Latest / Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons / The Resurrected Lord Draws Near

Transcript

The Resurrected Lord Draws Near · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

0:00
Let's turn back in our Bibles this morning to Luke's Gospel, 24, where we've read again just one verse just to help us focus our thoughts a bit.
0:13
!
0:30
Lord, we need your help today. Both I as preacher and we as a congregation of listeners, we need to hear what you are saying to us, and we need your help.
0:45
Give us, therefore, clarity and certainty, and help us, Lord, with the work of the Holy Spirit today, confirming to us the things of God.
0:58
And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
1:08
You know, it's funny on an Easter Sunday to start a sermon by talking about how, at times, the world and our lives can feel particularly hopeless.
1:20
I've been kind of maybe wondering a bit about that over the last wee while, just as you look at the way global conflicts seem to kind of spiral out of control a wee bit,
1:31
and you end up thinking, what on earth is going on? How do we make sense of the world in which we live?
1:41
The same can be true almost down to the level of our own lives.
1:50
There can be times and experiences of confusion and uncertainty.
1:58
Sometimes it's mundane small things.
2:01
If you're a visitor today and you manage to get to the island, maybe you're anxious about how you're going to get off because of the ferries.
2:07
If you're from here and you're wanting to get away still the second week of the school holidays, maybe there's confusion over that.
2:14
It could equally be that there's profound turmoil in your life because of great sorrow and sadness.
2:24
This week was a sad and difficult week for many of us in the Free Church, particularly in the Free Church ministry.
2:32
The last 30 years, Donald MacDonald, Dr. Donald, as we knew him, he was one of our lecturers in the seminary who passed away after a long illness with MS.
2:46
It seems a profound passing of the seasons and the time that is going on.
2:55
And yet, we come to the resurrection.
3:01
We come to this story of the disciples, Cleopas and the other, leaving Jerusalem on this resurrection Sunday.
3:12
And that feeling of confusion seems to characterize, it's the best word, to characterize what's actually going on in their hearts.
3:20
Because as we read these verses, the temptation is to think they don't know what happened in the first 12 verses of Luke 24.
3:31
You're almost tempted to say, well, maybe they didn't know that, you know, some of the women had been to the tomb and the angels had said he's risen.
3:38
Or that Peter and the other disciples had been to the tomb and seen it was empty.
3:42
And that Mary Magdalene had actually seen the Lord himself and come with a report of it.
3:47
And you're thinking, no, no, that's not the case.
3:51
They were familiar with all of this.
3:56
They knew the whole story up to this point.
4:00
And yet, as they're leaving Jerusalem to go out in the opposite direction of Christian fellowship, as we'll see,
4:06
as they're leaving Jerusalem, Luke uses an interesting word where he says they were discussing this together.
4:13
The word that's used there for a discussion is a heated discussion.
4:17
They were arguing about what had happened.
4:22
And they were confused by all of this.
4:29
And their confusion, its root is found in one simple idea.
4:34
It is that they had given up hope.
4:35
The cross for them had seemed too hopeless.
4:43
Jesus, who went to the cross, for them, had promised something other than what they had come to realize.
4:53
And in the midst of all of that, there was absolute confusion in their experience.
4:58
And so that's where we have to start today, in what seems to be the hopelessness and the confusion of the cross.
5:07
And perhaps for some people here today, that's where you are.
5:13
You're familiar with the Christian message.
5:16
You know that Jesus died.
5:18
And you know that the Christian teaching is that he rose again.
5:24
And that our teaching is that he went and resides now in heaven with the Father after his ascension.
5:30
And that there is a promise that one day he will return.
5:33
You know that story, that narrative, the point.
5:37
But at the center of it all, there is the cross.
5:42
And that is a bit confusing for you.
5:45
It can be for a lot of people.
5:50
When Paul spoke about saying he preached Christ and him crucified,
5:54
he acknowledged that the message of the cross was to the Jews foolishness and hopelessness.
6:00
And something that was utterly despicable to the Gentiles.
6:06
The cross is a place of weakness and apparent defeat.
6:11
A God who dies?
6:13
What on earth was all of that about?
6:15
And so, when we think about the cross,
6:20
we have to begin by understanding what has actually happened in that place.
6:26
The victory of Jesus in the resurrection
6:28
is a victory over death.
6:34
And the cross served as a means of death for Jesus.
6:40
We need to be absolutely certain about that.
6:45
The notion that somehow Jesus, as Muslims would teach us,
6:50
that Jesus didn't really die at the cross.
6:52
That a holy prophet of God could not possibly experience death.
6:56
And would be whipped away at the last moment.
6:58
Whisked away by sovereign power of God.
7:00
And replaced with some kind of mannequin.
7:03
It just doesn't bear out the truth.
7:05
Jesus died there.
7:14
He experienced the consequences of sin that were promised
7:19
all the way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam first sinned.
7:23
And in Adam's first sin, he was told,
7:26
On the day that you eat of that fruit, you shall surely die.
7:29
And that day, Adam experienced death.
7:31
Not the physical death of his body,
7:33
the separation of body and soul.
