Empty

good morning everyone and welcome to mount roberto where we exist to develop intimacy with god fellowship of believers and influence with our community another way that we say that here is love grow and serve and clearly you can tell that today is gonna be just a little different and the reason is because here in the city of Riverside you know our mayor and and the city officials around have actually asked us to even step up our social distancing even a little bit further to the extent that they have asked us not even to stream from our church and so what you are experiencing right now is a lot of stuff that we've already recorded we're not gonna try and act like this is brand new we recorded this earlier this week so that we can bring to you an incredible and amazing worship experience even if we cannot do it live and so we are just so excited that you have come to be with us today and just having an authentic worship experience and we're just so glad that you're able to be a part of this with us today and so again I want to thank you so much for joining us here online we're getting ready to dive into a time of Prayer with one another but just before we get into that time of Prayer we'd love for you to enjoy some more music from our crazy [Music] all the glory belongs to cure all the glory belongs to you Oh God [Music] all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to your God all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you how the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you Oh God [Music] I'll employ belongs to you we give you all the glory on the brains on the quarry below all the story belongs to you oh boy belongs to you do you [Music] [Music] Wow [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] you guys know everybody [Music] [Music] yeah yeah all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you Oh God yeah yeah yeah yeah holy glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you O God we give you all the glory all the glory [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] right yeah [Applause] [Music] we bright y'all [Music] belongs to you to you all the glory belongs glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to even when we don't feel like it Jesus we give you all the way [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah Oh [Music] in my be glorified be glorified [Music] my be glorified it'd be glorified come on say yeah [Music] be glorified Loreen 5 be glorified in my life [Applause] [Music] in our hearts [Music] we go [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] being glorified [Music] oh my heart in my home on my job Lord in my relationships Lloyd [Music] be [Music] be glorified submit with me my love [Music] be glorious [Music] and we glorified [Music] [Applause] [Music] be glorified we glorify all the glory belongs to your home all the glory belongs to God [Music] and sing there with me all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you everything we have everything we are the glory be long all the glory belongs to you Oh God cuz you're worthy of glory [Music] all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you [Music] the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you Oh God halleloo halleloo [Music] hallelujah to the king of kings and the Lord of lords to the only wise guy to the only wise God be glory non don't mean you're in power yeah me Gloria now no minion power yet be glory nan-oh we praise [Music] my be glorified be glorified Jesus Jesus Jesus you are worthy of [Music] one of the things that these times have really introduced to us is our ability to have to constantly be adjusting and constantly having to change and right when we get comfortable with one thing we have to get comfortable with another we're constantly like in this place where we're where we can never just get settled in and sometimes one of the things that we've loved about life is our ability to kind of settle in and so right now I know there's a lot of us who are feeling unsettled and maybe having some issues with some of the changes that we've had to make changes to our routine changing to us changes to our schedule and so outside of I think the obvious kneel prayer for healing and and prayer for maybe even finances prayer for family I just want to pray for our ability to adjust to the changes that are happening so rapidly things again every single day are just changing their being different and that's the prayer just want to have over your life right now is that God would be able to guide you with his unchanging hand through these so change so many of these changing times and so um if you want to just you know huddle up with the person who is next to you maybe if you're by yourself that's alright as well but we're just gonna seek God's face right now in prayer and I just want to pray over you right now as God helps you through these times of change through these times of financial change maybe even some changes are held but just that the unchangeable God will help us through all of our change let's pray together God in heaven we come to you right now and in the midst of just these insane and crazy times and even though we've read about things like this taking place in Scripture and even though we've heard sermons on this as it relates to prophecy in and all different kinds of things to actually be in it it can can really do something to us and God every single morning we wake up we find out there's something different a different adjustment that we have to make a different rule that we have to abide by a different recommendation coming down from our government to social distance or stay at home or not even go to grocery stores just our lives right now are full of change and so father I am just asking right now that your unchanging hand can guide us through all of the changes that are taking place then the midst of all that is surround us that while everything around us may change may we stay steady unmovable and be like that tree that is planted by the water so god I pray over anxiety right now that that is concerned about the future the next things that are going to come I pray over a depression that that people are concerned about the things that they've already lost and unable to be able to move forward god I I pray over people's finances that have been changing in some cases of course for the worse and that