Sermon for Lord's Day September 3, 2023 The Lord Abides with His People

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Sermon for Lord's Day September 3, 2023 The Lord Abides with His People

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And as you find your place there, stand with us to honor the reading of God's holy word. Luke chapter 24.
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I told Will yesterday we were going to read verse 28 through 35, but we're actually going to read verse 28 through 49.
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Luke chapter 24, verse 28 through 49. These are the words of the living
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God. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going further.
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But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent.
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So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread, and he blessed it, and he broke it, and he gave it to them.
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And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.
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And they said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us while they talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?
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And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying,
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The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon. Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
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And as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,
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Peace be to you. But they were startled and frightened, and they thought they saw a spirit.
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And he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
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See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.
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And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them,
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Have you anything here to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and he ate before them.
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Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the
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Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the
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Scriptures. And he said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
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You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
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Thus far is the reading of God's word. You may be seated this morning. Let's go to the
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Lord in prayer. Lord, as we come before your throne as a body today, we come standing in need of mercy.
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We stand in need of grace. Lord, we stand in need of strength.
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We stand in need of joy. Lord, for I know that these people are no different than I, that they themselves struggled throughout the week, that they have had difficulties, that they have had challenges,
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Lord, that they have had problems. And I know that we are not exempt from problems or bad circumstances or bad situations, but we do have the promise,
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God, that you are there. And it is for that that we thank you this morning for the promise of your abiding presence.
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And our prayer is, God, that you would strengthen the hearts that are weak in faith today.
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Dear God, that you would light ablaze the minds and the hearts of your saints.
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Dear God, as we are reminded from your word, Lord, that you are the eternal
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God who from the foundation of the world established, decided and decreed to love a people and to call us unto yourself.
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And for that, we praise you this morning. Show us Christ in the scriptures.
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And our prayer is this, that for those who hear the word of God today, that may be teetering on the edge of faith, dear
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God, that you would regenerate their heart, that you would make them new creatures, that you would be unto them that well of water that springs up into everlasting life, that you have given to us as your people.
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For it's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. If you would like to put a header on the top of your notes this morning, what
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I've put on mine, though I've changed it about four times, I thought and considered about titling this section,
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I was running, but my father -in -law would think about Forrest Gump the entire time if I did such a thing, so I don't want to confuse him.
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I thought about calling this a seven -mile run, and then I realized that it's a 14 -mile run that took place on this
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Easter Sunday, this first Easter Sunday, so we can't call it that. So I settled with this header, the glorified
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Christ abides with his people. The glorified Christ abides with his people.
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So as we pick up in verse 28, verse 28 makes a plain and a clear statement, so they drew near to the village to which they were going, and we can understand from the past several weeks where we've been reading in the text leading up to this moment.
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The crucifixion has taken place. Christ is atoned for the sins of the world. He has redeemed mankind from sin by his atoning sacrificial death on the cross, being and taking sin on our behalf.
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And, boy, oh, boy, if there was a song that we all – I believe that if we had a theme song at Reformata, that last song that we sung ought to be it right there.
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That was theologically astute. That was theologically rich.
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That was good theology in that song because it points us to our
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Christ. But what we have here, two of the disciples, Cleopas and the other unnamed disciple, are on their way to a town called
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Emmaus outside of Jerusalem, which is about seven miles from Jerusalem. And as they are journeying to Jerusalem, the risen
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Christ himself walks beside them. They begin to testify to Jesus about Jesus, which is pretty incredible right there.
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And as they begin to talk with Christ, the Scripture says here in verse 28, they begin to arrive at their destination in Emmaus.
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So there was a lot that took place on this first Easter Sunday. Amongst the gospel writers,
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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we can know with certainty this one fact that Jesus was raised from the dead.
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On that third day, and on this day, it was this day, this very day that they found the grave empty, that the disciples found themselves worried and doubtful for the bigger part of the day.
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For they had all seen many great and wonderful things. The Lord spoke to Mary as we have it in John's gospel there at the tomb.
