3ABN Homecoming 2017

Dark Moments

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: 17HC

Program Code: 17HC000013A


00:49 Hello and welcome back to 3ABN Fall Camp Meeting
00:52 or we sometimes also refer to it as 3ABN Homecoming.
00:56 Thank you for joining us as you do each and every day.
00:59 Hopefully you've been enjoying all of Camp Meeting.
01:02 We have here, haven't we? Amen!
01:04 Amen. I know that Jill and I have too.
01:07 I tell you, those of us that work here at 3ABN
01:09 on a daily basis it's a blessing to be here.
01:11 But this is so exciting to have each one of you here.
01:15 It's a tremendous blessing.
01:17 Hopefully you're encouraged, but I want to say that
01:19 we're encouraged having you all here.
01:21 It's neat to meet each one of you face to face.
01:24 And I don't want to say "shame on you, " cause I know
01:26 there's many reasons why you couldn't come here
01:28 to 3ABN, but we hope someday if you've never been
01:31 that you can come here and visit with us - especially for the
01:34 Fall and Spring Camp Meetings.
01:36 You're welcome any time of the year, of course, to come
01:37 visit and tour the studios.
01:39 It's always a blessing to be able to meet each one of you.
01:42 I look forward to heaven, don't you? Amen!
01:45 Where someday we'll all be able to be there as one big
01:48 family. What a glorious day that will be!
01:50 Hopefully you just enjoyed NAPS.
01:53 It's kind of interesting, isn't it? NAPS right after lunch.
01:56 I was thinking about that: NAPS.
01:58 But what a great organization, right?
02:00 What they're doing, I think about, is what Jesus did.
02:03 Right? Going around and - I don't know - feet on the ground.
02:07 Boy! Praise the Lord for that.
02:08 So we appreciate what NAPS has done and the relationship
02:11 3ABN has had with them through the years.
02:13 I know you all have been enjoying Elder John Bradshaw,
02:16 haven't you? and his messages.
02:17 The Lord, boy, He's given him a gift, hasn't He?
02:21 Wow! Of breaking down the Word of God
02:23 being able to explain it. I tell you, we just appreciate
02:26 him and the work that he has done through the years
02:30 but also for being here at 3ABN and joining us for Camp Meeting.
02:35 I tell you: at this time we have a song
02:38 before Pr. Bradshaw joins us by Bro. Tim Parton.
02:41 We appreciate him. Don't you appreciate his music?
02:43 Yes! Amen! It's inspiring!
02:48 I tell you: when I hear him play it makes me want to take
02:50 piano lessons.
02:52 Then I realize: "Oh... just forget it.
02:55 Maybe heaven someday. "
02:56 Brother Tim, we appreciate you - Jill and I - and the ministry
03:00 that God has given you. You know, Tim
03:02 is the same as you see him here: always has a smile on his
03:04 face. Behind the scenes he is the same.
03:06 But the song that he's going to play
03:09 and sing for us is entitled: "In The Meantime. "
03:12 After that will be Pastor John Bradshaw. Amen!
03:19 You know the Bible has a lot of examples
03:22 of things that we go through.
03:24 And there's one character in the Old Testament
03:27 that experienced some pain.
03:31 This is a song about Job.
03:37 I am broken...
03:40 in a room alone where the only light is You.
03:47 And I am beaten...
03:51 by the days of tribulation I've walked through.
03:58 My life has been laid bare
04:02 right before Your eyes;
04:05 today my heart despairs
04:08 and tomorrow I may die
04:14 but in the meantime
04:18 You're the lifter of my head.
04:22 And in the lean times
04:25 You're the giver of my bread.
04:29 Lord, Your goodness
04:32 is too wonderful for me!
04:38 I believe my Redeemer is alive
04:44 even in the meantime.
04:53 I have nothing...
04:56 You have given and You've taken it away.
05:02 Oh, but Lord I thank you
05:06 for all I really need is You
05:09 and You have stayed.
05:13 You formed me from the dust;
05:16 Your Spirit gave me breath.
05:20 I am Yours in life
05:23 and I am Yours in death.
05:28 But in the meantime
05:32 You're the lifter of my head.
05:35 And in the lean times
05:39 You're the giver of my bread.
05:43 Lord, Your goodness
05:46 is too wonderful for me!
05:51 I believe
05:54 my Redeemer is alive
05:58 even in the meantime.
06:11 Lord, Your goodness
06:15 is too wonderful for me...
06:21 I believe
06:24 my Redeemer is alive
06:29 even in the meantime.
06:49 Amen!
06:57 Thank you, Tim... thank you.
06:59 Good afternoon everyone.
07:00 Good afternoon! That's an outrageous talent, isn't it?
07:06 That's just outrageous.
07:08 Seemed like... seemed like God took talent
07:12 from like 20 of us
07:15 and poured it into one person.
07:18 That's all right with me 'cause it's all being used
07:20 for God's glory and that's how it ought to be.
07:22 Well I hope you've been blessed so far.
07:24 You know, we've got a little ground to cover before you can
07:27 with a clear conscience turn around and head home.
07:31 I know I've said this to you already but I'm going to
07:33 remind you again because what's coming up on 3ABN
07:36 at the end of October is special. Starting on the 23rd
07:41 23rd, nine nights in a row a series called "500. "
07:46 500 because this year marks the 500th anniversary
07:50 of the Protestant Reformation's genesis.
07:56 Our It Is Written team traveled to a number of Reformation sites
08:03 and perhaps sites that weren't strictly Reformation sites
08:07 but were connected to the Reformation.
08:09 You know over the years now
08:11 we've filmed programs on location.
08:14 I was just doing a quick count the other day
08:16 and got to about 17 different countries.
08:18 And that surprised me.
08:21 It might be more. Maybe it's less but I don't think so.
08:24 A lot of those programs have dealt with Reformation themes.
08:28 We looked at Wycliffe and Wesley
08:32 and Knox and Calvin
08:35 and Farel and Luther then others.
08:40 And when you start to talk about the Reformation
08:43 you need to talk very directly
08:45 about the cause of the Reformation,
08:46 what was being reformed and what were the reasons for that.
08:51 And so this year being the 500th anniversary
08:53 we have a series that will show 9 nights straight.
08:57 Not only will they include a 30-minute program
08:59 but also discussions with experts and academics.
09:02 People like Dr. Gerard Damsteegt,
09:04 Dr. Leslie Pollard, Dr. Dedrick Blue,
09:07 Dr. David Trim and many others besides.
