with that. Let's turn to the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke in the chapter 24. I'm going to read tonight the longest record of one of the resurrection appearances of Christ. There were five of them on the very first day when Jesus was raised from the dead. The early morning prayer meeting, we were thinking about Mary Magdalene, unto whom the Lord appeared first. We heard that tonight also in the cantato choir. I'm going to read about the two on the road to Emmaus. Let's hear the word of the Lord, Gospel of Luke, the chapter 24, verse 13. Behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus. which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as you walk and are sad. And the one of them whose name was Cleopas, answering, said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? He said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty indeed, and word before God, and all the people, how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and have crucified Him. But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our own company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher. And when they found not His body, They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said, but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went. And he made as though he would have gone further, but they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and break, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? We'll end the reading at verse What did Moses say about Christ? That's the question that I want to ask this evening, and my text is found in verse 27. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. They walked with heavy hearts. They were evidently sad and distressed. Their faith was weak and faltering. Their hopes were dashed and their hearts despondent. But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Oh, Jesus had said He would rise again. He spoke about the third day, but we have not seen the evidence for His resurrection, despite the report of the women that had gone early that morning to the sepulchre and found not the body of Jesus, but spoke of seeing angels who said He was alive. Oh, the poor disciples, slow of heart to believe the things that the prophets had foretold. So these men concluded that the reports were rumors, and they walked with heavy and sad hearts. But Jesus himself drew near. I like that text. I like what that verse is saying, not only right in the context here and how meaningful it is to these men, but what that text is saying to all of the Lord's people tonight, ought to know the presence of Christ. to feel Him near, to sense that He's walking beside us in the journey. How often we need to remind ourselves of this wonderful reality, irrespective of our circumstances, that the Lord is there. Jesus not only drew near, but He spoke to them. He had a word, a word in season, a word of counsel. Indeed, a word of rebuke, but also a word of enlightenment and encouragement. He was interested in their dilemma. He was interested in the sorrow of their hearts, as the great high priest he felt for them. He was all compassionate. Now, they didn't know him at the start of the journey. They didn't sense his nearness and his presence, for their eyes were holden that they should not know him. However, at the end of the journey, after his words of counsel and cheer, they testified. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way and while He opened to us the Scriptures? Let us be careful in our conversations. Malachi, the prophet, tells us, then they that feared the Lord speak often one to another. And what was the topic of their conversation? These believers that spoke to each other, the topic was Christ. How do I know that? Because Malachi tells us that these believers feared the Lord and they sought upon His name. It is to be feared that the Lord is not feared today, that the Lord is not loved, that He is not sought upon, that He is not spoken about. One of the great things that brings intense joy and happiness to the Lord's people, especially in the hard times, is Christ. And speaking about Christ, meditating upon Him, it was when Jesus Himself grew near and went with these men in the journey and talked to them about Himself, expounding the truths about His person and work, that their hearts burned, that they were filled with an immense sense of joy. Dean Thurman Wisdom of Bob Jones University, in the foreword that he writes to Michael Barrett's book, Beginning at Moses, referring to the heartburning sensation of Cleopas and his companion, said, these words sadly depict an adventure rarely experienced by Christians today. I would ask you, believer, tonight, when was the last time that your heart burned within you? I'll be honest tonight, in the presence of God, when you had this sensation within your soul, as the Lord Himself drew near, spoke to you, counseled you, spent time with you in sweet fellowship, when your heart burned within you. Is it because we fail to talk about the Savior? Is it because we fail to glory in His work, to meditate upon His life, death, resurrection, and the glorious doctrines of His person? Is it due to the fact that much of our conversation is cold and of a critical nature, full of despondency and dejection? Our hearts are not set on Christ, nor the glory of His person and His work. When the two disciples on the Emmaus road began their seven-mile journey, it hardly seemed likely that they would have a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. Their journey at the beginning must have been a drudgery. Just a week ago, their faith was vibrant and enthusiastic. They heard that Jesus had informed the twelve disciples that He would be killed, but that He would rise again, and He would rise again on the third day. That very morning, they received reports about an empty tomb and a risen Savior, but none of these things seemed to be real to them. In fact, they were so filled with sorrow and doubt that they had begun to journey home on the very day that Jesus said He would rise