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She, assuming him to be the gardener, said, where have they laid the body of my Lord? Didn't recognize
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Jesus. Jesus calls her by name Mary. Her eyes are open. She recognizes Jesus.
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Peter and John run to the grave, stooping in. They see the place where the body of Jesus had lain.
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The stone was rolled away. And the angel said, why do you seek the living among the dead? Why, here he is risen from the dead.
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So we see this. But they nevertheless were doubtful. They were worried. And I would say this, what we find here as we continue to read in Luke's gospel, we find that their doubts would soon be dispelled or done away with, and joy and certainty would rule their hearts eventually.
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Because they, like us, though they were apostles, they, like us, are human beings and are riddled with difficulty, doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, all of these things.
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But I thank God today that we have the word of God that teaches us not to be anxious, but to cast your cares on the
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Lord. Why? Because he cares for you. This is what the scripture says.
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So as we consider this, they drew near to the village. We might think about a question, a question that might be one of those questions that are seldom ever asked by our children.
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How many of you have ever taken a trip as a child or with a child? And you have to go any distance with these people.
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The question is typically this, are we there yet? But I believe that from the text here, we can infer that the surprise and the question on these two disciples' hearts when they reached
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Emmaus was just simply this, are we already there? Have we already arrived?
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Because they were with Christ and Christ had preached to them, beginning with Moses and all the preacher said about him.
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They were not in any hurry to get anywhere. They were not in a church house, so to speak, if you would have it imaginarily speaking there.
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They were not to Jesus. What a joy and what a privilege.
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And it's likely that this is the thought that was going through the two disciples' mind.
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Are we there yet? For seven miles, keep in mind this, for seven miles, they walked for seven miles.
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They talked in the latter portion of this journey was with Jesus. Not just Jesus.
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We're talking about the living word of God dwell with them.
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And he expounded and he taught the scriptures concerning what the scripture said concerning him.
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So let's make note here as we enter into the text, verse 28 and 29, note that we see a desire in these disciples, a desire in these disciples to have
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Christ stay with them. Oh, listen.
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When the one who loves your soul saves you, when the law was him.
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And so we see this, so they're not running from him, but their earnest desire is to be with Christ.
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We know this because the scripture says verse 29, they urged him strongly.
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When they arrived saying, stay with us. Why? Because the day is far spent.
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It was the practice of folks out there. And so we, we see this.
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It is here where we pick up in the text. It is here that as they drew near or better yet, as they arrived at their destination of Emmaus, that these two disciples found themselves in a very real sense.
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They found themselves sad. I mean, they were worried and they were doubtful, but here they are.
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Christ has come alongside them and he has expounded that. Then scriptures open to them, the scriptures.
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He has a boat taken up a boat with them. And now it's like they're sad.
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Please don't go away from us. I wonder today,
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Christian people, do you have this mind in you? You desire to miss day, but on Monday and on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and day and be desiring to be with cross.
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You desire to be with God's people. That is an indication of salvation.
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If you do not love the people of God, you need to, you need to see whether you are in the faith and I want to exhort you, encourage you and call you.
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If you are not desirous to be with the people of God, to repent, if you are safe, repent of your sin, draw near unto
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God, return to your first love was the message given to the church in Ephesus, in the book of Revelation, return to Christ.
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But their desire was not to be without Christ, but their desire was to have Christ with them.
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So we see this and they urge him, stay with us. Richard Sibbs said this bag of Christ.
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Likewise, that he would stay with us as they, as they in the gospel, when he made as if he would have gone forward from them, they constrained him to stay saying, abide with us.
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It wasn't a go or come if you want Jesus. It was, please let us stay or please stay with us.
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Receive went on to say this. He went on to say, so lay, we hold on Christ by the means of salvation.
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So we stay him with us by prayer and importunity. That means continual seeking of him, especially when the night of death and the error and the superstition comes.
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Sibbs went on to say, say this Lord, not as near. Stay with us.
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Depart, not from us. Lay a holy violence. This old Puritan said this, lay a holy violence upon God as Jacob did.
