1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,800 Today's sermon is entitled The Road to Emmaus. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:07,960 And essentially, it's a story about a road trip 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:12,000 and how Jesus interrupts somebody's road trip. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:13,320 We're gonna get to that in just a moment. 5 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,680 Before we do, I gotta point out, in the back of the room, 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,840 there is this giant Christmas present. 7 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,800 And it says, can you read the tag? 8 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:25,160 What does it say on the tag? 9 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:26,840 What does it say? 10 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,280 Yeah, it says, do not open until Christmas. 11 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,240 But I don't think that's a good idea. 12 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:33,120 I like to open presents ahead of time. 13 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:34,160 How many of you are with me? 14 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:35,400 How many of you believe we should? 15 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,240 Amen, that's right. 16 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,080 Open presents, so we're going to, not today, 17 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,040 but we're going to on Christmas Eve. 18 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:43,400 You see, at Southern Hills, 19 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,920 we have four Christmas Eve services. 20 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:51,320 We have one on Christmas Eve, 8.30, 10 o'clock, 11.30, 21 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,120 and then in the evening at 6 p.m. 22 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,480 And there are all four of these services, 23 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:57,960 are exactly the same service. 24 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,880 And we want you to make plans on attending 25 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:02,680 one of those four services, even now. 26 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:04,160 Which service will you attend? 27 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,880 Inside of your, or right on your chair, 28 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:08,880 you have this card, and this card 29 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:10,800 is your reminder about that service. 30 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,920 But not only for you, you can take this card, 31 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,680 and you can give it as an invitation to somebody 32 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,080 that you know, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, 33 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,000 a relative, especially if you're a follower 34 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,840 of Jesus Christ here today. 35 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:27,920 Any followers of Jesus, if you are, say amen. 36 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,600 There's somebody that God might be putting 37 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,720 on your heart right now, 38 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,440 that you're supposed to bring to Christmas Eve. 39 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,360 Who is the individual that you're supposed 40 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:39,840 to give this card to? 41 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,880 Would you take that, put it away, somewhere safe? 42 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,280 And then this week, give them the card 43 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:45,760 and let them know which of the four 44 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,840 Christmas Eve services you're going to go to, 45 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,360 because on that day, we are going to be opening this, 46 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,960 and inside of this is the actual, 47 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,600 visually, the concept, the idea, 48 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:58,200 that we're going to be talking about 49 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,520 on Christmas Eve from my lesson. 50 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,560 On Christmas Eve, it's called Unwrapping Joy, 51 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:05,880 and we're going to share with you 52 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,240 how you can unwrap joy, 53 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,480 not just during the Christmas season, but all year long. 54 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,160 Hey, very quickly, also tomorrow evening, 55 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,680 for those who don't know, there's a special event 56 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,280 here right here at the church. 57 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,440 It's called Israel, an update from the Holy Land. 58 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,200 And if you're interested in being a part of that meeting, 59 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,680 that's tomorrow evening right here at 6 p.m. 60 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,640 We want to encourage you to come to that 61 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,360 if you feel that you're supposed to come to that meeting. 62 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,080 Let's go ahead and open in prayer 63 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,720 and ask God to bless the reading of His word, 64 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,140 as well as the study of Scripture today. 65 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:43,560 God in heaven. 66 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,880 Today, we arrive at one of my favorite Bible stories. 67 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,120 It's a favorite Bible story among many, 68 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:53,920 but it's one that is not often studied 69 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:55,080 in a church setting. 70 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,040 And so God, I pray that you would give us grace 71 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,800 and help us as we do study this passage 72 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:01,560 so that those who don't know the story today 73 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,560 can learn it and understand it 74 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,960 and maybe even apply it to their lives. 75 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,280 And for those who have studied this story, 76 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,920 I pray, Lord, that you would bring us the encouragement 77 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:14,800 of anticipation that you desire for all of us to carry, 78 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,140 about not only this life, but the hope of the life to come. 79 00:03:19,140 --> 00:03:20,840 So God, as you have filled this place 80 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:21,960 with your holy people, 81 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:26,040 and you have filled this place with your holy spirit, 82 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:28,880 I pray that you would fill my mouth 83 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:33,020 with your holy scriptures so that we can study 84 00:03:33,020 --> 00:03:35,840 and help the people who have come 85 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,160 in the name of Jesus Christ we pray. 86 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:40,560 Amen. 87 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,800 A road trip interrupted. 88 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:47,320 Have you ever had a road trip interrupted 89 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,080 that you did not plan on? 90 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,440 And then suddenly it changed the projection 91 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,440 of everything that that trip was supposed to be. 92 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,200 Such was the case for my wife and I, Heather. 93 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,600 My wife and I were married back in 2001, June of 2001, 94 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:03,680 and this is what we look like. 95 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,240 It was a long time ago, as you can tell, 96 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,160 my hair was a different color. 97 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,240 I now have gray hair, and you might say, 98 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:11,480 why do you have gray hair? 99 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,800 And the answer is, you people. 100 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:18,800 You gave me my gray hair over the last 19 years. 101 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,120 19 years, but back in 2001, 102 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:25,080 we were freshly minted, new married couple, 20 years old. 103 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:26,680 Who gets married at the age of 20? 104 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:27,920 It'll never last. 105 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:29,920 And sure enough, there we were, 106 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,480 got married at the age of 20 here in Las Vegas. 107 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:33,960 And my family is from here, 108 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:34,920 that's why we got married here, 109 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,320 and then I had gotten an internship at a church 110 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,280 because I was already studying for ministry, 111 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:40,200 and so was Heather. 112 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,080 We were gonna go into the pastoral ministry, 113 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,080 and we got an internship at another church across town. 114 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:47,880 Now it was great how I got that internship. 115 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,640 My dad's the pastor, it's called Nepotism, amen. 116 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:55,200 And so I had that summer internship the entire summer, 117 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,440 and after the summer, about eight or nine weeks, 118 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,120 I had to go back to Florida 119 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:00,640 because my wife had a job there, 120 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,320 and I had one last year of college to finish 121 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:04,680 before I could come back out here 122 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,280 and be on staff at that church, 123 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:08,280 and then become a pastor of my own 124 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:10,840 here in the Southwest part of town. 125 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:13,160 So we're driving back, 126 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,520 and our mind is filled with all of the things 127 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:17,680 that we have to do. 128 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,240 We only married for eight weeks, 129 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,760 and it was a road trip in the year of 2001, 130 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:24,440 which means with all of the things 131 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:25,520 that we had to get back to, 132 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,400 the stress of starting the new job for Heather, 133 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:30,600 of getting to register for my classes, 134 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,120 buying the books, making sure our apartment, 135 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:33,960 which was brand new, 136 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,320 we'd never been in the apartment together ever like this, 137 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,080 and all of these things were falling into place. 