09:11 Dr. Michael Hasel, Dr. Jud Lake,
09:14 Pastor Lincoln Steed.
09:16 And look at me... I probably forgot one
09:18 but that's OK. And this gives us the opportunity
09:22 to go deeper and explore some really very important
09:25 aspects of certain Reformation subjects.
09:27 We have an overview of the Reformation.
09:30 This is going to be on 3ABN
09:32 the last nine nights of October
09:35 which happens to begin tomorrow. Can you believe that?
09:39 And so we have an overview of the Reformation.
09:41 Then one of the programs will deal with - in fact, program 2-
09:45 Patrick who was a reformer before the Reformation you know.
09:51 Patrick who was not a Roman Catholic;
09:53 Patrick who was not Irish;
09:54 Patrick who was a Sabbath-keeper.
09:56 We talk about Patrick and then William Tyndale,
10:00 the English Bible translator who was just a genius
10:04 and made a bigger contribution to your life than you realize.
10:08 If you've ever read a King James version of the Bible,
10:10 one of the Testaments is really just about about 75%
10:14 of his work and the other Testament 83%, 85%.
10:18 He was a giant. Executed
10:22 for obeying God's call on his life.
10:26 We have a program dealing with the Roman Catholic church
10:28 which was the object of the Reformation.
10:30 A program dealing with Luther.
10:32 And so we go to Rome and to the Vatican and to Wittenberg,
10:35 Germany. Eisleben where Luther was born
10:38 and where he died. The sixth program deals with
10:42 the counter Reformation. We talk about
10:45 a man named IƱigo... better known to you as
10:49 Ignatius of Loyola
10:51 who founded the Society of Jesus... the Jesuit Order.
10:55 And so we go to that place in Spain where he was born.
10:57 We talk about the work of the Jesuits.
10:59 I discuss with Dr. Damsteegt
11:04 the Jesuit scholars who re-interpreted the prophecies
11:09 of the Bible for the sole purpose
11:13 of turning attention away from Rome
11:16 and onto anybody... didn't really matter.
11:20 It's a really interesting program.
11:23 Seventh one we cross the Atlantic.
11:25 Roger Williams and the Pilgrim fathers.
11:27 Eighth program we go to the William Miller farm
11:30 in New York state.
11:31 Ninth program we go to Washington, New Hampshire.
11:34 My guest on that program is Pastor Ted Wilson
11:38 who is as you know the General Conference president
11:42 of the world church of Seventh-day Adventists.
11:45 So I think this is one of the most important TV events
11:48 that you could really ever see, certainly of this year.
11:51 And my prayer is that you'll know about it
11:54 and watch it... kept others know about it.
11:56 3ABN will be broadcasting 500 brought to you by
11:59 It Is Written the last nine nights of October.
12:04 Well let's pray, shall we? Let's pray and expect
12:07 God to bless us as we open the Bible.
12:09 Let's pray now. Our Father in heaven,
12:12 we come in the name of Jesus.
12:15 We are grateful as we come to You today.
12:20 You didn't have to... but You did.
12:22 You created this world out of love
12:25 and when our original grandparents ran amuck
12:30 instead of simply eliminating them and starting again
12:36 You set in motion this great plan of salvation
12:40 where Jesus, the Lamb slain since the foundation of the
12:44 world, would come and live and die
12:47 and offer us everlasting life.
12:49 Well Lord, today we are telling You we want it.
12:51 Today we are saying "yes" and "thank you. "
12:54 We pray that if there's any- thing the least bit shaky about
12:57 our experience that we would take hold of You for strength
13:01 today and make peace with You.
13:04 Bless us during the sharing of the Word, during the study
13:07 of the Word as we open our Bibles and look into scripture
13:10 that the Living Word would live in us.
13:13 Guide us we pray. With thanks in Jesus' name,
13:17 please say - amen - Amen!
13:22 There are a lot of things that we don't understand.
13:26 A lot of things.
13:28 We look at nature.
13:30 Nature again and again baffles us.
13:34 I'll go for a couple of obvious examples.
13:41 Have you ever seen salmon running, maybe in the Pacific
13:45 Northwest? Have you ever seen the salmon?
13:47 The salmon, when they're going up those little streams
13:50 to spawn, they're like traffic on a freeway.
13:55 They're stopped... it's gridlock.
13:58 They barely move.
14:00 There's hardly any room in the stream.
14:04 You know that those salmon originated way up
14:09 where they're heading.
14:11 And they hatched and they swam out down to the ocean
14:15 and off they went. To me it's a wonder that a fish can
14:18 be fresh water AND salt water. That's a wonder.
14:23 They swam out in the ocean; some of them traveled 2,500 miles.
14:27 And when it's time for them to lay eggs or fertilize eggs
14:31 that have been laid they turn around and head back
14:33 to the very stream where they were hatched in the first place.
14:38 Explain that to me.
14:41 You cannot. Well... well, you could say
14:45 "Evolution is a marvelous thing. "
14:50 You know, if that's evolution then evolution's faulty.
14:54 Evolution should have figured out a much easier way
14:57 for that salmon to do it's thing than having to swim
14:59 all the way back and leap up waterfalls
15:02 and dodge grizzly bears and all of that.
15:05 It's just a marvel!
15:09 I don't know that you can really figure out the giraffe.
15:12 If I understand this right,
15:13 an animal like that the heart would have trouble
15:16 pumping the blood all around the body.
15:19 And then when it bends down like that
15:20 the rush of blood down to the head puts immense pressure
15:22 or would on the brain.
15:25 But somehow that animal survives OK.
15:29 Can you... can you explain to me a woodpecker?
15:35 YOU try that!
15:40 Honestly, I don't even know why God would make a woodpecker.
15:45 Why would He do that
15:48 other than He did it for the same reason that He made roses
15:51 AND tulips. I would have been happy with one or the other.
15:54 Frankly, tulips for me. My dad grew them when I was a kid.
15:57 I just love them more than any other flower.
16:00 I would have been happy with tulips, but again, there's
16:02 tulips and roses and daffodils and pansies
16:04 and... and... carnations!
16:08 And... Is there a lady here?
16:13 Sorry, but my knowledge of flower species or types
16:18 is not... is not great.
16:20 I do know this: Men... you ought to buy them.
16:26 Oh, yeah... you ought to buy them.
16:29 And if you just buy them on Valentine's Day
16:31 I don't think that means anything.
16:33 If you buy them on birthdays, that's good.
16:34 You should just by them any time. Just pick a day.
16:38 November the 3rd. I don't know what that is...