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Thou shalt not go. Hence is what Jacob declared as he wrestled the angel of the Lord, lay hold on him.
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Sibbs said by prayer and do not leave him until we have drawn virtue and got some blessing from him for he must be kept by in treaty is what the old preachers, how the old preachers put it.
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And we think about these things and we look to the biblical text in Genesis chapter 32,
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Genesis chapter 32 verses 24 through 30. This is what the word of God says concerning this account that was given by Jacob wrestling the angel of the
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Lord. Genesis chapter 32 beginning in verse 24 and reading through verse 30.
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This is what the word of God says here. And Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
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And when the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket and Jacob's hip socket was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
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Then he said, let me go. The angel, the man said, the angel said, let me go for the day has broken.
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But notice Jacob's response. Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me.
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And he said to him, what is your name? The man said to Jacob, what is your name?
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And he said, Jacob. Then he, the angel of the Lord said, your name shall no longer be called
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Jacob, but Israel for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.
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Then Jacob asked him, please tell me your name. But he said, why is it that you ask my name again?
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Some people say there are no dumb questions. This is an example of a dumb question.
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He said, and the angel said, he said, why is it that you asked my name? And there he blessed him.
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So Jacob called the name of the place. Peniel saying, for I've seen God face to face.
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And yet my life has been delivered in Mark's gospel.
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We have the, another account of this, this desire to be with Christ.
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This desire to abide with Christ in Mark's gospel, chapter five,
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Mark chapter five, verse 24 through 34.
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The scripture states this in Mark chapter five, verse 24 through 34.
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And he went with him. A great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years, who had suffered much under many physicians and it's been all that she had.
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And she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
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And we have it in the other gospel accounts as well. She said, if I can, but touch him, the hemp of his garment,
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I, she said, we'll be made well. And immediately the flow of blood dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
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And Jesus perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him immediately turned about in the crowd and said, who touched my garments?
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And his disciples said to him, you see the crowd pressing you. And yet you say, who touched me?
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And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman knowing what had happened to her came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
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And he said to her daughter, your faith has made you well go and in peace and be healed of your disease.
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She did not run from Christ. She ran to Christ. Her desire was to abide with Christ, to be with the one who is, who was and is the healer of her great disease, that disease of human beings.
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But Christ came to give the forgiveness of our sins.
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Again, we hear in the words of the psalmist. If you go to Psalm chapter 105,
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Psalm chapter 105 from the psalmist, we hear this, these words, this cry.
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Notice very carefully the statement that is made. The scripture says in Psalm 105,
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Oh, give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people.
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Here we have imperative commands. These are not suggestions. These are commands to be obeyed.
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Call on the name of the Lord. That is the call today to the lost.
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Call on the name of the Lord and you shall be saved.
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For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, the scripture states, shall be saved.
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Give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the peoples.
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That means to tell it forth. Sing to him. Sing praises to him.
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Tell of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name.
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Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Let the hearts of those who seek the
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Lord rejoice. Do not seek your joy. Do not seek your peace in the things of this world, but seek your joy.
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Seek your peace in Christ Jesus. For the peace that Christ gives is an everlasting peace.
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For the joy that brings life.
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Praise the Lord. Going on. Verse four. Seek the Lord in his strength.
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Seek his presence continually. Do you see the pattern here? Seek the
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Lord. Seek his presence. How often? Continuously. Always.
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Always seek the Lord. Remember the wondrous works that he has done.
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Remember his miracles. Remember his judgments that he uttered. Oh offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
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He is the Lord, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.
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He remembers his covenant forever. The word that he commanded for a thousand generations.
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The covenant that he made with Abraham. His sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statue to Israel, an everlasting covenant.
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So we see back to the text here. The disciples were seeking to abide with Christ.
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They were seeking to abide with Christ. Again, these words that we read in Psalm 105 are the very words that David declares in the book of First Chronicles chapter 16.
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As well, what we read in the words of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 of Isaiah.
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In Isaiah chapter 55 verses one through seven, we hear this call. Come. Everyone who's first.