7:37
But he experienced on that day
7:39
a separation of death
7:41
from the easy and living fellowship
7:44
he had with God the Father.
7:45
On that day, when Adam ate of the forbidden fruit,
7:51
he didn't even have to wait for God's judgment to be announced.
7:53
Adam became terrified of God.
7:56
Fearful of God's judgment.
7:58
And so Adam, on that day, had hid himself.
8:01
Concealed himself in the garden
8:02
when God came looking to meet with him.
8:09
And the terrifying and awful thing
8:11
of the cross of Golgotha
8:12
was that Jesus experienced
8:16
that breakdown in fellowship with God.
8:20
He experienced a death of friendship with God.
8:27
Where at the cross,
8:28
he was no longer able to speak of God as his Father,
8:33
but said,
8:33
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
8:40
And that experience of abandonment at the cross,
8:42
that experience of a death of relationship
8:44
was part and parcel of the awfulness of that event.
8:54
And the consequences of that broken relationship
8:57
is itself physical death.
9:03
Without God,
9:05
our bodies just can't keep going.
9:09
They just won't.
9:11
And so Jesus,
9:14
at the cross,
9:15
experienced then not only
9:17
the death of that relationship,
9:20
but he experienced then
9:22
physical death as well.
9:28
And in the midst of all of the brutality of the cross,
9:32
you cannot lose sight of that.
9:33
Now,
9:35
for these disciples
9:36
who are on the way out to Emmaus,
9:39
for them,
9:40
part of the confusion is
9:41
they're thinking,
9:42
well,
9:43
they didn't doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.
9:46
They seem to have placed
9:47
all of their messianic hope on him
9:49
because they say in verse 21,
9:51
when they're explaining to
9:52
this mysterious stranger
9:53
who's come alongside them
9:54
who they don't recognize as Jesus himself,
9:56
they say,
9:56
we had thought,
9:59
we had not just thought,
10:00
we had hoped
10:00
that he was the one
10:02
to redeem Israel.
10:05
We had thought he was the one
10:06
who was going to restore
10:07
the majesty of the kingdom of Israel.
10:10
He was going to restore
10:11
the potency of the throne of David.
10:13
He was going to restore
10:14
national heritage and pride.
10:16
He was going to bring everything back
10:17
to the way we wanted it to be.
10:19
And now,
10:22
because he had experienced death,
10:25
our hope is crushed.
10:29
For them,
10:30
things were not
10:30
as they wanted them to be.
10:35
It's interesting as well
10:36
that they don't deny
10:37
the death of Jesus.
10:40
They don't even deny
10:42
the stories of the fact
10:44
that the grave is empty.
10:45
They treat them as idle rumor.
10:49
For them,
10:51
the resurrection story
10:52
just cannot be true.
10:55
It just can't be the case
10:57
that Jesus is risen.
10:59
It is so far
11:00
outside their experience.
11:04
And so,
11:05
a providence
11:07
has come into their path,
11:08
a situation has come upon them,
11:10
which they just are unable
11:12
to reconcile
11:13
with what they had wanted,
11:15
with what they had thought
11:16
ought to be the case.
11:18
So they had their own
11:19
conception of what God's
11:21
work in their lives
11:22
and in the lives of Israel
11:23
and their people
11:24
was going to be
11:25
and what had actually happened
11:27
was completely
11:29
foreign to that.
11:32
And so today,
11:33
maybe you're someone
11:34
who knows the story
11:35
of Christianity
11:36
and knows what we believe,
11:38
but you're confused
11:39
by what happened
11:39
at the cross.
11:41
Maybe that's one group
11:42
of people who are here today.
11:44
But equally,
11:44
there's another group
11:45
of people who could be here today
11:46
and who are experiencing
11:47
in their own lives
11:48
an experience of God's providence
11:51
that is disconnected,
11:55
shall we say,
11:56
disconnected
11:56
from what their concept
11:58
of God is.
12:01
I mean,
12:02
isn't God meant to be
12:03
a loving
12:04
and powerful God
12:05
who can deliver us
12:06
from all manner
12:07
of problems?
12:09
Isn't God
12:10
a wonderful character
12:12
who doesn't allow suffering
12:14
or somehow,
12:15
if he is
12:16
somehow allowing suffering,
12:17
then there must be
12:19
a very temporary reason
12:19
for it
12:20
and it can be overcome
12:20
very quickly and easily.
12:22
And yet,
12:22
my experience
12:23
is one of prolonged suffering.
12:25
So why is God allowing this?
12:26
Is that fair of him?
12:27
Is it good of him?
12:28
Is that true of a loving God?
12:29
Is that his character?
12:31
Is that what God does?
12:34
Maybe today,
12:35
your experience
12:36
or the experience
12:37
of someone close to you
12:38
is so far
12:40
from what you think
12:41
it ought to be
12:42
that it's leaving you
12:44
just like these disciples were.
12:47
They know the story
12:48
but they just don't believe it
12:49
and they've lost confidence
12:51
in the possibility of hope
12:54
with such a God.
13:00
The reason I say that
13:01
is because I know it's common.
13:05
It's become common.
13:08
Some people found,
13:11
for example,
13:12
the COVID pandemic
13:13
far too difficult.