16:41 just go buy some flowers. "This is for you. "
16:43 I was in a supermarket line one day
16:45 standing there holding some flowers.
16:48 And the lady in front of me, she noticed and she turned around
16:51 and she said: "Oh... what have you done wrong? "
16:56 Oh, yeah.
16:58 I said: "Lady I have discovered that if I buy enough of these
17:01 I can do no wrong. "
17:08 I can't figure out these marvels of nature.
17:10 Let me share one with you that you don't know about.
17:12 It's the longfin eel of New Zealand.
17:16 These eels get pretty big, you know.
17:19 At least they can.
17:21 It breeds once at the end of its life
17:25 and then... Sorry... before that
17:27 when it's about to breed it swims from New Zealand
17:30 to Tonga, an island nation out in the Pacific.
17:34 Now depending on which part of New Zealand you're traveling
17:36 from that could be 1,200, 1,400, 1,600 miles.
17:40 So this eel swims 1,200, 1,400, 1,600 miles
17:45 to Tonga, to the warm waters around the islands of Tonga.
17:49 The eggs are laid; the eggs are fertilized - get this -
17:53 then the eggs drift. They drift in the ocean
17:56 most of the way back to New Zealand.
18:00 They hatch, and then when those longfin eels
18:05 get to the place that they're going to procreate
18:08 they swim back to a place they've never even been!
18:13 Not like the salmon that were actually hatched in that stream.
18:18 They weren't... just the eggs were laid
18:22 and then the ocean carried them away hundreds of miles.
18:25 How does that happen?
18:29 It can only happen because God is marvelous. Amen!
18:33 That's the only reason.
18:35 Now I have a confession to make.
18:38 I have no idea how this works.
18:41 I have no idea. To me it's just a marvel.
18:44 I can press some buttons on here...
18:46 they're not even buttons. You just press the screen.
18:48 Oh my goodness. And before long I could be talking to my mother
18:51 in New Zealand or my wife back in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
18:56 To me it's just a marvel.
18:58 Now if you are electronically inclined
19:00 or you're a "techie" of some sort
19:02 then you're going to be able to explain that...
19:05 well, I wouldn't even know where to begin.
19:07 You're going to be able to explain that this happens
19:09 and that happens and so forth.
19:11 I don't even understand how grass grows!
19:16 I mean... I know that it does.
19:18 But could YOU make it grow?
19:21 There's something to do with the earth and water
19:25 and nutrients and the warmth of the sun
19:27 and help from water
19:30 but ultimately you've got to put this down to that fact
19:33 it is a miracle of nature
19:35 and it speaks to an Almighty God.
19:39 There are some things we just don't understand.
19:43 And then you know some- times our lack of understanding
19:45 can cause us challenges. Our lack of understanding,
19:49 our inability to see things from God's perspective,
19:53 sometimes trips us up.
19:55 Our inability. Not what God does
19:58 but our inability or some- times even our unwillingness
20:01 to see things the way God sees things.
20:05 So I wonder if you would turn with me in your Bible
20:07 to Luke chapter 24.
20:10 The theme for Camp Meeting this year is: Sacrifice...
20:13 His and Ours. And so I want to
20:16 gather around the crucifixion story.
20:19 There were some men walking along a Judean road
20:22 2,000 years ago.
20:25 It is Sunday. Jesus had died on the Friday.
20:32 And the Word of God says in Luke chapter 24
20:34 beginning in verse 13: "Behold, two of them went
20:37 that same day to a village called Emmaus
20:40 which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. "
20:45 A furlong is roughly 200 yards.
20:47 We're talking about 1,200 yards.
20:49 Call it 12 kilometers.
20:51 In American that's about 7-1/2 miles.
20:55 That were walking from Jerusalem back home
20:58 seven or eight miles.
21:01 "And they talked together of all these things which had
21:05 happened.
21:07 And it came to pass that while they communed together
21:11 and reasoned... " The Bible says that Jesus Himself
21:15 drew near. You notice this.
21:17 "Jesus Himself drew near and went with them
21:21 but their eyes were holden that they should not know Him. "
21:26 Now I don't want to forbid here. It says their eyes were
21:29 "holden. " You might extrapolate from that
21:32 that God intervened and caused them to be
21:35 unable to recognize that Jesus was with them.
21:38 You might think that.
21:40 Whatever the reason they did not perceive that
21:45 this was Jesus with them.
21:48 Now this ought to make us stop and think.
21:50 How is it that Jesus can be walking along side ya
21:56 to the ext... You've walked with folk on a trail.
21:59 He maybe even bumped against them.
22:02 His clothing would have swished against theirs
22:05 and they didn't know that it was Jesus who was with them.
22:12 Come on now, are the times that Jesus is in your midst
22:14 and you are uncertain, you are unaware
22:17 that Jesus is with you?
22:20 Jesus is working out His purposes in your life
22:24 and yet you are discouraged by what you see.
22:28 God is actively working and there are times that
22:32 you will say: "Why doesn't God even love me? "
22:37 You wonder why you are in a mess when it's not a mess.
22:42 It's God's purposes being worked out in your life.
22:45 Does the potter tell the clay how it should be molded?
22:49 Think of that pottery process.
22:53 End up in a kiln... incredible heat.
22:56 Now it's only clay, it's inane- mate. It's not feeling anything
23:00 but what a process. And at the end of that process
23:02 an unshapely lump of mud has been turned into something
23:06 beautiful and useful and maybe very valuable.
23:12 Think of Joseph... Joseph who was in prison.
23:15 Was God with Joseph? Yes or no?
23:17 Was God with Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery?
23:21 Yeah. Was God with Joseph when Joseph was heading down there
23:24 to Egypt? Sure He was!
23:26 Was He with Joseph when he got the job at Potiphar's house?
23:28 Yes! Was He with Joseph when that wicked woman
23:31 tried it on? Yes He was!
23:34 Was He with Joseph when he resisted temptation?
23:37 Sure He was! Was He with Joseph when he got sent to prison?
23:40 Oh absolutely!
23:41 Was He with Joseph as Joseph was getting older?
23:44 Sure He was. Was He with Joseph
23:46 when he interpreted the dreams? Yes!
23:48 They - the men's whose dreams he interpreted -
23:50 forgot all about him.
23:52 At least the one of them. The one of them
23:54 wasn't thinking about much of anything after a given point
23:56 in time. Yes! God was with Joseph in all of that.
24:01 But if that was you
24:03 how might you have been tempted to feel?
24:07 "What in the world? My family is against me. "
24:09 What was taking place?