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Come to the waters. And he who has no money, come by and eat.
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Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
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And the Lord declares, listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food.
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Incline your ear and come to me here that your soul may live.
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And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, covenant, which is my steadfast, sure love for David.
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Behold, I made him a witness to the people, a leader and a commander of the peoples.
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And behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know. And a nation that did not know you shall run to you because of the
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Lord, your God, and the Holy one of Israel for he has glorified you.
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And then he says, seek the Lord, seek the
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Lord, seek the Lord. While he may be found, he is near.
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Let the wicked forsake his way and let the unrighteous man, his thoughts, let him return to the
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Lord, that he may have compassion on him and to our
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God for he, for our God, he will abundantly pardon.
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So they sought to abide with Christ Spurgeon. Spurgeon shared a story in one of his sermons.
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And I thought how, how much more could this story of Spurgeon relate to folks within this congregation, within congregations around the world who, who want
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Christ, who desire Christ. And this story he told goes like this.
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Spurgeon said, I remember years ago visiting a woman whom I never could comfort until the time that she died.
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And then Spurgeon said, she died triumphantly. I said to her, why do you come to chapel for what is the good of it?
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If there is nothing there for you, because she said that she did not believe, but she said, no, she said,
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I still like to be there. If I perish, I will perish listening to the precious word.
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Oh, you need to know this today. A sinner unsaved by the grace of God will not desire the precious word of God.
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And if you desire the precious word of God, that is an evidence.
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But this old woman, she, she said she didn't believe she thought she could not have
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Christ Spurgeon. Ask her, why do you come? Because she said, I like listening to the precious word.
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And then Spurgeon asked her, why is it that you remain a member of the church? As you say that you are not a saved soul.
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Well, she said, I know I'm not worthy, but unless you turn me out, I will never go out for.
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I like to be with God's people. Does that sound like a lost lady to you?
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She loves the word. She loves God's people. She knows she ain't worthy and she ain't going to be turned away unless the preacher kicked her out of the church.
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So listen to what Spurgeon went on to say this. He said, uh, she said,
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I will never go out unless you turn me out for. I like to be with God's people. I desire to be numbered with them too, though I am not worthy or I have no hope.
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Spurgeon said, well, now I will give you five pounds. If you will give up your hope altogether.
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And Spurgeon said, he drew out his purse, five pounds.
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The woman said, and looked at me with utter horror. Spurgeon said five pounds. She would not give up worlds, but you have not got him.
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Spurgeon said in his whip. No, sir, I am afraid I have not got him, but I will never give him up.
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She may not. And you can know that Christ has you, because your heart is changed.
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Your mind is changed. Your desires are changed because you love
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God, because you love including his people.
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Verse 30, verse 30 says this. When he was at table with them, he took bread and he blessed it.
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He took bread and he blessed it and he broke it and he gave it to them. And their eyes were opened.
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Notice there, but let's stay with verse 30 for just a minute. Their eyes were open and they recognized him.
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J .C. Ryle said, we cannot explain this sudden revelation of Christ. It can't be naturally explained.
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There's not a, a scientific standard that says, this is what it looks like when
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Christ opens your eyes and you understand who he is. There's no way that I can explain in my heart, in my body, in my soul and march not to see when
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I got born again, but I can tell you this, though I can't explain it by science,
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I can tell you I know it is real. I know that I've been passed from death unto life because the
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Holy Spirit of God dwells in me. So this whole transaction
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Ryle said was so miraculous that we can only take the words as we find them and we must not waste time in attempting to define what is beyond our comprehension.
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But we should take time to comprehend what is within our comprehension.
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And that is the words that are used in that verse there. Notice there, when he was at table, he took bread, he took bread, he took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them.
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And then verse 31 says their eyes were open and they recognized him. Having their eyes open, the
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Greek word that's used there, the definition, it means to cause one to understand the thing.
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I've heard some folks will say it. I've heard the gospel preached a thousand times, but it wasn't until in that time that I understood it.
