WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:04.719 This past week I was at a theology discussion 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:08.560 I had a very very important role that night. 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:12.939 I was the one pouring the beverages and They 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.300 were very important beverages. They were fermented 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:20.280 and you know at one point a guy walks up to me 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:24.719 and He starts talking to me like he knows me 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:29.059 and I'm thinking to myself I should know this 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:33.909 guy But I have absolutely no idea who he is at 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:38.630 all. I meet people in a lot of different places 00:00:38.630 --> 00:00:43.250 and a lot of different situations. So, I've developed 00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:47.310 a strategy for this. I just go with it. I look 00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:49.909 them right in the eye and say, hey, it's so great 00:00:49.909 --> 00:00:54.689 to see you. How have you been? Or, what's new? 00:00:55.090 --> 00:00:58.520 Or, what's been happening? Now the good part 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:00.700 about this is that you can do this with anybody, 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:04.819 but if it's someone that I should know, they're 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:07.359 going to hear this and they're going to respond 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:10.879 with something that gives me context. Maybe they're 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.439 answering a question that's relevant to a past 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.599 conversation or maybe something that helps me 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:20.599 to figure out how I know them. And so of course, 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:23.980 that's what I did. Hey, it's good to see you. 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:29.319 What's new? And he just says, Oh, you know, things 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:37.920 are okay. That is not helpful at all. And at 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:41.239 that point, I just kind of gave up, and I just 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:44.239 said, it's good to see you. What would you like 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.799 to drink? And I just hoped that he would not 00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:50.140 realize that I had absolutely no idea who he 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:54.500 was. Now, it's a strange feeling, isn't it? You're 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.079 standing in front of someone. and you're talking 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.019 with them, and you know you should recognize 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:02.640 them, but you just can't place it. You can see 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.420 them, you can hear them, you can interact with 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:09.939 them, but you just cannot figure the context 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.000 to understand who you're actually talking to. 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:16.500 And that's exactly what was happening in Luke 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.800 24. Two disciples are walking down the road, 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:22.479 talking about everything that's happened in Jerusalem. 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:26.240 Jesus had been arrested, put on the cross. But 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:30.800 it seems that there's more happening here. Jesus, 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:34.599 though, Jesus himself comes up and walks with 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:37.680 them. They see him and they talk with him, they 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.099 walk with him, but they don't recognize him. 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:45.400 Not because he's not tangibly there. He has a 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:48.180 body. They can see him. They know he's there. 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:52.620 But because they don't yet have the context to 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:57.229 understand who he is. We might think, well of 00:02:57.229 --> 00:03:00.189 course they don't recognize him. Think about 00:03:00.189 --> 00:03:03.349 everything that's just happened, all right? They 00:03:03.349 --> 00:03:07.509 had hoped that Jesus was the one who would redeem 00:03:07.509 --> 00:03:11.250 Israel. They had followed him, they had listened 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:15.810 to him, they had watched what he did, but then 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:20.090 he was arrested. He was tried and then crucified 00:03:20.090 --> 00:03:23.610 and buried. Whatever they thought the Messiah 00:03:23.610 --> 00:03:27.110 was supposed to be, this did not include that. 00:03:27.930 --> 00:03:30.710 They were not expecting a suffering Messiah. 