they were looking for a messiah who wouldn't suffer who had come with power and Dominion and authority and yet Jesus has know the story of the Old Testament is yes of a messiah who will come and rule and reign and bring judgment and justice to the nation's but it's also the story of one who had come as a servant one who would come and died not only for Israel but one who would come and die for the whole world so they had expectations of a Moses but Jesus he talks about a servant he talks about a saviour if we could put it this way they were looking for a messiah who would set them free from suffering but Jesus was a messiah who would set them free by suffering now could you imagine how insane it would have been to get to hear this message like we've all heard good sermons good messages but I mean this thing would have absolutely taken the cake phenomenal getting to hear from Jesus Jesus giving a Bible study like if there's podcasting in the life to come sign me up I want to hear this message I mean there's a number of guys I would absolutely love to hear from a number of guys in history that I would do anything to just like sit in their class or hear a lecture and just learn from one of them for me is I absolutely love CS Lewis and I actually have a friend who lives in the UK and an older guy and he had a chance to sit in some of CS Lewis's courses and so he told a group of us what that was like and he said it was absolutely surreal he said Lewis would come in with his long Oxford robes and the moment he'd walk in and then the classroom would be packed with people people on the floor standing room only and they'd he'd walk in and the moment he steps inside that classroom he begins his lecture he starts taking off his robes even as he's talking it's this crystal clear language perfectly crisp very understandable logical thought no need for notes riveting holding people's attention for an entire hour right and then he says he go for that an hour strong and when he was done he's continuing to talk while he puts his robes on he's continuing to give his lecture as he walks towards the door and gives his parting words of the lecture right as the door closes like no room for questions oh time for any of that just pure shrinking from a firehose now that would have been amazing that would have been epic but what we have here is beyond anything that anyone has experienced Jesus the Word of God preaching and sharing the word he's telling them how all of these things spoke of him and the irony of the whole Emmaus story is at least right here they didn't have a clue that it was Jesus they're like who is this guy we need to inform him we need to tell him about what happened in Jerusalem now all of that changes check out verse 28 it says as they approached the village to which they were going Jesus continued on as if you were going further but they urged him strongly stay with us for it is nearly evening the day is almost over so we went in to stay with them and when he was at the table with them he took bread gave thanks broke it and began to give it to them and then their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he disappeared from their sight and they asked each other we're not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us so I love this so they reach the village of Emmaus we saw earlier it's about seven miles away so Jesus potentially had two three four hours with these guys and when they get there they're practicing some good southern hospitality hey Jesus stay with us it's late you're probably hungry we have some hush puppies sit down this is gonna be great you don't want to go out late at night right and so it says that Jesus stays with them and the very next scene it says they're sitting at a table eating now sidenote we're gonna see this all throughout the Gospel of Luke Jesus and His disciples like they absolutely love to eat I mean they were the foodies of the first century on one scholar I read recently he said every time you see Jesus in the Gospel of Luke he's either Adam II going to a meal or he's leaving a meal and these guys absolutely loved food one scholar said it's impossible to read the New Testament without getting hungry huh her head there's this old Chinese proverb like thousands of years old and it says if it has four legs and it's not a table then eat it back that's kind of their perception right and so they're instagramming their lattes the whole meal deal it's right there and and I love what happens next and and this I think is really the key to the whole passage um it says that Jesus took bread and he broke it and at that moment their eyes were open now this is really really interesting to me when were their eyes open was that when Jesus gave them this epic Bible study nope was it when they had this theological discussion and the academic bantering nope it says that their eyes were open at the moment that Jesus took bread and he broke it now this last week to be honest with you I've actually been wrestling with this because it's not at all what I would think would be the moment of Revelation I would think it would say you know as a pastor a teacher Jesus gave a sermon and boom revelation right their eyes are open that makes us ton of sense to me or Jesus talked about academics or the Greek and the Hebrew and the theology and then there was revelation and their eyes were open but actually says when he took bread why bread what was so special and significant about the moment that Jesus broke bread that in that moment everything that Jesus had been talking about on the road how he was king and God and ruler and Messiah but he had also come to suffer and die and give himself what was it in that moment where those two things came together and their eyes were open well track with me here there's two places in scripture where we see the breaking of bread to other parts in the Gospel of Luke actually where it says that Jesus broke bread now the first one is found in Luke chapter 9 verse 16 Luke 9 16 and it's the feeding of the 5,000 and the second place is the Last Supper in Luke chapter 22 verse 19 now what's so interesting to me this is what struck me this last week both of these places where Jesus broke bread the feeding of the 5,000 the sitting down with the disciples at the Last Supper both of those give us a complete picture of who the Messiah was that he was both King and he had come to suffer and die how so well beginning in Luke chapter 9 that story is all about Jesus with a bunch of people and it says that they were hungry the disciples they come to Jesus they're kind of concerned a hungry man is an angry man Jesus we need to feed these people like there's gonna be a riot we need to do something quickly and what does Jesus do he takes five loaves he takes two fish it says he blesses it and he breaks the bread and he gives it to the crowd and they had more than