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It wasn't until that time that I knew that I was lost and I needed to be saved by sin.
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And it wasn't until that time that I was able to believe because it wasn't until that time that repentance and faith were granted unto you.
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Okay, verse 31. To touch momentarily on the statement of Luke here, we said that when Jesus disappeared from their eyes,
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I want to just make a mention here of another great doctrine, the doctrine of glorification.
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We think and talk or we talk a lot many times in passing about glorification, but notice what the scripture says.
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The scripture says their eyes were open and they recognize him and he vanished from their sight.
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So concerning this doctrine of glorification momentarily, as we touch on this, when
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Jesus disappeared from their eyes, we can learn a little bit about this and we begin to see a little glimpse of what glorified bodies will be like at the consummation of the ages.
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By the way, there are heretical teachers that for the last several years are teaching that Christians can walk through walls because Jesus did those things.
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If you try to walk through a wall, please get video. And send it to anybody you want in the church and we will share it around because all you'll do is bounce off the wall.
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Number one, because you ain't Jesus. And number two, because you ain't got a glorified body.
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But we see Jesus disappeared from their sight. This and other expressions concerning our
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Lord's risen body show plainly that it was a body in some wonderful way different from the common body of man.
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J .C. Ryle said it was a real material body, a true flesh and blood, but it was a body capable of moving, appearing, and disappearing after a manner that we cannot explain.
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Therefore, he won't say much more on that. Verse 32 through 35, as we're moving through the text, they said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us?
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While he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures. And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.
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Verse 33 says this, so they just spent seven miles walking to a place and they couldn't help but get up and run seven miles back to Jerusalem.
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Now listen, I know some of you may be super athletic, you may be good and like walking and running and run long distances.
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I cannot imagine running two miles in one day. I walk probably that many at Home Depot, but running in excitement, no,
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I can't imagine 14 miles. But this is what took place. This is what we have in the text of scriptures.
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Why? Because their heart burned within them. Their recognition of Christ led the disciples to a lively perception.
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I love this, how Calvin put this. The disciples were led to a lively perception of the secret and the hidden grace of the
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Spirit, which he had formerly bestowed upon them. For God sometimes works,
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Calvin says, in his people in such a manner that for a time they are not aware of the power of the
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Spirit, of which it's important to realize that they are not destitute of. Just because you don't feel the
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Holy Spirit don't mean that you're destitute of the Holy Spirit, because He lives and abides in you.
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He has promised never to leave us nor to forsake us. Calvin went on to say this, or at least that they do not perceive it distinctly, but only feel it by a secret movement.
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Now, I will say this. Certainly, certainly, certainly there are moments in our lives where the power of the
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Spirit is so evident in our present state and in our present condition that we cannot help but to express it, to weep, to rejoice, right?
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We see the overwhelming evidence of the overwhelming presence of the
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Spirit of God on both men, women, and children in the scriptures. We see this.
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We see this in the text of scriptures. We see it when David danced before the Lord. Again, not a principle.
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Dancing naked. You need to be in your home with the doors shut.
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Locked. Have a special light on the outside. Send a text message to all your buddies and family.
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I'm rejoicing in the Lord. Please don't come by. That is not a principle to be practiced by us.
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But it is a reality to get so beside ourselves in the Lord that we would do such a thing.
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We see David dance before the Lord. We see when Peter and John in Acts chapter 3 at the gate, beautiful, healed the man that was laying from his birth.
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And what did this man do? He jumped up. And we do see a principle of in the temple, this man rejoicing in the
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Lord. Why? Why? Because he had just been given the ability to walk. And he praised the
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Lord running and leaping. We see these examples like this. But next, let's notice this.
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The action that followed the events of these disciples. The action that followed the events. They got up.
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They found the eleven. They ran all the way back to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together and they said,
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The Lord has risen in thee. And they said this,
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Anne has appeared to Simon. There's a lot of commentary, several different ways going all over the place on that one little section there.
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I hold to the idea and the fact based on Simon already having been there and maybe them not putting stock in what
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Simon said. He could be one to speak maybe foot and mouth sometimes.
