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Today begins our Fall spiritual adventure officially.

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We're talking during these weeks about welcoming Jesus Christ into our homes and making him

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feel comfortable there.

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I read a letter this last week written by an acquaintance, Pastor Roger Thompson of

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the Trinity Baptist Church in Wheatridge, Colorado, suburb of Denver.

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He writes, Dear Jesus, while you are in Denver this fall, I believe it would be most strategic

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use of your time to stay awhile in many different homes.

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Since we have invited you to be our resident teacher for a season, would it be possible

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to start with the church family here at Trinity?

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The benefits from this approach would be many.

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Our people would profit from knowing you better.

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Young and old would soon appreciate that you make all of life more vibrant.

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People would have someone to talk about their work day, school experiences, or problems

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with.

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With you, meals would become an event that wouldn't be missed.

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Spouses might seek you out for advice in relating to each other with greater harmony.

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Everyone would anticipate Sundays on tiptoe because of what they had learned and felt

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from you.

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I can just imagine how privileged each person on the list might feel to have you as a guest.

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I am certain our people would go out of their way to serve you and place everything they

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have at your disposal.

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One difficulty in this that I am not sure which of our homes should be picked.

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Would you be open to staying with some senior members at the retirement home?

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What about rooming with a college student at the dorm?

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Many young families have cramped quarters and disrupted sleep.

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Would you be able to adapt to a mobile home, a condominium, a bachelor flat?

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Of course, there are many in our congregation who have large homes with furnished guest

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rooms.

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As you can see, our choices are nearly limitless.

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I hope you won't mind if we scheduled you as broadly as possible.

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You are a person of dignity, honor, and wealth.

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We are just a regular vanilla congregation.

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But we don't want your 50-day visit to leave you at a distance.

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We would be honored to have you as a guest in our homes, and your presence would make

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a difference never to be forgotten.

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We want to know you for who you really are.

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Thank you for allowing us to presume upon your schedule and convenience.

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Yours truly, Roger Thompson.

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P.S.

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It just struck me.

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Perhaps the best way to determine which homes you will stay in is to ask the congregation.

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We will publicize this opportunity for the fall and let each home decide for itself.

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We could call it 50 days to open our homes to Christ.

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What an adventure that would be.

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Just as the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be staying in some homes in Wheat Ridge, Colorado,

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he is going to be staying in some homes right here in the northern part of the Twin Cities.

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The opportunity is open for all of us, and many of you have made that decision already,

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to set aside these next 50 days to welcome Jesus into your homes.

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I hope that you are going to use these days for that purpose, to make him feel comfortable

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in your home.

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I am not suggesting that he must leave when the 50 days are over, by the way.

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I am simply suggesting that if we concentrate on making him feel at home for these 50 days,

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it will change our homes forever.

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Have you ever wondered what it might be like to have Jesus live with you, to have him come

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to your home?

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We know intellectually that he is there, because he is with us wherever we are as his believers,

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his children.

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But have you ever stopped to think what it would be like to see him there, to establish

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a chair for him at the dining room table, to make room for him in conversations, or

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to have a guest room where he would stay?

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It puts it in a little different perspective, doesn't it?

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We have a text to look at this morning in the book of Luke that records such a personal

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visit of Jesus to a home.

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I would like you to turn with me to Luke 24.

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For those of you who got started yesterday in your adventure journal, you will recognize

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this as being a scripture reading for preparation day.

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Luke 24, beginning in verse 13,

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And, behold, two of them, the disciples, were going that very day to a village named Emmaus,

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which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

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They were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place.

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It came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus himself approached and

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began traveling with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

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He said to them, What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you

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are walking?

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They stood still, looking sad.

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One of them named Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem

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and unaware of the things that have happened here these days?

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He said to them, What things?

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They said to him the things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed

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and word, in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our

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rulers delivered him up to the sentence of death and crucified him.

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But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel.

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Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.

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But also some women among us amazed us.

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When they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body, they came saying

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that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.

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And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the

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women also had said, but him they did not see.

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And he said to them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have

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spoken, was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his

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glory?

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And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things

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concerning himself in all the scriptures.

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And they approached the village where they were going, and he acted as though he would

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go farther.

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And they urged him, saying, Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening.

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And the day is now nearly over, and he went in to stay with them.

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And it came about that when he had reclined at the table with them, he took the bread

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and blessed it, and breaking it, he began giving it to them.

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And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.

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And they said to one another, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking

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to us on the road, while he was explaining scriptures to us?

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And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem.

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Because it is our Lord's pleasure to stay with us, let's discover today something of

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the wonder of his closeness.