24:12 God's purposes were being worked out.
24:15 "My family is against me. "
24:17 "How can my brothers do this to me? "
24:19 "I'll never see my father again! "
24:21 "What in the world? What have I done wrong? "
24:24 "How have I offended You so badly
24:27 that You are allowing this to happen to me? "
24:29 Can you imagine that ride - that long ride from...
24:32 from there in Canaan all the way down to Egypt?
24:34 Can you imagine how he felt?
24:36 "Oh God... why are You letting this happen to me? "
24:38 Can you imagine how he felt?
24:40 He gets down there; he's working hard; his boss loves him.
24:43 And then the boss's wife does something she should not have
24:46 done. There's no way Joseph was going to acquiesce
24:50 to her demands... her REPEATED demands.
24:54 "How can I do this great wicked- ness and sin against God? "
24:57 Oh no! Hear what he's saying: "I am doing the right thing
25:00 in the sight of God" and then he winds up in prison.
25:03 How would you feel? How would you feel
25:06 to be wrongly accused? To be in prison for something
25:10 you hadn't done because you did what was right
25:14 in the sight of God. How would you feel?
25:17 "Oh here's an opportunity; I'll do some guys a favor.
25:19 God has given me a gift. " And then you're forgotten.
25:24 If God had said to Joseph:
25:27 "Listen, I want to use you in an incredible way.
25:32 In a truly remarkable way.
25:34 Maybe like I've never used anybody before.
25:37 BUT you're going to go through some real hardship.
25:40 You're going to go through re- jection. Your family's going to
25:42 reject you. You're going to wind up in prison.
25:46 You're going to be forgotten. You're going to feel like
25:48 you're forgotten. But I'm with you... I'm with you
25:50 the whole way and ultimately amazing things
25:53 are going to happen. " Joseph would have said:
25:55 "Whoof! OK... happy to do it; happy to do it. "
25:59 And the whole time he's in prison he'd be like:
26:01 "God is with me. I know God explained this to me. "
26:03 On the way down to Egypt - now as a slave:
26:07 "It's OK because God's going to do something great. "
26:09 But God hadn't given him that assurance.
26:13 So how about you? If God had said to you:
26:15 "I've got something GREAT for you to do
26:19 but in the meantime you're going to go through some hardship. "
26:22 You would say: "That's all right; bring it on! "
26:26 "Your family will reject you. " "But if it means I can do
26:28 something great for You, Lord, that's OK with me. "
26:31 "You may end up in prison. "
26:33 "That's OK if it means I can do something great for You! "
26:36 "You're going to save a nation.
26:39 The family's going to come back together. "
26:41 "You'll do something so dramatic
26:43 that thousands of years later
26:46 they'll be talking about it at Camp Meeting! "
26:48 You would say: "Sign me up! "
26:53 So how is it that we can know we are children of God
26:57 and then have experiences in our lives
27:00 we just forget that and we become disconsolate
27:03 and discouraged and depressed?
27:05 As a matter of fact God has already told you
27:09 that His plan is to do something great in you and through you.
27:13 He's told you that.
27:14 He has assured you of that.
27:16 You've read Revelation chapter 18 verse 1.
27:19 Says the whole world is "lit up with the manifestation
27:23 of the character of God. "
27:25 God has said: "I want to use YOU
27:28 to show the world what I'm like. "
27:30 "I want to use you to take the gospel to the world. "
27:32 "I want you to be Exhibit A before the universe of what
27:36 the grace of God can do in the life of a broken person. "
27:38 God has given us that assurance.
27:42 We are on a journey towards heaven.
27:44 We are in the palm of God's hand.
27:45 We ought never ever let appearances
27:51 suggest to us or convince us that God is not working.
27:57 God is working.
27:58 We read Romans 8:28 that says: "All things work together
28:02 for good for those who love God.
28:03 For those who are the called according to His purpose. "
28:06 Do we believe it? Yes or no?
28:07 All right... we've got to act like we believe it.
28:09 How many things work together for good?
28:11 All! ALL things work together for good.
28:14 And you get the bad news you are sick; you have some illness.
28:17 You wonder whether you're going to make it.
28:18 Will that work together for good? Yes or no?
28:20 Yes it will. Doesn't mean you need to enjoy the experience,
28:24 but you don't need to believe for a moment that God is not
28:27 with you. Amen! You might suffer some kind of loss.
28:31 Is God with you? YES God is with you!
28:34 And you don't know how God is working it out.
28:37 You know, I met a lady one day. A tornado had
28:39 ripped through her home. I saw the home.
28:41 It was... it was a MESS!
28:44 Walk in the kitchen and it's like walking outside.
28:47 There's... a roof is missing and a wall is missing.
28:50 The house is destroyed... she lost everything.
28:52 Worse... not that long before her husband had died.
28:57 Can you imagine?
28:59 Her husband had died
29:01 and now a tornado destroys the home and she and her children
29:04 wonder what's going to happen next.
29:05 Well you know, when a tornado comes
29:07 folks can be helpful. And somebody drove up and said:
29:10 "Is there anything I can do for you? "
29:11 A man drove up and said: "Is there anything I can do
29:14 for you? " Now if you're thinking,
29:16 you ought to see where this story is going.
29:19 Now a tornado has got to be about the worst thing that
29:21 can possibly happen in your life.
29:24 You know, it's bad news... house is destroyed.
29:28 The man said: "Can I help? "
29:30 And she said: "Yeah, you can help. "
29:32 And so he helped. And he came back, he said:
29:35 "Can I help you again? "
29:36 And she said: "Yeah, you can help again. "
29:38 And then he came up one day and said: "Will you marry me? "
29:41 and she said: "Absolutely! "
29:45 I missed out some of the details here.
29:49 But was God working in that tornado?
29:51 Oh yeah! I don't think she wants to go back
29:53 pre-tornado!
29:56 You see, God has purposes. He's working them out.
29:58 It may not always feel that way
30:01 but He is working them out.
30:02 You know, when we ever get to the place we can look back
30:05 over our lives from an eternal perspective
30:08 we would not choose to change anything. Amen!
30:12 We would say: "God got it right. He got it all right. "
30:15 And so we believe that God is getting it all right.
30:19 That's what we believe.
30:22 They were talking about these things which have happened.
30:26 "Their eyes were holden that they did not know Jesus
30:29 was in their midst. " And so He said to them
30:31 in verse 17 of Luke chapter 24:
30:34 "What manner of communications are these that ye have
30:37 one to another as ye walk and are sad? "
30:44 "What are you talking about? "
30:46 Deep in discussion here. Stranger sidles up
30:49 alongside of them, walks on that rocky road.