again. What about you tonight? Do you believe? Do you know with certainty in your soul that Jesus is alive? Do you walk in the presence of the living Christ? Do you talk often about Him? Do you listen often to Him? Does your heart burn within you? The passage, among other things, exposes a deep-seated problem which lingers often in the hearts of God's people to this very day on belief, slow-heartedness, foolish dismay and sorrow. But the passage also declares the answer to the need, to the very need of our hearts and It's a Christ-centered study of Scripture which speaks so vividly and powerfully about our wonderful Savior. It's to get our eyes on Christ, the resurrection, the risen Savior who dwells with us and in us and is our constant companion and friend along life's narrow way. And so, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, Jesus expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. You see, here's the answer. Here's the solution. Here is true satisfaction. This will give you a spiritual heartburn that will bring blessing and encouragement in any journey. As we think of Moses and the prophets, we could look at Christ in so many ways. We could look at Christ in His person. The Old Testament speaks a lot about the person of Christ. We could look at Christ in His names, in His offices, in His work, in His parables, in His song, in the prophecy given about Him. We could also look at Christ in the pictures. And I just want to briefly This evening, contemplate with you some of the glorious pictures presented to us in the Pentateuch. That's the first five books of the Bible, those books that were written by Moses, and so beginning at Moses. I want to expound unto you some great truths about Christ, praying that you will be stirred in your heart, that you will be enlightened, that you will be drawn closer to Him, and dear unsaved man or woman or young person in this meeting, that these views of Christ in the books of Moses will so move your heart even to seek Him tonight as your Savior. I want you to think, first of all, as we come to this wonderful subject tonight of Christ, who is the heel that bruises Satan's head. Do you not think it's a possibility that the Lord spoke to these disciples about the very first promise that the Bible speaks about of the coming Savior? The proto-Evangel, the first promise of the Savior, Genesis 3 and verse 15. This is what the Word of God tells us. The Lord is speaking now to the serpent, to the devil. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. It was a dark moment in the history of our world when our first parents fell from their holy estate. When they rebelled against their maker, disobeying the very clear-cut command that he had given. As by one man, Adam's sin entered into the world, God in infinite love provided all good things necessary for the enjoyment, satisfaction, and eternal happiness of man, right there at the beginning. Adam was given life. He was given health. He was given strength. He was given righteousness. He was given authority and dominion. He was given a beautiful home, a lovely wife. He was given food and shelter. He was given friendship and fellowship with God himself. He was given everything that was very good because God's creation is called very good. He was given one command, thou shalt not. But Adam disobeyed and he sinned. And now he became a sinner, liable to death, not only physical death and spiritual death, but eternal death in hell. He was under condemnation. He was separated from God. However, in the midst of the darkness, disobedience, and doom, God gave a promise of mercy and salvation. Speaking to the serpent, he said, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, thou shalt bruise his heel. And I think tonight that I can hear Jesus speaking to Cleopas and his friend, the Messiah, The one that you've been talking about, the one that was crucified here in Jerusalem just a few days ago, the Messiah is that heel of which Moses speaks. My father was speaking of him. He will crush and destroy the power of Satan in his finished work when his heel is bruised. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities, and here indeed is the victory. Here is the true power over our enemy. Here is the way of salvation. Christ, the victorious Savior, He was manifested in this world, says John in 1 John 3 and verse 8, that He might destroy the works of the devil. And He did that. Ultimately, He did that upon the cross, and there upon the cross of Calvary, Satan's power was crushed, destroyed, but the Savior's heel was bruised. I think the Lord brought them to this first promise. Very likely that the Lord also talked about Christ is the Isaac upon Mount Moriah. It leads us to Genesis 22. We cannot fully fathom the trial of Abraham's faith in this test of all tests, when the patriarch was commanded by God to, "'Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of.'" with implicit obedience. Abraham set out immediately early the next morning on his three-day journey. With weary steps he climbed the brow of Moriah's hill with his dearly begotten and beloved son Isaac. Isaac carried the wood upon his shoulders. Abraham took the fire and the knife. It was in the mind of this father, this earthly father, that his son must die. Now, Abraham believed in the resurrection. He believed that Isaac would be raised, even though he would slay him. But Abraham knew, I must take this knife. I must kill my son. As Isaac climbs the hill, he looks around him. He begins to wonder. He has a very pertinent question to ask. My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham could not bring himself at this particular moment to answer Isaac directly concerning Isaac being that lamb, the offering that must be made. But he did proclaim one of the greatest prophetic statements of all Old Testament history, my son God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went, both of them, together. Do we not hear the Savior on the Emmaus Road as He begins at Moses and expounds the Scriptures? The Father has a dear Son, His only