you would just pour over into them the windows of heaven so that they would have a blessing that they don't have enough room to receive during this dry and barren land then God I'm also praying for individuals who are struggling with their health right now God if they're they're having issues with this Kolb in 19 or maybe even other things and God if we sneeze or cough even the wrong way we get worried and we get concerned and so God I'm praying over allergies in and in in sore throats and temperatures and of course cold in nineteen I'm just putting over our health right now in this moment God and that everyone who is under the sound of my voice would would receive the peace of Jesus Christ through these changing times as we hold on to an unchanging God this is our prayer in Jesus name Amen you are and Omega we worship you our Lord you are worthy to be praised in you are and domain we worship you are you work worthy to be played he's sing that with me you are helpful [Music] [Music] we worship you you are worthy to stay right there you are [Music] and Omega [Music] you are worthy to be great [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] you [Music] we [Music] Oh [Music] we give [Music] [Music] we worship you [Music] we give you all [Music] go [Music] we were sure you hired more you were the to be pleased oh we give you we give you more Oh [Music] we were sure you are loved you are worthy to be praised [Music] here in my worship my worship here's my workshop all of my words you all of my word from the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul Oh [Music] my workshop you deserve it yeah you did no you did not [Music] you need know [Music] you did [Music] you do sing with me you deserve you did [Music] sir you deserve take my you deserve you deserve you either you'll be loved you do all of the glory belongs to you stay right there all of the glory belongs to you yes all of the glory belongs to [Music] here's my word all of my words shall receive my word shall all of my word Ami's he was my worship [Music] we see my Oh [Music] my word my word receive my water all of my words here's my word [Music] receive my worship [Music] Oh you call me out upon the waters the great unknown where she may fail and there I find you in the mystery in oceans deep my faith will stand [Music] and keeping my eyes above the waves when oceans rise my soul will rest in your embrace hide yours and you are mine Oh Oh [Music] you grace abounds in deepest Wars you saw her hand will be my guide where feet may fail and fear surrounds me you never felt anyone star and keep my ocean oceans rise my soul [Music] as you am I Oh you are [Music] because it is so sweet to trust in Jesus just to take him at his word and just you rest upon his promise just to know the safe though Jesus Jesus [Music] how through here Jesus Jesus precious Jesus Oh for grace to trust in spirit lead me where my trust is Without Borders let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me and take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior [Music] [Music] [Music] in the presence of my space [Music] [Applause] Jesus save me [Music] in the presence [Music] spirit take me [Music] got me a strong in the presence of my say [Music] where my trust is Without Borders let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Saviour [Music] [Music] [Music] made stronger in the presence of my Savior [Music] and my faith in the presence of my [Music] take my faith would be made stronger I say [Music] my eyes above the way so we know she's right in your eyes and you [Music] [Music] I and you [Music] I belong to Jesus you are mine I belong to you Jesus to you [Music] Jesus you are [Music] so clearly we are not live-streaming we're not gonna try and pull the wool over your eyes and make you think that we are the heel streaming live and be changing different clothes and make you think it's a different day really we were prepared to livestream we had a whole plan really put in place but what ends up happening is Riverside really has gotten stricter on its restrictions when it comes to the social distancing so they even told churches that hey you guys are not allowed to stream and so as we were thinking about that there was a little bit of disappointment you know you kind of feel like the air was taken out of you but then it hit us that really this weekend in particular Easter weekend was not a weekend where people were in synagogues and having these big celebrations like actually we do now for Easter but actually this Easter we're gonna be celebrating it really like they did back in those times because everyone was in their homes on the Sabbath it was for some reason somewhat somber because people literally had just found out of course and on Friday night that Jesus had died they were resting on the Sabbath and they didn't really know what to expect on Sunday and so us being in our homes and being in this kind of setting we believe is actually a little bit more authentic to the experience and so it breaks this thing and embrace this time that we're able to have together as we get ready to delve into the word and we've simply entitled this entire weekend empty and to title today's sermon is actually empty talk we're gonna talk about empty talk today but if you do have your Bibles if not we're gonna go ahead and put this on the screen for you I want you to turn with me to Luke chapter 24 and I actually want to start at verse 10 and just read a couple verses down which is gonna set up where exactly we're going today so Luke chapter 24 and starting at verse 10 and here's what the Bible says now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James also the other women were with them telling them these things to the apostles but these words appeared to them as nonsense and they would not believe them but Peter got up and ran to the tomb stooping and looking in he saw the linen wrappings wrappings only and he went away to his home marveling at what had just happened and behold two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus which is about seven miles from Jerusalem and they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place and while they were talking and discussing Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him and he said to them what are these words that you were exchanged with one another as you were walking and they stood still looking