Before I open the Word with you, 00:00:29.04\00:00:30.74 I know we have been doing a lot of praying, would you just bow 00:00:30.77\00:00:34.23 your heads with me for a moment, as we ask for His presence? 00:00:34.26\00:00:38.81 Loving Lord, we are so thankful that we can gather in this place 00:00:38.84\00:00:43.63 and to address our attention to Your Word. 00:00:43.66\00:00:46.75 Lord, it's a miracle what's happening here in this church 00:00:46.78\00:00:51.83 in Fresno right now, 00:00:51.86\00:00:53.78 is ricocheting off these angels in the sky and bouncing back 00:00:53.81\00:00:58.25 all around the Planet. 00:00:58.28\00:01:00.19 And I pray Lord, 00:01:00.22\00:01:01.97 that you will take charge of everything that happens here, 00:01:02.00\00:01:05.11 I pray that you will confound any plans the devil might have 00:01:05.14\00:01:08.40 to distract people from hearing 00:01:08.43\00:01:10.44 what Jesus wants to say to the church. 00:01:10.47\00:01:13.20 So please bless now and speak to our hearts, and change us 00:01:13.23\00:01:16.66 for the better, as a result of our time this afternoon. 00:01:16.69\00:01:20.15 In Christ's name we ask, Amen. 00:01:20.18\00:01:23.65 You know, I've been praying sincerely about what I might say 00:01:24.88\00:01:30.14 and I feel a little bit like a ripple after a tsunami, 00:01:30.17\00:01:34.09 because when all of God's people get together and pray, 00:01:34.12\00:01:39.14 that, I think, is what really moves the arm of the All Mighty. 00:01:39.17\00:01:43.86 So I've decided to focus my attention 00:01:43.89\00:01:46.08 on something where I can't miss. 00:01:46.11\00:01:48.06 And it's simply this: 00:01:48.09\00:01:49.63 I would like to encourage you, to fix your eyes on Jesus, 00:01:49.66\00:01:53.90 I want you to see Jesus. 00:01:53.93\00:01:56.84 I want you to see the Lord. 00:01:57.34\00:01:59.40 Now there's a story in the Bible that is one of my favorites, 00:01:59.43\00:02:03.54 it's found in the book of Isaiah 00:02:03.57\00:02:05.37 it's the conversion of Isaiah, 00:02:05.40\00:02:07.32 Isaiah 6:1 00:02:07.35\00:02:09.29 If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn there, 00:02:09.32\00:02:13.17 Isaiah 6:1 00:02:13.20\00:02:15.06 And it says: " In the year that king Uzziah died, 00:02:17.54\00:02:21.57 I saw the Lord 00:02:21.60\00:02:23.95 sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, 00:02:24.51\00:02:27.57 and the train of His robe filled the temple. " 00:02:27.60\00:02:32.38 Now king Uzziah had been king for about 52 years, 00:02:32.41\00:02:35.70 one of the longest reigning king, 00:02:35.73\00:02:38.03 second longest reigning king actually, in Judea, 00:02:38.06\00:02:41.21 and they say there was great insecurity in North America, 00:02:41.24\00:02:45.23 when Roosevelt died, because he filled out three terms 00:02:45.26\00:02:49.36 and was entering his fourth, when he died, 00:02:49.39\00:02:52.29 and all of a sudden, there was this unexpected 00:02:52.32\00:02:55.08 president that came in, who was unknown, Harry Truman, 00:02:55.11\00:03:01.08 there in the midst of a war, and there's great insecurity 00:03:01.28\00:03:04.30 in the nation during that time. 00:03:04.33\00:03:07.02 Well here can you imagine a president for 52 years? 00:03:07.05\00:03:11.68 Most people have grown up, with Uzziah on the throne. 00:03:11.71\00:03:14.59 And for the most part, it says he was a good king, that served 00:03:14.62\00:03:17.32 the Lord, but they had pretty intense enemies around them. 00:03:17.35\00:03:21.46 And God was sending the message to the people of Israel: 00:03:21.49\00:03:24.26 don't be afraid, I'm still here, I'm on the throne. 00:03:24.29\00:03:27.53 Even though they knew, that God was on the throne of Israel, 00:03:27.56\00:03:31.35 so to speak, 00:03:31.38\00:03:32.35 this vision is a vision of God in His glory, 00:03:32.38\00:03:36.53 on His throne in Heaven, 00:03:36.56\00:03:39.19 most of us would probably do what Daniel and the others did, 00:03:39.22\00:03:42.20 we would fall down, as though were dead, 00:03:42.23\00:03:44.26 from a glimpse of the Glory of God. 00:03:44.29\00:03:47.96 As a matter of fact, I want to read through this with you, 00:03:47.99\00:03:50.66 and show you, how Isaiah responded: 00:03:50.69\00:03:54.02 " I saw the Lord sitting on the throne, high and lifted up, 00:03:54.05\00:03:58.62 and the train of His robe filled the temple. 00:03:58.65\00:04:01.48 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: 00:04:01.51\00:04:06.17 with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, 00:04:06.20\00:04:09.84 and with two he flew. 00:04:09.87\00:04:12.25 And the posts of the door where shaken by the voice of him, 00:04:12.42\00:04:15.27 who cried out and the house was filled with smoke: 00:04:15.30\00:04:19.31 Then I said: " Woe is me, for I am undone! 00:04:19.34\00:04:23.06 Because I am a man of unclean lips; 00:04:23.09\00:04:24.83 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; 00:04:24.86\00:04:28.00 For mine eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts. 00:04:28.03\00:04:33.76 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, 00:04:33.79\00:04:35.58 having in his hands a live coal that he had taken 00:04:35.61\00:04:38.08 with tongs from the altar. 00:04:38.11\00:04:39.54 And he touched my mouth with it, and he said: 00:04:39.57\00:04:42.21 Behold, this has touched your lips; 00:04:42.24\00:04:44.64 Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. 00:04:44.67\00:04:48.30 I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 00:04:48.33\00:04:51.56 Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? 00:04:51.59\00:04:54.61 Then I said, Here am I! Send me. " 00:04:54.64\00:04:58.20 And He said in verse 9: 00:04:58.23\00:05:00.10 "Go and tell this people. " 00:05:00.13\00:05:01.64 Now, this passage we just read, 00:05:01.67\00:05:04.14 encapsulates both revival and conversion. 00:05:04.17\00:05:08.19 It starts with seeing God. 00:05:08.22\00:05:11.09 He saw God in His holiness, he saw God in His power, 00:05:11.53\00:05:14.86 and then he saw himself. 00:05:14.89\00:05:16.59 We see the goodness of God, and that then leads us 00:05:16.62\00:05:19.07 to repentance. 00:05:19.10\00:05:20.07 After he saw God's goodness, he saw his badness. 00:05:20.08\00:05:23.26 And then he says: woe is me, 00:05:23.29\00:05:24.71 he repents and he confesses. 00:05:24.74\00:05:26.16 As soon as he repents and he confesses, 00:05:26.19\00:05:28.53 by the way, what did he confess? 00:05:28.56\00:05:30.74 He said, I'm a man of unclean lips, 00:05:30.77\00:05:32.47 first he confessed his sin, than there was corporate confession 00:05:32.50\00:05:35.90 as "I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips". 00:05:35.93\00:05:38.45 That's something that we've lost as a people. 00:05:38.48\00:05:40.98 You read in the Bible, when ever there was repentance, 00:05:41.01\00:05:43.52 it was not only the individual repentance, 00:05:43.55\00:05:45.36 it was the corporate repentance. 00:05:45.39\00:05:46.87 I should not only be concerned about my relationship with God, 00:05:46.90\00:05:49.95 I should be concerned about your relationship with God 00:05:49.98\00:05:52.58 if I'm a real Christian, if I love you. 00:05:52.61\00:05:54.60 Daniel chapter 9. 00:05:54.63\00:05:55.60 It says:" While I was confessing my sin, 00:05:55.63\00:05:57.73 and the sin of my people. " 00:05:57.76\00:05:59.63 You look at all of the prophets through the Old Testament, 00:05:59.66\00:06:02.72 they not only said: Lord forgive me, 00:06:02.75\00:06:04.54 they said: forgive us. 00:06:04.57\00:06:05.68 As a matter of fact, in the Lord's prayer. 00:06:05.71\00:06:07.55 It's not just: Lord forgive me, and lead me, 00:06:07.58\00:06:11.60 and feed me..., it's forgive us! 00:06:11.63\00:06:14.36 "Lead us"... "Deliver us", It's about us... 00:06:14.39\00:06:17.98 One of the things, I think, that will bring 00:06:18.01\00:06:21.01 revival during this time of prayer, 00:06:21.04\00:06:23.67 is to really unite as a people. 00:06:23.70\00:06:25.78 It's when the apostles put aside their differences, 00:06:25.81\00:06:29.18 they where in one accord, and in one place. 00:06:29.21\00:06:31.55 And I doubt they had air-conditioning 00:06:31.58\00:06:33.37 in that upper room, on that spring afternoon. 00:06:33.40\00:06:35.53 Keep in mind, this is 50 days after Passover, 00:06:35.56\00:06:37.71 it started to get warm there in Israel, right? 00:06:37.74\00:06:40.91 But they where of one accord, they put aside their differences 00:06:40.94\00:06:43.62 they prayed corporately, and the Holy Spirit 00:06:43.65\00:06:46.18 was poured out upon them. 00:06:46.21\00:06:47.67 So he said: I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of 00:06:47.70\00:06:50.95 a people with unclean lips and by the way, 00:06:50.98\00:06:52.76 what do unclean lips indicate? 