Hope Comes Alive (Luke 24:13-35 Jeff Kliewer)

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Hope Comes Alive Luke 24:13-35 Jeff Kliewer

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He is risen oh Yes, praise God whoo
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What an amazing thing it is to be together with my brothers and sisters in the
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Lord on this day We yeah, amen we we shared an amazing time
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Friday evening as we we heard and we felt the truth of Jesus who willingly said not my will but thine be done
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Allowed the Roman soldiers to take him up to Golgotha and and drive nails in his feet and hands
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And the things that he prayed on the cross Father forgive them. They don't know what they do
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And then he said to tell us die This morning at at sunrise service one of the young ladies had a little stocking cap
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It said to tell us die and what a great thing because Everything that had to be done for our restoration
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For our to be returning into fellowship With the father was accomplished on the cross completely and fully
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Satisfying our righteous God and then he said father into thy hands.
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I commit my spirit Following that comes the Sabbath where the people having seen and not fully
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Understanding where they were going still had an entire day To contemplate the
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Lord and to worship God and then Sunday morning the amazing news. He He has arisen from the grave.
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He is risen You had to think about that for a minute didn't you?
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We have just a couple of announcements and it's got kind of a food theme to it
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Church food, you know In two weeks, we're going to have what we're calling pie 2 .0
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If you were around a few with hearts that are lifted in joy hearts that are lifted in amazement
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Your son came it was ordained before the creation That your son was was to come and and the sins of humanity necessitated without the shedding of blood there could not be the forgiveness of Sins, and so at the sacrifices year after year after year
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Finally as the Messiah comes the Lamb of God Sacrificed on the cross
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We thank you for that gift. We we only can rejoice in it this morning as we
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Gather together to worship you To see you and to have you touch our hearts
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We do pray for this very very important message that throughout all scripture
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Jesus was foretold and what would happen and it's real and it's real for each one of us
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Pray father that your spirit would prepare our hearts your spirit would pass speak through pastor
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Jeff in Jesus name Amen Mark 16 says
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But when they looked up they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large and entering the tomb they saw
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A young man clothed in a long white robe sitting at the right side And they were alarmed and he said to them do not be alarmed you seek
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Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified He is risen. He is not here Let's sing
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Joy of this living hope I Stay history death has beaten you have rescued me
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Empty cross empty grave Life eternal you have won the day
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Jesus He's And Oh happy day happy day
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You wash my sin away Happy day happy day.
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I'll never be the same Forever I am
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Jesus Jesus Oh, happy day, happy day,
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I'll never be the same, oh, happy day, happy day, you wash my sins away.
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Oh, happy day, happy day, I'll never be the same.
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Forever I am changed. What a glorious day.
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And oh, what a glorious day, what a glorious way, that you have saved me.
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And oh, what a glorious day, what a glorious name.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Savior. And oh, happy day, happy day, you wash my sin away.
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Oh, happy day, happy day, I'll never be the same.
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Oh, happy day, happy day, you wash my sin away.
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Oh, happy day, happy day, I'll never be the same.
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Forever I am changed. Praise this morning.
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Thank you, Lord. In the darkness we were waiting, without hope, without light.
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Till from heaven you came running, there was mercy in your eyes.
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To fulfill the law and prophets, to a virgin came the
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Word. From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt.
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Praise the Father, praise the
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Son, praise the Spirit, three in one.
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God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the
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King of kings. To reveal the kingdom coming and to reconcile the lost.
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To redeem the whole creation, you did not despise the cross.
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For even in your suffering, you sought to the other side.
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Knowing this was our salvation, Jesus for our sin you died.
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Praise the Father, praise the
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Son, praise the Spirit, three in one.
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God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the
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King of kings.
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From that you rose, all of heaven held its breath.
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Till the stone was moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death.
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And the dead rose from their tombs and the angels stood in awe.
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For the souls of all who come to the Father are restored.
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And the church of Christ was born, and the Spirit lit the flame.
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Now this gospel, true of old, shall not kneel or shall not faint.
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By His blood and in His name, in His freedom I am free.
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For the love of Jesus Christ, who has resurrected me.