sad so I want to preach just for a few moments under the subject empty talk let's go ahead and pray together one more time Father in heaven it's a unique situation it's a unique circumstance it's a different method but it's the same message and so God I pray that you would just be with us today as we delve into the word help it to touch us in a way so that our lives can just be encouraged and inspired to understand what it really means to have empty talk this is our prayer in Jesus name Amen one of the words as of late that is really crept in our vocabulary is the word empty some a fat when you go out into the streets whether you have to go grocery shopping or whatever it is you'll notice that a lot of the places that we're going to they're all empty as a matter of fact driving on the freeway on the 91 freeway you can literally at sometimes a certain hours during the day play football why because it's empty you go to the mall and you drive by the mall you look at the parking lot and it's empty you go to certain restaurants that you see that normally are bustling and hustling with people and what do you see you see that it is empty if you were to drive up to Disneyland you would see that it was empty if you go to a movie theater you would see that it was empty when I showed it to my church whether or not it's to get a book or or something like that I come to the conclusion that man this church is empty and that emptiness really has done something not only to our society but I think it has done something to us as well like emptiness has brought this incredibly uncomfortable feeling that not only are things around this empty but there's a little emptiness inside each of us as well but here's what unique about this idea of being empty particularly during this season because when it comes to the idea of empty for us as Christians during Easter like empty is like our thing like the idea of of empty is actually a sign of victory for us for when we think about the tomb we think about the word empty and the reason that we're able to be alive today they were able to preach today the reason that we do what we do is because we celebrate this weekend the fact that on Friday night Jesus went into the tomb but on Sunday the tomb was empty and so the word empty for us actually shouldn't be a sign of victory empty entry baby should be a sign of the fact that Jesus kept his promise empty is a sign that Jesus did exactly what he said he was going to do and if he did it then he would do it again now but honestly but the times we lived in emptiness is taking a completely different context and I think we can identify a little bit now more closely with individuals who are on the road to emmaus because on the road to Emmaus they were feeling a sort of emptiness and what they allowed to take place was the emptiness of the situation and circumstance and what they were feeling and how they were misinterpreting things they allowed that emptiness to supersede the emptiness of the tomb so each of us must travel on our own road to Emmaus and on the road to Emmaus I gotta tell you that there is emptiness and a lot of us are experiencing different kinds of emptiness even right now whether it's because of Copan 19 whether it's because of a job a marriage situation something with your kids each of us has an emptiness on this road that we're traveling and the question that we have to ask ourselves is will we embrace the emptiness of our circumstance or will we embrace the emptiness of the tomb which is a promise that God has made to us and so what I want to do again is talk to you guys today about this idea of empty talk and how that empty talk is actually the very thing that we need to be able to fill this when you look at Luke chapter 24 scholars will tell you that this is probably the most intentional and dramatic interaction that Luke writes about when it comes to Jesus Christ all kinds of other cool and unique things happen throughout the Gospel of Luke but there's something very specific and intentional about this interaction that takes place particularly as he describes Jesus's conversation with these two individuals walking on the road to Emmaus leaving Jerusalem now interestingly enough in order to understand the context of what takes place in the verses that we read we actually have to start at the beginning of Luke 24 and at the beginning of Luke 24 this is early on Sunday morning and this is actually what we'd like to call for all intents and purposes d-day and the women show up to this tomb because showing up to this tomb on Sunday like this is it they are going to figure out when they go to this tomb for all intents and purposes whether or not Jesus Christ has actually fulfilled his promise so you almost get the picture when the Bible says that they show up early to the tomb in the morning that they are going just to become eyewitnesses to the greatest miracle that this world has ever seen I mean they are showing up to the tomb to say yep yep Jesus is there he's going to keep his promise he's kept his promise we're just going there so that we can see it with our own eyes but if you look carefully at the scripture it actually says something a little different it says that when they go to the tomb they bring sweet spices to anoint the body of Jesus Christ they ask yourself the question if they're showing up to the tomb not expecting Jesus to be there then why on earth are they bringing spices to anoint his body and here's a reason why I believe that the women went to the tomb not because they expected Jesus not to be there but there was a part of them that expected him to be there and so what do they do they brought spices and they brought their oil to anoint a body that honestly if they really believed in the promises would not have been there so what the women actually did is they brought oil to anoint their disappointment and doesn't that sound so much like us like God has made so many different promises in our lives and he's told us so many different things that he's gonna do and how he's gonna take care of us how he's gonna see us through but too many times when we show up to our various promise is that God has laid out before us we bring our oil to anoint our disappointment for some of us go to the job interview bringing our oil ready to be disappointed we go to the doctor ready to be disappointed from the diagnosis he gave us two months