00:06:52.79\00:06:54.78 "Out of the abundance of the mouth the heart speaks. " 00:06:54.81\00:06:58.44 Unclean lips - unclean heart. 00:06:58.47\00:07:00.99 So really, that's our problem, for all of us. 00:07:01.02\00:07:03.69 We need our hearts cleaned. 00:07:03.72\00:07:05.95 Now Isaiah was a good man, he was from the Levitical line, 00:07:05.98\00:07:09.70 he ended up being called as a prophet of God, 00:07:09.73\00:07:11.75 died a martyr's death, he was a good man, 00:07:11.78\00:07:13.95 but in the presence of God, we are all an unclean thing. 00:07:13.98\00:07:17.13 He said: I am a man, woe is me! 00:07:17.16\00:07:20.37 And if we aren't covered by the blood of Christ, 00:07:20.40\00:07:22.31 we all ought to be praying that prayer: "woe is me". 00:07:22.34\00:07:25.07 He repents. 00:07:25.10\00:07:26.32 And after he repents, how long does God wait, 00:07:26.39\00:07:28.90 before He sends cleansing? 00:07:28.93\00:07:30.87 As soon as he acknowledges his sin, and he repents of his sin, 00:07:30.90\00:07:35.03 at that point God sends the angel with a hot coal, 00:07:35.06\00:07:37.58 by the way, what is it that cleanses us? 00:07:37.61\00:07:39.67 Usually fiery trials, that purge us from our sins. 00:07:39.70\00:07:43.88 Sometimes it's trials, it's adversity, 00:07:43.91\00:07:46.15 the Lord tests us, and that is a purifying influence. 00:07:46.18\00:07:48.90 The Lord took the children of Israel through the wilderness 00:07:48.93\00:07:51.45 and what happened there? 00:07:51.48\00:07:52.62 It says: "I taught you, I humbled you, 00:07:52.65\00:07:54.82 that you might know that man doesn't live by bread alone, 00:07:54.85\00:07:57.18 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". 00:07:57.21\00:07:59.76 It's through the trials. As soon as he says: "I'm a man 00:07:59.79\00:08:03.00 of unclean lips, God sends cleansing. 00:08:03.03\00:08:05.99 Now he must stand there. What would you do, 00:08:06.02\00:08:07.78 if an angel came at you with a fiery coal? 00:08:07.81\00:08:10.35 A glowing coal, would you stand there and receive it? 00:08:10.38\00:08:14.47 Where did he put the coal? 00:08:14.50\00:08:17.42 On his lips. Some people say that's because he was 00:08:17.82\00:08:20.47 preparing him, a lot of preachers pray: 00:08:20.50\00:08:22.70 "Lord, anoint their lips with a coal from your altar, 00:08:22.73\00:08:25.36 that they might preach. " That's appropriate, 00:08:25.39\00:08:27.30 but there is another way of looking at that. 00:08:27.33\00:08:29.28 He put the coal on his lips, because he confessed 00:08:29.31\00:08:31.45 the problem with the lips. 00:08:31.48\00:08:33.04 Isn't that right? 00:08:33.07\00:08:34.09 So I wonder where everybody's coal would be applied. 00:08:34.12\00:08:37.00 It depends, because all of us are a little bit different. 00:08:37.03\00:08:39.77 But he said unclean lips, the Lord said: 00:08:39.80\00:08:41.62 I'm gonna purge your lips. And you know, 00:08:41.65\00:08:44.91 when you think about it, that's what Moses said: 00:08:44.94\00:08:46.84 You can't use me, I'm a man of a slow tongue! 00:08:46.87\00:08:49.77 And the Lord said: I can take care of that. 00:08:49.80\00:08:52.40 And he had a mission; what ever your ministry is, 00:08:52.43\00:08:54.92 God will prepare you for that. 00:08:54.95\00:08:56.58 But don't miss this: As soon as he confesses a fault, 00:08:56.61\00:08:59.70 how quickly does God send cleansing? 00:08:59.73\00:09:02.37 Immediately. 00:09:02.40\00:09:03.54 Notice, that as soon as that happens, 00:09:03.57\00:09:07.00 God says sort of rhetorically: Whom shall I send, 00:09:07.03\00:09:10.83 and who will go for us? 00:09:10.86\00:09:11.83 Well, He already knew the answer to that, didn't He? 00:09:11.84\00:09:14.01 But He wanted him to offer his services, 00:09:14.04\00:09:16.00 Jesus doesn't force us, does He? 00:09:16.03\00:09:17.60 And as soon as He says: Whom will I send, 00:09:17.63\00:09:19.59 Isaiah says: Well, since you've cleansed me, I'll go, 00:09:19.62\00:09:22.17 someone's got to tell them, I've seen your glory, 00:09:22.20\00:09:24.53 I've got to tell other people what I've seen, 00:09:24.56\00:09:26.69 I can't keep it to myself. 00:09:26.72\00:09:27.98 What began this whole conversion of Isaiah? 00:09:28.01\00:09:32.13 What's the first step in conversion? 00:09:32.16\00:09:34.98 We need to see the Lord! 00:09:35.01\00:09:37.74 You know, what is the most famous verse in the Bible? 00:09:37.87\00:09:43.87 John 3:16 00:09:44.16\00:09:45.56 Most people, if I ask you to quote John 3:16, 00:09:46.44\00:09:49.05 you could do it verbatim. 00:09:49.08\00:09:50.73 But John 3:16 is not alone. 00:09:50.76\00:09:53.39 As a matter of fact John 3:16 is introduced almost word for word 00:09:53.42\00:09:56.47 by the prier two verses. 00:09:56.50\00:09:58.06 Let me read that to you: John 3:14-16. 00:09:58.09\00:10:02.51 Christ said: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent 00:10:02.83\00:10:08.10 in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 00:10:08.13\00:10:12.68 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 00:10:12.71\00:10:15.50 but have everlasting life. " 00:10:15.53\00:10:16.85 Then the familiar part: "For God so loved the world, 00:10:16.88\00:10:19.91 that He gave His only begotten Son, that" - he repeats - 00:10:19.94\00:10:22.52 whosoever believeth in him might not perish, 00:10:22.55\00:10:24.83 but have everlasting life. " 00:10:24.86\00:10:26.83 So this conversion, this gift, John 3:16 rides upon, 00:10:26.86\00:10:31.41 John 3:14. 00:10:31.44\00:10:32.61 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. 00:10:33.07\00:10:35.64 You remember the story from the book of Numbers? 00:10:35.97\00:10:38.28 The children of Israel began to complain because it was manna, 00:10:38.31\00:10:41.01 manna, manna, we are so tired of manna, 00:10:41.04\00:10:43.08 we wish we could be back there, eating from 00:10:43.11\00:10:45.01 the flesh pots of Egypt, they where complaining 00:10:45.04\00:10:47.35 about the Heavenly bread that God was giving them. 00:10:47.38\00:10:49.82 They wanted something more spicy. 00:10:49.85\00:10:51.53 And when they lost the appetite for that, it says: 00:10:51.56\00:10:55.30 the Lord withdrew His protection and fiery serpents 00:10:55.33\00:10:58.57 came among them and bit them. 00:10:58.60\00:11:00.29 And evidently these fiery serpents, some commentators say: 00:11:00.32\00:11:04.44 they were called fiery serpents, because they were a red color, 00:11:04.47\00:11:07.49 others say they were called fiery serpents, because 00:11:07.52\00:11:09.97 after they were bit, the effect of the venom was also 00:11:10.00\00:11:12.85 a burning sensation. 00:11:12.88\00:11:14.29 Who knows, it could have been both, 00:11:14.32\00:11:16.05 there could have been red, with a burning venom. 00:11:16.08\00:11:18.58 But we know, that after you reject the manna of God, 00:11:18.61\00:11:21.39 the serpent comes in. Isn't that what happened? 00:11:21.42\00:11:24.59 They wanted something else. 00:11:24.62\00:11:26.17 They wanted something spicy, more interesting, 00:11:26.20\00:11:28.76 more entertaining. Are you with me? 00:11:28.79\00:11:30.94 And after they lost their appetite for the manna, 00:11:30.97\00:11:33.45 that God gave them, God's protection was withdrawn, 00:11:33.48\00:11:36.75 and the serpents came in, and they where bit. It was lethal! 00:11:36.78\00:11:40.40 If God did not intervene miraculously, 00:11:40.43\00:11:42.91 everybody bit was going to die. 00:11:42.94\00:11:46.04 They would swell up and die. 00:11:46.07\00:11:47.20 So God gave the people a plague. 00:11:47.23\00:11:50.17 I was just up in Baker city, OR, visiting my son, Daniel, 00:11:50.20\00:11:53.23 we, Karen and I with the boys flew up there, 00:11:53.26\00:11:55.33 we saw all our kids together, it was great, 00:11:55.36\00:11:57.39 and he was telling me there was a snake pit right upon the hill, 00:11:57.42\00:12:00.49 he said, they've found some rattlesnakes up there, 00:12:00.52\00:12:02.92 there was a pit so full of rattlesnakes, it was a great 00:12:02.95\00:12:05.58 big ball, they didn't even know, how these rattlesnakes could 00:12:05.61\00:12:08.53 survive. Would there be enough food. 00:12:08.56\00:12:10.25 So do you know what they did? 00:12:10.28\00:12:11.90 They flew over, and they bombed it. 00:12:11.93\00:12:14.97 They did not even want to send anybody in, 00:12:15.00\00:12:17.22 there were so many rattlesnakes, that they flew over, 00:12:17.25\00:12:19.88 and they dropped the bomb on the spot. 00:12:19.91\00:12:24.23 And rattles flew everywhere, I suppose. 