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Praise the Father, praise the
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Son, praise the Spirit, three in one.
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God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the
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King of kings. Praise the
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Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit, three in one.
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God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the
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King of kings. Praise forever to the
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King. For your name's sake,
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O Lord, and you who are dead, and you who have forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt, thus
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He set aside, nailing it to the cross. Praise the
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Lord, His mercy is more.
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Stronger than darkness, new and reborn.
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Our sins they are made, His mercy is more.
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But love could remember no wrongs we have done.
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Omniscient, all -knowing, He counts not their sum.
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Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore.
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Our sins they are made, His mercy is more.
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Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
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Stronger than darkness, new and reborn.
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Our sins they are made, His mercy is more.
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But patience would wait as we constantly roam.
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What Father so tender is calling us home.
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He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor.
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Our sins they are made, His mercy is more.
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Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
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Stronger than darkness, new and reborn. Our sins they are made,
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His mercy is more. Riches of kindness
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He lavished on us. His blood was the payment,
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His life was the cost. We stood neath a debt we could never pay.
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Our sins they are made, His mercy is more.
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Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
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Stronger than darkness, new and reborn. Our sins they are made,
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His mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more.
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Stronger than darkness, new and reborn.
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Our sins they are made, His mercy is more.
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We believe that you resurrect the dead. You raised your son
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Jesus from the dead and you raise dead sinners like us out of our trespasses and into your marvelous light.
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You give us the new birth. By your great mercy, you have caused us to be born again into a living hope.
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Wow, God, thank you so much for the hope that we have. And this morning, as we celebrate Resurrection Day, we pray that you would reignite the hope that we have in Christ.
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And I pray for those who have not yet been born again into the living hope, we pray that this morning would be that day.
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Today would be that day of salvation. That you would do the miracle of granting the new birth just like you brought your son
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Jesus from the dead. That you would raise from the dead sinners who were lost.
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In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. By hope, the
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American soldier stormed the beaches of Normandy. Think of it,
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Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime had taken all of the continent and England and the troops were reinforced by the
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Americans. And in hope, they sailed across, went to shore, and ran through the firing squad to take a continent back.
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Imagine the hope in the hearts of many of those men. Many of them were born again Christians who were hoping that Christ would protect them.
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In December of 1944, the
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Americans had busted through the lines and were pushing the German line back towards Berlin.
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But the Germans were not done fighting, and so they initiated on December 16th the
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Battle of the Bulge. They threw all their resources to the front, and they tried to push through.
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It was called the Battle of the Bulge because they were trying to penetrate the American lines to get in behind and then conquer from side to side.
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The Battle of the Bulge was fought, and my grandfather, William Wagner, was there.
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Now, last week I talked about my grandfather on the paternal side, how his
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Bible was his hope that carried him through the four years in a Russian gulag. But this grandfather on my mother's side fought for the
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Americans, and he was a runner. His job was to take a message from one commander and run it down the line to deliver it to another commander, sometimes five, six, seven miles.
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One day, he ran a message in the Battle of the Bulge, and after that battle was over, the troops had retreated in both directions, and he was left on a field where there were nothing but dead animals, the cattle and the horses that were just mowed down by the machine gun fire.
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He stood there alone as he returned to his post, and he had a soldier's
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Bible. You guys are familiar with how the soldiers were each given a small Bible that they would take with them in their pocket.
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He took his out, and so devastated, so hopeless by the death that he witnessed, he threw that Bible on the ground.
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But in hope, he went and retrieved it, and he read from Psalm 91,
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No evil shall befall you, no plague come near your tent, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in your ways.
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On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
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Do not fear the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks at night. As he read these words, he recounted the story to me so many years later.
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Hope and peace just flooded his soul, and he said, never again for the rest of World War II did he feel fear of dying.
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A living hope overtook his soul. It was like supernatural, the peace that he experienced for the rest of that war.
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And then when he came back to the United States of America, he took his three daughters and his wife and left
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America, again, this time crossing the southern border. And all the way down to Guatemala, where he was a missionary.
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And my mom was raised as a missionary on the soil of Guatemala. Well, fast forward then to our day.