ago and you've been praying and doing all that you're supposed to do but you haven't come to that appointment knowing that you're gonna be healed you'd come with the oil ready to anoint the disappointment that you know is going to come and that's what a lot of us I believe have done like Mary and Martha as they go to the tomb they bring their disappointment with them they aren't expecting Jesus Christ to be resurrected they are expecting to find a body how many of us are living our lives expecting the disappointments of God as we go into the promises that he's made us and we know that this is true because when you look further at the scripture down in Luke chapter 24 you see that when they get there and recognize that the stone has been rolled away and that they look inside and see that there is nobody there the Bible says that they are perplexed and that they don't really understand what's going on now what do you mean you don't understand what's going on Jesus was not supposed to be there in the first place why because he made a promise and so here's the thing that I think if they really wanted to know and really believe rather that Jesus Christ was not gonna be there they wouldn't have shown up early on Sunday morning but they actually would have done something a little different and here's what I mean there's this incredible ride that is open and Disney and I'm telling you when Disneyland opens again III just am very interested to see how this line is going to be and what the process is gonna be but it's all rise of the resistance and quite honestly it's not a riot of more than likely it's really an experience I've gone that thing twice already and let me tell you that thing has blown my mind but here's what happened in Florida at Disney World they opened up this this riot first and when they opened it the ride had so many different delays it had so many different problems it had so many different issues and that was put all in the news and so when people are thinking about this ride they're like man it sounds dope it sounds incredible but man they have breakdowns and delays so you would have thought that that might have affected people's willingness to show up to one of the apartments right so me and my boy what we did is the day that the ride opened we got there actually early in the morning but when we got there early in the morning I mean we got there like two hours before the park had even remotely come close to opening but what we discovered is that we were actually late because there were other people who had camped out overnight in anticipation for the ride that was going to take place in the next morning they had gotten there on a night before I came here it was a Tuesday or Monday but they were there the night before because they just knew that that ride was going to work and that I was gonna blow their minds and what I'd like to suggest to you is that if Mary and them thought that Jesus was really gonna get up they would not have gotten there early on Sunday morning but they would have spent the night in front of the tomb on Saturday night ready to see the greatest event that they'd ever seen and so what I want to pour into your spirit today is that if you have gotten a promise from God I don't need you to get there early in the morning with your anointing of disappointment but I need you to spend the night in anticipation about how God is going to get you that job about how God is going to heal you I need you to spend the night in front of the promise that God is giving you just waiting to see how it is that he is going to blow your mind don't get there early in the morning but actually spend the night and so what they do is I get there they're perplexed they weren't expecting to see an empty grave and so the angels actually show up to them two men the Bible says dress in dazzling appearance and they're like excuse me all like why are you looking for the living amongst the dead and the way that that thing is phrased in the Greek it's almost like the angels are saying it is absolutely ridiculous and absurd that you all would even show up here expecting to see Jesus Christ because if he said that he was going to get up then you should not be here looking for him but you should be out somewhere else because Jesus Christ would not be the - why is it that you're looking for among something that is actually supposed to hold death and I want to just pause right here this isn't where we're going today but I just feel it's an important point for us to drop right into the word as we let the word just speak to us but I have to ask us a question so many times I think in our lives why is it that we are looking to find life in things that are dead we are looking to find life in people that actually are dead with themselves we're trying to find life in careers that that honestly we know are dead we're trying to find life in circumstances and situations but those circumstances and situations are dead themselves and there are too many of us that are wasting our time looking for living things amongst dead situations and so my challenge to us is if you're looking for something living don't go to where dead things are and we've got to be able to differentiate between the things that are alive and the things that are dead and when we find out that these that we can only find life rather in things where life is and not in things where death is then we've got to cut some things off and there are some changes we need to make in our life because we keep spending and wasting so much of our energy trying to find life and things that are dead and so what ends up happening now is they get this word from the Angels they see that Jesus Christ has been resurrected and so they decide to go back and they got to tell the disciples the disciples are here packed up remember they're scared they're not sure how things are gonna go on I can't even imagine what that Sabbath must have been like for them and you can see that these disease women just come rushing back into the room and they're like yo y'all y'all gotta check it out I we have gone to the tomb and this is not something that we heard this is not something that someone told us we're not getting this secondhand this is not gossip but we literally looked inside of this tomb and guess what we saw nothing Jesus Christ was not there and so you would think that the disciples after hearing