00:12:24.51\00:12:28.02 So if you are wondering, where the Lord got that many snakes, 00:12:28.05\00:12:30.76 well, you know, sometimes there are plagues of grasshoppers, 00:12:30.79\00:12:33.26 sometimes there are plagues of lice, there are plagues of frogs 00:12:33.29\00:12:36.36 and under the right conditions, there can be plagues of snakes, 00:12:36.39\00:12:39.74 and a plague of snakes broke out, 00:12:39.77\00:12:42.47 and the people where dying, everywhere they stepped, 00:12:42.50\00:12:45.79 they were getting bit, they'd go inside their pots, 00:12:45.82\00:12:48.06 to pull out the manna, that they where complaining about, 00:12:48.09\00:12:51.29 and snakes would come out. 00:12:51.32\00:12:53.42 So God told Moses: Here's what you want to do, 00:12:53.45\00:12:56.71 take, and make out of bronze, a serpent, 00:12:56.74\00:13:01.26 put it on a pole, or a staff, lift it up, 00:13:01.59\00:13:06.22 whoever looks at that, will be healed from the venom. 00:13:06.25\00:13:12.05 Now, Christ is telling us about that story, 00:13:12.08\00:13:14.62 before he goes to John 3:16. 00:13:14.65\00:13:16.28 We need to know, what does that mean! 00:13:16.31\00:13:18.40 I've heard some say: but isn't the snake a symbol of the devil, 00:13:18.43\00:13:23.70 what does that mean? We look to the devil and we're forgiven? 00:13:23.73\00:13:28.17 Let me tell you something, that I learned, 00:13:28.20\00:13:31.18 when I first read this verse, maybe it made more sense to me, 00:13:31.55\00:13:34.52 than to most people, 00:13:34.55\00:13:35.56 because I used to live up in the hills, 00:13:35.59\00:13:37.52 lots of rattlesnakes everywhere, and I actually had, 00:13:37.55\00:13:40.39 because they where so common, I had a snake stick. 00:13:40.42\00:13:44.03 Actually it was a long piece of yucca pole, 00:13:44.06\00:13:46.30 because there weren't that many sticks, 00:13:46.33\00:13:48.27 and I had a wire noose at the end of it, 00:13:48.30\00:13:50.11 and when I'd encounter a rattlesnake, I'd take it, 00:13:50.14\00:13:52.50 I'd slip it over their heads, I would pull the noose, 00:13:52.53\00:13:54.73 so I could catch them by the head, I'd carry them off 00:13:54.76\00:13:57.28 away from the trail to somewhere safe, 00:13:57.31\00:13:59.10 and I'd pull it all the way, and well, it would decapitate them. 00:13:59.13\00:14:02.23 I know some of you will write me letters, 00:14:02.26\00:14:04.23 and say that's inhumane... 00:14:04.26\00:14:05.45 But you were already gonna write me a letter, 00:14:05.48\00:14:07.71 when I told you about the bomb on the snakes anyway. 00:14:07.74\00:14:10.52 So, I remember hiking with a pole and a snake 00:14:10.55\00:14:17.23 strangling on the end of it, and carrying it away. 00:14:17.62\00:14:21.44 Sometimes I'd actually kill the snake, 00:14:21.95\00:14:23.72 I'd thump him with something, I still used my snake stick, 00:14:23.75\00:14:26.53 to pick him up, because you don't grab a snake, 00:14:26.56\00:14:28.50 you might think he's dead, and he might surprise you, 00:14:28.53\00:14:30.76 and snap around. 00:14:30.79\00:14:31.76 I heard about a taxidermist, he took a snake out of the freezer. 00:14:31.77\00:14:34.48 It was a big one; someone said: I'd like to have it stuffed. 00:14:34.51\00:14:37.55 Must have been Texas, and he took this big one out, 00:14:37.58\00:14:40.23 and he went to cut it open, and the thing had evidently revived, 00:14:40.26\00:14:44.56 it was not dead, it spun around to bite him. 00:14:44.59\00:14:48.60 So, when you move a snake and you think it's mortally wounded, 00:14:48.63\00:14:52.88 sometimes they're not... 00:14:52.91\00:14:54.54 You take a stick. These shepherds had to worry 00:14:54.57\00:14:57.35 about snakes, because they would kill the sheep. 00:14:57.38\00:14:59.36 A dog might get bit by a snake, and he will live through it, 00:14:59.39\00:15:02.19 but sheep..., it's mortal, they'll die. 00:15:02.22\00:15:04.21 So they would pick up a stick, 00:15:04.24\00:15:05.72 and they would carry the serpent away. 00:15:05.75\00:15:08.66 Now, a snake on a stick, what does that mean, to a shepherd? 00:15:08.69\00:15:12.04 That means a defeated serpent. 00:15:12.07\00:15:14.47 That serpent has been thumped, and it's being disposed of. 00:15:14.50\00:15:17.71 When they were told to look at that serpent upon a pole, 00:15:17.74\00:15:21.65 it represented, that that serpent is going to be defeated. 00:15:21.68\00:15:26.18 That the venom was going to be rendered powerless. 00:15:26.21\00:15:29.04 You can also read in the book Desire of Ages, 00:15:29.07\00:15:31.20 it's a symbol of Christ, who became sin for you and me. 00:15:31.23\00:15:34.45 Amen. 00:15:34.48\00:15:35.45 And we look in faith at Christ on the cross, 00:15:35.46\00:15:37.80 and it reminds us, that through faith, 00:15:37.83\00:15:41.20 and looking to Him, we are saved from the venom of sin. 00:15:41.23\00:15:45.46 Now, are you catching this? 00:15:45.49\00:15:47.91 They looked and they lived. 00:15:47.94\00:15:51.81 Jesus said: If I am lifted up, I will draw all men. 00:15:52.62\00:15:57.38 What does lifted up mean? 00:15:57.41\00:15:58.50 It doesn't just mean, when Christ was crucified. 00:15:58.53\00:16:00.58 When He was crucified, what happened? 00:16:00.61\00:16:02.41 He was elevated to a position of visibility. 00:16:02.44\00:16:05.70 Jesus, when He was lifted up on the cross, 00:16:05.73\00:16:08.10 he was hung between Heaven and Earth, 00:16:08.13\00:16:10.01 because here He had linked God with man. 00:16:10.04\00:16:13.76 That cross was a bridge spanning the golf that separates you 00:16:13.79\00:16:17.19 from the Almighty. 00:16:17.22\00:16:18.77 Christ is lifted up, it's a position, where you can see Him. 00:16:18.80\00:16:23.10 He's there in your place, and when you look and say: 00:16:23.13\00:16:27.12 He is there in my place, through looking, through faith, 00:16:27.15\00:16:30.08 through seeing Jesus, it inspires faith within us. 00:16:30.11\00:16:33.45 We see the goodness of God on the cross, is that right? 00:16:33.48\00:16:35.97 And you see Christ lifted up, you see He's there 00:16:36.00\00:16:38.23 for your sin, it's the goodness of God that leads us 00:16:38.26\00:16:40.57 to repentance. 00:16:40.60\00:16:42.12 Unlike what Isaiah saw. Isaiah saw God on the throne, 00:16:42.31\00:16:47.59 between two angels, we look and we see Jesus on a cross, 00:16:47.62\00:16:50.89 between two thieves. 00:16:50.92\00:16:53.05 Let me pause there for a moment. 00:16:53.08\00:16:55.57 Did one of those two thieves also look and live? 00:16:55.60\00:16:59.24 What brought about the conversion 00:16:59.27\00:17:01.16 of the thief, presumably on the right side of Jesus, 00:17:01.19\00:17:04.88 can't prove that; 00:17:04.91\00:17:06.01 you can't it's wrong, so I'm gonna go with that. 00:17:06.04\00:17:10.41 This thief on the right of Jesus, he looks at Christ 00:17:10.44\00:17:15.97 and he confesses, just like Isaiah did. 00:17:16.00\00:17:18.84 We are getting what we deserve, this man has done nothing wrong, 00:17:18.87\00:17:21.51 he sees Christ as a king, lifted up. 00:17:21.54\00:17:25.66 It's amazing, nobody was calling Jesus king that day. 00:17:27.17\00:17:29.70 He says: Lord, he calls Jesus Lord, remember me, 00:17:29.73\00:17:32.88 when you come into your kingdom, and as soon as he confesses, 00:17:32.91\00:17:36.60 how quickly does forgiveness come? 00:17:36.63\00:17:38.78 Does He say: I tell you what, we're gonna put you 00:17:38.81\00:17:41.42 on a trial period of probation. 00:17:41.45\00:17:43.18 And after six months, if you can do this and you can do that, 00:17:43.21\00:17:47.30 then you'll be forgiven. 00:17:47.33\00:17:48.90 Just in case you misunderstand, I do believe that when people 00:17:48.93\00:17:52.58 first accept Christ, you shouldn't baptize them 00:17:52.61\00:17:55.06 the same day. 00:17:55.09\00:17:56.06 I know you see some of that in the New Testament, 00:17:56.09\00:17:58.14 that's right. When a person accepts Christ, 00:17:58.17\00:17:59.94 I believe they ought to walk with Christ. 00:17:59.97\00:18:01.84 When they fall in love with Jesus... You ought to date, 00:18:01.87\00:18:04.13 before you get married. 00:18:04.16\00:18:05.22 How many of you parents believe in that? 00:18:05.25\00:18:08.02 And when the Holy Spirit was poured out, in the New Testament 00:18:08.05\00:18:10.93 most of those people that where baptized immediately 00:18:10.96\00:18:13.42 where already Jews, they understood the basics, 00:18:13.45\00:18:15.47 they just needed to except Jesus. 00:18:15.50\00:18:18.45 But you can get forgiveness immediately, 00:18:18.48\00:18:21.70 immediately, as soon as you look to Christ, and you believe, 00:18:21.73\00:18:24.46 He says: Verily I say to you today, 00:18:24.49\00:18:26.43 you will be with me in paradise. 00:18:26.46\00:18:29.13 What is it that brought about the conversion of Paul? 00:18:29.16\00:18:32.61 He's walking down the road to Damascus, 00:18:32.64\00:18:37.07 he thinks that he's in God's will, 00:18:37.71\00:18:41.27 and suddenly Jesus appears to him and he sees the Lord. 00:18:41.30\00:18:46.22 And as a result of that vision of Jesus, totally different, 00:18:46.25\00:18:49.91 from he'd expected, it shocked him, he realized 00:18:49.94\00:18:52.67 he had not only been fighting, against the Almighty, 00:18:52.70\00:18:57.57 but the Jesus was the Messiah, he thought that he was impostor. 