00:03:31.629 --> 00:03:34.229 They certainly were not expecting a crucified 00:03:34.229 --> 00:03:37.610 one. And even more than that, they were not expecting 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:41.370 a Jesus standing before them now with a resurrected 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:47.550 body, whole, restored, perfected. A life not 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:51.569 just returned, but transformed, meant to endure 00:03:51.569 --> 00:03:55.960 forever. Of course. they would not be able to 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:58.939 recognize Him. But they're not even looking for 00:03:58.939 --> 00:04:02.560 a Messiah anymore. As far as they're concerned, 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:08.699 that hope is gone. So, yes, of course it would 00:04:08.699 --> 00:04:11.439 make sense to say that they wouldn't recognize 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:14.879 Him. Their expectations were wrong, their understanding 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:18.240 was incomplete, and after the last few days, 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:23.000 they're emotionally exhausted. They're not just 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.579 confused. They're undone. But Luke lets us know 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:31.060 that it's more than that. He says their eyes 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:35.060 were kept from recognizing Him. See, in the Greek, 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:39.439 the ekratuntō, it says they were being kept. 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:43.959 They were being restrained. In other words, this 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.699 is not just confusion. Something is preventing 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:51.740 them from seeing Him clearly. The way it's written 00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:54.779 tells us this is not something that they're doing. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:59.500 It's passive Something or someone is acting on 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:03.939 them Yeah, their expectations were off their 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:06.939 hearts were overwhelmed But it's even more than 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:10.839 that Jesus is not allowing himself to be recognized 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:14.639 yet But that wrecking that raises the question 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:20.459 though Why? Why would Jesus walk with them? talk 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:26.560 with them, but hold back from being known. And 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:30.100 the answer is this, because if those two people 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:34.699 recognize him too soon, getting excited that 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:37.939 the story hasn't actually ended yet, they're 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:43.680 going to misunderstand him all over again. Because 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.420 they would fall right back into the way that 00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:49.519 they saw him before. The expectations that they 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.779 had of Him. What they thought Jesus represented. 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:57.740 What they thought Jesus came to do. A Messiah 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:00.879 who would overthrow the Romans. A Messiah who 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.180 would reestablish an earthly kingdom. The way 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:07.980 they understood it. If those two disciples see 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:11.620 Jesus and they get it before they understand 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:14.779 Him, they're just going to fit Him back into 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:18.980 the same broken expectations. So before he opens 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:21.740 their eyes and lets them see who he truly is 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:26.540 Jesus has to open the scriptures He has to show 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:29.439 them what the prophets were really pointing to 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:34.259 what God had intended all along the promises 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:38.779 of a suffering servant in Isaiah the righteous 00:06:38.779 --> 00:06:43.800 one in the Psalms who is afflicted and also vindicated 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:49.500 the pattern of sacrifice and deliverance woven 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:53.740 through the law itself. Not what they had assumed 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:57.800 or filled in on their own. Because before they 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:01.879 can truly recognize who He is, they have to understand 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:06.720 what He came to do. So Jesus begins to speak. 00:07:07.209 --> 00:07:11.430 Now, Jesus doesn't do anything obvious and reveal 00:07:11.430 --> 00:07:14.810 himself right away. He's not saying, hey guys, 00:07:15.250 --> 00:07:21.209 it's me, Jesus. A little more subtle and not 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:24.889 a video game. Instead, he starts with the scriptures. 00:07:25.930 --> 00:07:29.290 He begins with Moses and all the prophets. He 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:31.329 interprets to them in all the scriptures the 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:34.329 things concerning himself. He takes everything 00:07:34.329 --> 00:07:37.550 they thought they understood and he starts to 00:07:37.550 --> 00:07:41.629 reframe it. Not by giving them new information, 00:07:42.350 --> 00:07:44.990 but by giving them the right understanding of 00:07:44.990 --> 00:07:48.370 it. Because the problem was never that they lacked 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:52.290 facts. The problem was that they understood what 00:07:52.290 --> 00:07:55.569 those facts meant. They knew what had happened. 