something like this would be like bet Mary know that's what's up Jesus is there let's go check it out but the Bible says these incredible works the Bible says in 24 and verse 11 that when the disciples heard this they thought it was nonsense and they did not believe it now there's two words that really stick out in this particular text I think we need to spend some time in that's really gonna add context to what it is it were saying and where it is that we're going the Greek word there for nonsense actually means empty talk so when they hear the idea that Jesus is alive these disciples who would walk with him for three and a half years are to the place where they're like notic Andy you're speaking ridiculous in other words they have gotten to a point in their experience where the promises of God have become empty talk to them and I wonder how many of us can identify with that whether right now in this moment with the crisis that were in or maybe even before the crisis I mean some of you are probably looking at what's happening around the world and you're saying quarantine I'm used to living by myself crisis my life has been in a crisis Cobin 19 was just something that added to what I'm already experiencing but whatever it is that you're going through whatever is that you're experiencing I think we can all identify a little bit with the disciples we're now the promises and words of God have become empty to us it's simply become empty talk this word for some of us now has become empty talk with over 10 million people applying for unemployment how does it sound to hear when Paul says and God will supply all of our needs according to his riches and glory for some of us I know that sounds like empty talk it sounds like an empty promise for those of you who maybe have gotten a bad diagnosis on top of what's happening with the virus that is rapidly taking our world by storm how do you reconcile the idea that there is a balm in Gilead to heal your soul and there are individuals who have died and they have not been healed that's empty talk how many of us have looked at the different promises now of God based on our circumstances and situation I feel like God I don't know I know somebody else has seen it I know somebody else's experience but for me right now your promises are simply empty talk empty talk I think we have to come to that place or we're honest with God where we can say you know what God I'm in a place right now where your promises and your words are simply empty but here's the thing I think they're so unique about it during this Cove 8:19 crisis or whatever crisis you may face in your life I think we actually need a little more nonsense in our lives a little more empty talk because if we're truly honest with ourselves this thing right here in the Bible the words and the stories that we hear to a certain extent extent are nonsense because quite honestly it's nonsense for a woman who has a son and she's about to die and give her and her son their last meal to give her last meal to a man who they've never met before but when she does that is gonna get more food than she's ever had in her entire life that's totally and completely nonsense it's nonsense to think that in this kind of economy we can do less more excuse me with ninety percent then we can with 100 percent knowing that when we give God his portion that he gives us a blessing that we don't have room enough to receive it's nonsense to think that there is healing in the bottom of somebody's garment when you spent all of your money and 12 years being sick going to doctor after doctor but you recognize that if I could just get a hold of the hem of someone's garment then I'm gonna be made whole it's nonsense to think that someone could die on Friday night and on Sunday still be alive I want to tell you that the whole Christian experience is empty talk and nonsense because in order for you to be a Christian the impossible must become normal for you and that's really where we're at we've got to be in this place where we understand and embrace some of the nonsense of God that a lot of what we do operating in the impossible actually becomes normal for us as Christians and that the things that other people call nonsense actually make sense because we serve a God who is above and beyond all that we can ever think or imagine and it may seem like foolishness it may seem like nonsense but we embrace it because we understand that all of it comes so when the disciples hear this you know the Bible says it they think it's nonsense they're they're like you know what is this you know there's no way that this could be true this is empty talk and it was empty talkers was an empty tomb but but but but here's the other word that we said we need to get into is this this idea of not only did they think it was nonsense but the Bible says that they did not believe in verse 11 now the English of course you hear the word believe it really is you know one word with one definition but when you look to the Greek word for a believe there's several words that can be used here and the most the most typical one that is found in the New Testament Greek is this idea of the word peace Dias it can be used for faith they also believed that is used interchangeably and really the definition of this greek word here pistis really means to have trust in someone and to know someone through an intimate relationship so the idea is I trust you because I know you so when I'm sitting here looking at this I'm looking at expecting the word believe here to be pistis I'm thinking it's gonna have something to do with the fact that there is maybe you know something about them trusting and not of course trusting God but what I found here is that there's a completely different word that is used that actually has nothing to do with relationship and that actually makes sense because the context of who is saying they don't believe would it make sense to say that they don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ they did they walk with him for three and a half years but yet they still did not believe but it wasn't the word pistis which has nothing to do with necessarily trust or a relationship but the other word that is used actually means to make a choice and a mindset and so really when it says that they did not believe it is not saying that their faith wavered is not saying that the circumstances kind of pressured