138 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,480 Our to-do list was nearly out of control. 139 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,400 I mean, it felt like I could not even keep track 140 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:47,480 of all the things that we had to do. 141 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:49,360 Have you ever felt that way? 142 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:51,240 All of the things that you have to do, 143 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,280 and so that's exactly where we were on the way back 144 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:56,760 to Florida, driving across country, 145 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,520 Interstate 15 to 40, 40 all the way, 146 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,280 and then down to the 10, 147 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:04,880 and there back in Pensacola, Florida. 148 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:07,760 And as we were driving, 149 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,920 I had to prepare for the trip in the best way we could, 150 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,360 which means in 2001, 151 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:12,640 the best way you could prepare for a trip 152 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:14,800 was go to your computer, start it up, 153 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,600 AOL, and print off MapQuest. 154 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:20,080 How many of you remember MapQuest? 155 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:21,000 That's right. 156 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,800 I know this whole first row doesn't remember MapQuest. 157 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:28,800 How many of you remember before MapQuest, 158 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,560 where you had the triple-A giant map 159 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,480 sitting under the sea in the, yeah, yeah, all right. 160 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,360 Old man, old man here. 161 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:38,800 So we MapQuest did it out, 162 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:43,800 we were ready for our road trip, our 1996 Ford Thunderbird. 163 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:45,280 And we got inside of that, 164 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:48,640 it didn't have a CD player, so we had to buy a boombox. 165 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,320 Amen, come on. 166 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,920 We had our boombox with our D cell batteries in the back seat, 167 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:56,280 and we had all of our CDs. 168 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:57,480 Remember the books of CDs? 169 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,320 We had Phil Collins in there, you know what I mean? 170 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:01,800 A smash mouth. 171 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,920 Somebody wants to, all right, that's enough, you know. 172 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,160 I know you know, I know you know. 173 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:11,800 And we had it going. 174 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,800 We were ready to go, Stephen Curtis Chapman was in there too. 175 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,200 For the, yeah, there, okay, stop, all right. 176 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:23,200 And we're driving along and we make it through Kingman 177 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:28,200 and then through Flagstaff, 178 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,000 and then on our way into New Mexico 179 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,400 and went through Albuquerque, 180 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,600 and I made the joke over too many times. 181 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,640 You gotta turn left on Albuquerque, ha ha ha. 182 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,200 Anyway, we go through Albuquerque. 183 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:42,640 And by the time we get there, 184 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,640 we left on a Sunday afternoon about one or two o'clock. 185 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:48,600 And by the time we made it all the way through, 186 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:50,720 we stopped at Quiznos on the way for, you know, 187 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,880 because it's 2001. 188 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,560 And we arrive in the middle of New Mexico 189 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,880 about 11 p.m. at night, 190 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,120 just outside of a little town called Tubecom Carey. 191 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:06,800 Anybody heard of Tubecom Carey before? 192 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:08,200 Raise your hand if you know what Tubecom Carey. 193 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,600 Real high, let me say, you know too, God, for, 194 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,160 I feel so bad for all of you who know this town. 195 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:17,760 Because it's about 11 p.m. at night 196 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:19,680 and all of a sudden in the middle of the road, 197 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:24,680 we're driving, there is a cinder block brick 198 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:27,600 right in the middle of the road. 199 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:29,120 And I saw it too late, 200 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:30,960 so I couldn't swerve out of the way. 201 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,600 We were going fast, there weren't a lot of people around, 202 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,760 and I hit that cinder block, bam, with our car. 203 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:41,760 And it came up underneath our 1996 Ford Thunderbird, 204 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:45,000 and it cracked a bunch of things, I don't know. 205 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:48,920 And it immediately killed our car, 206 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:50,360 and we pulled the car off. 207 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,400 Now, to look at me, you would think, 208 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:54,640 I would know everything about mechanics. 209 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:58,720 But I don't. 210 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:00,840 But I'm a newly minted married man, 211 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:07,000 and I had to, you know, open the hood. 212 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,280 So I get out, I'm like, let me take care of this. 213 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:13,360 And I get out of the car and I pop the hood, 214 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,000 and it took me a couple minutes to figure out 215 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,320 where the thing was, and I'm like, 216 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,880 it's just gonna be somewhere, it's here, 217 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:22,960 and pulled it up, and I look down, 218 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,960 and I'm like, I don't know what I'm looking at, exactly. 219 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:31,800 So my wife, newly married, she said, 220 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:35,240 we should call AAA, and I'm like, that's right, AAA. 221 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,800 My father had told me buy AAA, not only insurance, 222 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:42,960 but buy the travel protection road-sistant plan. 223 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:45,760 And I'm like, oh yeah, we're AAA plus, premium member, 224 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:46,880 let's call them. 225 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:48,800 So we did, we called them, and they said, 226 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,360 okay, we're gonna come out and tow you 227 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,000 back to a place called Two Come Carry. 228 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,560 Again, how many of you have ever heard of Two Come Carry? 229 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:54,480 Would you raise your hand? 230 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:55,440 I'm so sorry. 231 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:00,440 I am, they towed us back to Two Come Carry, New Mexico, 232 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:01,400 and it was the middle of the night, 233 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,360 so we got a little hotel room, and I was stressing out, 234 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,080 because had all these things that we had to do, 235 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,520 had to get all the way across the country, 236 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:10,080 we had to set up in our new apartment, 237 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,360 we had to start school again, we had to start our jobs again, 238 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,480 we had so many things, and now we're stuck, 239 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,440 and not only that, we were stuck, and we had no money. 240 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,320 Do you know why we had no money? 241 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,060 Because we were 20 years old. 242 00:10:24,060 --> 00:10:25,160 Now if you're in the room and you think, 243 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:28,760 I'm 20 years old and I have no money, that's very normal. 244 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,580 You'll have no money for the next 20 years. 245 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,520 And then somewhere, right when you turn around 40 something, 246 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,760 you'll be like, I have money for the first time, 247 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:43,760 and then your kids will take all that you have 248 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:45,120 for the rest of your life. 249 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:47,800 So we had no money, and I'm stressing out, 250 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,280 because we have to get a hotel room, and the mechanic 251 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,680 wasn't open until the next morning, 252 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:56,440 and suddenly our road trip was delayed terribly. 253 00:10:57,640 --> 00:10:59,480 And I didn't understand why. 254 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,960 I've noticed in life that God tends to interrupt 255 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:06,240 our road trips. 256 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,840 God tends to just jump in right when we're not expecting it, 257 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,120 and say, whoa, slow down, you're not going there. 258 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,040 Or you are going there, but I want you to stop right now, 259 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,440 and I want you to pause for an indefinite amount of time. 260 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:24,720 And you just have to wait. 261 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,400 It's not just happening with Christians today, 262 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,560 believers in God today, it happens all throughout the Bible. 