30:51 "So what are you talking about? "
30:54 "And one of them whose name was Cleopas
30:56 answering said to Him... " These are some of the most
30:59 remarkable words in the whole Bible!
31:01 They absolutely are.
31:02 "Are You only a stranger in Jerusalem?
31:06 Don't You know the things that have happened here
31:09 these last few days? "
31:11 He was asking the "star of the show. "
31:16 "Don't You know what's happened here recently? "
31:21 And I just wonder... Jesus had a sense of humor
31:24 and a sense of the moment. I just wonder if He looked down
31:27 at the scars in His hands and thought to Himself
31:29 "You know, I do have a fair idea. "
31:34 "Don't You even know what's happened out here, man? "
31:37 "Don't You know? " And so Jesus answered and said:
31:42 "What things? "
31:44 "What's happened? "
31:46 "Explain... tell on, wise ones. "
31:50 "And they said to Him: 'Con- cerning Jesus of Nazareth. ' "
31:53 Now you've got to notice their words here.
31:56 "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth which was a prophet...
32:02 mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. "
32:07 Ooh, those words must have stung Jesus!
32:13 "And now the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him
32:16 to be condemned to death and have crucified Him.
32:18 But we trusted that it had been He which should have
32:24 redeemed Israel. And besides this
32:28 today is the third day since all of these things were done. "
32:30 They even go on to say: "Yea, and certain women also
32:34 of our company made us astonished which were early
32:36 at the sepulcher. When they found not His body
32:38 they came saying that they had also seen a vision
32:40 of angels which said that He was alive.
32:43 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher
32:45 and found it even so as the women had said
32:48 but Him they saw not. "
32:50 They weren't even listening to themselves, were they?
32:53 They're walking with Jesus and they are completely crestfallen.
32:57 And they're sad. Jesus said: "You are sad!
33:02 What's going on? " They said: "You don't know? "
33:04 He said: "Ah... don't know what? "
33:07 "There was this Man Jesus... He was a prophet. "
33:11 "Whoo, a prophet? Are you kidding? "
33:14 "He was a Prophet but He was more than that.
33:16 He was the Messiah. "
33:20 They said: "We thought He was the One who would have
33:25 redeemed Israel. "
33:27 These were dark moments for Cleopas and his friend.
33:33 Dark moments, but they need not have been dark moments.
33:37 They're talking through this thing: "This is the third day
33:40 since it happened... the third day. "
33:44 You know what, the third day in the Bible
33:50 in Matthew chapter 27
33:52 I'll read to you from verse 62... it says:
33:54 "Now the next day that followed the day of the preparation
33:57 the chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate
34:00 and they said: 'Sir, we remember that the deceiver said
34:03 while He was yet alive "After three days
34:07 I will rise again. '
34:09 We need a watch of soldiers to go down there and secure
34:11 the tomb so that somebody doesn't come and steal
34:13 the body. " The heathens said:
34:17 "After three days He had promised He would rise. "
34:22 Jesus' best friends didn't remember that at all!
34:26 They should have been saying: "Hallelujah! This is the day!
34:29 This is the third day. They went down to the tomb;
34:32 He was not there. He promised us that He would rise.
34:34 We don't know where He is but He's around here somewhere. "
34:37 "We're looking... we're going to see Jesus. "
34:39 This should have been the happiest walk of their lives.
34:42 They should have walked with a spring in their step!
34:45 "Oh, man... we're going to see Him again
34:47 because this is day three! Can you believe it? "
34:50 And they even said: "They went down to the tomb
34:54 and angels said that He was risen. "
34:58 And somehow they just blocked that out of their intelligence.
35:04 They were so filled with their own discouragement that they
35:09 could no longer hear the plainest statements of Jesus.
35:12 Remarkable this... remarkable!
35:15 How wrong were they?
35:18 Now I understand there are some things that you find difficult
35:20 to understand. That's... sure.
35:23 And let me speak to that just for a moment.
35:25 I don't want to get off on too many tangents here
35:27 but I'll say this: there are some things in the Bible
35:29 that are difficult to under- stand. No question about it.
35:32 Where did God come from?
35:34 OK... you can't explain that one, can you?
35:37 And it's just as well that you can't
35:38 because if you could explain God He would suddenly be
35:41 explainable. He would be small; He wouldn't be vast.
35:43 He wouldn't be supreme. We just know that God has always been.
35:49 If you start to try and explain things that you don't have the
35:55 ability to explain you end up getting in over your head.
35:59 Doesn't mean we shouldn't think about these things.
36:02 We don't know much about heaven other than what we read
36:04 in the Bible. We don't know how it can be; exactly where...
36:06 We don't know all of that but we accept it.
36:09 The plan of salvation: how could Jesus
36:12 enter somehow into the womb of a woman
36:16 and grow as a baby - as a fetus -
36:22 and then be born? How in the world could that happen?
36:24 We don't know but we accept it.
36:26 We know it happened.
36:28 How it happened? Let God know. He'll explain it to us
36:30 one day if we need to know.
36:32 Here's one where people get really upside down
36:35 and that's on the subject of the Godhead or the Trinity.
36:40 This is unexplainable other than to say:
36:45 the Godhead is a unity of three co-eternal persons.
36:50 The Father has existed forever;
36:52 the Son has existed forever;
36:54 the Holy Spirit has existed forever.
36:57 They are three individual beings yet they comprise one God.
37:02 If you leave it at that, you can understand that.
37:03 But once you say: "Mmm... but how? "
37:06 "Mmm... but who? " "Mmm... but really. "
37:09 And you know what happens? Once you step off the platform
37:13 of the Word of God you're standing on very thin ice
37:16 and it's not long before you're going to break through
37:18 unless you get to solid ground.
37:20 If there's something in the Word of God
37:23 that you find difficult to understand,
37:25 take a run at it. Pray about it.
37:28 Study it... but don't let it cause you to doubt
37:32 anything in the world. Amen! It's as sure as night follows
37:36 day that Jesus existed;
37:38 that God is in heaven; that Jesus is coming again;
37:41 that the Word of God is reliable.
37:43 I'm not encouraging anybody to embrace ignorance
37:46 and remain in the dark. I don't mean that.
37:49 But when there's something that you find difficult to understand
37:52 you ought to say: "Hallelujah! God is higher above me than
37:56 the heavens are above me. "
37:58 We shouldn't be able to understand every last thing
38:01 about God. And when we start to make a muddle
38:06 out of Biblical mysteries we are wresting the scriptures
38:10 to our own destruction.