00:07:57.009 --> 00:08:01.949 They just didn't know what it meant. But honestly? 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:08.240 Isn't that true about us too? How often do we 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:12.480 have facts right in front of us and still miss 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:15.759 what God is doing? Because we're still seeing 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:18.480 through our own expectations and assumptions. 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:22.680 Jesus walks them back through it all, through 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:24.920 the law, through the prophets, through the promises 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.399 they'd heard their whole lives, and He shows 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:34.980 them this was always the plan. the suffering, 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:37.820 the rejection, the cross. It was not a failure. 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:41.460 It was not some detour from what was intended. 00:08:41.940 --> 00:08:44.419 This is exactly what God had been pointing to 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:49.620 all along. Not the plan they wanted, but the 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:53.179 plan they needed. And as He speaks, something 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:59.080 begins to happen. Not obviously. Not yet. They 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:02.080 still don't recognize Him. But on the inside? 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:07.820 something's changing. Before their eyes are opened, 00:09:08.539 --> 00:09:14.279 Christ is already at work in them. And this is 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:17.759 where they begin to see it, not yet with their 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:22.539 eyes, but in their hearts. Because later they 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:27.019 say, did not our hearts burn within us while 00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:30.100 He talked to us on the road, when He opened to 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:34.129 us the Scriptures? before they realized that 00:09:34.129 --> 00:09:37.009 something was happening in them, something that 00:09:37.009 --> 00:09:40.570 they didn't create, something they didn't initiate, 00:09:41.549 --> 00:09:43.889 something they couldn't even fully explain at 00:09:43.889 --> 00:09:47.870 the time. See, this is where we need to be careful, 00:09:48.370 --> 00:09:50.330 though. Because this is one of those moments 00:09:50.330 --> 00:09:53.950 in Scripture that can be easily misunderstood. 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:57.730 Because when we talk about God working on us, 00:09:58.070 --> 00:10:01.429 working in us, awakening faith, stirring the 00:10:01.429 --> 00:10:05.059 heart, People often hear that and they think 00:10:05.059 --> 00:10:11.879 one of two things. Either they think, so I must 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:15.059 be the one who decides my fate. I'm the one who 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:18.500 chooses. I'm the one who creates that faith in 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:24.700 myself. That's me. Or, I guess I'm just a puppet 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:29.500 in God's hands with no real response of my own 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:35.120 at all in any of this. But to be clear, it's 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:39.440 neither. That theology discussion that night, 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:44.360 this very topic was coming up, and I heard all 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:46.899 the people that were up there trying to wrestle 00:10:46.899 --> 00:10:50.139 with it, and I was really worried because of 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:51.940 what they were saying, because unfortunately, 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:54.039 they didn't have any Lutherans up there to help 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:57.259 them out. I mean, come on. I was right there. 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:03.039 Because often we see is that in our world people 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:06.120 struggle with the two. Because on the one hand, 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:09.240 there were those emphasizing that grace really 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:13.320 is God's work. And that's absolutely correct. 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:17.720 But then it drifted into an idea that many people 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:21.120 take from that, that God must also be the one 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:27.639 choosing who He wants to be lost. as if he wants 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.580 some people to be condemned. And I've heard those 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:34.679 very same people say that that somehow gives 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:37.840 them a sense of peace, which makes me wonder 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.419 what's wrong with them. That's not the picture 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:45.480 scripture gives us of God. The other hand, though, 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:49.139 a pastor friend of mine, Meredith, who was on 00:11:49.139 --> 00:11:52.799 the panel, was emphasizing free will. I didn't 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.440 agree with every point that she made, but she 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:58.600 was absolutely right when she said, we don't 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.639 want people spending their whole lives wondering, 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:06.919 did I accept Jesus the right way? Did I do it 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:12.120 correctly enough? She also made the point, against 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:15.899 predestination, that if someone were forced into 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.600 God's kingdom against their will, it wouldn't 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:22.279 really be salvation. Being forced into heaven 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:25.779 would almost feel like a different kind of hell. 00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:29.799 That's exactly why we have to be clear here. 