The sermon this morning comes from Luke chapter 23, verses 13 through 25. Make that Luke 24. That's a typo. We would have all been very lost. That's Luke 24, starting with verse 13. This is immediately following the resurrection. It's stated and explained that it was the very day, the same day that Christ was raised. Luke chapter 24 starting with verse 13. And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. And he said to them, what are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking? And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to him, are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here these days? And he said to them, what things? And they said to him, the things about Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word, in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. but we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened, but also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find the body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. So some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said. But him they did not see. And he said to them, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. And as they approached the village where they were going, he acted as though he were going further. But they urged him, saying, Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. When he had reclined at the table with them, he took the bread, and blessed it, and breaking it, he began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. They said to one another, were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us? And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them saying, the Lord has really risen. He has appeared to Simon. They began to relate to each other the experience on the road and how he was recognized to them in the breaking of bread. Pray with me. Our Father, we thank You for showing Yourself to us. We thank You for the coming of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and we thank You for the opportunity to be taught by Him now. Bless us now as we give our hearts over to You. Please speak to us words of love. Please speak to us words of wisdom that together we will be blessed and we will be encouraged. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Want to go for a walk? Want to go for a walk? Sometimes you dread it when someone says that to you. You think, no, that's the last thing I want to do right now is go for a walk. Want to go for a walk? Sometimes we say, yeah, that would be great. I'd love to get outside. I'd love to do something other than just sit here. We look here and we see a very strange circumstance. And we could say a rather unique circumstance. Or is it a circumstance? that each of us face all the time. You want to go for a walk. It's funny, the idea of a disciple, if you explore the word, the idea of a disciple is someone who walks with, or someone who follows. We can look at our lives and ask the question, are we walking with Christ? Are we following Him? Are we with Him? I remind you that Jesus was called Emmanuel. God with us. God with you. the presence of Christ. We look at the scripture and we see that we are clearly taught and it's explained to us. We could run back to Psalm 85, 13 and see that God made Jesus' way, steps into a way in which we are to follow. We can remember when Jesus initially went to the disciples. So you could just point and say, you. Follow me. And they said, OK. And they would get up, and they would follow him. We can run to the end of the Gospel of John and look and see when Peter was making excuses and pointing at other people, Jesus said to him, what does that have to do with you? You, follow me. And it was a literal walking with him, not just a following the teachings of him. We look at our lives and each of us are actually in the place to look and to see the words of Christ, to see the ways in which he walked. And he explains to us that when we are walking in his ways, we are quite literally with him. that He is present in our lives. He tells us when He gives us the great commission to go make disciples, walking people, people walking with you, and He even says at that moment, and I am with you always, even to the end of the age. You and I have the blessing to be intentionally and actively walking with Christ. And this is your call to walk in your life with Him. Our first step is take heart because Christ himself comes to you. We look at verse 15, and this is very specific language that is being used here. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus, not just Jesus, but it says, Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them. You may say, but he doesn't do that for me. He's never come to my house, knocked on my door and said, let's go for a walk. But hasn't Christ come to you? Hasn't Christ spoken to you? And I submit to you, Christ is speaking to you in this moment. I myself am not Christ, but I have been given a specific calling to announce what Christ says to you. Last week a man said to me, he said, I like you, Micah. Why don't you just give up this preacher thing and come to my church? And I said, I have a specific sense of calling in my life. He said, good answer. There was a time in my life as I read through the Scriptures, specifically reading in the book of Hebrews chapters 10, it says, all those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how will they call upon Him in whom they haven't believed? And how will they believe Him whom they haven't heard? Romans 10, 14, How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him? Hear this specific language. It's not whom they've heard about. How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? As you come into the assembly, and as a person who has been ordained by God preaches, the scripture tells us you actually hear Jesus speaking to you. Ephesians 4, 20 and 21 use the same language. You did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him. Christ still speaks. Christ still speaks to you. To emphasize the point, 2 Timothy 3.16, all scripture, and some