00:18:57.60\00:19:01.53 Talk about a shock, the whole direction of his life 00:19:01.56\00:19:05.69 completely turned around, it was a dramatic conversion. 00:19:05.72\00:19:10.05 What begin that conversion? 00:19:10.08\00:19:11.71 He saw the Lord. 00:19:11.74\00:19:13.56 Zacchaeus, by the way, how quickly was Paul forgiven? 00:19:14.83\00:19:20.43 He said: Lord, I don't know what to do. 00:19:20.93\00:19:23.12 He says: I'll tell you what to do, you go into the city, 00:19:23.15\00:19:26.01 I'll send somebody... 00:19:26.04\00:19:27.36 Paul spent three days praying, but the Lord forgave him, 00:19:27.39\00:19:30.27 as soon as he said: Lord what should I do? 00:19:30.30\00:19:33.21 When he surrendered, and said what do you want me to do, 00:19:33.24\00:19:35.99 as soon as God begin to give him instructions, 00:19:36.02\00:19:38.47 he said, you are now my representative. 00:19:38.50\00:19:40.86 A matter of fact, when Paul shares his testimony 00:19:40.89\00:19:43.18 later about his conversion, he ads a little something later on, 00:19:43.21\00:19:46.05 in Acts, he said: I'm gonna show you how many thing's 00:19:46.08\00:19:48.47 you have to suffer, for my name's sake, I'm gonna send you 00:19:48.50\00:19:51.10 to the gentiles. 00:19:51.13\00:19:52.10 He told him right there on the road to Damascus, 00:19:52.13\00:19:54.19 I'm calling you, instead of fighting against me, 00:19:54.22\00:19:56.73 your gonna work for me. 00:19:56.76\00:19:58.08 And right then, he was forgiven. 00:19:58.11\00:20:01.63 Took a few days of praying, and fasting, he's eyes were open. 00:20:02.45\00:20:06.81 That's how quickly the Lord will accept you. 00:20:06.84\00:20:09.77 What begin that for Paul? 00:20:09.80\00:20:11.82 He saw the Lord. 00:20:11.85\00:20:13.66 You know, the Lord was always there, 00:20:13.69\00:20:16.56 Jesus saw what he was doing, to persecute, 00:20:16.59\00:20:19.38 he just didn't see Him. 00:20:19.41\00:20:21.93 Christ ministered, for three and a half years, 00:20:21.96\00:20:24.03 that thief read every day in the paper about Jesus, 00:20:24.06\00:20:26.91 but wasn't until he saw Him, that he was converted. 00:20:26.94\00:20:29.87 Did Isaiah know about Jehovah? 00:20:29.90\00:20:32.47 Oh, he grew up hearing about Jehovah, and His temple, 00:20:32.50\00:20:35.17 but he had to see Him for himself. 00:20:35.20\00:20:37.38 I think one of the challenges that we have as a church, 00:20:37.41\00:20:41.84 especially among the young people, we grow up 00:20:41.87\00:20:45.48 with all the trappings of Christianity, 00:20:45.51\00:20:47.76 we hear about it, we hear about God, we hear stories about God, 00:20:47.79\00:20:52.65 but we don't personally encounter Him. 00:20:52.68\00:20:54.92 Paul had a personal encounter, 00:20:54.95\00:20:57.38 and I hope, you're praying for that. 00:20:57.41\00:20:59.18 Zacchaeus, he had heard about Jesus, 00:21:00.46\00:21:04.21 but he said that's not good enough. 00:21:04.77\00:21:08.53 He heard that He was coming to town, 00:21:08.56\00:21:11.66 he said: Well I don't want to read about tomorrow, 00:21:11.69\00:21:14.10 in the paper, I want to see Him for myself. 00:21:14.13\00:21:17.92 During one of the Global Rain programs, 00:21:17.95\00:21:21.06 I was there at the church, and I met a young man, 00:21:21.09\00:21:23.50 I won't name his name, because he could be watching now, 00:21:23.53\00:21:26.16 and I don't want to embarrass him, not a member of our church, 00:21:26.19\00:21:29.31 and he came to the meeting, went through the program, 00:21:29.34\00:21:32.49 seemed to enjoy, he approached me afterward, 00:21:32.52\00:21:34.78 I did the presentation on that one night on Unity, 00:21:34.81\00:21:37.27 and he said: I would like to talk to you for a minute. 00:21:37.30\00:21:40.07 So I said let's go to the office we talked for a while, 00:21:40.10\00:21:42.79 and I found out that he is from another denomination, 00:21:42.82\00:21:45.47 but he has seen some of our TV programs, 00:21:45.50\00:21:47.43 what I heard you say makes sense but I want to meet you in person 00:21:47.53\00:21:50.91 to see if your real. 00:21:51.01\00:21:52.49 It makes you a little self conscious, 00:21:53.09\00:21:55.59 when people tell you that, I hope I'm real. 00:21:55.69\00:21:58.88 Feel real! 00:21:58.91\00:22:00.04 It could all be a figment of my imagination, 00:22:00.19\00:22:02.34 I don't know... 00:22:02.37\00:22:04.09 But I think we are all that way, we see people at a distance, 00:22:04.25\00:22:07.34 and you wonder: Are they really like that? 00:22:07.37\00:22:11.29 What are they really like? 00:22:11.32\00:22:13.73 And a lot of people sort of have a second generation knowledge 00:22:13.76\00:22:17.21 of Jesus, and we want to know Him for our selves, 00:22:17.24\00:22:20.12 in order to be converted. 00:22:20.15\00:22:21.82 You need to see the Lord. 00:22:21.85\00:22:23.38 Most of the information that comes into our head, 00:22:23.41\00:22:25.70 comes through the medium of our eyes. 00:22:25.73\00:22:28.54 The optic nerve are the closest nerve to the brain. 00:22:28.57\00:22:33.15 A matter of fact, if radio is affective - and it is -, 00:22:33.18\00:22:36.35 because we do get a lot, the second most powerful nerve 00:22:36.38\00:22:39.58 is the auditory nerve, the ears. 00:22:39.61\00:22:41.55 By the way, notice that it says: Isaiah saw the Lord, 00:22:41.58\00:22:44.54 and after he saw the Lord, then it says: "I heard the voice 00:22:44.57\00:22:47.70 of the Lord. " He saw Him, then he heard... 00:22:47.73\00:22:49.90 A matter of fact, even the baptism of Jesus; 00:22:49.93\00:22:52.21 they saw the Holy Spirit coming down, 00:22:52.24\00:22:54.00 and then they heard a voice from heaven. 00:22:54.03\00:22:56.59 A part of the conversion process is not only seeing God, 00:22:56.62\00:22:58.84 you need to hear the Word of the Lord. Amen? 00:22:58.87\00:23:00.87 But the optic nerve is especially powerful. 00:23:00.90\00:23:03.32 And in our day and age, when we're surrounded with 00:23:03.90\00:23:06.65 more images, than at any other time in history, 00:23:06.68\00:23:08.98 everywhere you go now, a matter of fact, you can go to the 00:23:09.01\00:23:11.83 train station and there are monitors with commercials 00:23:11.86\00:23:14.79 all the time, changing, moving, and all this visual stimulation, 00:23:15.28\00:23:20.11 that in order to compensate that, we really need to 00:23:20.14\00:23:22.69 lift up Jesus so people could see Jesus, right? 00:23:22.72\00:23:25.17 What's the best way they're going to see Him? 00:23:25.20\00:23:27.66 Like the friend at the church the other night, 00:23:27.69\00:23:29.85 they want to know, if Jesus is real, and they say: 00:23:29.88\00:23:33.95 I want to see you. I want to know if Jesus is real, 00:23:33.98\00:23:37.17 and I'm going to look at you to find out if He's real. 00:23:37.20\00:23:40.55 Someone said one time: 00:23:40.58\00:23:42.01 if you were accused of being a Christian, 00:23:42.04\00:23:44.88 would you be found guilty? - or something like that. 00:23:44.91\00:23:48.01 Could you be convicted, would there be enough evidence 00:23:48.04\00:23:50.48 to convict you? - that's it. 00:23:50.51\00:23:51.87 If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be 00:23:51.90\00:23:54.63 enough evidence to convict you? 00:23:55.18\00:23:56.87 Do people see Jesus in you? 00:23:56.90\00:23:59.04 So, how do we lift up Christ? 00:23:59.07\00:24:00.82 How do we get people to see Jesus? 00:24:00.85\00:24:03.52 That's what brings about the conversion. 00:24:03.55\00:24:05.62 I would like to go - I'm still talking about seeing God-, 00:24:05.65\00:24:09.31 go with me to one of my favorite stories, Luke chapter 24. 00:24:09.34\00:24:13.13 Luke chapter 24. 00:24:13.16\00:24:14.93 "Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day," 00:24:20.72\00:24:24.30 - this is after Christ had died on the cross, 00:24:24.33\00:24:28.43 and these two disciples, one of them is Cleopas, 00:24:28.46\00:24:32.09 they had heard the rumors, that the women saw a vision 00:24:32.12\00:24:34.82 or apparition and some angels, and the roman soldiers 00:24:34.85\00:24:36.94 had run off, and supposedly it had appeared to Peter, 00:24:36.97\00:24:40.39 but they are all being accused of stealing the body, 00:24:40.42\00:24:42.94 and there's great confusion, there is great fear. 00:24:42.97\00:24:45.37 They had gathered in the upper room for fear, 00:24:45.40\00:24:47.53 not to inaugurate some new Sabbath. 00:24:47.56\00:24:51.48 And they're confused, they are still discouraged. 00:24:51.90\00:24:54.81 they saw with their own eyes, these two disciples saw 00:24:54.84\00:24:57.39 with their own eyes Jesus, hanging lifeless on the cross. 00:24:57.42\00:25:00.74 They heard Christ say: "It is finished, Father, 00:25:00.77\00:25:03.39 into your hands I commend my spirit". 