13:16
It's hard to reconcile
13:18
the burdens
13:19
and the hardships
13:20
of that season of life
13:22
with what God is really like.
13:27
Some people have been fed
13:29
a diet
13:32
of
13:33
what I would actually call
13:36
false hope
13:37
but in the form of
13:37
prosperity gospel teaching
13:39
on YouTube
13:39
and on the internet.
13:42
Word of faith teaching
13:44
that says
13:44
you just need to name it
13:45
and claim it
13:45
and God will give it to you.
13:47
You just need to hold out
13:49
for things being
13:49
the best they can be
13:50
and believe in it
13:51
and it will be so.
13:53
As if somehow
13:54
Christianity works
13:56
on the power
13:56
of positive thinking.
14:01
And that's so different
14:02
from the real experience
14:03
of our lives,
14:04
isn't it?
14:04
where so often
14:06
the real experience
14:08
we have
14:08
is one where there's
14:11
bitterness and sorrow
14:12
and hard things
14:13
that come into our path.
14:16
And we should not be mistaken.
14:18
The disciples
14:18
leaving Jerusalem
14:20
that day
14:20
were in that place
14:22
of great
14:25
and difficult sorrow.
14:28
So much so,
14:29
in fact,
14:29
that they're leaving
14:30
Jerusalem.
14:32
This is the thing
14:32
I find really interesting
14:33
about the story.
14:34
The rest of the disciples
14:35
are still gathered
14:36
in the upper room.
14:39
The rest of them
14:40
are still gathered
14:41
presumably even
14:42
where they had been
14:42
for the Passover
14:44
with Jesus
14:44
just a few days before.
14:47
And yet,
14:50
these disciples
14:51
are heading out
14:52
towards Emmaus.
14:54
Why are they doing that?
14:57
Well,
14:57
I presume they're doing it
14:58
because for them
14:59
at that moment,
15:01
the fellowship
15:02
of the other disciples
15:04
had become
15:05
maybe a bit uncomfortable.
15:08
They're cutting
15:09
themselves off
15:10
as it were.
15:11
They're going away
15:12
in a different direction.
15:15
And so,
15:15
they're moving away
15:17
from fellowship
15:18
rather than
15:19
into fellowship.
15:22
That's what the devil
15:23
tempts us with
15:23
when times are hard.
15:26
When times get difficult
15:28
for us,
15:28
what the devil does
15:29
is he says to us,
15:31
you don't need to be
15:33
in Christian fellowship
15:33
just now.
15:34
That'll just depress you.
15:36
That'll just be
15:37
too much for you.
15:38
That'll just be unhelpful.
15:41
Keep your own company.
15:43
They might not understand
15:44
anyway how sorrowful
15:45
you are,
15:45
so stay away from them
15:47
and have nothing
15:47
to do with them.
15:49
And perhaps
15:50
everything will pass.
15:53
Yet it doesn't.
15:55
The old stories
15:56
of the coals
15:57
of a fire
15:57
that are taken away
15:58
to a separate place
16:01
that tumble
16:02
out of the hearth
16:03
and onto the floor.
16:07
These coals,
16:08
they don't stay burning
16:09
and warm for long.
16:10
They go out
16:11
because coals
16:14
need to be
16:15
in the presence
16:16
of other coals
16:16
for a fire to burn
16:17
and keep them going.
16:21
And so,
16:22
this was a place
16:22
of real hopelessness.
16:23
And yet,
16:25
what is amazing
16:26
in God's providence
16:27
is that it's into
16:29
this most hopeless
16:30
situation
16:30
that Jesus comes.
16:33
In fact,
16:33
I do wonder,
16:35
in fact,
16:35
is this simultaneous
16:37
to the appearance
16:39
of Jesus
16:39
in the upper room
16:40
or is it very
16:41
in close proximity
16:42
to it?
16:42
When Jesus disappears
16:43
at the end
16:44
of this incident,
16:44
when they're breaking
16:45
bread together
16:46
and they then,
16:48
you know,
16:48
Jesus then immediately
16:50
afterwards
16:50
as they're talking
16:51
about these things,
16:52
a short time later
16:52
Jesus appears
16:53
in the upper room.
16:54
I wonder,
16:55
is it simply the fact
16:56
that Jesus in this place,
16:57
in his great grace,
17:00
goes to perhaps
17:01
the most needy disciples
17:02
first
17:03
and appears to them?
17:06
It's only afterwards
17:06
that he appears
17:07
in the upper room
17:07
to the rest.
17:10
And it's out of
17:11
his great love
17:12
that Jesus appears.
17:15
Not
17:15
a million miles away
17:18
from where these
17:18
disciples are.
17:20
It's not like
17:20
he sends an angel
17:21
to them to comfort them
17:22
and to say something
17:22
to them.
17:23
He comes himself
17:24
in person.
17:25
That's what verse 15
17:26
says to us
17:26
whilst they were
17:27
talking and discussing
17:28
together.
17:29
Luke almost
17:30
puts attention
17:30
on this.
17:31
Jesus himself
17:32
drew near
17:33
and went with them.