Son, whom He has loved from all eternity, and He was destined to climb Moriah's hill, and the fire of divine wrath was to fall upon Him. and the knife of divine justice was to be plunged into his heart. Moses is pointing to God's provision of a lamb. He himself will provide a lamb for the offering, and that happened three days ago in the person of Jesus. How true this is! When Christ, the only begotten of the Father, was led as a lamb to the slaughter, was brought to the hill called Mount Calvary and there offered in a sacrificial offering for sin. Jehovah bade his sword awake, O Christ, it woke against thee. Thy blood the flaming blade must slake, thy heart its sheath must be. I say unto you tonight that gather here, look away to God's Isaac. Upon the altar of sacrifice, taking the place of sinners and suffering in their stead. I think in my mind and heart that Jesus talked to these two about that scene in the Old Testament, Abraham taking Isaac and said, you know, that's the cross. That's where the Lord Jesus died. Very likely also that he spoke to him about Christ being the Lamb. whose blood was shed for salvation. Bringing us to the next book of the Bible, the book of Exodus and the chapter 12. Oh, the symbol of the lamb. Here, of course, in chapter 12, it's the Passover lamb. But this beautiful symbol, probably the most vivid, explicit, instructive picture of Christ in Old Testament times. And of course, the Jews were familiar with this. Abel's lamb, Abraham's lamb, and now here in Exodus 12, the Passover lamb. The judgments of God have been falling upon the land of Egypt for many days now. We come to the tenth and the final plague. All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the least to the greatest, from the pauper to the prince. The immensity of the grief will bring, as the Scripture tells us, a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it anymore. But God promised to make a difference. between His people and the ungodly Egyptians. And what was that difference? It was the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Passover Lamb. Moses instructed the congregation of Israel to take each home a Lamb, a perfect Lamb. one without blemish, and kill it. Oh, the blood had to be shed. Take the blood, says the Lord, and strike it in the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses wherein they shall eat it. It is the Lord's Passover." And then God says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And hence the Passover lamb. New Testament makes it plain that Christ is our Passover Lamb. Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. And I hear the Lord proclaim to these two weary disciples in their journey, this record in the book of Moses is pointing to another In the fullness of time, in that moment appointed by God in His eternal purpose, the Passover Lamb came. Do you see this, Jesus? Over which you now mourn, He is that Lamb, the perfect Lamb, the spotless Lamb of God. He was taken and killed. Remember the cross, Jesus would tell these men. By faith, the blood of the cross is applied to hearts and lives. It's a covering for sin. When I see the blood, I will pass over you." See this wonderful picture? Isn't it very possible that the Lord talked to these two about the Passover lamb and reminded them about the cross upon which he had recently died? Now, I could talk to you tonight about Christ the manna sent down from heaven in Exodus 16. I could talk to you about Christ, the water from the flinty rock in Exodus 17, but I want to hasten quickly to my final point. What did the Lord talk to these men about, beginning at Moses? It's very likely that He spoke of Christ, the brazen serpent, in the midst of the camp, Numbers 21. Beginning at Moses, he expounded unto them the things concerning himself. And it may very well be likely that he took them by the way of the Red Sea, when they came to encompass the land of Edom. We read of how the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way." That can happen, you know. It can still happen to God's people today. You can get much discouraged because of the way. It's how we react to the discouragements of life that are all-important. We can either, on the one hand, act with godly submission, and we can say, Thy will be done. We can say, God give me grace to bear the hard way. We can look away to the Lord and we can say, guide me, O thou great Jehovah, in the midst of this circumstance. Or, on the other hand, we can face the problems of life by carnal dissatisfaction and complaint, questioning the providence and the purpose of God in fleshly murmurs. Well, that's exactly the way that Israel did in Numbers 21. The Scripture tells us that the people speak against God. And against Moses, wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread," referring to the manna which was God's provision, and they were looking down upon God's provision. The anger of God is provoked. Understand this. And he sent fiery serpents among the people. You know the story, don't you? People died. People were dying. All around Moses, the people of Israel were dying. So Moses prayed, did the right thing. He interceded on behalf of the people. God instructed Moses in his mercy to raise up in the midst of the camp a brazen serpent. He said, make a brass serpent, put it on a pole. and proclaim in the camp of Israel to those that are dying, if you look to the brass serpent, you'll be healed. Look and live. At the beginning of our Lord's ministry, in conversation with Nicodemus the Pharisee, Jesus led that dear man to the cross, and he spoke about this very history in the Old Testament in Numbers 21. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." And it's very, very possible that Jesus pointed the Emmaus travelers to this very scene and reminded them of what Christ had said at the beginning of His ministry to Nicodemus. The Christ who was crucified three days ago is that brazen serpent of the wilderness. God is angry against sin and sinners every day. But provision is found, and so found in the lifting up of Christ upon the cross, and men and women must look to Him by faith if they are to be saved and not perish. You see, that's the message of the gospel. I believe these were the kind of truths that Jesus spoke about that day when Jesus himself drew near, and beginning at Moses, he expounded on to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. The books of Moses and the prophets and many other parts of the Old Testament speak so vividly of Christ and his great work. I wonder tonight as we have joined these men and in this little while at the end of the service we've walked with them, we've looked at these possibilities of what the Lord might have said to them. Has your heart been stirred? Has your soul been touched? In your journey tonight, in your travels, I wonder do you know Christ? Has He come alongside you tonight? Has He been revealing Himself to you? Has He been showing you at this Easter time, I'm the Savior? I'm the one who has gone to the cross. I have been made the sacrifice for sin. I have given my life that you might be saved. And I am the resurrection and the life for I myself on the third day was raised to life again. Do you know the living Savior? The one who's coming again in power and glory one day to receive unto himself his people. Are you in Christ? Oh, I trust that he's drawn near in your journey and he's gone with you this little time. And I trust that something of the burning of the heart has been felt in your soul. Even this day as we've listened to the choir and we've been brought to consider Christ in the Word. If you're not saved, this is a good day to come to Christ. Know the resurrection power of the gospel, and know Christ as your Redeemer. We're here to help a minister pointing the way to the Savior. It's Christ that you need. May you come to Him. Let's pray. Lord, we thank thee for this resurrection account. dear Savior who joins the two sad and weary disciples in the road to Emmaus. We thank Thee that He talked to them about Himself and those things that they were discussing that had happened in recent days. The Lord was saying, this is the Messiah, this is the Savior, this is the one that Moses spoke about and the prophets foretold that would come into the world. This is Jesus. This is Christ who was crucified three days ago. Lord, we thank Thee when they heard these wonderful things that there was joy in their heart and there was that heart-burning sensation to be found. O God, speak to us. Keep us near the cross. Keep us living near to the Christ who has risen. Every day may we walk in His companionship. And Lord, for those that know not the Savior in this meeting, draw them by grace and with irresistible power to trust in His redeeming work. For Jesus' sake. Amen and Amen. Now we're going to sing this glorious hymn in conclusion. The choir will come, take their seats and lead us in the singing. Come forward. God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. ♪ God sent his Son ♪ ♪ With all the nations ♪ ♪ He came to judge ♪ ♪ He had no name ♪ ♪ He came to judge ♪ ♪ With all the darkness ♪ ♪ And we praise Him who our Savior is ♪ ♪ Because He lives, I can praise Him all the world ♪ ♪ Because He lives, our praise will never end ♪ ♪ You'll be risen next time ♪ ♪ And life is worth living for ♪ ♪ Because it is ♪ ♪ I'll see you, Lord ♪ ♪ Happy or painful ♪ ♪ I'll see you, Lord ♪ Because it is. Because it is. Because it is. Because it is. Because it is. Because it is. Because it is. Because He lives. And in the day I cross the river, I'll find my God. I've seen the light of glory, and I know He lives. He calls, He lives. I'm amazed with all His glory. Because I know, I know He holds the future, And life is worth living just because He lives. And everybody say it. Amen. And shout it. Hallelujah. You may be seated just for a moment. Phil, would you come and just lead us in a wee word of prayer again, brother, as you come? I want you to remember Douglas and his family in prayer. Douglas is the husband of the young woman who died this morning. And just before we come into the service tonight, I got a text from our sister Noreen to see if I would be able to come and preach at the funeral. So I will have to try and get away first thing in the morning, maybe through the night, and be back just in a few days' time. The funeral's on Tuesday. I would appreciate your prayers even at this time for Douglas, his children, and the family circle, and the work of God in Uganda. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank Thee that Thy Spirit has been felt and known even in this service this evening. Truly we can say that God has been here and he's been here to bless his people. And Lord, we do again pray for those who know not they that this might be the very night where they will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and be gloriously and wonderfully saved. Lord, we do think of Douglas in Uganda. Lord, we just uplift our brother before thee. Lord, we don't know the blueprint of God in relation to all these matters. Lord, we believe that thou art sovereign and thou art in control in the affairs of men. and that all things can work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. And so we just pray for our brother and his family, that he may know the comfort of God, that you'll give him the oil of joy for mourning, the garments of praise for the spirited heaviness, And as our pastor would travel on the morrow to take that funeral service, we pray that thou wilt give our brother Jenny and Mercies, that he might bring a word in season to all those who will gather for that funeral service. Grant that they might consider the brevity of life and the certainty of death. And so Lord, we just commend him to thee that thou will go before him, prepare the way and bring him back safe and sound to the fellowship here we pray. Now Lord, we thank thee for the food that has been provided. We pray that thou will bless it to our bodily use and hallow our fellowship together. Bless us in thy service. For we ask these things in the Saviour's precious and in his worthy name. Amen.