00:25:03.42\00:25:05.68 He breathed, then he stopped breathing, the body grew blue, 00:25:05.71\00:25:08.56 they saw Him pierced in the side, 00:25:08.59\00:25:12.36 laid in the tomb, and so it's really hard to believe 00:25:16.53\00:25:21.45 that He's alive. 00:25:21.48\00:25:23.90 Devastated, discouraged, despondent, 00:25:23.93\00:25:26.97 they are now walking from Jerusalem, where the disciples 00:25:27.11\00:25:29.74 were gathered, to a little town called Emmaus, 00:25:29.77\00:25:33.20 it's about 7 miles from Jerusalem. 00:25:33.23\00:25:36.03 They're going from the city of God, Jerusalem means: 00:25:36.06\00:25:38.75 Je-ru-sha-lom, city of God, downhill to a place called 00:25:38.78\00:25:42.55 Emmaus, and Emmaus means hot water. 00:25:42.58\00:25:45.65 That means they must have had some hot springs there. 00:25:45.68\00:25:48.49 But I think it's significant, that they're going 00:25:48.52\00:25:50.93 from the city of God to hot water. 00:25:50.96\00:25:52.72 When you've got your back on the city of God, 00:25:52.75\00:25:54.75 you're heading for hot water! 00:25:54.78\00:25:58.00 "And they talked together of all these things that 00:25:58.52\00:26:00.63 had happened. " 00:26:00.66\00:26:02.61 Now, as they're walking and they're talking about Jesus, 00:26:02.65\00:26:07.02 "It was while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus 00:26:07.05\00:26:11.69 drew near and went with them. " 00:26:11.72\00:26:13.54 Please, don't miss this! When you talk about Jesus, 00:26:13.57\00:26:16.70 He draws near to you. 00:26:16.73\00:26:19.79 And when we get together in groups, and talk about Jesus, 00:26:19.82\00:26:23.88 He draws near. Somebody asked me a question one time and 00:26:23.91\00:26:26.85 it troubled me to answer it, because, well, let me just pose 00:26:26.88\00:26:30.18 it to you. They said: Is the Lord more inclined to hear 00:26:30.21\00:26:33.71 the prayers of two or one hundred, than one? 00:26:33.74\00:26:37.47 And after studying it and thinking about it, 00:26:37.50\00:26:39.83 I came to the conclusion: Yes. 00:26:39.86\00:26:41.84 There is potency in collective prayer. 00:26:41.87\00:26:45.48 That's why Jesus said: if two or three of you 00:26:45.51\00:26:49.38 agree on anything, I am there, 00:26:49.41\00:26:52.14 it shall be granted. When you gather in My name, 00:26:52.17\00:26:55.21 I'm in your midst. But it's cooperatively. 00:26:55.24\00:26:57.25 That statement there, in 2 Chronicles chapter 7, 14: 00:26:57.28\00:27:01.03 "If my people who are called in My name, shall humble themselves 00:27:01.06\00:27:03.82 and pray"... - they are praying together. 00:27:03.85\00:27:06.68 They're all in one accord, in one place. 00:27:06.71\00:27:08.39 There is something about corporately getting together 00:27:08.42\00:27:11.27 and talking about the Lord. 00:27:11.30\00:27:12.61 The Lord makes a special note in Heaven, 00:27:12.64\00:27:14.90 when people gather and they speak about Him. 00:27:14.93\00:27:17.84 He draws near to us. He said: I'm with you always, 00:27:17.87\00:27:21.75 and He's especially with us, if we are doing His work! 00:27:21.78\00:27:24.41 He's especially with us, if we are talking about Him. 00:27:24.44\00:27:26.94 And the Bible says: "Come now, let us reason together". 00:27:27.09\00:27:29.57 Here, in the reasoning about Jesus, He wants to 00:27:29.60\00:27:32.10 reason with them, so He draws near. 00:27:32.13\00:27:35.85 Is the Lord with us now? 00:27:35.89\00:27:37.36 Not only here, in Fresno, 00:27:37.39\00:27:39.01 but wherever God's people are gathered around the country, 00:27:39.04\00:27:41.89 around the world, participating in this presentation, 00:27:41.92\00:27:44.61 He's with you now! 00:27:44.64\00:27:46.01 Is that based on Doug's word, or what the Bible promises? 00:27:46.04\00:27:52.47 As they conversed and reasoned, Jesus Himself, not an apparition 00:27:52.50\00:27:57.08 not a spirit. Really, Jesus drew near and went with them. 00:27:57.11\00:28:03.48 "But their eyes were restrained, so they did not know Him. " 00:28:04.50\00:28:08.66 Jesus was there, but they could not see Him. 00:28:08.69\00:28:11.53 You know, I wonder how much in our lives, Christ has been 00:28:12.49\00:28:15.02 right there with us, and we didn't recognize him. 00:28:15.05\00:28:17.08 We didn't see Him, we struggle, we're discouraged, 00:28:17.11\00:28:19.43 there is something, and He's right there with us, 00:28:19.46\00:28:23.09 "And Jesus asked them" - verse 00:28:25.98\00:28:30.21 "What kind of conversation is this that you have 00:28:30.24\00:28:32.63 one with another, as you walk, and are sad?" 00:28:32.66\00:28:37.25 The "conversation" there, means: it's more than just words, 00:28:37.28\00:28:41.08 it's their whole attitude. What kind of a sad attitude is this 00:28:41.11\00:28:45.42 as you walk together? 00:28:45.45\00:28:47.40 How does the Lord want us to feel in our conversation? 00:28:47.43\00:28:51.87 We are influenced by our own words. 00:28:51.90\00:28:54.05 Did you know that? 00:28:54.08\00:28:56.18 We are to consciously choose to be as positive as we can be, 00:28:56.21\00:29:00.28 because we are influenced by our own words, 00:29:00.31\00:29:02.40 and certainly we ought to be as encouraging as we can be 00:29:02.43\00:29:05.30 to others. 00:29:05.33\00:29:06.45 I'm a great complainer. I don't complain so much for you, 00:29:08.02\00:29:11.42 because it's not very tasteful. 00:29:11.45\00:29:14.45 But for my friends that are close to me, 00:29:14.48\00:29:16.34 I've got my black belt in complaining. 00:29:16.37\00:29:19.39 I can whine and I complain and I can moan and I can be 00:29:19.42\00:29:23.55 surrounded with flowers and notice one thorn. 00:29:23.58\00:29:26.69 I've got that capacity. 00:29:26.72\00:29:28.41 I don't know if you're that way at all. 00:29:28.44\00:29:31.37 I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true. 00:29:31.40\00:29:35.85 And I think that sometimes we're discouraged by our own words. 00:29:35.88\00:29:41.45 I'll tell you a story quickly. 00:29:41.48\00:29:43.34 One time, I was really discouraged, 00:29:43.37\00:29:46.02 I was a pastor in a small town, 00:29:46.05\00:29:50.09 and I was having problems. 00:29:50.12\00:29:52.57 You know, I wouldn't mind being a pastor if there weren't 00:29:52.60\00:29:55.02 people involved. 00:29:55.05\00:29:56.03 Most of the problems I have, involve people. 00:29:56.06\00:29:58.24 Pastoring would be a breeze, 00:29:58.31\00:29:59.52 if there just were no people involved. Of course, 00:29:59.55\00:30:01.63 that would defeat the purpose of pastoring, 00:30:01.66\00:30:03.52 but there were some struggles with some people in the church, 00:30:03.55\00:30:06.65 and I was discouraged. I thought: Man, why am I 00:30:06.68\00:30:08.78 going through all this?! I was really discouraged, 00:30:08.81\00:30:11.50 and I'm driving by myself on a long, winding country road, 00:30:11.53\00:30:15.39 getting ready to hit the main highway, 00:30:15.42\00:30:17.61 talking about all my woes to myself, not praying, 00:30:17.64\00:30:21.60 just complaining, and right about that, I get on the highway 00:30:21.63\00:30:25.01 and there's a hitch-hiker. 00:30:25.04\00:30:27.96 And I usually pick up hitch-hikers if I can, 00:30:28.02\00:30:30.25 but you know, I said: I'm not in the state of mind to pick up 00:30:30.28\00:30:33.50 anybody. I don't feel like witnessing to anybody right now. 00:30:33.53\00:30:36.16 But my conscience got me, because at one time 00:30:36.19\00:30:38.19 I used to pick up all the hitch-hikers I could, 00:30:38.22\00:30:40.31 because I did a lot of hitch-hiking, and I said: 00:30:40.34\00:30:42.44 All right, I'll pick him up. 00:30:42.47\00:30:43.71 So I pick up this guy, he climbs in the car, 00:30:43.74\00:30:45.61 usually I like to witness to them, but right now, 00:30:45.64\00:30:47.68 I don't feel like it. I just said: 00:30:47.71\00:30:49.11 Well, I'm going to give him a ride, because that's the 00:30:49.14\00:30:51.37 Christian thing to do, but I really don't want to preach, 00:30:51.40\00:30:53.77 and he wasn't going that far, anyway. 00:30:53.80\00:30:55.30 So I'm driving along, and he says: 00:30:55.33\00:30:56.88 - So, where are you coming from? 00:30:56.91\00:30:58.52 I told him. He says: - And what do you do there? 00:30:58.55\00:31:01.94 I said: - Well, I'm a pastor. 00:31:01.97\00:31:04.27 - Really? What church? 00:31:04.30\00:31:07.14 - I'm a Seventh Day Adventist. 00:31:07.17\00:31:08.48 - What do they believe? 00:31:08.51\00:31:10.59 I thought: All right, Lord but I didn't want to do any evangelism 00:31:10.62\00:31:14.32 right now... And so I started to give him a quick, cursory 00:31:14.35\00:31:20.13 overview of what we believe, and he starts asking me 00:31:20.16\00:31:22.81 all these questions, that are just..., you know, 00:31:22.84\00:31:25.08 for most soul-winners this guy was exhibit A of an interest! 