them or push them it literally is saying that the person that they had a relationship with that they were intimate with in this moment time they simply chose not to believe their mind was made up badges don't believe it I literally don't believe it they chose not to believe it and here's the thing that I'm finding out about us when it comes to this idea of trusting in God when it comes to this idea of whether or not we believe in him that sometimes our belief is not based off of our circumstances and and sometimes I feel like we're I pressed in and and things are happening the job loss a sickness and illness and that causes our our faith in and our trust in God to waver but know there are some times where we literally make a choice whether or not we are gonna trust and believe in God or not because trust and belief is not a feeling but it's also a mindset so myself to the point I remember I was I was seeing these clients you know who were having some marital difficulty and the husband and wife have come to me and they've been talking she had made some inappropriate had some inappropriate boundaries that were crossed and so he's talking to me and they're both talking they're saying pastor one of the things that we need is some help re-establishing trust because we just don't have trust I don't trust her you know for some of the things that she's done and I need to figure out how we can get that trust back and so I've been working with them for you know for a little bit and and when she came to to me in this one particular session both of us she said master I'm just completely trust frustrated how on earth can I get to earn this man's trust I've been doing this I've been doing this I've been doing that and I've been working and doing all the different things he's saying but it doesn't seem that he still trusts me and so I simply looked at the husband and I said this ain't wrong Trust is a choice like Trust is not something that anyone in your life can ever earn trust is simply a choice that we make to either trust someone or we don't because she could have given him like she did all the passcodes to her phone all the passcodes to her email every single account but he still did not trust that man had to get to a place where he simply had a mind that I am going to trust my wife again and it's the same thing with Jesus Christ I mean the disciples if you think about it walk with him for three and a half years they saw miracle after miracle they never once saw Jesus break his word they never saw it they never experienced him saying that something was gonna happen and it did not happen Jesus proved himself over and over and over again but yet here at the ultimate place where they should have known that Jesus was gonna keep his word the one thing that he kept hammering home that he kept telling them I'm gonna die but I'm gonna rise again they made a decision not to trust and that's a question I gotta ask you today have you made a decision have you just made up in your mind they come rain or come shine they no matter what circumstances are around me I will believe in what God is saying I'm gonna believe in the promises that he has for my life I'm gonna believe that he's gonna take care of me I'm gonna believe that he's gonna see me through and even though things around me seem to be falling apart when things don't seem to be going the way that I thought they were supposed to go I am making a decision that I am gonna trust Jesus Christ and that's what I'm challenging us to do that in this moment not the next moment not tomorrow I'm talking about right now you've got to have a mindset that says come hell or high water I am going to trust Jesus Christ it's my mindset I've got a trust mindset that cannot be moved I'm like a tree that's planted by the water and no matter what takes place around me I will continue to trust trust is a mindset and so after they say that they don't believe the Bible shifts gears and tells us about Peters story that's a whole other sermon than that I can't wait to be able to get into and trust me we'll probably be meeting more like this throughout the next weeks to come until we get the go-ahead to get back to our live streaming but but Peter goals he runs gets his confirmation from seeing it with his eyes within the Bible shifts as we get down to verses about 13 and 14 of Luke 24 and we see something interesting happening there two gentlemen who are leaving Jerusalem and they're on the way to Emmaus and as they're on this road to Emmaus I you got to get this out I'm just gonna give you a little bit is that leaving Jerusalem to Emmaus was really a sign of their defeat it was a sign that they were like man we're not we're not gonna make it why should we stay around Jerusalem anymore Jesus ain't here he's dead he's gone nothing's gonna happen and so in the midst of their sadness this this this blows my mind in the midst of their sadness in the midst of their disappointment God doesn't send a message God doesn't send an angel to encourage them and strengthen them but the Bible says that Jesus Christ himself shows up Jesus Christ Himself shows up and literally begins to have a conversation with them and so immediately you would think to yourself like man Jesus is there all of their thoughts are gonna be different everything is gonna change but the Bible says some incredibly disturbing words in verse as 13 14 15 where it says that when Jesus was there they were prevented from seeing Jesus now as I sit there and listen to that I see so many different times in scripture where you know God is you know blinded people he's maybe you know clothes other people's eyes so they couldn't see but I'm saying you're thinking to myself like god that's messed up like how on earth can you blind their eyes at the moment whether they needed to see the most like God if you're gonna teach them a lesson now is not the time to teach the lesson like they need to see you and the fact that you have shown up says everything that you are there that you want to open up to them so that you can show them hey guys don't worry don't be sad but God in the midst of this you prevented them from being able to see as I had to look a little deeper because that was not sitting well with it I looked at the Greek word for preventive and the Greek word for prevented actually is defined in this way it means to be arrested and held in custody I wasn't