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Note with me some of the details in the text that we have just read.

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These two followers or disciples of our Lord were returning from a traumatic sequence of

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events in Jerusalem.

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The name of one of them is given to us.

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It is Cleopas.

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The other one is unnamed.

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Perhaps the other one was his wife.

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If indeed this is the same Cleopas as mentioned in John 19.25, his wife's name was Mary.

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The conversation as they were traveling mounted in its tension.

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The language indicates they were becoming more and more animated, and it was just at

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that moment that Jesus fell into step with them.

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Is it not interesting that we observe two believers here sharing together, and the focus

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of what they were sharing was the Lord Jesus Christ?

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What a great example they give to all of us that when we meet one another, whether it

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be on a social occasion, or out there in a store somewhere, or in the hallway of the

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church, that we share together about what the Lord is doing in our lives, and let him

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be the focus of our conversation.

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We need to follow the example of these two.

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Christ himself came to them, but they did not recognize his presence, according to verse

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16.

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And, of course, we ask the question, why didn't they recognize him?

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We note that the verb is passive.

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It says their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

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What was it then that caused them not to recognize Jesus?

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There are several possible answers to that.

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One might be their emotional and mental condition at this point.

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For these disciples were returning from Jerusalem bewildered, disheartened, sad, and confused.

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They knew of the crucifixion.

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They apparently had seen it.

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They knew of the questioning and the gloom and the fear that followed his crucifixion.

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Then they heard the report of the empty tomb and the fact that some women claimed to have

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a vision of angels that said he was alive, but they didn't really see Jesus.

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After that first Easter Sunday, they were returning home with that kind of mental and

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emotional trauma.

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Perhaps that was the reason that they did not see him and recognize him.

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It may well have been that it was their spiritual condition.

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In verse 25, Jesus suggests that they were slow of heart to believe.

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It could be that they simply did not recognize him because they did not believe that he was

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going to rise from the dead.

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They had seen him die.

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They knew that he was buried.

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It may have been that their unbelief precluded any possibility of this being Jesus, so it

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never entered their minds once.

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But it seems to me that more likely that the cause of their eyes being prevented from seeing

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him was divine.

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That seems to be suggested in what is said in this verse, and then again in verse 31

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when it says their eyes were opened.

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The Lord, for his own purpose, at this time it would seem at least, caused their eyes

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to be shut so they could not perceive who he was.

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Perhaps it was to expose the unbelief of their own hearts, which indeed is exposed.

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Perhaps it was also to provide the Lord Jesus an opportunity to give the exposition that

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followed the exposure of their unbelief.

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But whatever, it seems as though the Lord caused their eyes for this time to be prevented

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from seeing and recognizing him.

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Even the expounding of scripture from our Lord himself did not give them the awareness

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that it was he who was present with them.

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How often we, too, have walked that same pathway.

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When our Lord was with us and spoke with us and we did not see his hand, nor did we hear

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his voice, even when he was dealing directly in our circumstances, our eyes failed to perceive

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that it was Jesus who was doing it.

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So we cannot condemn Cleopas and his companion too heartily.

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Jesus then provided an opportunity to be invited into their home.

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They did invite him in.

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There are those who accuse our Lord of being deceitful here because it says that he pretended

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to desire to go further.

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He acted as though he was going to go on.

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Was Jesus being deceitful here?

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Far be it from our Lord to be deceitful.

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I think what we really see here is simply an oriental mannerism.

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Orientals are much unlike we Westerners.

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We would probably have suggested that perhaps we could stay the night, but not an oriental.

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That would be too presuming.

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And so in the simply an oriental manner, he acted as though he was going to go on.

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And yet he opened the door.

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He gave them the opportunity to invite him in in doing that, and that's exactly what

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they did.

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I would suggest to you that Jesus has given us a wonderful opportunity to conscientiously,

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purposefully invite him into our homes during these days.

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And I hope that you've taken him up on that opportunity.

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It says that after the food had been prepared and as they were reclined and prepared to

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eat in the typical fashion of that day, that Jesus took the place of the host.

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That's very unusual.

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Normally, Cleopas would have done this, but Jesus assumed that responsibility.

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He took the bread, he blessed it, and then he broke it and began giving it out.

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And what would have happened, of course, as he did that?

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Well, they would have reached out to his hands, and they would have immediately seen the scars

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that were in his hands.

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It was at that point that their eyes were opened by the Lord himself so that they perceived

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the wonder of his closeness.

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Isn't it interesting to note that it was in the intimate atmosphere of their home as

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they fellowshiped together that their eyes were opened?