00:31:25.11\00:31:29.24 He was saying all these things: - So what do I do to be saved?, 00:31:30.05\00:31:33.25 And why do you believe this?, and... this guy was hungry! 00:31:33.28\00:31:36.54 And I began to share with him, and I saw his interest, 00:31:36.57\00:31:39.58 and his enthusiasm, all of a sudden I found my whole 00:31:39.61\00:31:43.62 attitude began to change. 00:31:43.65\00:31:45.68 And when I dropped him off, it must have only been 00:31:45.71\00:31:48.25 15 minutes later, I dropped him off, and boy, 00:31:48.28\00:31:51.32 those clouds have completely blown away, 00:31:51.35\00:31:53.52 and the sun was shining through, and I was praising the Lord, 00:31:53.55\00:31:57.23 I was confessing my sin, man of unclean lips, 00:31:57.26\00:32:00.80 and negative attitudes. 00:32:00.83\00:32:03.31 I realized that the devil often gets us engaged 00:32:03.72\00:32:08.19 in this pessimistic conversation. 00:32:08.22\00:32:11.31 Now, before Jesus went to the cross, He said: 00:32:11.34\00:32:14.02 You know, there is trying times coming, he warned the disciples, 00:32:14.05\00:32:18.77 but after He's raised, and He's victorious, 00:32:18.80\00:32:22.35 and the serpent has been defeated, 00:32:22.38\00:32:24.34 these are times for us to be joyful... 00:32:24.37\00:32:27.66 A matter of fact, when Jesus saw the disciples 00:32:27.69\00:32:30.21 peace and good will to men, He said: peace, rejoice, 00:32:30.24\00:32:33.66 we've got reason to be glad His alive... 00:32:33.69\00:32:36.70 If we look at Him, if we'll see Him. 00:32:36.73\00:32:40.95 It brought about a conversion, was Zacchaeus happy, 00:32:41.50\00:32:45.68 when he saw Jesus? 00:32:45.71\00:32:47.31 Oh, by the way, I left that story too quick... 00:32:47.34\00:32:51.48 How did Zacchaeus, finally see the Lord? 00:32:51.51\00:32:54.68 By climbing a tree... What does that mean? 00:32:54.71\00:32:58.25 What did Jesus die on? 00:32:58.28\00:33:00.66 A tree... 00:33:00.69\00:33:01.83 How we best see the Lord? 00:33:02.82\00:33:04.78 We take up our cross... 00:33:04.81\00:33:07.38 We climb a tree with Him. 00:33:07.60\00:33:08.87 And it's there that we see Him, the thief on the cross, 00:33:08.90\00:33:12.33 where did he see Jesus? On a cross next to Jesus. 00:33:12.36\00:33:15.81 Isn't that right? 00:33:15.84\00:33:17.17 We take up our cross. 00:33:17.20\00:33:19.05 When did the disciples rejoice the most? 00:33:19.08\00:33:21.49 When they could share, in Christ's sufferings. 00:33:21.52\00:33:24.41 Am I right? 00:33:24.44\00:33:25.61 Zacchaeus saw Christ, when he climbed the tree... 00:33:26.96\00:33:31.83 And it says, after Jesus said: Zacchaeus, come down, 00:33:31.86\00:33:34.17 I'm gonna stay at your house, today, 00:33:34.20\00:33:35.87 I want to have this one-o-one relationship with you, 00:33:35.90\00:33:38.15 it says, he received Him, joyfully. 00:33:38.18\00:33:41.49 The Christian life should be a joyful life, 00:33:41.52\00:33:43.67 that's why Jesus said to these two disciples: 00:33:43.70\00:33:45.75 "What manner of conversation is this you have with one another, 00:33:45.78\00:33:48.65 as you walk and are sad?" 00:33:48.68\00:33:50.94 "Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, 00:33:50.97\00:33:52.99 I'm reading Luke 24:18. 00:33:53.02\00:33:55.59 "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem," 00:33:55.62\00:33:59.44 What a thing to say to Jesus... 00:33:59.47\00:34:01.53 Jesus was the one who told they would have pick that city... 00:34:01.56\00:34:04.76 Right? 00:34:04.79\00:34:05.95 Jesus was dedicated there, when He was eight days old, 00:34:06.74\00:34:09.70 He went back when He was twelve, He taught in temples daily, 00:34:09.73\00:34:12.86 and they ask Him, if He is a stranger in town... 00:34:12.89\00:34:18.36 Are you a stranger in Jerusalem, and where have you been, 00:34:19.57\00:34:22.20 haven't you been reading, the papers? 00:34:22.23\00:34:24.70 Don't you know what things had happened here? 00:34:24.73\00:34:29.36 And He said: What things? 00:34:29.39\00:34:31.39 Did the Lord know what things? 00:34:31.42\00:34:33.95 Does the Lord know everything? 00:34:33.98\00:34:36.21 Does the Lord know, what your sins are? 00:34:36.24\00:34:38.50 But He wants you to tell Him, what things... 00:34:38.53\00:34:41.77 He wants you to confess... 00:34:41.80\00:34:43.31 When Adam ran from God, God said: where are you? 00:34:43.34\00:34:46.75 Did God know where Adam was? 00:34:46.78\00:34:48.60 Adam had a GPS on him, God knows where he is all the time. 00:34:48.66\00:34:53.63 But He said: I want you to tell me... 00:34:53.66\00:34:55.53 where you are, because your hiding... 00:34:55.56\00:34:57.59 Why are you hiding? Think about where sin has gotten you... 00:34:57.62\00:35:00.67 The Lord asks some of these questions to draw us out. 00:35:01.63\00:35:04.39 What things? 00:35:04.44\00:35:05.98 And he said: "the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, 00:35:06.01\00:35:09.31 who was a prophet. " 00:35:09.34\00:35:10.89 Was a prophet? 00:35:10.98\00:35:13.17 "mighty in deed and word," I'm so thankful that Jesus 00:35:13.57\00:35:16.56 was not just mighty and word, but mighty and deed. 00:35:16.59\00:35:18.98 He didn't just, talk the talk, He walked the walk... 00:35:19.01\00:35:22.83 It was the deed and the word. 00:35:23.38\00:35:24.93 "before God and the people. " 00:35:24.96\00:35:26.91 A lot of us preoccupied with making... 00:35:26.94\00:35:29.24 before the people, but not before God. 00:35:29.27\00:35:31.20 A lot of people, who take the name of Christ, 00:35:31.23\00:35:33.74 they'll fast to be seen of man, and they'll give, 00:35:33.77\00:35:36.15 to be seen of man, and they'll pray to be seen of man, 00:35:36.18\00:35:38.35 and it's all ostentatious, it's all for our display, 00:35:38.38\00:35:40.90 they are really impressing the people, but they are not 00:35:40.93\00:35:43.59 impressing God. 00:35:43.62\00:35:44.60 But Jesus, His religion was authentic, it was one that was 00:35:44.63\00:35:47.82 visible, sincere and genuine, before God, 00:35:48.10\00:35:50.99 and before the people. 00:35:51.02\00:35:52.33 I want to have a life, that is the same before God, 00:35:52.36\00:35:56.27 as it is before you. 00:35:56.30\00:35:57.53 A lot of us sort of got, we have one life for the people, 00:35:57.71\00:36:00.57 and another way, that God says us living. 00:36:00.60\00:36:02.88 It was before God, and the people. 00:36:03.50\00:36:05.89 "And how the chief priests and rulers delivered Him 00:36:06.25\00:36:09.09 to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 00:36:09.12\00:36:12.25 But we were... " is that past tense, future tense, 00:36:12.28\00:36:17.26 present tense? 00:36:17.30\00:36:18.27 We were hoping... " what does were hoping mean? 00:36:18.28\00:36:22.45 Not hoping anymore. 00:36:23.07\00:36:24.38 We lost hope. 00:36:24.83\00:36:26.05 " We were hoping that was going to be He, 00:36:27.40\00:36:29.45 that would redeemed Israel. " 00:36:29.48\00:36:31.00 Not only that they had the wrong concept about, 00:36:31.03\00:36:33.27 what Jesus' mission was, but they had the wrong concept, 00:36:33.30\00:36:35.96 about redeeming Israel. 00:36:35.99\00:36:37.35 They were looking for redemption from the Romans, 00:36:37.38\00:36:39.74 instead of redemption from sin. 00:36:39.77\00:36:41.37 They were praying, for the wrong thing... 00:36:41.83\00:36:43.98 I remember hearing, a pastor say one time: 00:36:44.54\00:36:46.57 The average Christian, when they pray are 00:36:46.66\00:36:48.75 like a prisoner in a cell, and they say: Lord, 00:36:48.78\00:36:52.30 please give me hot and cold running water for my cell, 00:36:52.33\00:36:55.01 just the cold water is to much, please give me a carpet, 00:36:55.04\00:36:57.71 for my cell for, this cold concrete floor, 00:36:57.74\00:36:59.83 and please give me a cotton, tick mattress, 00:36:59.86\00:37:02.09 instead of this vinyl one; and the Lord is saying: 00:37:02.12\00:37:05.32 Why don't you just pray, to get you out of jail? 00:37:05.35\00:37:07.78 Most of our prayers, you think about it, 00:37:09.04\00:37:11.43 most of our prayers are, we are praying that God, 00:37:11.46\00:37:13.95 will make us more comfortable in our prison. 00:37:13.98\00:37:16.85 Instead of saying: Lord, get me out of jail... 00:37:17.70\00:37:20.46 We were hoping, that He would come and deliver us, 00:37:22.71\00:37:26.38 from the Romans, their problem was not the Romans, 00:37:26.41\00:37:29.22 their problem was sin. 00:37:29.25\00:37:30.70 Jesus said: You're slaves to sin. 00:37:31.00\00:37:33.97 they said: We're Abraham's descendants, 00:37:34.00\00:37:35.99 we've never been captive to any man, 00:37:36.02\00:37:37.80 we don't even recognize, a captivity of the Romans. 00:37:37.83\00:37:40.39 And He said: Who ever sins, is a slave to sin. 00:37:40.62\00:37:42.99 We were hoping, they lost hope, 00:37:43.44\00:37:46.31 at the time, when they should have been rejoicing the most, 00:37:46.85\00:37:49.78 they are the saddest. Why, 'cause they can't see Christ. 