263 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:34,160 Like in all the stories of the Bible, 264 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,160 there's a guy named Jacob, for example, 265 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:40,040 and Jacob was on his way to Heron, 266 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,200 when God stopped his journey on the road 267 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,200 and made him lay down to go to sleep, 268 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,800 and he woke up and he had a vision of a ladder 269 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:49,280 that went all the way up to heaven 270 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:50,760 with angels coming up and down. 271 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,680 It didn't just happen to Jacob, it happened to Moses. 272 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:56,720 Moses was walking on a road with all of his sheep 273 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,440 as a shepherd, and suddenly God stopped his journey 274 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,080 and said, I want you to see a burning bush 275 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,160 over around the corner. 276 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,640 It didn't just happen to Jacob and Moses, 277 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:08,120 it also happened to Elijah. 278 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,360 Elijah was coming out of the city of Jericho, 279 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:12,760 and as he walked with his friend, Elisha, 280 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,600 God stopped his journey right in the midst of it, 281 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,800 and a chariot of fire came and got him. 282 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,280 It happened to Elijah, it happened also to the Wisemen. 283 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,960 The Wisemen were on their way to Jerusalem, 284 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,520 and suddenly a star appears and tells them specifically, 285 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,800 and excuse me, from Jerusalem, 286 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,120 and tells them specifically where to go 287 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:34,600 to find baby Jesus. 288 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,480 It happened to a man named Saul on his way to Damascus, 289 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,560 walking on a road specifically 290 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:42,920 intending to hurt the church of God, 291 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,040 and Jesus interrupts his trip and says, stop, 292 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,600 this is what I've noticed in life and in the Bible. 293 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,720 Jesus himself will interrupt the trip 294 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,920 in order to make a strong point. 295 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,800 And that's what Jesus does in our story today, Luke chapter 24. 296 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,960 The Bible tells us two disciples are walking on a road 297 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,040 from Jerusalem to a place called Emmaus. 298 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,640 And we pick up the story in verse 13, 299 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,600 now behold, two of them were traveling that same day 300 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:17,200 to the village called Emmaus, 301 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,160 which is seven miles from Jerusalem. 302 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,680 As you read that verse, suddenly you realize, 303 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:25,240 well, it feels like we're picking up 304 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:26,680 in the middle of a story, doesn't it? 305 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,440 Well, sure it does, because look at specifically 306 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,560 what it says, it says, be told two of them, who is the them? 307 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:34,200 On the same day, what day is it talking about? 308 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,760 On a road to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, 309 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:38,160 as if we're supposed to know the story. 310 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,640 And we do know the story because we've been going verse 311 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,480 by verse chapter by chapter through the book of Luke. 312 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:45,960 And in the previous story, what we learned 313 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,280 was that Jesus Christ had been crucified in Jerusalem. 314 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,680 He had been buried and he rose again, the Bible says, 315 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:56,000 on the third day, we celebrate that every single Easter. 316 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,760 And as Jesus rose from the grave in Luke chapter 24, 317 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,080 verses one through 12, the Bible says 318 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,840 that there was a group of women who went to the tomb 319 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,720 to see where Jesus was to anoint him. 320 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,000 But they got there and Jesus was no longer there. 321 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,320 And if you remember last week's story, they ran back 322 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,880 and they told the rest of the disciples 323 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,240 that Jesus was not in the tomb. 324 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:19,720 Did they believe the women? 325 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:21,120 Yes or no? 326 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,640 No, no, they didn't. 327 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:24,840 Who was in the room? 328 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:26,960 Well, the 11 apostles were in the room 329 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,480 and the only two of the apostles 330 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,560 that really wanted to check it out was Peter and John. 331 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,640 They ran to the tomb and they came back 332 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:34,840 and told the rest of the disciples, 333 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,240 sure enough, Jesus's body's not there. 334 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,640 We don't know what's going on. 335 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,360 So who is the them in verse number 13? 336 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,560 And the answer is the disciples. 337 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,280 Not just the apostles, the 11 apostles 338 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,160 who were the original disciples of Jesus, 339 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,960 but a group of people about 70 disciples, 340 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,400 both men and women, this is referring to. 341 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,920 The people that are walking on the road to Emmaus 342 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,720 are two of the disciples of Jesus. 343 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:07,760 One's name is Cleopas and I believe the other 344 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:09,760 is his wife, Mary. 345 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,240 They've left Jerusalem because they are giving up 346 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:14,720 on this whole Jesus thing. 347 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,160 They love Jesus, but Jesus is dead. 348 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,360 They love Jesus, but the story is over. 349 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:21,480 They're really confused and so they're gonna walk back 350 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,080 to their home seven miles away in a place called Emmaus. 351 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,560 Several hours it would take for them to get there 352 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,400 and that's where we pick up our story. 353 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,560 It says in verse number 14, 354 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:35,080 and they talked together on the road to Emmaus. 355 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,080 Excuse me, they talked together all of these things 356 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:38,440 which had happened. 357 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,080 This man and his wife, presumably, 358 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,240 are now having a conversation about all the things 359 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:44,080 that had happened. 360 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:44,920 What are they talking about? 361 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:46,080 The story of Jesus. 362 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,080 Maybe they're talking about the very first time 363 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:50,160 they met Jesus. 364 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,480 Jesus had healed a blind man 365 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:55,880 or perhaps a deaf individual. 366 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:57,680 Jesus had turned water and into wine. 367 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,160 We don't know when Cleopas and Mary became followers 368 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,320 of Jesus, but they began to talk about it. 369 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,560 They talked about the fact that they entered Jerusalem 370 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:06,800 just a week before because we know this story 371 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:08,760 takes place Sunday afternoon. 372 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,080 Like Heather and I traveled from Las Vegas 373 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:13,480 all the way to Tucumcari on Sunday afternoon. 374 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,360 These people on Sunday afternoon 375 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,800 are traveling from Jerusalem all the way up to Emmaus. 376 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:20,840 And on Sunday afternoon, they're talking about 377 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,440 in one week span what has taken place. 378 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,920 You see, a week ago in Jerusalem, 379 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,760 Jesus and all of his disciples had entered the city 380 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,200 on what we call Palm Sunday. 381 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,680 And everybody crowded around Jesus and they said, 382 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,160 Hosanna, Hosanna, the king is here. 383 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,800 And within four days, the crowd was crying out, 384 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,320 crucify him, crucify him. 385 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,680 And then the next day they killed him. 386 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:47,200 And the next day was the Sabbath day. 387 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,200 He lay in the grave. 388 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,600 And then on Sunday morning, well, 389 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,840 early on Sunday morning, some of the disciples, 390 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:56,960 the women came back and they knocked on the door 391 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,880 and they said, hey, Jesus's body is gone. 392 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:02,320 We saw angels and the angels told us 393 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:03,960 that Jesus has rose from the grave 394 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,720 and Cleopas and his wife were like, come on, ladies. 395 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:09,280 That's ridiculous. 396 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:11,960 There's no way that took place. 