April 4, 2010-He is Risen! Sunday Service.

Favorite Songs-"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus....there's just something about that name"..And..."You're my God and my firm foundation...It is You whom I'll trust at all times..."
(Pastor Frank's sermon, and what
I think he said.)

Scripture-Luke 24:13-35-

Summary of the verses:
After Jesus was crucified and before He had revealed Himself to all of His disciples, two of His followers were traveling to Emmaus, a village 7 miles from Jerusalem. They were talking about the events that had taken place in the past few days. Jesus drew near them and began to ask them what they were talking about and why they were sad. They wondered aloud if He was the only one who did not know the things that had been happening in Jerusalem. "What things?," He asked innocently. So they told Him about Himself. "Jesus of Nazareth was a Prophet and was mighty in word and deed and the chief priests and rulers delivered Him to death and He was crucified.

We had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel.

Certain women of our company went to the tomb early this morning and have told us that His body was gone and that angels said He was alive. We checked out their story and it's true but we have yet to see Him!"
Then Jesus rebuked them gently and explained Himself through all of the Scriptures beginning with Moses and going through the Prophets.

They came near to Emmaus and Jesus indicated that He would go further, but they asked Him to stay with them since it was nearly evening so He did.
When they sat down to eat, Jesus took bread and broke it, and gave it to them. (Something, I would assume, that the host would do for the guest.)
Immediately, their eyes were opened and they knew Him and just that quickly, He vanished from their sight.
They said to one another, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
So, even at that late hour, they went back to Jerusalem and found the eleven disciples and others who were gathered together. They told them about their exciting day and how Jesus had come to them and how they recognized Him when He broke the bread.
And just at that moment, Jesus Himself, came and stood in their midst....
but that's another story. Luke 24:36-43.
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Looking back to the Triumphant Entry-
When Jesus came into the city, the first place He visited was the temple.
It was not operating to His standard and His zeal for His Father's House revealed itself as He drove all those out of the temple who were buying and selling sacrificial offerings. He said, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."' Then the blind and the lame came and He healed them all. Between the temple cleansing, the healings, and the loud praises, and Lazarus' resurrection, the chief priests had had enough.
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When Jesus comes to visit a city, the first place He will cleanse will be the temple. It might get loud and painful and the normal way of doing things may get messed up.

Are we ready? It will affect every one of us.

The church is on a spiritual walk to Emmaus.
Those followers who were walking to Emmaus were looking at things in the past tense. "He was a prophet...He was doing great things...We had hoped that He was the Messiah..."
And they weren't even aware that they needed more than rescuing.
God is more than a God of Rescue.
Visitation from God means Relief.
He will come and He will bring relief.

Relief from what?
Relief from our sins and strongholds of insecurity.
Relief from oppression and the fear of getting it wrong.
Relief from pride and defensiveness.
Relief from lovelessness and indifference.
Relieve me from myself, O God!

He will come and overturn the normal way of doing things.
God is not going to work in the way we think.
He will not be boxed in.
The church cannot keep thinking of Him in past tense.
We cannot keep saying, "If only...If He had just..."

There was a place on the road to Emmaus where they begged Jesus to stay with them.
He would have passed on by and He waited for their invitation.

He knocks and waits for us to open up the door.
He'll come in and dine with us and
break the bread of life to us
and our eyes will be opened to see who He is.

God is looking for seekers.
He seeks seekers.
If we are a seeker,
He is seeking such as we are,
and when we two seekers meet,
He finds His image in us.
Seek Him while He may be found.
He will not always strive with man.
He will not insist on coming in.

Our eyes twinkle 10,00o times when we blink.
We will be caught up to be with Him with no warning-
'In a twinkling of an eye'...at the last trumpet sound.
The church will be caught up in 1/10,000 of a blink.

It's the reflection of the sun on the moon
that affects the tide.
It is the people that are reflecting the Son
that will affect the change of the tide
in our area.

If we lose our hope,
we are robbed of the evidence of our faith.

Is it,
"We had hoped.."
or "We do hope."?

Can you imagine the Word in flesh telling the story to two?
He shows up to two!
Oh, the extravagance of God!
He expounds scripture to them.
Can you imagine Jesus expounding scriptures about Himself?
Oh, be present with me, and expound the Word, O Word of God.

Elmer Towns explained some things this way.
"Faith->I believe.."
"Love->I give..."
"Hope->I plan..."
"Conviction->I know..."

The apostles didn't pray to be delivered when they encountered persecution.
They prayed, 'Give us more boldness, zeal, hunger, opportunities to share...'

If you become a seeker,
God will show up.
Salvation for others is a residual effect when you seek God.
People will cast off restraints and see Jesus.
If you break bread with Jesus and seek Him,
others will get to eat with Him too.
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Today,
I walked with Jesus on my Emmaus Road
and I told Him my "I had hoped You woulds..."

'Jesus, I had hoped you would have protected
my friend's family from the evil lusts and intents of another...'
Jesus, I had hoped you would have kept
those drunk drivers off the road on those days...
Jesus, I had hoped you would have gotten him to look
one more time before pulling out...
Jesus, I had hoped that Psalm 91 was a promise of Your protection...
Jesus, I had hoped that I would see your goodness in the land of joy and prevention of suffering rather than in the land of sorrow and redemption...'

I wonder if it is our 'I had hoped you woulds'
that cause us to seek Him.

We think we know who He is and what He is going to do
and then He blows our God box to bits
and we have to try to figure out who He is again.

If we are honest with our blown hopes,
He may call us 'Slow of heart to understand'
but I am willing to hear that
if it means He will reveal Himself to me.

I think Jesus said, "I had hoped you would" to God one time.

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?!"

I think He was saying,
'I had hoped you would be with me
the whole way through this thing!
I had hoped You
wouldn't turn your back on me
when I became the sin of the world!

Father, I cannot see Your face!
Father, I do not feel Your grace!

I had hoped I would!!!'

In Jesus' worse hour,
God forsook Him.

He took my place
so I would never know
the rejection of God.

He took my place
so I could have His presence
on my Emmaus Road of
'I had hoped you woulds.'

I eat the bread He breaks and my heart burns within me.