00:37:49.81\00:37:52.53 Don't miss something here, you notice it says in verse 16, 00:37:52.56\00:37:56.44 their eyes were restrained, so they did not know Him. 00:37:56.47\00:38:00.26 And when Jesus said: Why are you so sad? 00:38:00.73\00:38:03.14 You know my Bible says, in John 17, " this is eternal life, 00:38:03.60\00:38:07.21 that they might know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, 00:38:07.38\00:38:11.24 whom I have sent. " 00:38:11.27\00:38:12.89 Eternal life comes from what? From knowing the Lord. 00:38:12.92\00:38:16.91 If we don't know Him, then we are more prone to be sad. 00:38:17.19\00:38:20.92 Amen? 00:38:20.95\00:38:21.92 What manner of conversation is this, their eyes were closed, 00:38:22.97\00:38:25.93 they didn't know Him, and they were sad. 00:38:25.96\00:38:27.95 We thought He was gonna be the one, to redeem Israel, 00:38:28.70\00:38:31.27 in deed, beside all this, today is the third day, 00:38:31.30\00:38:33.94 since these things happened. 00:38:33.97\00:38:35.38 You know, 00:38:35.41\00:38:36.38 that should have triggered something in their minds 00:38:36.41\00:38:38.88 right about then. 00:38:38.91\00:38:40.38 It's interesting to me, that Jesus said, 00:38:41.03\00:38:45.01 plainly several times, before He went to the cross, 00:38:45.04\00:38:48.23 He told the disciples, So much so that is recorded, 00:38:48.26\00:38:50.80 in all the gospels: I'm going to Jerusalem, 00:38:50.83\00:38:54.17 I'll be betrayed in the hands of gentiles, I'll be crucified, 00:38:54.20\00:38:57.18 and after the third day, I will rise again. 00:38:57.21\00:38:59.47 He said it over, and over. 00:38:59.50\00:39:01.43 it just went, in one ear, and out on the other, 00:39:01.46\00:39:03.83 But the enemies of Christ, who were spying on Him, 00:39:03.98\00:39:06.85 they must have picked up, on that in some point, 00:39:06.88\00:39:09.28 He said it so often, 00:39:09.31\00:39:11.58 And when Jesus died it says, that the religious leaders came, 00:39:12.87\00:39:17.06 to Pilate and said: Sir, we heard, 00:39:17.09\00:39:18.73 that this deceiver, said after three days He shall arise again, 00:39:18.76\00:39:21.78 they remembered... 00:39:21.81\00:39:23.24 Which tells me, that the devil sometimes pays more attention, 00:39:23.44\00:39:26.58 to the word of Jesus, than the church does. 00:39:26.61\00:39:29.19 And he knows it better, than the church does. 00:39:30.09\00:39:33.11 And when they said, and this is the third day, 00:39:34.14\00:39:36.80 since these things happened, a little bell should have rung, 00:39:36.83\00:39:39.42 in their head, a light should have gone off, 00:39:39.45\00:39:41.83 something should have said: Remember, remember... 00:39:41.86\00:39:44.91 " Yes, and certain women in our company, who arrived, 00:39:45.68\00:39:48.82 the tomb early, have astonished us... 00:39:48.85\00:39:50.75 when they did not find His body, they came saying, they had seen 00:39:50.78\00:39:53.84 a vision of angels, and they said that He's alive... 00:39:53.87\00:39:56.37 - I mean how could that be?- 00:39:56.40\00:39:57.73 And certain of those, who were with us, 00:39:57.76\00:40:00.22 went to the tomb and found it, just like the women said, 00:40:00.25\00:40:02.78 but Him they did not see... 00:40:02.81\00:40:04.55 Now Christ speaks plainly: " Oh foolish ones, 00:40:04.59\00:40:09.85 and slow of heart to believe," I wonder what angels see, 00:40:09.88\00:40:15.84 when they look down, here on Earth, 00:40:15.87\00:40:17.64 they say that a fly, its metabolism, is so fast, 00:40:18.31\00:40:22.52 they only live a few days, that it sees everything, 00:40:22.55\00:40:25.17 like high speed film, that's why when you try to flot, 00:40:25.20\00:40:28.64 swat a fly, or "flot a swy", which ever you want to use, 00:40:28.67\00:40:33.07 when you try to swat a fly, they so often escape 00:40:33.84\00:40:37.78 before you can get them, to them it looks like your going like... 00:40:37.81\00:40:41.14 Obviously we get them sometimes, but I wonder what angels, 00:40:45.90\00:40:51.46 with their high speed thinking, and they look at humans, 00:40:51.49\00:40:55.13 with all the evidence, that God has given us, for His reality, 00:40:55.16\00:40:58.29 all the evidence on this Earth, all the miracles, 00:40:58.32\00:41:00.78 that He performed, and when the Lord says, 00:41:00.81\00:41:03.67 that we're slow of heart to believe, 00:41:03.70\00:41:07.41 it's like, what more do we need, to do for these creatures, 00:41:07.60\00:41:11.62 for them to believe, that God is real, that He'll save them, 00:41:11.65\00:41:15.80 He'll forgive them, He'll give them power, 00:41:15.83\00:41:17.86 He'll use them... 00:41:17.89\00:41:19.43 What more can God do? 00:41:19.46\00:41:21.18 I mean, He has given us so much evidence, 00:41:21.21\00:41:23.39 and Jesus said we're foolish, if we don't believe... 00:41:23.42\00:41:25.93 Believe what? 00:41:25.96\00:41:27.50 All the prophets have spoken... 00:41:27.53\00:41:29.46 Where is that demonstrated? 00:41:29.49\00:41:30.80 It's right here... 00:41:31.55\00:41:32.55 He says: Ought not Christ who have suffered these things, 00:41:34.66\00:41:37.59 and entered into his glory? 00:41:37.62\00:41:39.13 It's all according to exactly what the word said. 00:41:39.36\00:41:42.77 Now, before I go any further, let me tell you what I think 00:41:43.90\00:41:46.71 Jesus is doing. 00:41:46.74\00:41:47.71 Some have said, why didn't they see Jesus? 00:41:47.72\00:41:52.07 Why didn't they recognize Him? 00:41:52.29\00:41:54.48 Well Mary may not have recognized Him, at the tomb, 00:41:54.51\00:41:56.66 she thought He was the gardener, and it could be, 00:41:56.69\00:41:59.07 because she had cried all week-end, 00:41:59.10\00:42:00.77 and her eyes, where probably swollen and red, 00:42:00.80\00:42:03.64 and blurred and she looked up, and heard a voice, 00:42:03.67\00:42:06.21 sometimes you just don't recognize the obvious, 00:42:06.24\00:42:08.50 because you are distracted. 00:42:08.53\00:42:09.90 She was distracted by her grief. 00:42:09.93\00:42:12.57 These disciples also, their eyes could of had been swollen, 00:42:12.60\00:42:17.57 and red, from all of the crying. 00:42:17.60\00:42:19.15 It could have been Jesus, you know getting warm, 00:42:19.18\00:42:21.50 and he could have put a hood over His head, 00:42:21.53\00:42:23.56 to block from the setting sun, maybe His face was shielded, 00:42:23.59\00:42:27.67 a little bit, but whether the Lord did that on purpose, 00:42:27.70\00:42:32.38 whether something supernatural happened, 00:42:32.41\00:42:34.50 to obscure their vision? I believe the Lord deliberately 00:42:34.53\00:42:37.45 did not want them, to recognize Him yet... 00:42:37.48\00:42:40.64 He did not want them, to recognize Him yet, 00:42:41.14\00:42:43.41 so they could hear, what He was going to say. 00:42:43.44\00:42:45.47 Sometimes we are so distracted, by what we see, 00:42:46.30\00:42:49.39 that we don't hear. 00:42:49.42\00:42:50.88 I did a sermon one time, and it was called: 00:42:51.43\00:42:54.32 Can I please have your attention! 00:42:54.35\00:42:56.48 And before the sermon, I made an arrangement with an elder, 00:42:56.51\00:43:00.70 he was probably 6 foot 5, he was one of the elders, 00:43:00.73\00:43:03.94 I think he was the head deacon in this church. 00:43:03.97\00:43:07.40 I said: When I begin preaching, about three minutes 00:43:07.44\00:43:08.97 into the sermon, I want you to get up and start walking 00:43:09.00\00:43:11.68 around in front of the church, looking around, 00:43:11.71\00:43:13.94 like you are looking for somebody, 00:43:13.97\00:43:15.60 and just keep looking, and walking back and forth, 00:43:15.63\00:43:18.00 until I tell you to stop. 00:43:18.03\00:43:19.50 He didn't know what to think about that, 00:43:19.53\00:43:21.52 but he said alright, are you sure? 00:43:21.55\00:43:23.19 And I said that's what I want you to do. 00:43:23.22\00:43:25.12 So about 5 minutes into the sermon, he sees my cue, gets up 00:43:25.15\00:43:27.93 and big imposing fellow, it's like it should happen right now, 00:43:27.96\00:43:31.63 and he started walking around, while I'm talking to him, 00:43:31.66\00:43:34.42 sure enough, everybody, just like children, 00:43:34.45\00:43:36.49 all their eyes go to this tall deacon, 00:43:36.52\00:43:40.18 who was obviously looking for someone, 00:43:40.21\00:43:42.25 and they're just like putty, and I said: 00:43:42.28\00:43:44.24 Can I please have your attention! 00:43:44.27\00:43:45.87 Briefly, their eyes would come back to me... 00:43:45.90\00:43:48.06 Well he keeps his antics up, and he's going back and forth. 00:43:48.09\00:43:50.95 And everybody just goes... 00:43:50.98\00:43:52.24 And I see that and I say: Can I please have your attention! 