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Out of turn, so to speak. But they said we affirm it. Peter has seen the
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Lord because we have seen the Lord as well. So certainly we see this.
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They rose. They got up. They ran all the way back to Jerusalem. 14 miles in one day.
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In country terms, in country terms, I'm just going to put it this way.
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They had a fire lit up under them. They had a fire lit up under them that compelled them to do nothing else but giddy up and go to tell it.
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Words of love from above Jesus has brought to the world.
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Men from sin it shall win. Evil aside shall be hurled.
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Souls in need ever plead. Down in the lowlands of night.
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Let them hear words of cheer. Wonderful message of life.
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Tell it and sing it from day to day while you are passing along.
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Tell it to sinners who fall by the way. Spread it in story and song.
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It is the message of Jesus to men sent from the Savior above.
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Tell it and sing it again and again. Wonderful story of love.
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This is what they did. This is what they told. This was not a newly or cleverly reinvented story.
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This was the old old story. The story that our sins that he was crucified on a cross hung between the heavens and the earth that he took upon him the wrath that he hung his head that he bowed up to ghosts that he cried it is finished that he was taken down from the cross that he was put in a tomb where he now is alive and he lives forevermore.
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And next week, Lord willing, we're going to be looking at the ascension but let's finish where we're at in the text today.
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Notice that these men as so many in the church world are nowadays these men,
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Cleopas and this unnamed disciple were not scolded into evangelism. They were not made to feel less because they didn't win this many souls.
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All they knew was this that their soul had been won. Don't worry about keeping count.
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Don't worry about keeping a tally. Don't worry about putting... If souls are saved or souls are damned, glory be to God alone.
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So I am here reminded now as well the words of John.
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John chapter 4. John chapter 4. John chapter 4 verse 5.
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John chapter 4 verse 5. We see Jesus going through Samaria at Jacob's well.
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So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the field that Jacob had given to his son
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Joseph which was Jacob's well. So Jesus was wearied as he was from his journey was sitting beside the well and it was about the sixth hour a woman from Samaria came to draw water and Jesus said to her give me to drink for his disciples had gone away to the city to buy food.
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Now the Samaritan woman said to Jesus how is it that you being a Jew are asking me, a woman, excuse me, of Samaria for a drink for the
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Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. But Jesus answered her and he said this if you knew if you knew the gift of God and who it was that said to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.
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What is Christ saying? Seek me. Seek the Lord. Abide in Christ.
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Verse 11. The woman said to him sir, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep.
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Where do I get that? Where do you get that living water? And she began to reason are you greater than our father
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Jacob? He gave us the well and he drank from it himself as did his sons and his livestock.
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But Jesus reminded her Jesus said to her everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again.
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But whoever drinks of the water that I will give to him shall never thirst again.
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The water that I will give him you've heard me quote this twice today already will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
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The woman said to him sir, then give me this water. Give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.
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Jesus begins to convict her heart to let her know you must know today he knows your heart.
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He knows your mind. He knows your public sins as well as your secret sins.
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There is nothing to the Lord. Jesus said go call your husband and come here.
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The woman answered I have no husband. Jesus said to her you are right in saying this
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I have no husband for you have had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband.
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What you have said is true. The woman said to him sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
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Amen. Jesus is our prophet. He is our priest and he is our king.
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But this woman said our fathers worshipped on this mountain. Here we see the controversy that always came in among the
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Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews claimed that God was to be worshipped in Jerusalem.
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The Samaritans claimed that God was to be worshipped on Mount Gerizim there.
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But Jesus said you worship what you do not know and we worship what we do know for salvation is of the
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Jews. But Jesus said the hour is coming and now is.
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Why do you suppose this? Because salvation was there. The hour is coming and is now here when the true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and in truth.
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For the father is seeking such people to worship him. The woman said to him
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I know that Messiah is coming. He who is called the Christ and when he comes he will tell us all things.
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And Jesus said to her you are speaking to him. You talk of the
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Messiah. You are talking about the Christ. I that speak to you am him.