17:36
That these disciples
17:37
who are so dismayed,
17:39
who are so sorrowful,
17:41
who are so overwhelmed
17:42
by this terrible
17:43
situation
17:44
that they find
17:45
themselves in,
17:45
at this very moment,
17:47
Jesus himself
17:49
comes close
17:51
to them.
17:56
And he's very
17:57
patient with them
17:57
because we remember
18:00
our doctrine.
18:00
Jesus is God.
18:01
God is
18:02
omnipresent.
18:04
He is all-knowing.
18:06
He sees everything
18:07
so he already knows
18:08
what's going on
18:09
in their lives
18:09
and what's going on
18:10
in their discussion.
18:11
He already knows
18:11
the details of it
18:12
but it's almost as if
18:14
he pleads ignorance
18:15
with them.
18:15
He wants to hear
18:16
from them themselves.
18:17
What's the matter?
18:19
Are you a stranger
18:20
in Jerusalem
18:21
that you haven't
18:22
heard these things?
18:22
They're almost incredulous.
18:23
They can't believe it.
18:25
And so they start
18:26
spilling out to Jesus
18:27
all of the things
18:28
that have confused them,
18:30
all of the things
18:30
that they found
18:31
so difficult,
18:32
all of the things
18:33
that they found
18:33
impossible to talk to,
18:34
perhaps to Peter
18:35
or to the other disciples
18:36
but they're able to talk
18:37
about it here
18:38
amongst themselves,
18:38
the two of them.
18:39
And they spill
18:40
all of this out to Jesus
18:41
who they assume
18:41
is actually just a stranger
18:42
and Jesus listens to them
18:44
patiently and gently
18:45
and hears all of
18:47
their concerns.
18:50
I would say to you today
18:51
if you're a Christian
18:52
going through these
18:53
perplexing,
18:54
difficult valleys,
18:57
excuse me,
18:58
pour it out to Jesus.
19:00
Tell him
19:01
the confusion
19:02
of your moment.
19:06
Or today
19:07
if you're confused
19:07
as well about the cross,
19:09
if you haven't come
19:09
to a place of faith yet
19:11
and you're still
19:11
in that place
19:12
of anxiety
19:13
and confusion
19:14
and perplexion
19:15
about what exactly
19:15
does the cross even mean?
19:17
I would say
19:18
talk to Jesus about it.
19:19
Pray about it.
19:21
Pray about that confusion
19:22
and ask God
19:24
what it all means.
19:28
Because he is patient
19:29
and he is willing
19:30
to come down
19:31
to the level
19:31
of mere humans
19:33
like us
19:33
and who will
19:34
patiently minister to us
19:36
by coming alongside us
19:37
and hearing our complaints
19:39
and moans
19:40
and understanding
19:41
what it is
19:41
that we are really
19:42
battling through
19:43
because he will
19:43
listen to us.
19:45
And this Jesus
19:46
comes alongside them,
19:47
listens to what
19:48
they're saying
19:48
and then
19:51
he begins
19:53
to open things
19:54
up to them.
19:58
Verse 25,
20:00
is it?
20:02
O foolish ones
20:03
and slow of hearts
20:04
to believe
20:05
all that the prophets
20:06
have spoken.
20:07
The idea
20:11
of the foolish ones
20:12
there
20:12
is a very
20:13
gentle rebuke.
20:18
But the idea
20:19
of the fool
20:20
in the Old Testament
20:21
is the one
20:22
who simply
20:22
just denies
20:24
the work of God.
20:27
The fool
20:27
is the one
20:28
who in his heart
20:28
has said
20:29
there is no God.
20:31
And Jesus is saying
20:31
you need to remember
20:32
in all of your confusion
20:36
at the moment
20:36
you're forgetting
20:37
God.
20:41
And so beginning
20:41
in Moses
20:42
and all of the prophets
20:44
he begins to show them
20:46
the necessity
20:47
of Christ
20:47
suffering these things.
20:49
He begins to show them
20:49
the necessity
20:50
of the cross.
20:52
Now
20:53
we're not told
20:54
what emphasis
20:56
Jesus drew out
20:58
from the Old Testament
20:59
on this occasion.
21:00
but we can imagine
21:02
what that would have been.
21:05
Perhaps it is the fact
21:06
that there is a necessity
21:07
for a sacrifice
21:08
to provide a covering.
21:13
And so that idea
21:13
of a sacrifice
21:14
providing a covering
21:15
it doesn't begin
21:16
on the teaching
21:16
of the law
21:17
on the Day of Atonement
21:18
it actually begins
21:20
on the Day of the Fall
21:20
in Genesis 3
21:22
when Adam
21:23
and his wife Eve
21:25
are ejected
21:26
from the garden
21:27
having tried
21:27
to make coverings
21:28
for themselves
21:29
from fig leaves
21:30
God provides
21:32
for them
21:32
a better covering
21:33
in the form
21:34
of an animal skin
21:35
that he fashions
21:36
into a garment
21:36
for them.
21:37
God clothes them
21:38
covers them
21:40
from their nakedness
21:42
and their shame
21:43
and their exposure
21:45
as they're cast out
21:46
of the harmony
21:47
and peace
21:48
of the garden
21:48
into the wilds
21:49
of the sinful world
21:50
that has now
21:50
unfurled itself
21:53
because of Adam's sin.