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:33.279 That we're not promoting what many people call 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.419 double predestination. The idea that God decides 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:40.080 ahead of time not only who will be saved, but 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:44.480 also who will be lost based on his own desires. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:50.059 But at the same time, it's not the opposite view. 00:12:50.490 --> 00:12:53.049 That faith is ultimately something we somehow 00:12:53.049 --> 00:12:56.789 generate by our own free will or decision before 00:12:56.789 --> 00:13:00.090 God has had any say in it at all. Scripture doesn't 00:13:00.090 --> 00:13:03.730 actually say either. What it says is something 00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:07.730 different. Christ is the one who acts first. 00:13:08.710 --> 00:13:13.090 And after Christ has acted first, we can then 00:13:13.090 --> 00:13:18.210 choose if we wish to reject Him. Look at the 00:13:18.210 --> 00:13:22.509 text. before they recognize Him, before they 00:13:22.509 --> 00:13:25.990 say anything about belief, Christ is already 00:13:25.990 --> 00:13:29.610 at work in them through His Word. This is why 00:13:29.610 --> 00:13:33.110 we are so comfortable with baptizing those who 00:13:33.110 --> 00:13:35.070 are still too young to answer for themselves, 00:13:35.789 --> 00:13:40.970 because God always works before we come to the 00:13:40.970 --> 00:13:45.269 point of embracing it ourselves. For these two 00:13:45.269 --> 00:13:47.990 people, their hearts were burning not because 00:13:47.990 --> 00:13:51.860 they had it figured out, but because God is revealing 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:55.460 it to them, awakening something, stirring something, 00:13:55.700 --> 00:13:58.960 drawing them in. And it means that faith is not 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:04.039 something that you manufacture because you thought 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:08.500 it was a great idea. It's not something you produce 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:11.779 by finally getting your act together or making 00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:14.620 the right decision or making sure that you... 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:19.320 really accepted Jesus this time, after 25 believers' 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:22.419 prayers, the right way, the best way, the full 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:27.019 way this time. In fact, every time somebody says, 00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:30.419 all you have to do is believe, heard that one 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:34.419 before? We're already making it sound as if belief 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:37.500 is still one thing we have to somehow accomplish, 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:41.440 something we have to achieve, even if it's just 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.419 the one thing. But then we end up wondering for 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:46.899 the rest of our lives if we even did that correctly. 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:50.860 That's not what Scripture shows us. Scripture 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:54.159 shows us a Christ who comes to people first, 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:57.419 speaks to them, opens the Word to them, and begins 00:14:57.419 --> 00:15:00.620 His work in them before they can even name what's 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:05.159 happening. Which means that when you say, yes, 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:09.799 I want to be saved, you're already responding 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:12.879 to the conviction that you need salvation. that 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.059 you're a sinner, and that Christ is your only 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:19.700 hope. That desire to cling to Him, to trust Him, 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:23.500 to look to Him is already at work in you. That's 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.820 why I don't berate people with questions when 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:30.519 they say, yes, I want to be saved. And I'm like, 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:36.440 you are in Christ Jesus. It's as you look to 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.750 Him. This is not because you've already figured 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:43.110 it all out, or because you're following Him perfectly, 00:15:43.409 --> 00:15:47.789 but because as He continues to work in you, your 00:15:47.789 --> 00:15:52.129 desire begins to change. Does that mean that 00:15:52.129 --> 00:15:55.870 there's no response from us to God's salvation? 