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Is what Christ said. So going on just a little bit further here.
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I that speak to you am him. Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman but no one said what you seek or why are you talking with her.
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They just kept their traps shut. So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said this come and see a man who told me all things that ever
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I did. She went, she proclaimed and she followed
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Christ. She was abiding with Christ. So last through the last little section here last little section verse 36 through 43 there in summary as we bring, come to a close here.
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Verse 36 we notice they were talking about these things. Jesus himself stood amongst them.
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So disciples make it back. They testify that they had been with Jesus.
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Jesus shows up with them and the others in that room and Jesus said to them, peace be to you.
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But they were startled and frightened and they thought they saw a spirit.
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We see true humanity here in them. And he said to them, why are you troubled?
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Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? And here we see a bit of the glorified doctrine of glorification in the body, the state of the body of glorification.
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Jesus said see my hands and my feet that it is I myself touch me and see is what
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Jesus said. And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet and while they still disbelieved but not now for fear but for joy while they disbelieved for joy and were marveling he said to them have y 'all got anything to eat?
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And so they gave him a piece of royal fish and he took it and he ate before them.
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Then he said to them these are my words that I spoke to you that while I was with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and the
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Psalms must be fulfilled. So it's important for us just on a doctrinal theological tidbit here to understand a little bit about the glorified body that our glorified bodies are not going to be ethereal bodies.
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We're not going to be spirits floating around on clouds playing harps. Right? You're not going to be an angel.
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You ain't an angel now and you won't be an angel then. But there was an article
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I just want to read a little bit of this as we move to close here. Back in 2010 there was an article on the
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Ligonier site and they spoke a little bit about the glorification.
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They said this, as God's revelation progressed, the Old Covenant people increasingly understood that the
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Feast of Trumpets was not given to them as simply an end in itself but as a foretaste of things to come.
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Just as God once summoned his people to Mount Sinai via trumpet to hear his voice and just as he summoned the people to the seventh month via the trumpet to hear his word in Genesis 22 so too would he sound the trumpet one last time and gather all the nations for judgment.
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That day would be a day of sorrow for unrepentant sinners but one of rejoicing for everyone who trusts in the
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Lord's promises, both Jew and Gentile alike. For the faithful, the
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Old Covenant saint, the rejoicing on the final day would include the resurrection of the dead.
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As it was inconceivable that God could let the bodies of his people rot in the graves forever the physical order as explains was very good in its original state when
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God made man. Therefore there is no reason for the creator to do away with his good creation at the final judgment.
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Instead the universe will be redeemed. Salvation, as one theologian has said, is not about getting a sparkly clean soul that floats around on the clouds of heaven playing harps for eternity but rather salvation is completed in the glorification of the believer's whole body so that redeemed men and women can live forever in the new heavens and the new earth.
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Those who sleep in the dust the book of Daniel says shall awake some to everlasting life and some to everlasting damnation.
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The resurrection of Jesus the resurrection of Jesus is proof that this final day is coming.
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He is the first fruits of those who have died in faith and the full resurrection harvest of his people is yet to come.
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Israel's hope in the feast of trumpets had begun to be fulfilled and now we wait only for the last trumpet blast and the final resurrection of all the dead.
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This day is coming for the apostle Paul said this, the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed.
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Because of the remaining presence of sin our bodies cannot stand before the
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Father and survive but when we are glorified we will be free from sin completely its presence will be eradicated and we will be able to survive the presence of our holy
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God and this as Charles Wesley said in a hymn, this is our greatest hope that we made like him like him we rise.
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So in closing Jesus said verse 47 that repentance for the forgiveness of sin should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem.
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So where did it start? Jerusalem. Where did it go?
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Judea and Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth until he comes.
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We do proclaim the Lord's death till he comes and we do proclaim the atoning sacrifice of Christ till he comes.
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We do proclaim the resurrection of Christ until he comes and next week
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Lord being our helper we will proclaim the ascension of Christ until he comes.
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And Jesus said behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.