21:54
Perhaps it's that
21:58
God will provide
21:59
a lamb
21:59
a substitute
22:01
again it's there
22:03
at the beginning
22:03
in Genesis
22:04
where God says
22:05
that the seed
22:06
of the woman
22:07
will one day
22:07
bruise the head
22:08
of the serpent
22:08
and he will
22:09
bruise his heel
22:09
there's that sense
22:10
of God sending
22:11
a redeemer
22:12
of some sort
22:13
but then there's
22:13
more than that
22:14
you go into
22:14
the story of Abraham
22:15
just a few chapters
22:16
later in Genesis
22:17
and God provides
22:19
a lamb
22:19
when Abraham
22:20
goes up the mountain
22:21
to sacrifice his son
22:22
perhaps it's that
22:26
God will provide
22:27
a remedy for salvation
22:28
it's there in the story
22:29
of Noah
22:30
we were looking at that
22:31
a couple of weeks ago
22:32
where God
22:33
carries Noah
22:35
through the flood
22:36
and God remembers
22:37
his covenant with him
22:38
and his promises to him
22:39
but the book of
22:41
the law
22:41
the books of Moses
22:42
just the book of Genesis
22:43
alone in the first
22:43
20 odd chapters
22:45
there's loads
22:47
of detail there
22:48
about how the Messiah
22:50
would have to suffer
22:51
these things
22:52
and it's there
22:54
in its proto-form
22:55
there at the beginning
22:56
of the books
22:57
of the Torah
22:57
and then the prophets
22:59
simply expound on that
23:01
and explain more
23:02
and more
23:02
what God's redemption
23:04
is going to look like
23:05
and why it is so
23:06
utterly necessary
23:08
because we
23:09
are so
23:10
utterly sinful
23:11
we can't save ourselves
23:12
and so God
23:14
has to do something
23:15
to save us
23:17
and it culminates
23:23
ultimately
23:24
in God
23:25
sending his son
23:26
to die
23:28
in the place
23:29
of sinners
23:29
the Christ
23:31
of the anointed
23:32
Messiah
23:33
and then
23:38
he enters
23:38
his glory
23:39
and that idea
23:41
of glory
23:41
in Luke's gospel
23:42
it's a wonderful
23:43
study
23:43
you can go in
23:44
and have a look
23:44
through it yourself
23:45
today perhaps
23:45
but the idea
23:47
of him entering
23:47
his glory
23:48
in Luke's gospel
23:48
is bound up
23:49
in the cross
23:50
there is no glory
23:52
without the cross
23:53
itself
23:54
it's a key theme
23:55
in certainly Luke's
23:56
theology
23:56
it grows out of
23:57
Paul's theology
23:58
as well
23:58
it's necessary
23:59
for Christ
24:01
to suffer
24:02
in order to
24:03
enter the glory
24:04
so the path
24:08
to glory
24:08
is through
24:09
the cross
24:09
not sidestepping
24:12
it
24:12
not getting
24:12
around it
24:13
not getting
24:13
away from it
24:14
but through it
24:15
it is necessary
24:18
and these disciples
24:21
are left
24:22
in that position
24:23
where
24:23
you know
24:24
their questions
24:25
the things
24:26
they've been
24:26
arguing about
24:27
are being addressed
24:28
the things
24:29
that they've
24:30
been uncertain
24:30
about
24:31
Jesus has
24:32
very gently
24:33
taken them
24:33
to the scripture
24:34
and shown them
24:35
very openly
24:36
on the pages
24:36
of scripture
24:37
and said
24:37
this is how
24:38
it all fits together
24:39
there's a reasonableness
24:42
to our faith
24:43
as Christians
24:44
it carries
24:45
an internal
24:45
consistency
24:46
it makes
24:47
sense
24:48
when people
24:50
mock and deride
24:51
Christianity
24:52
one of the things
24:53
they often say
24:53
is your faith
24:54
is a blind faith
24:55
it doesn't believe
24:55
in anything concrete
24:56
it is nothing certain
24:57
except you would
24:57
turn around
24:58
and say hang on
24:58
a minute
24:59
there are literally
24:59
hundreds if not
25:00
thousands of years
25:01
of written
25:02
recorded history
25:03
in the Bible
25:03
that find
25:04
their culmination
25:05
and their climax
25:06
and their fulfillment
25:06
in the cross
25:08
of course it makes sense
25:12
dozens of writers
25:16
approved by God
25:17
down through the centuries
25:18
all pointing us
25:19
towards the same
25:21
moment
25:21
when God's own son
25:24
would come
25:25
and bear