00:15:56.289 --> 00:15:58.610 That there's no part where a person is actually 00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:00.870 saying whether they want any part of this? Are 00:16:00.870 --> 00:16:04.590 we just puppets with no say in our own lives? 00:16:05.389 --> 00:16:10.440 No. The response is real. The response is ours. 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:14.179 But the response flows from what God has already 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:19.440 done. God is the one who calls. God is the one 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:23.299 who awakens. God is the one who draws. And yes, 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:30.139 people can still turn away when God has spoken. 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:35.549 It may be hard to imagine for us, We want to 00:16:35.549 --> 00:16:38.710 be part of God's grace. We're sitting here saying 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:41.789 we love Him. We're grateful for what He has done. 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:45.529 Whether we can understand it or not, people can 00:16:45.529 --> 00:16:48.990 still reject what He is doing in their lives. 00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:53.909 Because God wants to reach all people. But many 00:16:53.909 --> 00:16:57.149 of them do still reject Him. Even those who have 00:16:57.149 --> 00:16:59.850 been baptized, even those who have heard the 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:04.670 Word, can still turn away. not because God failed, 00:17:05.390 --> 00:17:08.190 not because God is ineffective, but because what 00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:14.390 He has given, it can be refused. But on this 00:17:14.390 --> 00:17:16.369 road to Emmaus, that's not what's happening. 00:17:16.970 --> 00:17:20.009 And in fact, it's not what's happening in your 00:17:20.009 --> 00:17:24.130 hearts right now. Because right now, Christ is 00:17:24.130 --> 00:17:28.230 speaking. Christ is opening the Scriptures. Christ 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:32.160 is stirring hearts. Something new is beginning. 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:34.640 Not because we've managed to reach up to Him, 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:38.380 but because He's already come to us. And that's 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:42.019 what we hear Peter saying today. Blessed be the 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:44.819 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According 00:17:44.819 --> 00:17:47.180 to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:50.180 again to a living hope through the resurrection 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:53.279 of Jesus Christ from the dead. Did you catch 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:58.579 that? He has caused us. Just like on the road 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.380 to Emmaus, Christ is the one who acts first, 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:03.980 the one who gives you life, the one who brings 00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:06.339 us into this living hope. When He's breaking 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:08.799 the bread and they recognize Him, it's not because 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.839 they were sitting around the table when they 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:13.480 were doing communion before His crucifixion. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.640 It's because it's the same Jesus who was feeding 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:22.279 them throughout His ministry. Peter also speaks 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:27.500 about faith. Trials. Testing. perseverance though. 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:31.039 We do need to hold those together carefully. 00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:35.960 Because our faith, our faith is being refined. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.619 Our faith, we do walk through trials. We are 00:18:41.619 --> 00:18:46.299 called to cling to what has been given. None 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:50.390 of that means that faith starts with us. The 00:18:50.390 --> 00:18:52.470 faith that endures is still the faith that God 00:18:52.470 --> 00:18:55.470 has created. The faith that sustains you in the 00:18:55.470 --> 00:18:59.069 trials is the same grace that first called you. 00:18:59.549 --> 00:19:03.730 And also at the same time, it's not just something 00:19:03.730 --> 00:19:07.950 that you sit and watch and drift along without 00:19:07.950 --> 00:19:13.990 care. We are meant to hold fast, to remain, to 00:19:13.990 --> 00:19:17.250 be active with this because we can reject what 00:19:17.250 --> 00:19:20.640 was given. There are times where people allow 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:24.400 the pressures of this world, fears, doubts, distractions, 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:28.200 to pull us away and convince us that what we 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:31.440 have in Christ either isn't enough, or maybe 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:34.420 it's not even worth it. Maybe it's not even true. 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.119 Peter says don't lose sight of what you've been 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:41.640 given. Even though you have not seen Him, you've 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.799 loved Him. Even though... You do not now see 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:48.460 Him. You believe in Him and rejoice with joy 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:50.400 that is inexpressible and filled with glory. 