38:13 And so there are some questions that we'll have
38:15 that we find hard to understand.
38:16 I don't mean mysteries now.
38:20 Did you expect that you would have lived this long
38:22 and Jesus still hadn't returned? No.
38:26 We all thought that Jesus would have been back before this.
38:30 And yet He hasn't come back.
38:31 Does that mean He's not going to return?
38:33 No! He's still going to return.
38:35 When's Jesus going to come back?
38:37 Soon! Soon... that's the right answer.
38:39 How soon is soon?
38:41 Soon enough! Soon enough!
38:44 The timing of the second coming of Jesus
38:47 is not our concern. It doesn't matter...
38:49 now hear me carefully...
38:51 it doesn't matter if Jesus doesn't come back
38:53 for a thousand years. I think that's impossible
38:55 but if He chose to wait 1,000 years
38:58 we would simply say: "Amen and Hallelujah! "
39:01 Why? Because Jesus Himself told us what to do
39:05 about the second coming of Jesus.
39:08 He tells a story... It says He tells the story
39:12 to a group of people - this is Luke 19-
39:15 who believed that the kingdom of God
39:17 should immediately appear.
39:19 That would make them by definition "Adventists. "
39:22 Right? So He tells a group of Adventists a story.
39:26 They're expecting the kingdom any day now
39:29 and He speaks of a nobleman who went into a far country.
39:32 And before he left he gathered his servants together
39:34 and he gave them 10 pounds and he said to them:
39:37 "Occupy till I come. "
39:40 He didn't say when he was coming back.
39:42 He just said: "Whenever it is... you occupy. "
39:45 Now that word occupy is the Greek word pragmateuomai
39:48 and it means be about your father's business
39:51 or trade with these or be in business
39:57 until Jesus comes or the nobleman comes back.
40:01 Speaking about His own return Jesus didn't give us the time.
40:05 He said: "You'll see signs so that you can know it's near
40:08 even at the doors. "
40:10 But the issue isn't the question of timing.
40:12 The issue is what do you do while you wait.
40:17 And Jesus said: "Occupy. "
40:20 If Jesus comes back next week and you are occupying,
40:23 you are about your Father's business, Amen.
40:26 If it's 5 years and you are liv- ing for Jesus for those 5 years
40:29 or 10 or 20 or whatever it is,
40:31 it's immaterial. Let God decide on the timing.
40:35 We decide that we will be about our Father's business
40:39 until Jesus comes back whenever that is.
40:42 Can you say Amen? Amen! No need to get discouraged.
40:44 You don't need to lose heart.
40:46 You don't need to lose hope. "I've been waiting for decades.
40:49 The preacher said that He would have come back 50 years ago. "
40:51 Well thank the Lord He didn't because in those 50 years
40:54 a whole lot more people got saved. Amen!
40:57 Thank the Lord He didn't
40:58 because this means that you can still pray for your children
41:00 or your grandchildren who aren't in the faith.
41:02 You can still work for your neighbor.
41:04 You can still be an active part of the church
41:06 sharing light and truth with your community.
41:08 Amen! We want Jesus to come back
41:11 right away, but if He doesn't, if He waits
41:14 it just gives us time to be about His business.
41:17 What do you say? Amen! No question about it.
41:19 He says: "Occupy. " We don't want to get distracted.
41:22 "We have not followed cunningly-devised fables. "
41:26 The Word of God is true. These guys lost their hope.
41:31 They're walking to Emmaus, that seven-mile journey.
41:34 This was a dark moment for them.
41:37 Should have been a time of rejoicing.
41:40 It was a dark moment.
41:42 The Bible says that Jesus had to get their attention.
41:45 He said to them in verse 25 of Luke 24:
41:48 "O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the
41:52 prophets have spoken.
41:54 Ought not Christ have suffered these things
41:59 and to enter into His glory? "
42:02 "What? Messiah was supposed to go through
42:05 the things that you've witnessed over the last couple of days. "
42:08 "Really? " I mean, how were they to know, right?
42:11 All they had was the Old Testament.
42:16 But the Old Testament speaks about Jesus just as clearly
42:20 as the New Testament does. Amen!
42:22 And He showed them that.
42:23 The Word of God says: "Beginning at Moses and all the
42:26 Prophets He expounded unto them in all the scriptures
42:29 the things concerning Himself. "
42:31 Where did He start? He started at Moses.
42:34 Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
42:37 and Job. Not only Moses but who?
42:40 ALL the Prophets.
42:42 Who would that be?
42:43 It'd be Daniel; that'd be Isaiah.
42:48 That would be Jeremiah.
42:52 That would be Malachi, right? Malachi!
42:55 And so He went through the first books of the Old Testament
42:59 all the way through to the end.
43:01 "Starting at Moses and ALL the Prophets
43:05 He showed Himself to them from the scriptures. "
43:10 He started at Genesis.
43:12 Where do you see Jesus in Genesis?
43:14 "In the beginning God... " Did what?
43:18 "created. " Jesus is the Creator.
43:19 He's also the promised Redeemer of Genesis 3 and verse 15.
43:23 Jesus is in the book of Genesis.
43:26 You turn to Exodus. Where do you see Jesus in Exodus?
43:30 Jesus was the Passover Lamb in the book of Exodus.
43:34 "Jesus, " it says, "was the Rock. " Even Paul writing to the
43:37 Corinthians said: "The Rock that followed them
43:40 was Christ. " Jesus was the Lamb.
43:42 Jesus was the Rock. Jesus is in the book of Exodus.
43:46 And so Cleopas and his brother, they're listening and...
43:49 "Ah, how about that! Sure. "
43:51 And then they get to the book of Leviticus.
43:53 Jesus is the High Priest in the book of Leviticus.
43:56 There are 39 books in the Old Testament.
43:58 I'm not going to touch on every one of them
43:59 but I'll touch on a few of them for you.
44:01 They get to Joshua. Where was Jesus in Joshua?
44:05 He was the Captain of the Lord's Host.
44:07 In Judges He is the Deliverer.
44:09 In Ruth He is the Kinsmen Redeemer.
44:12 In Nehemiah He is building up what had been broken down.
44:16 He's the Restorer of His people.
44:18 In Esther He's the Protector.
44:21 In Job Jesus is the Redeemer.
44:24 In Psalms He is comfort; He is hope;
44:29 and He is the Messiah...
44:31 the crucified Messiah of Psalm 22.