25:25
the sins of the world
25:27
at the cross
25:28
and then furthermore
25:36
they need to grapple
25:37
with the resurrection
25:38
itself
25:38
death could not
25:42
hold him
25:42
it has no grip
25:45
upon him
25:45
because
25:47
he is
25:48
the perfect
25:49
sinless one
25:50
he is the one
25:52
who emerges
25:53
triumphant
25:54
from the dark
25:54
realm of Sheol
25:55
and who comes
25:57
back with victory
25:58
and gifts
26:00
to share
26:01
with us
26:02
to pass on
26:05
and one of them
26:07
is in fact
26:07
his own presence
26:08
because the wonderful
26:10
thing is
26:10
when these disciples
26:11
they urge
26:14
Jesus
26:14
this unknown
26:15
stranger
26:15
they urge him
26:16
to come in
26:16
with them
26:16
for supper
26:17
that night
26:18
and to stay
26:18
with them
26:19
because
26:19
the light's
26:20
getting on
26:21
and so Jesus
26:21
stays with them
26:22
and what's
26:23
fascinating
26:24
is it's in
26:24
that moment
26:25
of close
26:25
intimate
26:26
personal
26:26
fellowship
26:27
that their
26:28
eyes are
26:28
opened
26:29
because Jesus
26:29
took bread
26:30
and blessed
26:31
it and gave
26:31
it to them
26:32
and their
26:32
eyes were
26:33
opened
26:33
and they
26:33
recognised
26:34
him in that
26:34
so I
26:37
find it
26:37
fascinating
26:37
their trajectory
26:38
remember
26:39
is away
26:39
from Jerusalem
26:40
away from
26:41
fellowship
26:41
with the rest
26:42
of the
26:42
disciples
26:42
away from
26:43
probably
26:44
the upper
26:44
room
26:44
where bread
26:45
had been
26:45
broken
26:45
together
26:46
and these
26:47
two
26:47
disciples
26:47
are now
26:48
finding
26:49
Jesus
26:49
in the
26:50
breaking
26:50
of bread
26:50
together
26:51
what they
26:56
discover
26:56
is
26:57
fellowship
26:59
restored
26:59
is fellowship
27:01
entirely
27:02
renewed
27:02
and
27:04
God
27:05
is found
27:05
there
27:05
we can't
27:08
pause
27:08
or escape
27:10
rather
27:10
this reality
27:11
that the
27:12
path of
27:12
real
27:13
progress
27:14
and maturity
27:15
in the
27:16
Christian life
27:16
is a path
27:17
of real
27:18
fellowship
27:19
with other
27:19
believers
27:20
in which
27:21
is found
27:22
fellowship
27:22
with Jesus
27:23
and it's
27:24
actually
27:24
the fellowship
27:24
with Jesus
27:25
that spurns
27:26
us on
27:26
and that
27:27
enlivens
27:28
and
27:28
enfreshens
27:28
us
27:29
and so
27:30
when Jesus
27:31
breaks bread
27:32
with them
27:32
they then
27:33
the consequence
27:34
of Jesus
27:34
breaking bread
27:35
with them
27:35
and them
27:36
realising
27:36
Jesus is
27:37
in this
27:37
look what
27:38
he's just
27:38
told us
27:38
and we
27:39
have to
27:39
what they
27:40
then realise
27:40
is we
27:41
have to
27:41
share what
27:41
Jesus
27:42
has told
27:42
us
27:42
with
27:42
others
27:43
and the
27:44
first place
27:45
they want
27:45
to go
27:45
is go back
27:45
to the
27:45
other
27:46
disciples
27:46
that they've
27:46
just
27:46
left
27:47
they want
27:48
to get
27:48
back
27:49
into
27:49
Christian
27:50
fellowship
27:51
with these
27:51
disciples
27:52
to
27:52
embolden
27:54
them
27:54
to encourage
27:55
them
27:55
to bless
27:56
them
27:56
just as
27:57
Jesus
27:58
has blessed
27:58
them
27:58
so what
28:00
Paul
28:01
writing in the
28:02
New Testament
28:02
in one of his
28:02
letters
28:03
he talks about
28:04
the importance
28:05
of us
28:05
comforting others
28:06
with the
28:07
comfort with
28:07
which we
28:08
ourselves
28:08
have been
28:09
comforted
28:09
this is
28:11
what it
28:11
is
28:11
to live
28:11
as a
28:12
Christian
28:12
to walk
28:12
as a
28:13
Christian
28:13
to go
28:13
on as
28:14
a
28:14
Christian
28:14
in a
28:15
discipled
28:15
way
28:16
led
28:17
and taught
28:18
by Jesus
28:18
ultimately
28:19
it is to
28:19
share that
28:20
blessing
28:21
with others
28:21
and to
28:22
encourage
28:22
them
28:23
and to
28:23
build
28:23
them
28:23
up
28:24
that's
28:25
why I
28:25
was saying
28:25
to the
28:25
kids
28:25
this morning
28:26
the hope
28:26
of the
28:26
resurrection
28:27
is a
28:27
hope
28:27
that we
28:28