00:19:50.779 --> 00:19:54.299 It's the same reality we saw with Thomas. Blessed 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:56.420 are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:00.660 This is the life of faith. Not seeing with our 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:04.400 eyes, but knowing Him through His Word. Trusting 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:08.420 Him, loving Him, clinging to Him. Not because 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:10.599 we've convinced ourselves hard enough to love 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:14.269 Him. But because he has already revealed himself 00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:19.210 and his love to us and that is what changes us 00:20:19.210 --> 00:20:23.390 and That's a testimony not just to others but 00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:28.009 to ourselves It's not hollow It's not something 00:20:28.009 --> 00:20:31.430 that we just move on from But that is the real 00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:36.490 life that he is calling us to You begin to follow 00:20:36.490 --> 00:20:41.450 not perfectly but genuinely because you know 00:20:41.450 --> 00:20:47.089 Him and He first loved us. Because for those 00:20:47.089 --> 00:20:50.390 who hear His Word, who find their hearts stirred, 00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:53.690 who say, yes, I believe, this is not a question 00:20:53.690 --> 00:20:56.190 of whether you've believed enough or whether 00:20:56.190 --> 00:20:59.470 you accepted Him in just the right way. It's 00:20:59.470 --> 00:21:04.069 already yours. What Christ has accomplished is 00:21:04.069 --> 00:21:07.230 not waiting for you to complete it. It is given 00:21:07.230 --> 00:21:13.410 to you and receiving it and living in it. It's 00:21:13.410 --> 00:21:16.549 affirming what is already accomplished in Christ. 00:21:17.630 --> 00:21:21.569 And that is what we can rest in. Because as we 00:21:21.569 --> 00:21:26.690 cling to Him, it's His strength, not ours. And 00:21:26.690 --> 00:21:30.029 that's where the final turn comes in. Because 00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:33.130 once they recognize Him, once their eyes are 00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:37.319 opened, He vanishes from their sight. Doesn't 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:41.299 that seem strange? Oh hey, that was Jesus! Oh 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:46.660 hey, we should talk! Where'd He go? Why disappear 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:51.500 now? At that point, He doesn't need to stay in 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:54.500 front of them. Because they already know Him 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:57.539 not just with their eyes, but with their hearts. 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.480 Not just recognizing His face, but knowing who 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:05.039 He is and what He has done. And now everything 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:09.539 has changed. so they don't sit there and reflect 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:14.400 quietly. Well, that was cool. They get up immediately 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:17.880 and they go to Jerusalem and they tell everyone. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:21.259 Because once you see Christ for who He truly 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:26.220 is, you don't just stay where you were. The same 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:29.380 movement we've been tracing all along. Christ 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:33.059 comes to us. Christ speaks to us. Christ reveals 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:35.980 Himself to us. And Christ awakens our hearts. 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:41.720 as He gives us new life. And that life is now 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.920 what others see in us. Not because we're proving 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:49.740 something or trying to convince anyone, but because 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:53.619 Christ is alive in us. And that is what is changing 00:22:53.619 --> 00:22:57.339 how we live. It's changing how we speak, how 00:22:57.339 --> 00:23:00.619 we respond to the people who frustrate us the 00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:06.789 most. How we are holding onto when everything 00:23:06.789 --> 00:23:10.750 else feels uncertain, in the quiet ways that 00:23:10.750 --> 00:23:16.250 we refuse to let go of God. Because people may 00:23:16.250 --> 00:23:19.930 not always recognize God right away, but just 00:23:19.930 --> 00:23:23.950 like those two people, those two disciples, the 00:23:23.950 --> 00:23:27.250 world may not recognize immediately, but over 00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:31.410 time, in your actions, in your steadiness, in 00:23:31.410 --> 00:23:34.990 your hope, in your words, and please remember 00:23:34.990 --> 00:23:38.990 to use your words. Something begins to show. 00:23:39.970 --> 00:23:44.549 Not just do you recognize Jesus, but do people 00:23:44.549 --> 00:23:49.049 recognize Jesus in you. Because the same Christ 00:23:49.049 --> 00:23:52.369 who walked with them on that road has come to 00:23:52.369 --> 00:23:57.250 you, spoken to you, and revealed himself to you, 00:23:57.410 --> 00:24:01.029 and is still at work in you even today. So go. 00:24:01.819 --> 00:24:05.900 with eyes opened, with hearts burning, and with 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:09.380 a faith that is not your own work, but a gift 00:24:09.380 --> 00:24:14.539 for you. And as you go, may we continue to live 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:18.299 in the life that He has given in a way that shows 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:22.380 who He is in us. Thanks be to God.