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We see a picture of hope, living hope. But I have never witnessed since 1977, the year that I was born, such a hopelessness come over the people of the
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United States of America. There is a hopelessness running amok.
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Maybe it's because we didn't have Resurrection Day last year. Well, the day came, but we weren't able to gather. We weren't able to celebrate that Jesus has triumphed over the grave.
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And there have been a number of events that have happened, and we don't need to talk about those today. But it has resulted in just a lethargy and a downcast attitude running throughout
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America. I think we need to recover our living hope. What do you guys think? Isn't it true?
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Yeah, we can clap for that. We're getting more expressive these days.
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I've been hearing more amens and more shouting out. We're coming out of our frozen chosenness, and we're coming alive.
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Everybody's talking these days about the existential threats. But we have a living hope.
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There is no threat to the existence of God. There is no threat to the existence of the church, because Christ told us that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
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And Jesus says that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto him. And if all authority is given to him, then we can trust and hope in him.
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So the question today that I have for many of you, where does hope come from? Where does hope come from?
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And more specifically, where does living hope come from? Because people put hope in a number of things.
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I once hoped in becoming a professional basketball player. Needless to say, that hope was eventually dashed.
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I'll blame it on a broken foot, but it was probably a broken jump shot or something like that. Many people put their hopes in many things, and oftentimes our hopes are dashed.
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But what is a living hope that 1 Peter talks about? It is a supernatural hope, the likes of which we see in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
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The dead Messiah can only come back to life by a miracle. And living hope can only come into the heart of a dead sinner by the miracle of rebirth.
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Today we're going to talk about regeneration, where a dead person rises from the dead.
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We are speaking of the resurrection of Jesus, but more specifically, we're speaking about you.
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If you've not yet come to saving faith, where does hope come from? And you who believe, be reminded that you have a living hope.
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The same God that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in you. Hope comes alive by a miracle, like the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
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That's the subject today, and we're learning from Luke 24, verses 13 through 35.
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So if you have a Bible, turn there. If you don't, you probably have a smartphone. And if you Google Luke 24, 13 to 35, it will pop right up.
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Put in ESV. We're using the English Standard Version today. This is a very long resurrection story.
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In fact, it's the longest of all the resurrection stories. Two guys walking on a road to Emmaus, they encounter the living
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Christ. And it is meant to tell us that actual people witnessed him risen from the dead.
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Our faith is not a fairy tale. It is accounted by eyewitnesses, and that's an important point.
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But there's some thread that runs through this story that I want us to focus on today. And that is the hopelessness of these two men and where hope came from to bring them to life.
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A living hope is born in them before the end of this chapter.
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Let's see how that happens. Verses 13 to 21 are about the dashing of their hope.
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The hopelessness from being unable to recognize the Christ. That very day, two of them were going to a village named
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Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things that happened.
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While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
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And he said to them, what is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk? And they stood still, looking sad.
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Then one of them named Cleopas answered him, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?
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And pause there. I imagine that Cleopas is not too thrilled with Luke for recording that comment in the book.
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I mean, think about it. He's talking to Jesus and he's getting all snarky and snippy with him. He's standing there sad.
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He's like, are you the only one who doesn't know? What have you been living in a cave? Was your head in the sand?
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He's talking to Jesus and his little attitude is coming out. So be careful because you never know if you're entertaining angels.
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You're talking to a stranger. He's talking to a stranger. He doesn't really realize who he's talking to. Then it says in verse 18, then one of them.
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I'm sorry, we just read that. Verse 19. And he said to them, what things? So Jesus plays along.
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What things? And they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.
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And how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.
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But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem
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Israel. So we have the story of two men on a walk, a seven mile walk from Jerusalem toward the sunset, heading for the
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Mediterranean Sea. To a town called Emmaus. Now that word Emmaus means hot springs.
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Some think that there were hot springs there, so they might have been going to just kind of chill a little bit. They just need to relax after everything that's happened.
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But they're sad. The Bible tells us in verse 17, they're looking sad. They pause when
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Jesus speaks to them, so they're kind of just like moping along. And they just stop and look at this guy. Who is this stranger who's talking to us?