397 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,520 And while they're giving excuses, Peter and John are like, 398 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:16,400 we gotta go see. 399 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:18,600 And they run out the door. 400 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:20,760 They're back within a half hour telling Cleopas 401 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:25,000 and the other 70 disciples, his body is gone. 402 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,320 Cleopas doesn't know what to do. 403 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:28,120 Now it's two o'clock, maybe three o'clock. 404 00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:29,920 And they're like, let's just go home. 405 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,560 So as they walk home as a couple, 406 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,480 they tell, talking about all of these things, verse 13. 407 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,720 So it was while they conversed and reasoned 408 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,680 that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 409 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:46,160 They're talking on the road. 410 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,680 And all of a sudden, Jesus interrupts their road trip. 411 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,360 Now, if you're a follower of Jesus 412 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,320 and Jesus interrupts your road trip, 413 00:17:58,320 --> 00:17:59,560 you would think you would look at Jesus 414 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,760 and be like, hey, welcome, right? 415 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:04,480 But that's not what happens. 416 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:05,880 Look what it says. 417 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,320 But their eyes were, what does the word say? 418 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,040 What does it say? 419 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:11,600 Restrained. 420 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,400 So they did not know Him. 421 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,200 Now that's always puzzled me. 422 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,480 These two people, they don't recognize Jesus. 423 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:18,320 Why? 424 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:20,920 Why? 425 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,360 Last Sunday night, my wife and I 426 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:26,120 were at our house in the evening. 427 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:28,640 Our two teenage daughters were here at church 428 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,120 because we have a teenage program called the Ascent. 429 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,440 And there's a big worship service for all the teenagers 430 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,200 every Sunday night right here. 431 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,640 And so we send our kids and we were at home alone 432 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,040 and we were talking about this passage specifically. 433 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:41,920 And I asked her, I said, you know the story? 434 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,120 She's like, yeah, I love that story. 435 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:46,480 I said, why do you think they didn't recognize Jesus? 436 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,920 And she said to me, she said, I think they were like, 437 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,600 I don't know, like maybe they were like back row disciples. 438 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,000 You know what I mean? 439 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,720 Like maybe they were like distant disciples. 440 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,040 They were kind of like in the far back of the crowds. 441 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,240 They didn't recognize Jesus because they weren't a wreck. 442 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:01,800 It's not like this is the All Stars, right? 443 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,800 Like Mary Magdalene and like Peter, 444 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,120 like diamond leveled disciple. 445 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:06,960 You know what I mean? 446 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,240 Like this is like way back there. 447 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:10,200 I'm like, maybe that's it. 448 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:11,040 Maybe that's it. 449 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:12,040 I don't know. 450 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:13,640 We love talking about the Bible. 451 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:18,560 So early on Monday morning, I got up to prepare the sermon 452 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,200 and I began to really research the words 453 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,520 that are found in this verse. 454 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,320 Look what it says, but their eyes were restrained. 455 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,880 I said, it seems like, as I'm studying, 456 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:30,880 it seems like it wasn't just that they could not see. 457 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,960 It's almost as if their eyesight was being held back. 458 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:36,880 Supernaturally. 459 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,320 And then when I looked up the word 460 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,760 in the original languages, it's a Greek word. 461 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,320 And the word is ecrotanto, 462 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,080 which literally means supernaturally, 463 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:48,720 their sight was held back. 464 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,160 So what Jesus did when he arrived 465 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,120 in interrupting their story, 466 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,920 Jesus showed up and before they saw him, 467 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,280 Jesus shut their eyes to who he was. 468 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,240 So they knew him, but they couldn't recognize him. 469 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:05,800 Isn't it interesting that sometimes 470 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,520 Jesus will interrupt your life and he's there, 471 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:10,520 you just don't recognize he's there. 472 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:12,360 Has that ever happened to you? 473 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:14,080 And then after you get through the difficulty, 474 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,200 you look and say, I think Jesus was here the whole time. 475 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:19,720 That's what happens in this story, 476 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,320 which leads to our very first thought of today. 477 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:23,920 Our very first thought of today's sermon, 478 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:25,800 the first big thought of today's sermon, 479 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,960 number one, trust the scriptures supremely. 480 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:31,400 I'm gonna say number one, 481 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,600 I want you to say trust the scriptures. 482 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:35,640 Number one, trust the scriptures. 483 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,040 Come on, come on, come on church, do it with me. 484 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,320 Number one, trust the scriptures. 485 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,720 The first thought that we receive in this passage 486 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:46,720 is that we as Christians, we must trust the scriptures. 487 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:48,000 The scriptures. 488 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:56,460 Over your own senses. 489 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:02,920 Senses can be deceiving, can't they? 490 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,760 Have your eyes ever played tricks on you? 491 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:08,400 Have you ever been driving down, 492 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,040 have you ever been driving down Interstate 15, 493 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:11,720 the blazing summertime, and as you do 494 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,160 on your way to California, you look over and you say, 495 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,280 we have a lake in the middle of the desert. 496 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:17,720 Has that ever happened to you? 497 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:21,520 You say, I know it's a lake, 498 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,240 I'm seeing it with my own eyes. 499 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,480 No, your eyes can deceive you. 500 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,240 The senses can be mistaken. 501 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,680 Have you ever smelled something that wasn't there? 502 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:34,760 If you've ever gone Disneyland 503 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,400 and you've walked down Main Street, 504 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,400 you might smell the smell, the scent of fresh baked cookies. 505 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,720 I love the smell of fresh baked cookies. 506 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,280 And if you're walking down that road 507 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:46,640 and you think to yourself, I'd like some of these 508 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:49,760 fresh baked cookies, where is this smell coming from? 509 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,440 The answer is, it's not there. 510 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:58,280 They actually pump that scent onto Main Street. 511 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,280 So it makes you feel homey and happy 512 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:03,880 and you'll spend more money. 513 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,080 That smell makes you think a balloon for $45? 514 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:10,620 That's a good deal. 515 00:22:11,660 --> 00:22:12,640 It's a good deal. 516 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:17,040 I need a $45 balloon today, today, maybe two. 517 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:20,600 Your senses can deceive. 518 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,460 Have you ever had your ears deceive you? 519 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,080 Like somebody said something to you 520 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:28,720 and you thought they said one thing, 521 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:29,920 but they actually said another. 522 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:31,760 You say, my ears have never deceived me. 523 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,620 Okay, has anybody else's ears ever been deceived 524 00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:36,120 when you tried to say something? 525 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,040 That is not what I said, but that's what they heard. 526 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,320 Our senses can be deceiving. 527 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,040 Apparently, Jesus didn't want them believing 528 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,640 in the resurrection because they saw Jesus. 529 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,800 But because the Bible taught them that the Messiah 530 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,680 would suffer, die, and rise again. 