again the Greek word for preventive means to be arrested and held in custody now the question I ask yourself is if they were arrested and held in custody who was it that was arresting them in holding them in custody so that they were unable to see Jesus when he showed up and we learned that just a few verses earlier that they've made a decision in their mind not to believe in trusting God and so what we find here in this particular verse is that when Jesus shows up they have been arrested by their doubts and disbelief in God so that now they are held in custody by doubt they cannot see Jesus Christ and how many times does that happen to us where Jesus Christ has shown up in the midst of some of the most terrible and horrific circumstances but our prayer has been God where are you we have been sitting there complaining saying God you're not here you're not here in the midst of my job loss you're not here in the midst of my kids losing their mind you're not here in the midst of me not being able to get into school you're not here in the midst of my financial crisis you're not here in the midst of my health crisis but the whole time God has been there but the problem is we have allowed fear we have allowed our doubt we have allowed our disbelief to arrest us and hold us in custody so that we cannot see Jesus even though he's right there there's so many times in our lives God doesn't send angels he doesn't send signs and he doesn't even send other people but he shows up himself but were arrested and held in custody I disbelief doubt fear panic anxiety whatever it is is he gonna ask yourself the question this morning is it that has arrested you too but what has arrested you so much so to the point and has kept you in custody and for all intents and purposes has put no bond on it that is preventing you from being able to see Jesus the stair we just got to get out of custody so that we can see so Jesus is talking with these brothers and I love what Jesus does he does not reveal who he is he doesn't tell them who he is he simply goes to where they are he gets in their sadness with them because the Bible says that they stop and they sit for a moment in their sadness they stop walking on the road to Emmaus and they just sit in their sadness for a moment and Jesus starts asking like hey what's going on and they start to go down this list of of things that that had been taking place over the fact last few nights and and they talk about how Jesus was supposed to have overcome and helped Israel get set free from this oppression and all kinds of rule but now that is not going to happen anymore and God just just listens and he just sits and after he's done listening Jesus then starts to break down the old testament starting back with Moses and the prophets and he's trying to encourage them on the way and telling them don't worry about it these promises are still fulfilled still has not said who he is because these individuals have felt that Jesus has left them they felt that he has failed they that they may doubt that that Jesus is a person of his word they have not seen him he has not been resurrected as far as they are concerned but they're still just walking and they're still talking and Jesus is sitting there trying to encourage them and he pretends that he has to go a little further and they're like y'all bro like this has been a good conversation can you just say back in and hang with us just for just a little bit Jesus has no problem he goes to the table and he sits there and he reclines back at the table in there he gets ready to break and bless this bread and the Bible says it was in that moment that their eyes are now opened and the moment that they recognizes Jesus he immediately vanishes and so along this walk to Emmaus and on this place there they're talking about Jesus and they don't know it's Jesus but there's so much doubt that is filling them in their hearts in their mind there's got all kinds of doubt they don't know how they're gonna make it through as a matter of fact even them probably listening to these promises might have seemed like empty talked to them but but but but the thing is that they're still walking they invite this man into their home and finally they recognize it as Jesus and so some of you are sitting here asking right now pastor I'm in this doubt I don't believe what God is saying it is empty talk I've been disappointed because of the expectations I've placed on God I feel that he has failed me pastor how on earth is it that I can get past this empty talk how do I stop doubting how do I get rid of this fear and I want to tell you that the two brothers from Emmaus tell us exactly what to do just keep on walking with Jesus you might not even recognize it as Jesus and you might not even know what your walk looks like and it might look like it's terrible and it doesn't look like Enochs and it doesn't look like anybody else but you got to just keep walking the more that we walk with Jesus the more that we study I know sometimes you might not believe what what he's saying it might seem like empty promises but keep reading the promises you're walking with God and you don't see the benefits of it and maybe your walk to you might even be superficial but just keep walking the brothers were walking with a man just to be polite they had no idea that it was Jesus but as a result of their walk they eventually saw Jesus and so my challenge to us in these incredible times is to keep walking with Jesus even if you're having empty talk even if his words seem to ring hollow to you right now keep walking with Jesus even if everything that he's telling you sounds like sounding brass and tinkling cymbal keep walking with Jesus don't stop don't give in to the depression that can that can seep in don't give in to the stop to the to the place rather in your life where you just stop walking that's where the devil wants is he wants us to give up on the walk he wants us to stop walking but you walk in your doubts you can walk in your disappointment you can walk in your disbelief whatever you do just keep walking with Jesus and as you're on that walk with Jesus you'll engage in some empty talk some empty talk that eventually will show you that the tomb is empty and because the tomb is empty every promise that he made to you is going to be fulfilled because Jesus is somebody who keeps his word and so wherever you may be this morning