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I don't think they really wanted a conversation with a stranger right now. The problem in verse 21 is that their hopes were set on Jesus rescuing them from Rome in that time.
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And their hopes had been dashed. Their Messiah, the ones they put their hope in, was now crucified and dead and buried.
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And so these people are defeated. And you look around America today, and there are many hopeless, defeated people moping around.
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But look at the rest of the verse in 21 and then through 24. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
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Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
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Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.
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Notice the thread that Luke is weaving through this narrative. They didn't recognize
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Jesus. Their eyes were kept from seeing him. And here the problem is they didn't see him.
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In other words, some women came back from the tomb and they tried to raise their hopes, but their hopes had been so dashed by what they saw.
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I mean, think of it. They watched the crucifixion of their hero. And they're not going to allow their hopes to rise again.
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When they hear the story from the women, I think they just sort of discount their testimony. You know, in Israel at that time, the testimony of a woman was not even admissible in court.
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So I think these men are thinking, ah, emotional women, they're making up stories. They're seeing what they want to see.
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They're telling us of a vision of angels. But you know what? They didn't even stick around to find out if it was true.
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They left for Emmaus, whereas the rest of the believers, Peter ran to the tomb,
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John ran to the tomb. One of them a little faster than the other. John is sure to tell us he outran Peter.
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And they look in and then ultimately Jesus appears to Peter, but not these two. They are so hopeless that it's as if any hope offered to them is a taunt.
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These women are torturing us with this story. And so you know what they do? They get out of there.
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They leave Jerusalem. They don't want anybody to toy with their emotions.
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They're done, and they're walking away, hopeless. And so we come to a point in the text, a transition point, where we ask the question, where does hope come from?
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These men had not seen Jesus, and neither have you. Now there's some false prophets out there that are claiming to see
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Jesus, but that's not the method that's revealed in the book for how we come to saving faith.
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Where does hope come from? That's the question this resurrection day. Somebody here might be waiting for a miracle.
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You know, if he heals my mom, I'll believe in him. If I get that job I've been trying to get, then
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I'll believe. And you're waiting as if you're the judge and God is on trial.
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If he'll perform like a circus monkey, you'll believe in him. But look with me at verses 25 and following.
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Here is where hope is born. And it's not by a sign, it's by the book.
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It's by the right handling and the preaching of the scriptures. Look at what it says, verses 25 to 27.
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And he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe, all the prophets have spoken.
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Now Jesus is not politically correct here, is he? He blames the unbelief and the hopelessness of these two men on their own hearts.
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What keeps us from seeing Jesus? It is that we are in Adam, dead in sin, hardened in our trespasses.
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And foolish in a sense. The fool says in his heart that there is no God. But the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the
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Lord. He says in verse 26, Was it not necessary that the
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Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
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Now this, I think, is the point of this pericope of scripture, this passage about the road to Emmaus.
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It is about where hope comes from and how the new birth takes place.
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The instrument that God uses to bring about the new birth is his word rightly handled.
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Jesus himself will appear to 500 and then he will ascend to heaven.
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And he will no longer use that method of appearing to people to bring about saving faith.
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But when he left us here, he did not leave us as orphans. He said that if he goes to prepare a place for us, he will come back for us.
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And in the meantime, he leaves us a paraclete, a comforter, the
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Holy Spirit. And with that, he also leaves us his word.
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I have given you my word. Abide in my word and you will bear much fruit. He didn't leave us here alone.
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So until he comes back, he will leave us the scriptures to be rightly handled by the teaching of the
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Holy Spirit. To exposit from the text the message about himself.
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And this is where the new birth comes from. Have any of you been waiting to make a decision to follow
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Christ? You want to do it, but on the other hand, you're holding on to some sin.
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And you're thinking, maybe when I get a little bit older, I'll make the decision to follow
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Christ. Don't think that you have the ability to bring about faith in yourself.
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Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. It says here, was it not necessary, verse 26, that the
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Christ should suffer these things? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
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How do we know that Jesus is the Christ? Was it not necessary that the
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Christ should suffer? The first promise of the Christ happened way back in the
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Garden of Eden. Genesis 3 .15, the woman was cursed with pain in childbirth.