531 00:23:01,940 --> 00:23:03,600 How do you know this, Josh? 532 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,200 Because of where the story goes. 533 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,320 Jesus doesn't show up and be like, I'm here. 534 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,520 Jesus says, I don't want you to know that I'm here. 535 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:17,200 I want to point you to the scriptures and show you 536 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,560 the Messiah was always meant to suffer. 537 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,280 He was always meant to die 538 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,080 and he was always prophesied to rise from the grave. 539 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:25,800 So Jesus has a plan. 540 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:27,760 I will restrain their eyesight 541 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:29,680 and then I will converse with them 542 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:31,600 and show them through the scriptures 543 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,640 that the always plan of God was always 544 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,240 to send the Son of God to suffer 545 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,560 and die on the cross for the sins of mankind 546 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:42,080 to be buried and rise from the grave. 547 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,960 And so he does that right here. 548 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:45,800 Why? 549 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,800 Because God wants us to trust the scriptures supremely. 550 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:53,040 Look at what it says in verse 17. 551 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,280 And Jesus said to them, what kind of conversation is this 552 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,000 that you were having with one another as you walk? 553 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,160 And they're sad. 554 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,840 And then one of the disciples whose name was Cleopas, 555 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,760 Cleopas by the way is a common name during this time. 556 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,760 It's the male version of Cleopatra, 557 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,320 which would have been very, very well known 558 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,000 in the Roman world following the Greek Empire. 559 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,800 So Cleopas answered and said unto him, 560 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,120 are you only a stranger in Jerusalem? 561 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,560 Do you not know the things which have happened in these days? 562 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,600 Like from Cleopas' point of view, 563 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,880 how do you not know what's been going on? 564 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:34,360 The big prophet, the big shot, 565 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:35,720 everybody knows about Jesus. 566 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,800 And so now Cleopas is about to explain to Jesus 567 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:39,920 the story of Jesus. 568 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:41,240 How cool is that? 569 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:49,200 You know not the things that have happened in these days 570 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:50,800 and Jesus said to them, what things? 571 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:51,960 I love that Jesus doesn't lie. 572 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:53,120 He's like, no, I don't know. 573 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:54,800 He just asked, what do you mean? 574 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,240 So they said to him, the things concerning of Jesus 575 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,920 of Nazareth who was a prophet mighty indeed 576 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:03,560 in word before God and all the people 577 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,800 and how the chief priests and the rulers delivered him 578 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,560 to be condemned to death and crucified him. 579 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,640 But we were hoping that he was the one 580 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,320 who was gonna redeem Israel. 581 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,880 Indeed, beside all this, 582 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,640 today's the third day since all of these things happened. 583 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,600 Yes, and certain women of our company 584 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,480 who arrived at the tomb early this morning, 585 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,160 astonished us when they did not find his body. 586 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:32,640 They came and they said to us 587 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:34,960 that they had seen a vision from angels 588 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:36,720 who had said that he was alive. 589 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,800 Notice something about Cleopas and this other disciple. 590 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:43,640 They have all the information. 591 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:45,800 You see? 592 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,680 It's not like they didn't know that Jesus died. 593 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,280 It's not like they didn't know that the tomb was empty. 594 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:56,760 It's not even like they didn't hear the testimony 595 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:57,600 from the women. 596 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,120 They have all of the information. 597 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:00,120 It even goes on. 598 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:01,760 And certain of those who are with us, 599 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:03,440 that's John and Peter, 600 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,640 went to the tomb and found that it was just 601 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,480 as the women said, 602 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,840 but him they did not see. 603 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:15,840 Well, wait a second. 604 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,160 If they already have all the relevant information, 605 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,080 why is it that they don't believe? 606 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,080 And the answer to that is this. 607 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:32,480 You can have all of the puzzle pieces 608 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,720 and not put the puzzle together yet. 609 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:39,440 Some of you are like that right now. 610 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,520 Some of you have been collecting all the pieces 611 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,680 of Christianity and you've got them in a box 612 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,800 and it hasn't all fit together yet. 613 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:49,320 Like you're here and if somebody said to you a Christian, 614 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,080 you'd be like, yes I am. 615 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:52,000 And deep inside you're like, 616 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:53,440 I don't think I'm there yet. 617 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:54,960 That's okay. 618 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:56,360 You've been collecting all the pieces 619 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:58,680 and you're trying to figure out what this picture looks like. 620 00:26:58,680 --> 00:26:59,920 And you're surrounded by a bunch of people. 621 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:00,880 You're like, man these people, 622 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:02,040 they really are believers. 623 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,280 That's because, 624 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,680 well it's because of what we're about to talk about. 625 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:15,000 These people, did they love Jesus? 626 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,520 Yes or no? 627 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:17,800 Yeah. 628 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:19,120 Did they believe Jesus died? 629 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:20,000 Yes or no? 630 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:22,320 Yes. 631 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:23,600 Did they know the tomb was empty? 632 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,440 Yes or no? 633 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,240 Why didn't they understand that he rose from the grave? 634 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:34,760 And the answer to that question is faith 635 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,880 brings understanding, not the other way around. 636 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:41,240 Let me say it again. 637 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:45,200 Faith brings understanding, not the other way around. 638 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:53,040 Some of you have collected all the pieces to the puzzle 639 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,720 and you're like, okay, God, do a miracle, 640 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:56,880 make me believe. 641 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:58,880 And the answer is that's not how it works. 642 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,960 You don't gather all of the understanding 643 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,280 and then suddenly you understand everything 644 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,680 and then suddenly God makes you believe. 645 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,360 You gather all the pieces you can 646 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:11,400 and then you choose to believe. 647 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,320 You choose to believe. 648 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:21,120 It's like this chair. 649 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:26,120 You say, Josh, I'd really like to sit down in a good chair. 650 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:31,960 If you're gonna sit down in a good chair, 651 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,800 the best way to sit down in a good chair 652 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,040 is to study what a chair is. 653 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,000 To look at the chair from all the different angles 654 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,680 and think to yourself, yep, I'm pretty sure this is a chair. 655 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:44,960 And as I look at this chair, 656 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:46,440 I'm beginning to understand this chair, 657 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,600 I've compared this chair to all the other chairs in the world. 658 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,160 And as I do compare this chair, 659 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,440 my legs are getting tired, eventually I do wanna sit down, 660 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,720 but I'm going to make sure that I understand the dynamics 661 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:55,840 of all of this chair. 662 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,640 And then as I understand the dynamics of this chair, 663 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,560 then maybe I'll believe that the chair. 664 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,160 And then trying to explain to others 665 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,560 why you think maybe this chair would hold somebody. 666 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:05,800 And then there are other people that say, 667 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,240 I think that's a chair. 