dare
28:28
not
28:28
share
28:29
Christ
28:31
is
28:31
risen
28:31
and this
28:32
changes
28:33
all of the
28:34
dynamics
28:35
of the
28:35
church
28:35
and everything
28:36
of our
28:36
experience
28:37
and everything
28:38
that we
28:38
are going
28:38
through
28:39
hard and
28:40
difficult and
28:40
dark places
28:41
that we
28:41
have to
28:41
walk
28:42
they are
28:42
all
28:43
transformed
28:43
because
28:44
Jesus
28:44
has come
28:45
into them
28:45
with us
28:46
and because
28:47
we discover
28:48
the fellowship
28:49
of Jesus
28:49
with us
28:50
in these
28:51
dark places
28:52
that we
28:53
must therefore
28:54
be bold
28:54
and say
28:55
to others
28:56
Christ
28:56
is there
28:57
to be
28:57
found
28:58
and Christ
28:58
is there
28:59
to comfort
28:59
you
29:00
in the
29:00
dark
29:01
places
29:01
you have
29:01
to go
29:02
to
29:02
particularly
29:03
the places
29:04
of your
29:04
own sin
29:04
particularly
29:06
the places
29:07
of your
29:07
own
29:07
failing
29:08
the places
29:09
of your
29:09
own
29:10
inadequacy
29:11
the places
29:11
where you
29:12
have stumbled
29:12
and fallen
29:13
completely
29:14
short
29:14
Christ
29:15
is there
29:16
for you
29:16
his cross
29:18
has paid
29:19
for that
29:20
sin
29:20
and now
29:22
we get
29:22
up
29:23
and we
29:25
rise
29:26
with renewed
29:26
strength
29:27
it might feel
29:30
like it's on
29:30
broken wings
29:31
but you know
29:32
what
29:32
God has
29:35
healed you
29:35
he's healed
29:38
you
29:38
through his
29:38
son
29:39
Jesus
29:39
who has
29:41
come
29:42
and ministered
29:43
in your
29:44
experience
29:46
and so
29:50
the disciples
29:50
they run
29:51
back to
29:51
Jerusalem
29:52
they run
29:54
and when
29:57
they get
29:57
back
29:57
they hear
29:59
the stories
29:59
the Lord
30:00
has risen
30:00
indeed
30:00
and has
30:01
appeared
30:01
to Simon
30:02
and then
30:02
they say
30:02
well he's
30:03
appeared
30:03
to us
30:03
as well
30:04
and he
30:05
made himself
30:06
known to
30:06
us
30:06
in the
30:07
breaking
30:07
of bread
30:08
that simple
30:12
fellowship
30:12
of Jesus
30:13
that miracle
30:14
of the
30:16
life of
30:17
Jesus
30:17
now
30:17
it's revealed
30:18
I think
30:19
bizarrely
30:20
not in
30:21
grandiose
30:22
miracles
30:23
and angels
30:23
singing in
30:23
the sky
30:24
but rather
30:26
it's revealed
30:27
in the simple
30:27
things
30:28
these simple
30:30
places of
30:31
love
30:31
and fellowship
30:32
and companionship
30:33
where Jesus
30:35
comes alongside
30:36
and encourages
30:38
us on the
30:40
way
30:40
and so
30:41
today I
30:42
would ask
30:42
you
30:42
whether you
30:42
are in
30:43
that place
30:43
of confusion
30:44
whether you
30:44
are in
30:45
these places
30:45
of sorrow
30:46
in the
30:46
darkness
30:47
of hard
30:47
experiences
30:48
I would
30:50
urge you
30:50
to find
30:50
that Jesus
30:51
is there
30:51
already
30:52
and that
30:53
he has
30:54
come alongside
30:54
you
30:55
and that
30:57
he is
30:57
showing you
30:57
the truth
30:58
and he is
30:59
showing you
30:59
the way
31:00
because he
31:01
is ultimately
31:02
the life
31:03
of your
31:04
hope
31:04
see him
31:07
for who he
31:08
is
31:08
and love
31:10
him
31:10
and worship
31:11
him
31:12
and follow
31:13
him
31:14
and he
31:15
will lead
31:16
you to
31:16
good places
31:17
let's pray
31:18
heavenly father
31:20
we thank
31:21
you today
31:21
for the
31:22
presence
31:22
of your
31:23
son
31:23
Jesus
31:23
we thank
31:24
you
31:24
that although
31:24
he is
31:25
enthroned
31:25
in heaven
31:25
and at
31:26
your right
31:27
hand
31:27
he still
31:27
sends the
31:28
holy spirit
31:29
to convey
31:29
to us
31:30
the presence
31:30
of almighty
31:31
God
31:31
that he
31:32
still comes
31:32
alongside us
31:33
himself
31:33
in his
31:33
word
31:34
and that he
31:34
speaks to
31:35
us
31:35
that we
31:35
hear from
31:36
him
31:36
and we
31:37
hear from
31:38
him
31:38
words of
31:39
life
31:39
and blessing
31:40
and hope
31:41
and so
31:42
Lord fill us
31:43
today with
31:43
that confidence
31:44
in who you
31:45
are