enough to eat now what's the point of that story Luke tells it because that was his way of saying look this Jesus he's not just an ordinary guy he is king he is God he is the new Moses back in Exodus God provided manna bread from heaven and they ate and they were satisfied so to this Jesus he is like a Moses providing bread from heaven for all the people so the first time that Jesus broke bread was to show that he was king and Messiah and God that nothing was too difficult for him now check this out the second time that Jesus broke bread is in Luke chapter 22 and in Luke chapter twenty-two we have Jesus sitting with his disciples at a table he took bread he broke it and he said this bread is my body given for you he took a cup and he said this cup represents my blood it is shed for you it's the new covenant eat and drink in remembrance of me and Jesus did that when on Passover you guys know the story of Passover Exodus chapter 12 the story of deliverance from Egypt how God had sent Moses to set the people free and God said take a lamb a male lamb a spotless lamb a lamb that's in the prime of its life kill that lamb without the breaking of its bones and sit as a family around a table and break bread eat that lamb and put the blood on the doorposts of your home Jesus on that Passover night he became the Lamb of God a male lamb a spotless lamb a lamb in the prime of his life he was killed the Gospels say without the breaking of his bones and the blood of that lamb Jesus Christ is on the doorpost of our heart to set us free to bring us into the promised land to bring us into the kingdom so in that moment when Jesus breaks bread with those disciples it's his way of saying guys I am both you've had a distorted view of the gospel understand I am not only your Moses but I am also the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world I'm not just your savior but I'm also the sacrifice I'm not just the King blame him also the servant of all in the moment of the breaking of bread all of these things came together and it says their eyes were open any fireworks are going off oh my gosh it's Jesus I can't believe it and just as they start to get excited and passionate and enthusiastic about this moment it says what does Jesus ooh he disappears oh this is classic like Jesus kind of did stuff like this with his resurrection body I wonder sometimes I can see is he having a little bit of fun with his new body like he would show up right unannounced at a dinner he'd passed through walls right he just suddenly oh there he is on the road appear and disappear like that would be pretty cool if I could do that September 8th Church launch I would do that to show up go through you know through the ground so that'd be pretty epic Jesus he's having fun with these guys he disappears he goes and we'll see later on he goes back to Jerusalem and these guys verse 33 I love it they got up and they returned at once to Jerusalem and there they found the eleven and those with them assembled together and saying it is true the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon and the two told what had happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread what a contrast right the story begins they're blind they don't understand that it's Jesus the story ends and they see clearly the story begins they're discouraged they're despairing they're upset the story ends with joy and excitement and passion the story begins with disappointment with God where are you what's going on you haven't met our expectations and the story ends in a sense of wonder the same guys who at the beginning of Emmaus are trying to get away from the whole Christian thing now at the end of the story they are rushing to tell as many people as they possibly could I love what one scholar NT Wright said about this he said for the disciples the Emmaus Road was a discovery a discovery that the long curse had been broken the death itself has been defeated the God's new creation brimming with life and joy and new possibility has burst in upon the world of decay and sorrow all of this because Jesus cared enough about two guys who are relatively unknown tracks them down walks with them shares the word breaks bread and their eyes were open and it's here Emmaus family but I think this whole story begins to intersect not only with our lives but also with us as a church you know this last week obviously just getting ready for this my wife said planning for church is like prepping for a wedding right there's so many details and waking up at night with just these horrible dreams of things going terribly wrong I had a dream last night right before I woke up that Tony came up here and the first worship song he did was the hokey-pokey I literally woke up like in this cold sweat no not the hokey-pokey I said that comes later that's the altar call part and so you know there's been a ton going on I've just been praying all this through but especially in this passage like as I've been thinking through what Jesus did hear my prayer and I'm hoping can be your prayer as well as this church gets started as we move forward is that what I love at the top of the list about this story is that Jesus doesn't stay where it was comfortable he doesn't stay where it was easy he could have right risen from the dead resurrection body he could have hung out in Jerusalem he could have gone you know gotten the Messiah bus and done a tour he could've done interview with Christian radio like he could have had a pretty legit post resurrection life but instead what he does is he goes after these two guys we know nothing about that are heading towards a village that we know enough thing about pursues them tracks them down and shares with them about the kingdom of God and brothers and sisters that is I believe what God has called us to do as a church that's what it means for us to be Annamayya search we are here not just to form a Christian bubble we're here not just okay how can we have a great Sunday gathering and how can we entertain people and have good music and a good message and send people out check the religious box do the Christian thing and then we go on our way no that's not why we're here that's not why the Lord brought us here we believe that at the core of this story and of the core of the ethos of this church is that God has called us to be the kinds of people who get on the road who pursue the broken the hurting the outcasts the wounded the orphan the struggling the disillusioned the disenfranchised those who have walked away from God and Christianity that God has called us as a community as Annamayya Sturge to pursue those people to enter into their story like Jesus does here to break bread with them to share the word with them to invite them into all that God is doing in this world a Bonhoeffer one of my favorite guys he said as a church our job is not simply to bandage