668 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:11,360 I think I want to trust the chair and believe in the chair 669 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,040 and then they sit down. 670 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,480 And suddenly they understand the chair 671 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:18,920 in a way that nobody else will understand the chair 672 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,920 because they're not sitting in the chair. 673 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,960 It's called an existential or experiential belief. 674 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:28,200 Do you know why there are people around you 675 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,720 who know Jesus in a way that you don't know Jesus 676 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:31,960 even though they haven't studied Jesus, 677 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:33,120 the way you've studied Jesus, 678 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,360 is because they sit in Jesus. 679 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,480 They trust Jesus. 680 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,720 They believe in Jesus. 681 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:43,840 They've put their faith and their reliance 682 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,400 and their belief in Jesus. 683 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,520 Faith brings understanding, not the other way around. 684 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,160 And these people had all the information, 685 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,080 Cleopas and most likely his wife, Mary, 686 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,240 they had all the information. 687 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:00,880 They just needed to believe it. 688 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:02,920 And they didn't need to believe it 689 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,120 because Jesus appears to them. 690 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,320 They needed to believe it because the scriptures 691 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,560 showed them this was the case, 692 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:11,960 which leads to the rest of the story. 693 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,080 Look, it goes on in verse number 25. 694 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,360 It says in verse number 25, 695 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,320 then he said to them, oh foolish ones, 696 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,840 Jesus says to them, oh foolish ones 697 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:23,760 and slow of heart to believe 698 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,440 in all the prophets of what they have spoken. 699 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:28,960 Not the Christ who have suffered all of these things 700 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:30,320 and entered into his glory. 701 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,560 And so then Jesus, beginning at Moses 702 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,040 and all of the prophets, 703 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:37,880 he began to expound to them the scriptures, 704 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,440 the things concerning himself. 705 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,360 Now this is amazing. 706 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,080 Jesus says, guys, how do you not see it? 707 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,040 And then Jesus begins to give a one on one sermon 708 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,120 for the next hour and a half. 709 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:52,560 And he begins in Moses. 710 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,680 That means the Torah, Genesis, Exodus, 711 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:57,960 Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and all the prophets. 712 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,080 And he shows them that the entire Bible 713 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:06,080 is one story that points at Jesus's story. 714 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,080 The Bible is one long story 715 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,600 that all points to one person. 716 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,560 And that is Jesus Christ. 717 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:15,200 Wouldn't you love to hear 718 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,600 a 90 minute two hour sermon from Jesus himself? 719 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,160 Amen. 720 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,840 By the way, only Jesus should preach that long. 721 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:25,360 Can I get an amen right there? 722 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:26,200 Amen. 723 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,600 There's there like, yeah, let's go, let's go. 724 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:29,440 Let's go. 725 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,000 And so Jesus is explaining to them all of these truths. 726 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,760 He's walking them through all of this concept 727 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,200 of who he is and what does he point to? 728 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,640 He doesn't say, open your eyes and see me. 729 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,680 He says, open your eyes and see the scripture. 730 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,960 By the way, this is why at our church, 731 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:50,640 I preach chapter by chapter 732 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,440 and verse by verse through the Bible. 733 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,200 This is why as your pastor, 734 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,200 I don't get up on Sundays and give you my thought of the week, 735 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,040 my little sermonette for Christianettes. 736 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:05,480 Right? 737 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,160 My little like, well, this is what I saw on the news 738 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:10,920 this week and this is what I think you ought to do with it. 739 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,800 Because according to what we see Jesus doing here 740 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:19,040 is telling the story of the Bible as a long narrative, 741 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,480 all has one point and it points to Jesus Christ. 742 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,760 It's called expository preaching 743 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,080 and that's what we do at Southern Hills. 744 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,120 And it builds strong Christians. 745 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:31,640 It goes on. 746 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:36,640 It says in verse number 28, 747 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:38,480 then they drew near to the village. 748 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:40,600 Okay, so they've walked at seven miles 749 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,160 and they're ready to get home 750 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:45,600 and Jesus indicated that he would go on further. 751 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:49,680 So Jesus says to them, okay, thanks guys, I'm on my way. 752 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:53,240 And they constrained Jesus saying, hey, abide with us 753 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,840 for it is even, is toward evening 754 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:57,400 and the day is far spent. 755 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:58,840 And he spent the night with them. 756 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:00,280 He was gonna go spend the night with them 757 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:01,880 and it came to pass that as they sat down 758 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,160 for a table with them, he took bread. 759 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:06,480 Jesus took bread 760 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,600 and he blessed it and he broke it and gave it to them. 761 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,920 And their eyes, then their eyes were opened. 762 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,440 If you're a Bible student underline that. 763 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,040 Their eyes were opened and they knew him 764 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:27,540 and then he vanished from their sight. 765 00:33:27,540 --> 00:33:30,140 So Jesus, they sit down. 766 00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:33,820 They're ready to eat. 767 00:33:33,820 --> 00:33:35,420 Jesus says, do you want me to say grace? 768 00:33:35,420 --> 00:33:37,140 They're like, sure dude. 769 00:33:37,140 --> 00:33:38,060 And he said, all right. 770 00:33:38,060 --> 00:33:42,860 And he prays and he takes the bread and he breaks it. 771 00:33:44,460 --> 00:33:47,140 And all of a sudden these disciples of Jesus 772 00:33:47,140 --> 00:33:51,780 are like, hey, wait a minute, I've seen this before. 773 00:33:52,900 --> 00:33:54,360 And then he vanishes. 774 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:57,920 That would freak me out, man. 775 00:33:57,920 --> 00:33:58,760 That would like, 776 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:01,640 but look what happens with them. 777 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:02,960 And they said to one another, 778 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,400 did not our hearts burn within us? 779 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:06,960 Well, he talked to us on the road 780 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,920 and while he opened the scriptures to us. 781 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:13,040 That was him. 782 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,440 That was Jesus, which leads us 783 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:18,840 to the next point of today's sermon. 784 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:20,760 The first one is trust the scriptures. 785 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:22,520 I'm gonna say number one, you say trust the scriptures. 786 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:27,520 Number one, number two, reject sin, receive Jesus. 787 00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:31,520 Number two, reject sin, receive Jesus. 788 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,680 I'm gonna say number two, you say these words with me. 789 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,320 Number two, reject sin, receive Jesus. 790 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,040 You might say, oh, Pastor Josh, I mean, you say reject sin. 791 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:43,720 This verse doesn't have anything to do with sin, does it? 792 00:34:43,720 --> 00:34:44,560 It's interesting. 793 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,920 Because as you read the story we just read, 794 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,760 this story is very significant, 795 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:56,720 especially if you've been a Christian 796 00:34:56,720 --> 00:34:58,680 and studied the Bible for a long time. 797 00:34:58,680 --> 00:34:59,760 I'm interested to know. 798 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:01,920 I know a lot of you are new believers at Southern Hills. 799 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:03,680 We're so glad you're here. 800 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:05,880 Some of you have been Christians for a very long time 801 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,440 and I wanna do a little informal poll here. 802 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:10,560 How many of you in this room have only been a Christian 803 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,520 for let's say the last, you've been a Christian 804 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:14,960 more than 10 years, raise your hand. 805 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:16,720 How many have you been a Christian for more than 10 years? 