44:35 In Proverbs He is wisdom.
44:37 In Ecclesiastes He is what is truly important.
44:41 In the Song of Solomon He is the One who loves us dearly.
44:46 In the book of Isaiah He is the Messiah.
44:49 He's also a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
44:52 They're listening now. "He was despised and rejected of men. "
44:55 They're listening now.
44:57 "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him. "
44:59 The lights are coming on.
45:00 "You mean that's Messiah? "
45:02 Surely He's right there for you to see in the Old Testament
45:06 scriptures. In Jeremiah and Lamentations
45:08 He is the weeping Prophet.
45:10 In Ezekiel He is the heart surgeon who says
45:13 "a new heart also will I give you. "
45:15 He promises life in the place of death
45:18 and a heart of flesh in the place of a heart of stone.
45:22 In the book of Daniel where's the Messiah?
45:24 He is the Judge.
45:27 And where do you see Jesus out there on the plain of Dura?
45:32 They will not bow down. They are cast into a fiery furnace.
45:35 And where is Christ? He's right there in the fire
45:38 with His people. Jesus identifies with you.
45:41 And when you are going through a hard time look around.
45:43 When you are having a dark moment Jesus is there.
45:46 He hasn't abandoned you.
45:48 His providence has led you to that place
45:50 and His deliverance will ulti- mately lead you from that place.
45:53 Jesus is there all the way through the book of Daniel.
45:56 Where else is Jesus?
45:58 In the book of Hosea He is faithful to us...
46:03 even when we are unfaithful.
46:06 In Joel He pours out His Spirit on His people.
46:09 In Amos He is the God of all nations.
46:14 In Micah He's the One who was born in Bethlehem.
46:17 In Haggai He is the Desire of all nations.
46:20 In Zechariah He is the Fountain for cleansing.
46:23 In Malachi He is the Sun of Righteousness.
46:27 Can you imagine what's going through their hearts now?
46:31 "Man! How did we miss it? "
46:33 "We memorized that. We taught it to our children;
46:37 we shared it with our friends.
46:39 Surely this was Messiah all the time! "
46:44 They had looked on the death of Jesus as the destruction
46:47 of all of their hopes not realizing that
46:49 the death of Jesus was the ful- fillment of all of their hopes.
46:55 Jesus showed them from the writings of the prophets
46:59 that what had gone on over the last couple of days
47:01 was the greatest evidence that they could ever hope for
47:04 that He indeed was the Messiah.
47:08 Jesus valued the Old Testament so much
47:10 that He said: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets
47:13 neither will they be persuaded those One rose from the dead. "
47:17 He said: "There's enough in the Old Testament to convince them
47:19 that I am the Messiah. "
47:22 And here in their dark moments Cleopas and his friend were
47:25 walking the road to Emmaus.
47:26 The bottom had fallen out of their world.
47:28 Listen to their language.
47:29 "We thought that He was the One who was going to deliver... "
47:34 Right there in their words
47:37 was the unspoken thought - you could even call it
47:40 the spoken thought - "How wrong were we? "
47:44 "Our hopes had been in this Jesus,
47:49 But because it didn't turn out the way we thought it should
47:54 clearly we were wrong. "
47:57 Imagine... Imagine all those great saints and pioneers
48:01 who died having spent their whole life proclaiming
48:04 the return of Jesus. "Well, He hasn't come back. "
48:07 Was there something wrong with their understanding?
48:10 No, no, no... they understood right:
48:11 Jesus was coming back soon.
48:13 Was there something wrong with their interpretation of the
48:16 Bible? No, no, no!
48:17 Certainly Jesus was going to come back to this earth.
48:20 There was nothing wrong other than they didn't have the
48:23 ability to see from God's perspective, that's all.
48:27 When you can't see from God's perspective
48:29 that doesn't mean that you ought to abandon your hope.
48:32 Hang on to your hope.
48:34 The Word of God doesn't sudden- ly turn from a truth-teller
48:36 to a liar. I remember heading home from 3ABN -
48:41 this was when It Is Written was still in California
48:43 and I was flying. We can drive here from Chattanooga.
48:47 I like that. Had to fly all the way to Los Angeles
48:50 you know. As I was heading back - it was a Sunday morning
48:54 I guess - and I don't know for whatever reason I was
48:56 running short on time
48:58 and I had a rental car to return.
49:00 And I did not know where to find the rental car place.
49:05 I didn't have a clue.
49:07 You know, often you can just drive and say: "I think
49:10 I know where that is. " Not this time.
49:12 And I had to drop off the rental car, deal with the rental
49:15 car agency. Get on the bus, take the bus over to St. Louis.
49:18 St. Louis has like... The security lines are...
49:22 you wouldn't even believe them.
49:24 I don't understand how some airports can be so efficient
49:26 and others can be so inefficient.
49:29 St. Louis... often those lines are long
49:32 as long can be.
49:34 So I thought to myself: "I cannot afford to waste time.
49:37 I cannot be late; I cannot miss this thing. "
49:40 And so I called my wife.
49:42 I said: "Melissa, I'm heading towards St. Louis.
49:45 I'd like to get the car back to the rental car place.
49:47 I don't know where it is... could you please tell me. "
49:49 So she opened up the computer,
49:51 opened up the maps,
49:52 typed in where I was,
49:54 typed in St. Louis,
49:55 found the rental car agency.
49:57 And she said: "OK, you're going to get down to this road.
50:00 I forget what number.
50:01 When you get it, go south. "
50:08 I said: "No, no, no... come on now.
50:10 No. The rental car agency is on the north side of the freeway. "
50:13 If you know the lay of St. Louis you know.
50:17 What's that freeway that runs through? Is it 80?
50:19 70? 80? It's 70? Are you sure it's 70?
50:23 All right, whatever it is... let's call it 70.
50:25 If I'm wrong it's their fault.
50:30 She said: "Get on 70 and go towards the airport
50:33 and the airport is on the north side of 70.
50:35 My wife is telling me "Go south. "
50:39 I said: "No, honey, I can't be going south.
50:42 It's north. " "No, no, I'm looking at it right here.
50:44 Go south. " My wife - how to put this
50:51 delicately? She's not great with maps.
50:54 If I could just put it that way. Not great with maps.
50:59 If she was a salmon...
51:06 she would never find that stream.
51:08 Not happening.
51:11 And so I'm a little skeptical.