wherever you may be with the issues of life with all that surround us and going on I want to challenge you to just keep walking with Jesus walk on the road to Emmaus and have some incredible empty talk empty talk about an empty tomb that gives the promise that his emptiness is what it is that is going to fill you today so what I want you to do is if you're in that place where you want to make the next step with Jesus Christ and you're like I want to keep walking our church here about Rubidoux we want to help you continue to walk with Jesus or maybe even just start in your walk with Jesus so once you go to our web page Montreux Buddha live.com we want you to check out that link that's gonna be right there at the top of the page you're gonna see it right there and it's gonna say my next step and when you click on that link it's gonna have a form for you to fill out you start way to keep in contact with you will be able to sign you up for some online groups whether it be for prayer whether it be for Bible study so that you can be a part of a community that is making this decision and in spite of our doubts that in spite of our issues in spite of our problems we have made a commitment to keep walking with Jesus so let me pray with you Father in Heaven we need some more empty talk some more talk about an empty tomb and that empty tomb is given us the promise that you yes you yourself have kept every single thing that you said you were gonna do in God if you kept the promise of rising from the grave then we know you'll keep the promises that you've made to us individually god we can trust you the empty grave this empty talk is proof that we can trust you and so god I pray that we would make that decision but even if we are still in that place where we really don't trust the way we should and we're kind of struggling with that god I pray I pray that we would just continue God that we would just continue to walk with you in the midst of all this because walking is how we'll eventually see you walking is how we start to shred down walking is how we start to shred shred fear if we could just continually walk with you so father I pray for everyone's walk with those who have made decisions for those who are clicking links to be a part of our groups or to you know be a part of some Bible study or to continue to just worship with us in this capacity again so father I pray blessings over us for this week and I pray that as we celebrate the empty grave that the emptiness s in our lives will be filled by every promise that you have made to us this is our prayer in Jesus name Amen I'm gonna thank you guys so much for joining us today at Mount Rubidoux please know we're probably for the next few weeks gonna meet just in this way pre-recorded content that is going to be relevant and of course up-to-date as to what it is that is happening around our world and of course in our lives so we want you to please join us next week at 11:00 a.m. for with standard Academy and then 11:30 a.m. for another servant that's gonna be brought to you by me as we continue this journey of being the church in the midst of this koban 19 crisis because remember what we say about Rubidoux in times of crisis the mission of the church does not stop so tell a friend invite somebody follow us on instagram follow us on facebook so you can stay up-to-date with all the different things that are going to be happening throughout the week how you can stay connected and continue to grow as a disciple for Jesus Christ god bless you hit me up though guys don't forget hit me up during the week you got comments questions let's interact let's talk we're family we're gonna get through all this together I'm Michael Kelly lead pastor here in Mount Rubidoux and I want to thank you so much for joining us online now what we've said here at Mount Rubidoux is that in times of crisis the mission of the church does not stop and one of the reasons that our church has not stopped being Church simply because we are no longer in a building is because individuals like you have continued to support the mission here at Mount Rubidoux and as a result of that every Tuesday and every Saturday we have been able to feed families give them groceries and essential supplies like masks and hand sanitizer toilet paper that they're unable to find in the stores because either they can no longer afford them or because the stores no longer have them that is a direct result of your faithfulness now I know that there are some of you who are watching here who have been watching Rubidoux for quite some time and you're already a regular Tyler there are also some of you who are watching who are a part of other ministries and sometimes you're just checking in on us you're on the east coast and when your church is finished you're watching us maybe your different parts around the world but you might consider yourself to have a church home so there's actually two things that I want to share with you today if you are already a regular contributor a to Mount Rubidoux I'm going to ask that you and continue doing what you have been doing we're not asking for anything more but for you to continue to be consistent in how you've been supporting this mission here at this church so for those of you who have not contributed to Mount Rubidoux before here's what we're asking that you would go click the donate link and that you would go through secure gift and look at the tab that says Cove in 19 assistance and simply donate five dollars because I believe that if all of us are able to contribute five dollars we'll be able to continue to support those who are in need during this time of the pandemic by pouring into them the supplies that are necessary while they're looking to just navigate through this difficult time and so I want to thank you in advance for your gift it's a small gift but I know that when a lot of us are doing a small thing it becomes large and has an incredible impact I want to thank you all for your contribution because of you we have continued to be the church why because in times of crisis the mission of the church does not stop you

Channel: Mt. Rubidoux SDA

Views: 2,761

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Easter, SDA, Seventh Day Adventist, Mt. Rubidoux, Church, Michael Kelly, Jesus, Tomb

Id: iuRODtocHbg

Length: 81min 52sec (4912 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 11 2020