806 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:18,800 Okay, I'm looking around, maybe about 30% or so. 807 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:19,640 Put your hands down. 808 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:22,080 Okay, this is gonna be fascinating to you. 809 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:27,080 This story is supposed to be a loop around story 810 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:28,800 to another story in the Bible. 811 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,880 And there are clues inside of this story 812 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,200 that the writer Luke wants you to see. 813 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:38,640 You wanna see what they are? 814 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:45,440 The first clue is the idea here is a couple, 815 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,120 two people who are having a meal together 816 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:50,400 in the presence of God. 817 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:56,440 What is another story early on in the Bible 818 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:00,720 where there is a couple who is having a meal 819 00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:02,120 in the presence of God? 820 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:02,960 What is this? 821 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:05,520 Anybody think of a couple in the Bible 822 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,560 who's having a meal they're eating 823 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:11,280 in the presence of God? 824 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,200 If you know that couple's name, say it out loud. 825 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,320 Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve. 826 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:17,560 And do you remember what happens? 827 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:18,560 Here's clue number two. 828 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:19,960 Do you remember what happens when the Bible says 829 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:21,840 they ate of the forbidden fruit? 830 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,080 The Bible says when they ate, this is clue number two. 831 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:25,800 When they ate of the forbidden fruit, 832 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:27,560 what does the Bible says happens to them? 833 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,520 What happens to them? 834 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:30,360 Their eyes were open. 835 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:31,560 There's clue number two. 836 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:37,600 And now you see another couple 837 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,000 at the end of the story of Jesus. 838 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:41,880 Luke knows what he's doing. 839 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:44,000 Who's having a meal in the presence of God. 840 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:47,640 And as they partake of that meal, 841 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,080 their eyes are open. 842 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:51,960 Here's the third clue between these two stories. 843 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:53,840 When the first couple, Adam and Eve, 844 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:55,440 partook of this fruit, 845 00:36:55,440 --> 00:37:00,240 it changed the entire trajectory of the human race. 846 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,200 Now at the end of the story of Jesus, 847 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,280 you see a couple partaking, their eyes are opened, 848 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:10,160 and it turns the entire story of the human race 849 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:11,920 back to what it was supposed to be. 850 00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:16,720 A relationship with God through the one and only Jesus Christ, 851 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:20,560 the bread of life who you can partake of and be satisfied, 852 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,080 not with the sin of the world 853 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:23,640 where you must reject that sin, 854 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:25,800 but with the salvation from God 855 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:27,960 that brings wholeness and forgiveness 856 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:29,720 and a holistic future for you. 857 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:30,560 You see? 858 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:32,600 It's a beautiful thing. 859 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,080 What does it mean for you? 860 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:37,720 Well, it means during this Christmas season, 861 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:40,000 what you might have to do is reject sin 862 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:43,180 and receive Jesus. 863 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:46,400 For some of you, you've never been born again. 864 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,600 Like you need to reject your old life, 865 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:50,160 repent and receive Jesus Christ 866 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:53,560 as many of these people who've recently been baptized have done. 867 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:55,720 For some of you, you need to just, as a Christian, 868 00:37:55,720 --> 00:37:59,640 reject giving into the temptation of sin, for example. 869 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,720 What temptation might I have during the Christmas season 870 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:05,040 to eat and grow sick on? 871 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:10,040 Maybe the sin of worry, anxiety, stress. 872 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,880 Instead, why don't you receive the bread of life 873 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:20,880 and have peace and joy and Shabbat and Sabbath? 874 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,600 Reject worry, receive trust. 875 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:31,920 You see? 876 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:33,560 At Christmas time, it's all about self, 877 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,320 what I want for me, or maybe it's about others, 878 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,200 what I want for others, you see? 879 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,580 And so as we study this story today, 880 00:38:41,580 --> 00:38:45,280 we find that there are so many multiple levels of beauty 881 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:46,120 in this story. 882 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:47,840 The first of which we wanted to look at 883 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:50,320 is trust the Scriptures supremely. 884 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:51,920 The second that we wanted to look at 885 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:54,720 was reject sin, receive Jesus, 886 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:56,840 which leads to our final big thought of the day, 887 00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:01,840 and that is embrace the delays of life. 888 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:09,200 I'm gonna say number three, you so embrace the delays. 889 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:12,320 Number three, embrace the delays. 890 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,240 Notice how the story goes in Luke chapter 24, verse 15. 891 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:17,400 So it was while they were conversing 892 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,760 and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near 893 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:21,840 and went with them. 894 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:23,320 This is the moment in our story 895 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:26,180 that Jesus interrupts their road trip. 896 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,400 And their life will never be the same. 897 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,880 So there we sat in Tucumcari, New Mexico. 898 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:43,960 This is not a place you wanna sit. 899 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:47,520 We woke up the next morning and I really was, 900 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,320 I was stressing out about the fact that 901 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:52,680 we had to pay for the hotel room, we had no money. 902 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,280 Then we had to pay for the car repairs, we had no money. 903 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:58,840 And we're gonna be late, we're in trouble for that. 904 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:01,400 And so I called my dad and I'm like, 905 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:03,080 well they're about to open up the mechanic shop 906 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:04,480 and then tell us, he said, okay, 907 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:07,600 just to prepare, it was probably be expensive. 908 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,960 Number two, you're probably gonna be there for a few days. 909 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:11,560 And he said, just don't freak out 910 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:15,000 because he said you have insurance, 911 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,000 collision insurance and comprehensive, 912 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,680 which means you hit that, you hit that, 913 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,020 they're gonna cover that, they'll pay for it. 914 00:40:22,020 --> 00:40:25,420 Not only that, Josh, back in June when you got married, 915 00:40:25,420 --> 00:40:29,920 I told you to sign up for triple A plus premium membership. 916 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:30,760 Did you do that? 917 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:31,760 I said, yeah. 918 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,560 He said, there's something called 919 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,560 trip interruption insurance that comes with that. 920 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:39,380 Which means they're gonna pay for all of your hotels 921 00:40:39,380 --> 00:40:40,680 and all of your meals. 922 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:43,840 And I remember thinking, what? 923 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:48,040 By the way, I'm not just a pastor, 924 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:49,360 I also work for triple A. 925 00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:51,640 And on the way, I'm just kidding, I'm kidding. 926 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:52,480 I'm kidding. 927 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:57,240 Some of you are like, I knew, I knew 928 00:40:57,240 --> 00:40:58,720 they were gonna sell me something. 929 00:40:59,980 --> 00:41:01,560 It's a joke, it's a joke. 930 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:03,000 But that part of the story is true. 931 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,520 So he's like, you got triple A plus insurance. 932 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:05,920 I'm like, yeah, he said, yeah, 933 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:07,240 just keep all your receipts, turn them in, 934 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:08,080 pay everything back. 935 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:09,040 I said, for real? 936 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,360 And he said, not only your hotels, but your meals. 937 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:13,520 I'm like, where are we allowed to eat? 938 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:15,240 He said, anywhere. 939 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:16,600 And I said, anywhere. 940 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:19,920 Now the problem is to come carry anywhere means 941 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:22,040 like Joe's house, right? 