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And women who have given birth, you can attest, it is painful. I don't know, but I believe it.
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It's painful, but that's not the only part of the curse, women. There is good news promised right after.
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Through the seed of the woman, the head of the serpent will be crushed.
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The tempter who came in the Garden of Eden, he will be crushed through a seed of the woman.
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A woman will give birth to a son. This will be a virgin birth, that's why it's called the seed of the woman.
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Isaiah 7 .14, behold, a virgin shall give birth and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
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Emmanuel. So in Genesis 3 .15, we're told that the
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Messiah will come and crush the head of the serpent. We're waiting for the seed of the woman. But from the very beginning, we are told that his heel shall be struck by the serpent.
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So from the very beginning, we should have expected that the Christ would have to suffer.
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He would be struck in the heel, that's a mortal death wound in the heel through the spike of the
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Roman soldier. From the very beginning, the promise of the Christ included that he would suffer.
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And that's why that all the prophets who went before him had to suffer. Moses was rejected by his own people and suffered mightily at their hands.
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Isaiah, after preaching faithfully, was sawn in two. Jeremiah, after proclaiming the word of the
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Lord, was thrown into a dungeon and sunk deep into the mire.
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Daniel, faithfully proclaiming the very time of which Messiah would be cut off.
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In Daniel 9 .24 -27, this same prophet was thrown into the lion's den.
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Were not all the prophets treated this way? Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer?
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He is the ultimate prophet. The one promised in Deuteronomy 18 verses 15 -18.
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The prophet like Moses, and you must listen to everything he has to say. But if he's a prophet, they will reject him.
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The world does not accept the word of God. And so he will suffer as a prophet.
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He is the ultimate priest. But when the priest brought sacrifices to God, did they bring jelly beans?
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Were they like Easter bunnies with candy and baskets to offer to God? No, the priest brought a bloody sacrifice.
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And so if he is the great high priest, he must bring a sacrifice. And his sacrifice will not be the blood of bulls and goats and lesser beings, but rather a higher being,
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God in flesh, offering his very lifeblood. A priest must bring an offering.
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And our priest brings himself to the cross. He is the
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Lamb of God. If he is a king, what should we expect of him?
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But to be the kind of king that serves his subjects. And so we see
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Christ taking a washcloth and washing the feet of his disciples.
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How much more that he would wash us clean in his blood. All of the prophets foretold that the
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Messiah would have to suffer. And so from the cross, Jesus cries out,
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Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. In Aramaic meaning, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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But these are the very words of Psalm 22. That he would be surrounded by wild men.
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Dogs, the Roman soldiers, the Romans called dogs. And he would be pierced through his hands and his feet.
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Read Psalm 22. His tongue would stick to the roof of his mouth. Soldiers would gamble at the foot of the cross for his clothes.
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All of these things were foretold. And so in Luke 24, verse 26, it was necessary that the
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Christ would suffer. The only reason that these two hopeless, dopey guys, whom
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Jesus says are foolish ones and slow of heart to believe. The only reason they don't believe is because they don't know the scripture.
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They were forgetting about Isaiah 53, that the Lamb would be led to slaughter. That all we like sheep have gone astray, but the
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Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. And after he makes his life an offering for sin, he would see the light of life and be satisfied.
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And Jesus himself predicted his own suffering and crucifixion and burial and resurrection.
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Had they ears to hear, they would have been expecting these things. But faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
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And that's the point here. He's opening their eyes through the scripture. This hope is beginning to rise in them.
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We'll learn in verse 32 that their hearts are beginning to burn while they hear it. These two men, and now let's look at what happens next, 28 to 31.
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Again, we're in Luke 24, in case I've lost you, because I know I'm jumping to the Old Testament. But I'm trying to show you what
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Jesus did on the road to Emmaus. It says he interpreted to them all that Moses and the prophets had written.
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So he gave them a Bible study from memory as he taught them along the way.
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Then in verses 28 to 31, we see the miracle of regeneration. So they drew near to the village to which they were going.
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He acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us.
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It's toward evening, and the day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them.
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When he was at table with them, he took the bread. Remind you of anything? A few days earlier,
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Passover, he breaks the bread and says, This is my body, broken for you. He gives the cup.