31:45
who your son
31:46
is and what
31:46
he has done
31:47
and the work
31:48
of the Holy
31:48
Spirit as it
31:49
goes on in
31:49
our lives
31:49
and we
31:50
ask these
31:50
things in
31:51
Jesus name
31:52
Amen
31:53
we're going
31:58
to sing in
31:58
conclusion
31:59
in words of
32:00
Psalm 16
32:01
this is
32:02
Sing Psalms
32:02
verses 8
32:05
to 11
32:06
the last
32:06
four stanzas
32:07
this is the
32:12
confidence that
32:12
David had
32:13
in knowing
32:14
the Lord
32:14
was with
32:15
him
32:15
I often
32:16
suggest this
32:17
as we're
32:17
singing the
32:18
Psalms
32:18
that where
32:19
David uses
32:19
the word
32:20
of the
32:20
Lord
32:21
the name
32:21
of the
32:21
Lord
32:21
Yahweh
32:22
we can
32:23
clearly
32:24
and fairly
32:25
and with
32:25
absolute
32:26
consistency
32:26
substitute
32:27
in the
32:27
name
32:27
of
32:28
Jesus
32:28
if that's
32:29
how we
32:29
want to
32:29
understand
32:30
it
32:30
before me
32:30
constantly
32:31
I
32:31
set the
32:31
Lord
32:32
alone
32:32
because
32:33
he
32:33
is
32:33
at my
32:33
right
32:34
hand
32:34
I'll
32:34
not
32:35
be
32:35
overthrown
32:35
therefore
32:36
my heart
32:37
is glad
32:37
my tongue
32:38
with joy
32:39
will sing
32:39
my body
32:40
too
32:40
will rest
32:41
secure
32:41
in hope
32:42
unwavering
32:43
so although
32:44
David is
32:44
writing
32:44
prophetically
32:45
in the
32:45
Psalm
32:45
about the
32:46
resurrection
32:46
ultimately
32:47
of Jesus
32:47
there is a
32:49
sense in
32:50
which that
32:50
is also
32:51
true of
32:51
us
32:51
that our
32:52
bodies
32:53
when we
32:53
die
32:53
will rest
32:54
in the
32:54
grave
32:54
but not
32:56
without
32:56
hope
32:57
because
32:58
Christ
32:58
is risen
32:59
and there
33:00
is hope
33:00
for us
33:01
and so
33:02
death
33:03
will not
33:03
have its
33:03
hold
33:04
over God's
33:05
people
33:05
forever
33:05
but there
33:06
is hope
33:07
for the
33:07
children
33:07
of God
33:08
who have
33:09
Christ
33:09
at their
33:09
hand
33:10
at their
33:10
side
33:11
with them
33:11
and who
33:12
will lead
33:12
them
33:12
ultimately
33:13
through
33:13
death
33:15
itself
33:15
and to
33:16
the path
33:16
of life
33:17
divine
33:18
ultimately
33:18
so we
33:19
are rooted
33:20
in these
33:20
verses
33:20
because we
33:21
are rooted
33:21
in Christ
33:22
and that
33:23
I hope
33:23
is true
33:23
of each
33:24
one of us
33:24
today
33:24
that we
33:25
would be
33:25
rooted
33:26
in Christ
33:26
Jesus
33:27
and therefore
33:28
find our
33:28
hope in
33:29
him
33:29
so before
33:30
me
33:30
constantly
33:30
I set
33:31
the Lord
33:32
alone
33:32
let's
33:33
stand to
33:33
sing to
33:33
God's
33:34
praise
33:34
before
33:38
me
33:40
constantly
33:42
I
33:45
set
33:47
the
33:48
Lord
33:49
alone
33:51
because
33:53
he
33:55
is
33:57
at
33:58
my
33:59
right
34:00
hand
34:01
I'll
34:03
not
34:04
be
34:05
overthrown
34:09
therefore
34:11
my
34:13
heart
34:14
is
34:15
glad
34:17
my
34:19
tongue
34:20
with
34:21
joy
34:23
will
34:24
sing
34:25
my
34:27
body
34:29
too
34:30
will
34:32
rest
34:33
secure
34:35
in hope
34:38
unwavering
34:42
for you
34:45
will
34:47
not
34:48
allow
34:49
my
34:52
soul
34:53
in
34:55
death
34:56
to
34:57
stay
34:58
nor
35:01
will
35:02
you
35:03
leave
35:04
your
35:05
holy
35:07
one
35:08
to
35:09
see
35:11
the
35:12
tombs
35:13
decay
35:15
you
35:17
have
35:18
made
35:21
known
35:22
to
35:22
me
35:23
the
35:25
path
35:27
of
35:28
life
35:29
divine
35:33
please
35:34
shall
35:36
thy
35:37
know
35:38
at
35:39
your
35:40
right
35:41
hand
35:42
joy
35:44
from
35:45
your
35:46
face
35:47
will
35:49
shine
35:49
now
35:53
the
35:53
grace
35:53
of the
35:53
Lord
35:54
Jesus
35:54
Christ
35:54
the
35:54
love
35:55
of God
35:55
the
35:55
Father
35:55
and
35:56
the
35:56
fellowship
35:56
of
35:56
God
35:57
the
35:57
Holy
35:57
Spirit
35:58
be
35:58
with
35:58
each
35:58
one
35:58
of
35:58
you
35:58
now
35:59
and
35:59
always
35:59
Amen
36:25
to
36:25
to
36:26
to
36:27
to
36:27
to
36:28
!
36:28
to
36:28
to
36:29
to
36:29
!
36:30
to
36:31
to
36:31
to
36:32
to