51:13 She said: "You've gotta go south. " I said: "Melissa,
51:15 it's north so can you find me a road that goes north? "
51:19 She said: "No the road definitely goes south. "
51:21 I'm looking at a map right here. I said: "Yeah, but
51:23 maybe your holding the computer upside down. "
51:28 She said: "No, go south. "
51:29 I looked at the sign. This road that she's talking about
51:31 is one mile away
51:33 and the speed I was driving it's about 20 seconds.
51:38 I said: "Sweetie, I don't have time to be wrong here.
51:40 You'd better be right. " And she said: "Get on that road.
51:43 You go south. " She said: "There's one thing you're
51:45 forgetting, " she said, "I can see the big picture. "
51:51 "OK. "
51:53 I got up there; I took a left. I went south and you know
51:56 an amazing thing happened.
51:58 She said: "Now you see what's up ahead? "
52:00 I didn't say anything.
52:01 She said: "You see it, don't you? "
52:02 I didn't say anything.
52:04 She said: "You go ahead; you take that road. "
52:05 So I went south; I got off the off ramp;
52:08 and turned around and went north!
52:12 How about that?
52:16 She could see the big picture.
52:18 God sees the big picture.
52:22 These brothers were walking to Emmaus.
52:24 They said: "We thought this was the One who was going to
52:25 redeem Israel. Oh man, how wrong could we be? "
52:28 They had the prophecies.
52:30 They had the angels.
52:32 They had the women.
52:34 They said: "Some of our brothers went on down to the tomb
52:37 and He wasn't there! "
52:39 They should have been able to put 2 and 2 together
52:42 and celebrate, but instead
52:46 they were discouraged because of what they saw.
52:51 They couldn't understand
52:53 how a salmon can find its way back
52:57 so they said: "Must be evolution. "
53:00 Instead of trusting that what God says is right
53:05 and that what God predicts will be carried out
53:07 they abandoned their hope.
53:09 Ran off with a fable... ran off with a lie.
53:13 A lie of the devil!
53:15 It's the devil who wanted them to believe
53:17 that Jesus was not with them
53:19 when He was right there beside them.
53:22 Verse 28: "They drew nigh unto the village
53:24 whither they went, and He made as though He would have gone
53:27 further but they constrained Him saying: "Abide with us. "
53:30 They constrained Him.
53:32 They compelled Him.
53:34 They urged Him.
53:35 Some of us, we don't urge Jesus to stay.
53:39 We don't go to the Bible and we don't say like Jacob
53:41 "I will not let You go unless You bless me. "
53:43 We miss so many blessings.
53:45 And so He came in.. abide.
53:47 "It's toward evening... the day is far spent.
53:49 He went in to tarry with them.
53:50 It came to pass as He sat at meat with them" -
53:53 sat to eat with them -
53:54 "He took bread and blessed
53:55 and broke and gave it to them. "
53:57 They said: "Oh my goodness! That's like what Jesus
53:58 used to do. " He handed them bread.
54:01 What did they see? Nail prints.
54:03 "Ho... can you believe it? Can you believe it? "
54:06 Their eyes were opened; they knew it was Him.
54:09 I imagine they rushed to fall at His feet.
54:12 The Bible says He "vanished out of their sight. "
54:16 Now it all started to make sense.
54:17 They said to each other: "Did our heart not burn within us?
54:20 Didn't our hearts burn within us while He talked with us
54:23 by the way and while He opened up to us the scriptures? "
54:27 "Man, now we understand. That was Jesus the whole time. "
54:30 "Of course it was. His voice; His mannerisms;
54:32 His form... how could we miss Him? "
54:35 You miss a lot when you allow yourself to get dragged down
54:37 into discouragement. You miss a lot when you allow
54:40 dark moments to overtake your lives.
54:42 This is not to say that we shouldn't mourn.
54:44 Of course we should mourn when it's time to mourn.
54:46 Weeping... that endures for a night.
54:48 Joy comes in the morning.
54:49 God is good. You struggle with diagnoses;
54:52 you struggle with financial situations;
54:54 you struggle with rejection.
54:56 These are dark moments.
54:57 But up above the darkness of the sky there sits God
55:00 in all His brilliant splendor.
55:02 There sits God, above the circle of the earth.
55:05 He is still God irrespective of where we find ourselves.
55:09 Dark moments! They were simply looking at it all the wrong way.
55:13 Dark moments.
55:15 What did they do? "They rose up the same hour. "
55:17 They got up and they went back to Jerusalem.
55:20 They had just walked 7 miles
55:23 and they turned around and walked 7 miles again.
55:26 I think maybe this time they ran.
55:28 And you know they had already said: "Stay, it's getting dark
55:30 now. Stay. "
55:32 In the dark! They didn't have flashlights.
55:35 They couldn't take out their cell phone and
55:37 put on their little spotlight thing.
55:40 I don't know how they navigated that path in the dark...
55:43 but they did!
55:44 "And they found the Eleven together
55:47 and them that were with them and they said:
55:50 "The Lord is risen indeed!
55:54 He's appeared to Simon '
55:56 and they told what things were done in the way
56:00 and how He was known of them in breaking of bread. "
56:07 I wonder if you'd open your eyes
56:09 and look around...
56:12 around your circumstances, around your life
56:16 and see where Jesus is.
56:18 Is He with you? Yes or no?
56:20 And when they discovered it was really Jesus
56:23 what did they do?
56:24 They got up; they ran.
56:26 At some difficulty it must be added.
56:28 And they told others: "He's alive!
56:31 He is risen; He's really with us. "
56:34 Come on, now: whatever life has done with you,
56:36 whatever dark moments you have had,
56:37 you've come to this place where you know that He is alive
56:40 and He is with you. And if we were be true to this passage
56:43 of scripture what's incumbent upon us
56:48 is to get up and go tell somebody that He's alive.
56:51 Let's tell somebody that He's alive.
56:53 Jesus is coming back soon.
56:55 When? We don't know.
56:56 But between now and then we know He's alive.
56:59 He's with us. Our hearts have burned... He's with us.
57:01 Let's follow the example of these brothers:
57:03 go tell somebody He's alive. Come on, let's pray.
57:05 We're out of time; let's pray.
57:06 Our Father, we thank you today that in our dark moments
57:10 You are with us.
57:12 In our challenges You are there.
57:13 Even when we can't see You we can know You.
57:16 We're encouraged by this story: "He's alive! "
57:19 Drive us to tell somebody He's alive, and let us live
57:22 by that hope. We pray with thanks and love in our hearts
57:25 towards you. In Jesus' name, let's say:
57:27 Amen, amen, and amen.


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Revised 2018-04-23