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Well, when he breaks the bread, blessed it, their eyes were opened.
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Now, that's the point of our story. That's a miracle, that the eyes of a sinner could be opened to see the
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Son of God. Now, notice, having seen, they recognize him. A living hope is born that Jesus is, in fact, raised from the dead.
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Now, he vanishes from their sight as soon as he appears. Imagine that. He breaks the bread.
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It's him. And boom, he's gone. Awesome. But why?
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Because it's not by the sign of seeing him that Christians throughout history will be born again.
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It's by the Scripture. And the miracle happens here to show us what faith actually is.
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Many people think that faith is blind. Indiana Jones, right?
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You've got to take the blind leap and just hope that there's something there to catch you. Faith is not blind.
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Faith is sight. It's a different kind of seeing. It's not the visible sight with the eyes like the 500 witnesses were commissioned to do.
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They were specially chosen for that purpose. But faith is the substance of things hoped for, the certainty of things not seen.
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Hope begins to rise as you hear the Scriptures. Maybe this is true. Maybe Jesus is worthy of my life.
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Maybe he's really risen. And that maybe turns into the substance of certainty, the assurance of things not seen.
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That's what faith is. It is a miracle of regeneration. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, dead sinners like you and I, as we're born into sin, must be resurrected.
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And someone says, well, I'll do that when I'm ready. No, you won't.
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The wind blows where it wants. And no one knows where it's coming from or going. So it is of those born of the
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Spirit. There must be a miracle in order for you to be born again.
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Living hope in your heart when your hope comes alive and you know that he's alive. And you're willing to serve him and you're willing to lay down your life and storm the beaches of Normandy or run the
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Battle of the Bulge or go to Guatemala or do anything that he says. That is a living hope.
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And it's born from above. It's not natural. It's not something that you just decide.
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It comes by the instrument of the Word of God. But it must be living.
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And you can't make that happen. Can Lazarus resurrect himself from the tomb? Jesus has to say,
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Lazarus, come forth. In the same way he opens their eyes and they see. It's a new heart, new eyes, a new nature that's given to you with new desires.
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It is the new birth of 1 Peter 1, verse 3. He has caused us to be born again into a living hope.
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Through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. You see the miracle that's happening here.
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They see. Now let's finally see what that hope looks like. They have the new birth.
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They said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road?
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Now they have this passion for the scripture. And they think about how all the prophecies pointed to Christ while he opened to us the scriptures.
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That's the issue. This is what you need to have the new birth. And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.
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And they found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together saying, the Lord has risen indeed.
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And he has appeared to Simon. Other people are seeing him. Then they told what had happened to them on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
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What does a living hope look like? A living hope is powerful.
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It's strong. It's the work of God in the heart of a believer that motivates life.
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How many of y 'all believe the lie that America runs on Dunkin? And it seems like Dunkin is trying to take over the world, aren't they?
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Like if they find a square inch, they're going to build a mini Dunkin Donuts on it. Everywhere.
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America doesn't run on Dunkin. And Christians certainly don't. We run on hope.
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Hope. These guys had moped all day long from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
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And the day was waxing. Waning? Which one?
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Running out. Dusk. I always get my little phrases messed up when
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I do that. But the point is the day is over. Having walked all day, slowly and sadly.
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Hopeless. Now, they turn around and run. Look at them.
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It says they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. The idea is they got there quick and found the believers still gathering.
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Last week, at the conclusion of my sermon, I didn't have it in my notes, but I said, it's not too late for America.
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I said, if the pastors will rise up and preach, the gospel can still run. Well, simultaneously, one of my heroes in the faith, whose name is
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John MacArthur, he preached last Sunday, it's too late for America. And I thought, man, why'd you got to preach that?
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Why couldn't I have watched yours before I preached mine? But you know what? I think that what I said was actually right. It's not too late for America.
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I'm not the prophet or a son of a prophet to know what's going to happen. We already won.
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Amen. We have already won, and that's a great point. But listen, the other day,
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I was so filled with hope about what God is doing in our church. I just heard an amen from a baby.
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I love that. So I was so filled with hope that I went out for a run.