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And the thing that they realized belatedly was that he was present with them all along

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the way.

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They said a little bit later, our hearts were burning within us when we were walking on

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the road, but we didn't recognize him.

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Jesus is with us whether we recognize it or not.

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But how wonderful it is when we begin to open our eyes to see the wonder of his closeness.

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And although Jesus disappeared on that day from their sight, he vanished as he was capable

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of doing in his resurrection body.

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He didn't go away.

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Jesus was still there present with them, and so it is today.

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Whom, having not seen, we love, says Peter.

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We have not seen him with our physical eyes.

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We have not beheld him, but we have experienced him spiritually.

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And we can have our eyes open to see the wonder of his work in our lives every day that we

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live.

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Like these early disciples, we need our eyes opened to the presence of the living, resurrected

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King, Jesus Christ.

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Beloved, when that happens, we will begin to treat each other for the good.

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The way we treat each other now is not always what it ought to be.

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Is it in our homes, in our personal relationships?

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But, oh, if we could see that the King is present with us, it would change the way that

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we treat each other for the good.

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If our eyes were opened to Jesus' presence, the crises of life would be faced with his

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counsel.

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We would not dare ignore such a one as he.

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We would want to know what he had to say regarding the situation we were facing if only our eyes

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were open to perceive him present.

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When we see Jesus as with us, the possessions we have will be given to him to be used as

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he sees fit.

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Indeed, we will see them as resources to be used for his kingdom's sake and not for our

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work.

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When our eyes are opened to the presence of the living King, the Lord's Day will take

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on a new meaning and importance.

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Furthermore, our bodies will be respected as his personal temple when we understand and

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our eyes are opened to the fact that he dwells within these bodies of ours.

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And when we perceive that the living King is present, our church services will be different.

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We will carefully prepare ourselves in coming.

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We will be here on time.

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We will come with careful thought, focusing to see what he has to say to us personally.

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You see, if our eyes are opened to the presence of this living one, this sovereign Jesus Christ,

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it will change everything about us.

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The disciplines that we are undertaking in this fall adventure will help open our eyes.

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Which one of these disciplines will be most meaningful to you?

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Of course, I cannot say.

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We are beginning all of them, or at least the ones that we have chosen to do, today.

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But I do believe that the wonder and the delight, the joy and the excitement of these Emmaus

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disciples will be yours as your eyes are opened to behold the wonder of his presence.

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Today we are going to talk about the God hunt.

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Some of you have seen a film which has explained what this particular exercise is all about.

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Let me quote A.W.

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Tozer, a prophet of God in our day who went to be with the Lord in the early sixties.

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In his classic work entitled The Pursuit of God, he writes these words,

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The impulse to pursue God originates with God.

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But the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after him.

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And all the time we are pursuing him, we are already in his hand.

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Thy right hand upholdeth me.

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In this divine upholding and human following there is no contradiction.

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All is of God, for as Von Hegel teaches, God is always previous.

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In practice, however, man must pursue God.

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I think that that's a good statement to precede the explanation of the God hunt.

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For in the God hunt we are following hard after God.

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We are pursuing him, desiring him to open our eyes that we might behold his activity

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in our lives every day.

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This is a spiritual exercise which none of us can play passively.

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We must go on a hunt.

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We must enter it actively and take part.

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When the hunter, the pursuer sees God, he can shout, I spy.

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This week I've already heard that term several times around here and it will be picked up

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even more as we all get involved in the God hunt.

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For when we see God involved in our lives, at that moment those two words should come

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to our mind.

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I spy.

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I see God working in this in my life.

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Now there are four specific areas which will help us to distinguish as we consider the

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activity of God.

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God of course can convey himself to us in our world by any means that he desires.

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He is not limited.

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But these four categories that I'm going to mention may be of some help to you as you

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think about, well how do I identify God working in my life?

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How do I have an eye spy?

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As I pursue God during these days, what am I looking for?

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Let me suggest four specific areas.

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Number one, any obvious answer to prayer.

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I hope that you write down your prayer requests.

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It not only helps you to remember what you've asked for, but it gives you an opportunity

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to later go back and see how God answered in the way that you ask or in some other way.

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Any obvious answer to prayer is an eye spy.

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I see God working here.

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A second area is any unexpected evidence of God's care.

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It may be that you are short for a particular payment that you have to make.

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And suddenly there comes to you a gift that you did not know was coming, or you get a

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refund from here or a rebate from there.

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And the money is provided in some unexpected way.

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God has showed you His care, perhaps as you are driving down the freeway and you run into

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slow traffic.