942 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,060 Like there's nothing there except for an Arby's 943 00:41:24,060 --> 00:41:24,880 and I don't wanna die. 944 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:26,960 So, what? 945 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:29,400 I'm sorry, but it's gross. 946 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:30,240 And, 947 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,240 it is, right? 948 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:36,160 Am I wrong? 949 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:37,160 All right, whatever. 950 00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,120 So anyway, we're relaxed. 951 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:42,920 So we go in and we went into the shop. 952 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:44,480 You'll never guess the name of the mechanic's name. 953 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:45,440 This is true story. 954 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:50,440 The shop is called Bozo's mechanic and repair. 955 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:54,680 His name was Bozo. 956 00:41:57,200 --> 00:41:58,360 And I'm like, is there anywhere else? 957 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:00,400 He's the only mechanic in town. 958 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:02,040 And it's right beside, this is crazy. 959 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,920 It's right beside another one called Bozo's cinder blocks. 960 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:05,760 No, I'm just kidding. 961 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:07,440 I, that's what I thought. 962 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:08,880 I'm like, this guy's setting it up. 963 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:10,160 That's what's happening. 964 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:14,080 And I went in there and he said, hey, guess what? 965 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,040 Back in the back, there's a bunch of broken down old cars. 966 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:21,720 We have a Thunderbird and we can take the gas tank 967 00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:22,640 and we can put it on. 968 00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:23,520 I'm like, you're kidding. 969 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:25,480 He said, no, no, and we'll take care of it. 970 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:26,640 I'm like, that's amazing. 971 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:28,080 So we waited a few hours. 972 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:29,600 I remember sitting there in the waiting room 973 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,200 watching the weakest link. 974 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:32,360 You remember that? 975 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,760 And then, that was a dumb show. 976 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,680 And we got it done. 977 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:38,360 We got in the car and within a few hours, 978 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,960 we were back on the road listening to Tarzan by Phil Collins 979 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:44,800 and on our way to Amarillo. 980 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:46,560 When 30 miles down the road, 981 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:52,680 our car just stopped. 982 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:56,000 Pulled over. 983 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:57,680 It wouldn't even crank. 984 00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:59,240 I'm like, what is going on? 985 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:02,120 So called triple A again, pulled out my Razor Flip phone 986 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,840 and I called, it's 2001, OK? 987 00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:06,640 And I called them and they said, OK, they came out 988 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:08,360 and he said, you want us to take you back to Tucumcari 989 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:09,240 or on to Amarillo? 990 00:43:09,240 --> 00:43:11,880 I said, on to Amarillo. 991 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:13,040 Went to Amarillo. 992 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:14,280 We went to the Ford dealership. 993 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,280 Ford dealership said, it's going to be multiple days. 994 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:19,560 But we sat there and afterward, the guy came back and said, 995 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:20,320 tell me your story. 996 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:22,200 We told him the story. 997 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,440 And he said, well, whoever put a new gas tank in here, 998 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:27,920 forgot to check inside first. 999 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:29,640 There was a rat's nest. 1000 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:32,760 And the moment you went down the road, it filtered through 1001 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:33,920 your entire system. 1002 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:35,200 This is going to be extensive. 1003 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,920 And I about lost my mind on Bozo. 1004 00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:48,160 I called my dad. 1005 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:51,680 By the way, isn't it good to have good Christian influence 1006 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:54,400 in your life to calm you down? 1007 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:55,200 He said, no, it's not. 1008 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,400 He said, Josh, remember, you got the inch. 1009 00:43:57,400 --> 00:43:59,600 He said, go get a hotel. 1010 00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:00,800 Go to the mall. 1011 00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,440 Enjoy yourself. 1012 00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:05,200 So we did. 1013 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:07,320 I remember we went to a holiday inn. 1014 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:10,680 Now, you got to understand, we were 20 years old and newly 1015 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:11,680 married on my holiday inn. 1016 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:14,720 And I was like, this is going to be nice. 1017 00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:16,640 Walking in the holiday inn. 1018 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:18,480 Like how many nights were like, we're not sure. 1019 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:19,800 We're just going to be here for a while. 1020 00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:22,920 We'll let you know. 1021 00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:25,920 What time is the breakfast in the morning? 1022 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:27,600 It doesn't need to be continental because it's 1023 00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:31,120 a AAA fan, you know. 1024 00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:32,080 So nice. 1025 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:32,840 It really was. 1026 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:34,480 Three days in that holiday inn. 1027 00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:36,800 There was a mall next to it called Westgate. 1028 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:38,320 You guys remember the 90s, right, malls? 1029 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:44,080 And we walk around that mall every day. 1030 00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:44,880 There was a movie theater. 1031 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:49,120 We went to go see Planet of the Apes with Mark Wahlberg. 1032 00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:50,040 Terrible movie. 1033 00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:51,040 Great actor. 1034 00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:57,040 Went to Red Lobster. 1035 00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:00,120 No, don't say ew, because it was 2001. 1036 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:03,560 There was nothing better than Red Lobster at that time. 1037 00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:05,200 It was back when Chipotle was clean. 1038 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:07,440 Remember that? 1039 00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:08,920 I was a joke I should not have said. 1040 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:09,720 I apologize. 1041 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:14,960 And gathered all the receipts. 1042 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:16,960 I remember we had so much fun those three days. 1043 00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,120 One of Heather and I's favorite stories 1044 00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:24,000 take place in that mall. 1045 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:27,440 We're walking and just having a great time holding hands. 1046 00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:31,160 And you have to understand the background we came from. 1047 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:34,640 We're very kind of conservative. 1048 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:36,720 And we're newly married. 1049 00:45:36,720 --> 00:45:39,760 And so we're still just getting to know how everything 1050 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:40,240 functions. 1051 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:45,920 And we're walking through the mall. 1052 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:47,600 And she reaches over to me. 1053 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:48,960 And she says, come here. 1054 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:50,640 And she wants to this like romantic moment 1055 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:51,560 of giving me a kiss. 1056 00:45:51,560 --> 00:45:53,200 She grabs the back of my head. 1057 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:56,320 And she brings me to her. 1058 00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:59,880 But we're not practiced, you know? 1059 00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:04,280 She brings me in so hard she chips the entire front half 1060 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:04,840 of this too. 1061 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:07,840 True story. 1062 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:08,720 Off. 1063 00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:11,200 I have never experienced so much pain and pleasure 1064 00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:11,800 in a moment. 1065 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:14,680 Like it was back. 1066 00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:15,680 And she said, oh my word. 1067 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:17,160 I'm like, ah! 1068 00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:18,160 Ah! 1069 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:19,160 Ah! 1070 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:20,160 Ah! 1071 00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:23,760 You know, it was so weird. 1072 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:25,600 I walked around for three days going, 1073 00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:27,120 let's go to that store, you know? 1074 00:46:30,240 --> 00:46:31,200 We talk about it all the time. 1075 00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:41,320 We look at that moment as one of the greatest gifts 1076 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:44,600 God ever gave a young couple. 1077 00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:47,000 And it ended up being something we would have never planned 1078 00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:50,000 and we would have hated if we were told that was going 1079 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:50,880 to have to happen. 1080 00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:55,200 What I've noticed in my life is that Jesus 1081 00:46:55,200 --> 00:46:59,960 will interrupt the road trip in order 1082 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:02,880 to give you exactly what you need. 1083 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:04,400 And we shouldn't have despised that. 1084 00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:04,880 Let's pray. 1085 00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:20,920 Father, thank you.