the wounds of victims who are struggling beneath the wheels of injustice and he said as the church our job is to drive a spoke into the wheel itself and how awesome would that be if we were the kinds of church we're not just handing out a Sunday morning band aid but we're looking for creative innovative ways where we can pursue God's grace and Shalom and justice for the city and for our neighbors and for those who are on an Emmaus Road for those who have turned their back from the Lord that's what it means to be in a mastered and if I could make it just even more personal here there may be someone in your life right now who's on the Emmaus Road and it's for me several people come to mind who are in this boat of struggling hurting wounded upset disenfranchised what would it look like for us even this week to pursue them to track them down what would it look like to break bread with that person to invite them into the kingdom to pray with them to listen to them to enter into their story is there someone in your life today that God is calling you to pursue finally you know one thing I love about this story too is that Jesus was honest with these disciples again their whole struggle was they were not expecting a messiah to suffer and die but when Jesus shows up he addresses that issue and he could have just ignored it he could have said you know what let's forget the whole crucifixion thing the whole pain and suffering thing let's just talk about resurrection let's just talk about you know following me is an easy thing and Kingdom let's talk about what it means to rule and reign over the nations he could have done that but instead he opens the word and he shares of them this message about suffering about pain about crucifixion Jesus was honest with them about the complete gospel and you know what that is central to the heartbeat of this church we want to be the kind of church where we're sharing the complete gospel of Jesus Christ because the fact of the matter is is that there are people in our nation who have this perception of Christianity where they think it's easy right Jesus is a personal life coach accept Jesus into your heart everything's gonna go better for you accept Jesus and man your your tennis game will improve your fantasy football team will win you're just gonna find everything falling into place for you and then when things get tough what happens they turn from Jesus their disillusioned their discouraged they walk away what it means for us to share the gospel means that we're not just talking about the great things the joy and the peace and the favor and the Shalom of God and all of that is true but it means for us that we are sharing that yes following Jesus there is a price to pay Jesus said if you want to follow after me deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me Jesus was honest with them because Christianity is not so much us asking Jesus into our life that that's part of it but it's Jesus inviting us into his life come and follow me and really that's the the last point that I have for you guys saying it really it's a personal question what road are you on the Emmaus Road story is a story of two roads two paths one of them is the road back to Jerusalem and it may be for some of you you're on the road back to Jerusalem like God's met you he saved you he's rescued you he's redeemed you and then now your hearts burning and you can't wait to tell the city Kerry and Durham and Chapman Chapel Hill and Raleigh and Holly Springs you can't wait to go out and tell all the people what Jesus has done in your life I think that's the majority of us here and we have this passion to go and share and we want to be the kind of church we're called Emmaus where you can come like these disciples and be prayed for and hear the word as Jesus shared with them break bread together pray seek Him be encouraged have our hearts be set back on fire and then go out into the community in missional communities to go and spread and share the good news most of us are on that row back to Jerusalem but it could be that there are some here today and maybe you're right now on the Emmaus Road maybe for whatever reason you've walked away from God maybe there's things going on in your life right now that have caused you to be discouraged or disheartened and down maybe you've just gotten burned out from the whole church thing maybe it's a sin or addiction that's kind of driving you from God listen if that's you today Jesus Christ calls you to come back home he pursues those who were lost he comes after those who were broken central to this story is the grace of God by grace were saved not by works lest any man should boast and today God invites us into his grace you know my daughter Amelia most of you have met her she's 8 years old and when we were in Hawaii she was 2 years old at the time and she's going through this kind of terrible two phase of life where she's having these temper tantrums and getting upset about things and my wife and I are trying to nip it in the bud and deal with all that I'll never forget this one day she's kind of freaking out and screaming and crying and I pick her up I'm like sweetie it's time for a timeout and she absolutely hates timeouts like she's extrovert she loves people it's like her worst nightmare I pick her up we're walking up the stairs together she's two years old she grabs my face with both of her hands and she turns it to face mine and she gets like an inch away super super intense her eyes bulging she says but Dad what about grace what about grace now what do you do with that like yeah I'm a pastor I'm teaching young grace I'm talking about grace and here's my daughter what about grace what about grace like her whole world's falling apart brothers and sisters the gospel is the joyous announcement that there's a thing called grace right and it's that grace that God extends to us today maybe you are like a Cleophus maybe your life has been one where you've been disillusioned discouraged and burned-out today Jesus invites you to come back home but pastor you might say you have no idea what I've done you've no idea the places I've gone and the stuff I've been involved in I've gone too far from God listen that's a lie the named Cleopas I didn't mention earlier but Cleopas literally means joy of the Father you are the father's joy and on this day he invites you to come back home and if that's you today we want to give you that invitation when it give you that opportunity to give your life to Christ and to be invited into his life and to serve Him and follow him because the Bible says that today is the day of salvation let's all stand shaii

Channel: EMMAUS: A Jesus Church

Views: 26,563

Rating: 4.7333331 out of 5

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Id: I1fekkj2ld8

Length: 47min 28sec (2848 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 13 2014