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And your initial response is to feel frustrated by that because you're going to be late for

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the appointment.

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Only to discover later on down the expressway that there was a serious accident that had

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you been on time, you might have been involved in.

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Ways in which God unexpectedly, supernaturally, providentially intervenes and shows His loving

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care for us.

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A third area is any unusual linkage or timing.

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The word that we sometimes use is the word coincidence, but it's of course much more

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than that.

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We're talking about when things just happen in an unusual sequence or when there's a

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linkage between two things that obviously has to be of God.

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And a fourth area is any help that God gives you to do His work in the world.

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It may be that you have a desire for a certain project, to be involved in that, but you just

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don't have the time.

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And then God provides the time for you.

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Or maybe in some other way that God will enable you, He will free you to be able to be involved

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in some aspect of His kingdom work in the world.

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Those are four areas.

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Don't feel limited to those four, but at least that will get you started as you begin

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to see God at work in your life.

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When we invite Jesus Christ into our homes, the result is going to be that we will begin

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to observe the wonder of His closeness in our family relationships, in our jobs, in

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our personal and social relationships, in our personal lives.

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We are going to see the wonder of the closeness of Jesus Christ.

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We've all heard the poem by now talking about the man who was walking along.

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The footsteps were single.

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He did not see the presence of the Lord.

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And then one day at the judgment, when he asked the Lord why he was alone during that

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time, the Lord said, my son, there was only one set of footsteps because that's the

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time I was carrying you.

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That's the idea.

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It's that we might see our eyes, have our eyes open and see that there are times when

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we feel God is far away, when in fact He is carrying us in the bosom of His arms.

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Oh, listen, my friend, will you observe the wonder of His closeness?

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Now, if you have an adventure journal, there's a place for you to record those each day over

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these next weeks.

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And by the way, those journals are still available if you don't have one and want to pick up

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one today.

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We'd be delighted to get you one.

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We have plenty.

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Will you begin looking, even if you're not a part of the adventure, for some reason you

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feel you cannot do it right now.

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You can't have the journal, you can't go through all of the exercises.

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Will you at least this week be looking for the Lord's intervention, for His presence?

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You and I live in a secular society.

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The supernatural is not considered as relevant in the world in which we live.

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It is sad, but true, that such secularistic thinking touches our understanding of life

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circumstances.

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We easily miss the hand of God.

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We explain things away.

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We rationalize things and overlook that the Lord Jesus Christ is walking with us down

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our pathway.

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I don't want you to miss the ongoing miracle of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I do want you to discover the wonder, the glory of His presence and His working in your

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life every day.

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And you know what?

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You know what, as you see that and as you share what the Lord is doing, that is going

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to have a tremendous impact upon people.

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For when a society is secular, the result is a vacuum is created.

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People get hungry for God.

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They get hungry for supernatural results.

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Think of the amazement when you begin to share with people, even unsaved people, and may

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I even say it this way, especially unregenerate people, when you begin to share with them

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your eyespies and they understand that your faith visibly interfaces with the routine

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of daily life.

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Because you see right now they are convinced that faith and daily life do not meet anywhere.

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When they see it meeting, when they see it touching, when they see it interfacing in

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your life through your eyespy experiences, that's going to amaze them and attract them

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to the reality that is in Jesus Christ.

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Oh, may our eyes be opened this week.

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And as we invite Him into our homes, as we invite Him into our apartments, into our rooms,

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as we invite Him to share with us what He has given to us, as we sit down and as it

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were break bread with Him and intimately fellowship with Him and He reaches out to us, may we

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at that moment have our eyes opened to recognize that He is here.

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And as Schaeffer said, He is not silent.

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Let's pray.

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Would you sing with me?

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Open our eyes, Lord, I want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch Him,

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and say that I love Him.

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Open my ears, Lord, and help me to listen.

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Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus.

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With our heads bowed, I wonder if today you would say, yes, I know that Jesus is present

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with me, but my eyesight has been poor.

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My vision has been clouded with other things and concerns, but I want my eyes to be opened.

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I really do.

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I want my eyes opened to see Jesus in my life.

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Is that your heart's desire?

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Would you lift your hand as a testimony if that's your desire?

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Lord, I want to see your hand in my life.

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Give me good vision.

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Give me 20-20 vision.

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Amen.

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Oh Lord, you see our hands today, you read our hearts, you know our minds are intense.

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We acknowledge to you that we are in a society that counteracts all that we've talked about

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this morning.

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But Lord, open our eyes.

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Give us to see your hand working.

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And make us unashamed to share what we spy you doing as you work in our daily routines.

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In this we pray.