Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: 17HC
Program Code: 17HC000013A
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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. 01:35 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 02:37 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. 02:54 Maybe heaven someday. " 02:56 Brother Tim, we appreciate you - Jill and I - and the ministry 02:59 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 Iñigo... better known to you as 10:49 Ignatius of Loyola 10:51 who founded the Society of Jesus... the Jesuit Order. 10:54 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 11:12 of turning attention away from Rome 11:16 and onto anybody... didn't really matter. 11:20 It's a really interesting program. 11:22 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. 11:44 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 12:46 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. 13:03 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. 13:40 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 14:30 that have been laid they turn around and head back 14:32 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 14:56 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. 15:18 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. 17:18 At least they can. 17:20 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. 18:57 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. 20:31 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 21:28 "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! 23:25 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 23:53 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. " 26:32 "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 26:45 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 27:22 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. 27:41 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! 28:33 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, 29:17 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? " 30:43 "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? " 31:20 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. 31:55 "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; 34:31 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. 35:31 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 35:54 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 38:52 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. 40:16 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 40:38 until Jesus comes back whenever that is. 40:41 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! 40:56 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. " 41:25 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. 41:41 The Bible says that Jesus had to get their attention. 41:45 He said to them in verse 25 of Luke 24: 41:47 "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. 44:48 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. " 44:58 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. 46:13 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. " 47:16 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 50:50 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 51:44 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? " 51:59 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. 53:33 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" - 53:52 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. |
Revised 2024-10-28