translations say, are inspired, a literal translation is, all scripture is breathed out by God. Christ also speaks to you actively in the Word. Christ speaks to you actively in the Scriptures. That's 2 Timothy 3.16. So Christ himself comes and speaks. I remind you of Matthew 18 20 where two or more are gathered together. I am there in their midst. Second Peter 1 19 gives us this instruction and teaches us also we have the prophetic word made more sure as Peter is talking about that he's talking about when he was on the mountain, the father speaks and says, this is my son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. And then when Peter is talking, he said, and you have the prophetic word even more sure, because we have the full revelation having been given to us. Jesus speaks to you. You are not left in this age and in this era of the church, in these last times, you are not left in a void where Jesus isn't showing up. We are in a place where we have all of the prophetic utterances given to us and Christ speaks to us. What's more, we have Christ's presence with the Holy Spirit. Romans 8, 9 through 11. Because some of us will make the argument, Jesus isn't here and he's not holding my hand. Jesus isn't here to give me a hug. Jesus isn't here meeting those needs. But listen here from Romans 8, 9 through 11. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you, what's more intimate? A hug or a spirit, the Spirit within you? That is more intimate than a hug. That's more intimate than someone holding your hand and being with you. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But, if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life. because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you. Christ is present. Christ is nearer to you than any person ever can be. Christ fills you as you love Him, as you trust Him, as you are relying on Him. Now, we have our objections. We certainly will. Because we live in the flesh. And this brings us to our second point. Our second step is press against the boundaries of the flesh. Because we do want a hug. We do want someone to hold our hand. We do want someone near to us. But we see these boundaries in verse 16, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 2 Corinthians 4.4 says, in whose case, talking about the unbelieving, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the mind of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. We look and we see that there are boundaries that are present. There are things that make us doubt. There are things that make us weak. There are things that keep us from moving forward because the flesh wants what it wants. But we are to be in that place where we are not those people who are relying on what we see as much as on what we have been told. what we have been told by Christ. And we're not a people who rely on just what we feel, but a people relying on what we are told by Christ. We're putting off these boundaries of the flesh that hold us back so much. Boundaries of doubt, boundaries of seeing. And we pray together in order to overcome the flesh. Ephesians 119, hear the heart of Christ towards you as it was the heart given to Paul. Paul said, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glories of his inheritance in the saints. Can you hear that for yourself, that that is Christ's heart towards you, that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. As you and I are longing for those things of the flesh and the comforts of the flesh, we run back again to Romans 8-9. You, however, are not in the flesh. but in the spirit. This is the place to which we are brought in Christ Jesus. That hope of eternal life, that hope, that expectation, even of eternal comfort, that Jesus himself is God actively present with us. Our next step, number three, is pray without ceasing. I bring this to you and I offer it to you based on verse 17 here. And he said to them, what are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking? They describe, don't you know these things that have taken place? And verse 19, Jesus says, what things? Very strange scene here. It's beautiful, and I find it entertaining. Jesus had just been crucified. Three days earlier, counting inclusively, he had actively been tortured and murdered. Next thing you know, he's walking down the road, and his buddies are talking about him. He says, hey, what are you talking about? They said, these horrible things have happened. This guy that was just murdered and crucified says, what things? What things? What does that mean? It means Christ is very interested in your meditations and your thoughts. Christ is very interested in your concerns and your fears. He knows what's going on in your life, and he says, tell me anyway. And even when you say, it's all these things, he looks at you and says, what things? As in, tell me. Speak to me. I am interested. I am concerned about you, your mind, your heart, the things that are troubling you. This is why he walks with you. He says, let's go for a walk. Let's go talk. I have found it a great comfort when I go for a walk in the woods, in the wilderness, with no other agenda other than to talk to Christ. That is a beautiful and comforting place to be. Jesus himself would also often retire in the wilderness simply to pray, to go and to talk to his Father. 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 and 17. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. It's not because He needs informed about you, but it's because He cares about you. He knows it does you good to talk about your heart, to talk about your concerns, to talk about where you are and where you would like to be. We see that as they walked along, they were still missing it, and he didn't leave them in this void. Eventually, he comes around to bless them and to help them to understand by speaking to them. Not a new revelation, which is pretty exciting. What he specifically gives them is what they have already received. The Old Testament. He runs through the scripture that they had already received, and he explains himself through Moses and all of the prophets, showing them the truth. Pray without ceasing because he cares and he wants to listen. Our next step, number four, is be quick to believe. Let's look at verse 25. And he said to them, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. They were in this tangled place and they were in this confusing place. They were in a place of expectations that so far had been unmet. Anyone here relate to that? I was describing to one of my sons this past week that expectations are the heart of all disappointment. And I asked, did you know that? And he said, no, and I don't think I want to. But they had their expectations. They thought things were going to go a specific way. They thought Christ was gonna pull out this big old sword and do his thing, and they were gonna charge along right next to him in the place of a victory in that moment. The victory was accomplished. He did call out, it is finished. The work and the power of Satan was conquered and undone. But that wasn't what they were looking for. But we look and we see that he is giving something better than what they were looking for. Not the slaughter of nations, but the salvation of nations. The good news, the rescue for the lost to be brought and to be being unfolded as we look now and as we see for centuries. The gospel being brought into all lands and people being saved. As he spoke to them, there was still a bit missing. There was still a bit lost. But he began and he revealed himself to them. In the breaking of bread, I'm not gonna make too strong of a connection at that point with the sacraments, but the sacraments are a real thing. The Lord's Supper is a real thing. He communicates his love to us and together we announce the Lord's death till he comes as we participate in the Lord's Supper together. He blesses us and he helps us. We see in verse 31 what took place. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And at that moment, he vanished from their sight. We see that as they looked back at what had been taking place, they talked about their hearts burning within them. And when was that? Specifically in verse 32, while he was explaining the scriptures to us. Now, again, I don't think I'm Jesus, and I don't want you to think of me as Jesus. But I do want you to recognize that as you're hearing the word preached, Christ is talking to you. Christ is explaining the scripture. And I invite you to think rightly about that enough that your hearts would burn within you. that you could say, Jesus is indeed giving me what I need. I've been talking to a very sad, isolated Christian recently who has no church that she feels that she can go to in good conscience, and I tried to describe to her and explain to her, even in the worst sermon, If it's based on scripture or scripture is read, you can glean some good fruit from around the edges. Even if I'm not specifically the preacher that you would want or preach in exactly the way that you want, hear what I'm saying, what you want, I would expect you would be able to glean enough good to nourish your soul, to spur you on in love and in good deeds as Christ does indeed explain the scripture in every sermon. Our next step, we see the beautiful place to which this takes them. This is our fifth step, which is be with the church. I'm not going to pound this too hard, but we see in verse 13 that it was that very day. We continue on seeing the church assembled on the first day of the week. Verses 33 through 35, and they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the 11 and those who were with them, saying, the Lord has really risen. and has appeared to Simon. They began to relate their experiences on the road and how he was recognized by them by the breaking of bread." Where did this bring them? This brought them into the assembly of believers on the first day of the week where they are discussing Christ. Where they're discussing their own experience with Christ. Where they are discussing the resurrection. Isn't that beautiful? And isn't that perfect? We sang Psalm 122, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. That we would be assembling together and that we would be talking about Christ. A few other passages, Acts 27, I didn't give you last week. On the first day of the week when they were gathered together to break bread. We see the work of the church in Hebrews 10, 24, that we are to be spurring one another on in love and in good deeds. And in verse 25 it says, not forsaking the assembling of themselves together. There is this expectation that Christ meets with us in a specific way when we are assembled together in the name of Christ. We're with Him. He is with us. He speaks to us, He leads us, He teaches us, He gives us those words that as we sang about in Psalm 19, we're to regard as and understand as sweeter than honey, as warning and direction for our souls, making us wise, reviving our hearts, enlightening us and giving us eyes to see. It all pulls together into the beautiful assembly and the presence of Christ who has loved us. With each sermon, he says to you, let's go for a walk. You, follow me. We have our reasons. We have our excuses. There's people that we can point to and say they hinder us or they would keep us away. Look at the hypocrites in the churches. And Jesus responds, what does that have to do with you? You, follow me. And it's in love that he brings us along. It's in love that he speaks to us. It's in love that he shows us the pathways of eternal life, even abundant life. You, walk with him. Pray with me. Father, we thank you. for speaking to us. We thank You for showing us Your loving kindness and Your grace. We thank You for the riches that You give us in Your Word. Please help us to ever set You before our spiritual eyes and we pray that You will open our eyes, that we will see beautiful things in Your Word and that You will be glorified. as we labor, as we work, as we put forth an effort to make our calling and our salvation sure, as we follow your Son, Jesus Christ, as we love Him, as we rejoice in Him, as we listen to Him. It is in His name that we pray. Amen.