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And as I started to run, I was thinking about Elijah, how when he conquered the false prophets of Baal on Carmel, he ran ahead of Ahab's chariot for over 30 miles.
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That's a little more than a marathon in the rain. I mean, he was kind of hopped up on some adrenaline and good endorphins, and he was filled with hope.
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And so as I was running, I was like, oh, I'm keeping a good pace here. Now, mind you, I have been trying for a year to get my times down from 8 minute and 30 second miles to under 8 minutes.
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And I have this friend who on Facebook posts his times on Run Keeper, and he's like, six minute miles for six miles.
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I'm like, oh, thank you. So encouraging. You just beat me by a mile and a half on that six minute run.
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Thank you for posting that. So in any case, I thought, you know, if I work all spring and just whittle this time down,
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I can get under 8 minute miles. But I was hopped up on hope. I was thinking about the church, and I was thinking about Elijah, and the next thing
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I know, I was two miles in, and I was keeping a 7 .52 pace. And I said,
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I'm going to hold it, and I did all the way through because of hope.
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I was running on hope. I was excited, and I was thinking about the scriptures, and it made me run.
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You see, as Christians, we run on hope. But I look at the church in America, and it seems almost defeated.
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We are not defeated. Christ said the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.
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What if we go out and we run with the gospel? The way these guys ran to tell their story, telling it on the mountains.
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I don't think it's too late for America. Sorry, MacArthur. I think it's time for us to run.
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And what better day to start this run than Resurrection Sunday? Amen.
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Let's each one of us regather that hope, all the existential threats notwithstanding.
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Christ is on his throne. He rose from the dead. He lives in us.
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Us who believe, have you had the miracle of new birth? If you have that, you know exactly what
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I'm talking about. But maybe you've been sitting here thinking, you know, I'm hearing you, and some hope is rising. I feel my heart burning, but I don't know if I believe.
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There was a man whose son would often fall into seizures and sometimes fall into fires or into the water, and they'd have to rescue him.
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And Jesus said, if you believe, all things are possible. But the man looked at Jesus and said,
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I believe. And then he said, help my unbelief. He kind of believed, but he prayed, help my unbelief.
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If this is you this morning, you feel hope rising, that's by the Scripture. Pray to God in the very words of that father.
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Say, I believe, help my unbelief. Ask him to give you this gift of new birth.
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Ask him to give you a living hope that your hope would come alive to become sight.
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If you've never accepted Jesus as your Savior, call on him and say,
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Lord, show me your glory. Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your word.
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Give me eyes to see, ears to hear. You do your part.
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This is your part. Look at the Scriptures. This is the instrument that God uses to save you.
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But you can't do it on your own. Ask him to give you the new birth this resurrection day.
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Let's pray. Father, my prayer is for any who are listening to this sermon who have not yet been born again.
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Grant them the new birth, Lord. You say your wind blows. Nobody knows where it comes from or where it's going.
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So it is of those born of the Spirit. God, I pray that you would blow like a wind through this place and grant faith and repentance to those who hear the preaching of your word.
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God, this morning we are reminded that Jesus rose from the dead.
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And because he lives, we can face tomorrow without fear.
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God, I thank you so much for resurrecting your son from the dead.
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And I thank you so much for resurrecting me, giving me the new birth.
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I pray for us as a church that you would send us out with fire in our hearts. Did not our hearts burn while he was opening and interpreting the
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Scriptures? Send us out to dive deeply into your word and then go far and wide telling the good news that he is risen.
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He is risen indeed. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and sing because he lives.
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I sent his son. They called him
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Jesus. He came to heal and forgive.
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He lived and died to buy my heart.
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The grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
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Because he lives,
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I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone.
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Because I know he holds the future.
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And life is worth living just because he lives.
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Then one day I'll cross that river.
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I'll fight life's fastest death.
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It's way to victory. I'll see the light of glory.
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And I must believe
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I can face tomorrow.
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Because he lives, all fear is gone.
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Because I know he holds the future.
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And life is worth living just because he lives.
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And life is worth living just because he lives.
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Hear these words from Romans 15, 13. A resurrection day benediction for us.
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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the