00:43:52.27\00:43:54.78 I'd go on with this mock sermon, that I'm preaching, 00:43:54.81\00:43:56.91 I don't even know what it was... 00:43:56.94\00:43:58.28 And that went on for quite a while, 00:43:58.31\00:43:59.79 then pretty soon I said alright, you can sit down, 00:43:59.82\00:44:02.26 thank you very much, now friends can I have your attention? 00:44:02.29\00:44:05.11 Did you notice that you just were not able to pay attention, 00:44:05.14\00:44:07.98 to the word of God, when something visual was happening? 00:44:08.01\00:44:10.66 I wonder how many times I've been preaching, 00:44:10.69\00:44:12.78 and something happens. 00:44:12.81\00:44:13.89 And people don't hear what I'm saying, 00:44:13.92\00:44:15.87 because the devil created some visual distraction, 00:44:15.90\00:44:18.82 just like kids, with a bright rattle, 00:44:18.85\00:44:20.60 we can't concentrate anymore. 00:44:20.63\00:44:23.16 I'm not trying to give you a hard time about distractions 00:44:23.39\00:44:26.19 in the church, well, maybe for some of you... What I'm trying 00:44:26.22\00:44:30.63 to say is: sometimes we don't hear what God's saying, 00:44:30.66\00:44:33.40 because we're preoccupied with what we are seeing. 00:44:33.43\00:44:35.87 If they had seen Jesus at that point, 00:44:35.94\00:44:38.84 they would have been so overwhelmed with joy, 00:44:38.87\00:44:42.33 they wouldn't have heard the Bible study. 00:44:42.36\00:44:44.86 Even more important, than the joy of them knowing 00:44:45.52\00:44:48.99 that He was alive, is, that they needed to hear 00:44:49.02\00:44:51.24 the connection between the scriptures, 00:44:51.27\00:44:53.14 and by the way, there was no New Testament, 00:44:53.17\00:44:55.29 when Jesus did this sermon, 00:44:55.32\00:44:56.81 they needed to hear the connection 00:44:56.84\00:44:58.48 between the scriptures of Moses and the prophets, 00:44:58.51\00:45:01.70 and the resurrection, and Jesus being the Messiah. 00:45:01.73\00:45:04.30 That was so important to Christ, that He wasn't even going 00:45:04.49\00:45:07.59 to reveal himself yet, until they got that point. 00:45:07.62\00:45:10.60 So He began to teach them. 00:45:10.63\00:45:12.81 And it says that, the beginning with Moses - I'm in verse 27-, 00:45:13.12\00:45:16.78 What's the first book in the Bible? 00:45:17.02\00:45:18.94 Genesis. 00:45:19.84\00:45:20.97 "Beginning at Moses and all the prophets," 00:45:21.06\00:45:24.14 how many prophets? 00:45:24.17\00:45:25.14 he expounded unto them," That means He went into detail, 00:45:25.70\00:45:30.48 He explained, He broke it down, 00:45:30.51\00:45:33.34 "He expounded unto them in all the scriptures", 00:45:34.07\00:45:37.56 how many scriptures? All of them. 00:45:37.59\00:45:39.86 "the things concerning Himself. " 00:45:40.35\00:45:44.02 Now He's right there walking with them, 00:45:44.16\00:45:46.23 and He's taking them all the way from Moses to Malachi, 00:45:46.26\00:45:48.98 and He is showing them point by point, 00:45:49.01\00:45:50.91 how Abraham and Isaac, that was a type of Christ being offered 00:45:50.94\00:45:55.03 on the cross. How He keeps on going, and He shows 00:45:55.06\00:45:57.64 Joseph, being betrayed by His brothers, is a type of Christ. 00:45:57.67\00:46:00.60 David, walking up the Mount of Olives, weeping... Remember when 00:46:00.63\00:46:03.47 Jesus wept? He is too, a type of Christ. 00:46:03.50\00:46:05.70 Psalm 22: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" 00:46:05.73\00:46:08.40 And they're going: That's right, that's what Jesus said! 00:46:08.43\00:46:11.10 "Dogs have surrounded me, they did not break my bones", 00:46:11.13\00:46:13.82 and He's going through Isaiah 53, and I mean 00:46:13.85\00:46:16.62 I don't know exactly what Jesus said, but I know, that I'd pay 00:46:16.65\00:46:19.60 a lot of money, if I could have a CD or a cassette tape 00:46:19.64\00:46:24.47 from Jerusalem, 7 miles, walking in average speed, 00:46:24.50\00:46:29.55 2 and 1/2 hours, who knows?! 00:46:29.58\00:46:32.69 I would love to have even a 90-minute tape of that sermon. 00:46:32.72\00:46:35.68 How much would that be worth, 00:46:35.71\00:46:37.09 Of hearing Jesus Himself, going through the Old Testament, 00:46:37.12\00:46:39.88 showing how He was the fulfillment of all these 00:46:39.91\00:46:42.19 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah? 00:46:42.22\00:46:44.36 And they were so excited as He talked, and as He talked, 00:46:44.48\00:46:48.22 they thought: Boy, whoever this man is, this teacher, 00:46:48.25\00:46:50.79 this rabbi, wow! What He's saying, makes sense. 00:46:50.82\00:46:53.46 And their hearts began to serge with hope and with faith again, 00:46:53.49\00:46:56.59 and with confidence again. And the ministry of Jesus 00:46:56.62\00:46:59.13 and everything began to clear, 00:46:59.16\00:47:01.14 and began to focus and make sense. 00:47:01.17\00:47:05.33 "And as they drew near the village, where they were going, 00:47:05.36\00:47:08.12 He indicated that He would have gone further. " 00:47:08.15\00:47:11.15 When they came to a fork in the road, a little sign said: 00:47:13.77\00:47:16.73 Emmaus - right here. 00:47:16.76\00:47:18.06 The Sun is going down, Jesus goes up to the fork in the road, 00:47:18.72\00:47:23.16 and He's going to say: It's been a pleasure 00:47:23.19\00:47:25.78 talking with you, gentlemen. 00:47:25.81\00:47:27.93 And they didn't want to let Him go. 00:47:27.96\00:47:29.74 He lit a fire within them. 00:47:29.77\00:47:31.54 He has given them hope, they thought: 00:47:31.57\00:47:33.62 We've got to get more of this, this is not enough, 00:47:33.65\00:47:36.06 we need more of what you are saying. 00:47:36.09\00:47:37.81 Can you come to our house and we'll continue this study. 00:47:37.84\00:47:41.57 "He indicated that He would go further, but they 00:47:41.60\00:47:44.37 constrained Him, saying: Abide with us, for it is 00:47:44.40\00:47:48.51 towards evening, and the day is far spent. " 00:47:48.54\00:47:50.72 They constrained Him, that means they took Him by the sleeve 00:47:50.75\00:47:53.60 and they tugged on Him. 00:47:53.63\00:47:54.80 They didn't just say: When you want to come on by sometime, 00:47:54.83\00:47:57.73 drop in for something to eat. They said: Come now, 00:47:57.76\00:48:00.19 stay with us! Were they glad, they did? 00:48:00.22\00:48:02.96 He wasn't revealed to them, until they got into their house. 00:48:03.57\00:48:06.80 You know, I think that the Holy Spirit to some extent 00:48:07.95\00:48:10.66 is going to end up being poured out in our homes, 00:48:10.69\00:48:13.03 when we open the Word together. 00:48:13.13\00:48:15.34 That's where the early church was born, 00:48:15.71\00:48:17.84 I think that's where the final revival is going to happen, 00:48:17.87\00:48:20.68 is when we get together in little groups with each other 00:48:20.73\00:48:23.42 and study. 00:48:23.45\00:48:24.47 I bet you, Lot was glad that he constrained the angels 00:48:24.50\00:48:27.80 to come into his home. Don't you think? 00:48:27.83\00:48:29.87 He ended up saving his life. 00:48:30.90\00:48:33.08 And others in the Bible, when they showed hospitality, 00:48:33.70\00:48:36.93 it ended up being a blessing on them. 00:48:37.07\00:48:39.39 When Rebekah invited Eliezer to come, she ended up becoming 00:48:39.97\00:48:46.01 a mother in Israel, because of that hospitality. 00:48:46.04\00:48:49.36 So He went in with them. 00:48:51.01\00:48:53.10 "And it came to pass," - I'm in verse 30, Luke 24- 00:48:53.13\00:48:55.93 "He sat at the table with them, He took bread, 00:48:55.96\00:48:59.62 He blessed it, and He broke it, and He gave it to them. " 00:48:59.65\00:49:03.74 Had Jesus done that before? 00:49:04.33\00:49:06.32 Had they seen Christ bless the bread and break the bread 00:49:06.47\00:49:09.86 the bread and give the bread to them before, 00:49:09.89\00:49:12.49 when it multiplied miraculously? 00:49:12.52\00:49:14.18 Maybe He had some of these idiosyncrasies in the way that 00:49:14.21\00:49:17.11 He did this, maybe something about the verbiage of His prayer 00:49:17.14\00:49:20.09 seemed familiar, but whatever happened, 00:49:20.12\00:49:22.13 suddenly, the scales fell from their eyes, as it were, 00:49:22.16\00:49:25.11 they recognized Jesus, and it says - I'm in verse 30-: 00:49:25.14\00:49:32.82 "And their eyes were opened," - notice-: "and they knew Him. " 00:49:32.95\00:49:38.66 Now they are happy. Am I right? 00:49:38.95\00:49:41.49 They know Him, and they are happy. 00:49:41.52\00:49:43.20 Before they did not know Him, they were not happy. 00:49:43.23\00:49:45.99 What happened between them knowing Him and not knowing Him? 00:49:46.02\00:49:48.92 No, I said that wrong. 00:49:48.95\00:49:50.07 What happened between their not knowing Him 00:49:50.10\00:49:52.18 and their knowing Him? He opened the Word. 00:49:52.21\00:49:54.45 That made the difference. 00:49:55.32\00:49:57.24 What happened between their not knowing Him, 00:49:57.27\00:49:59.39 and their knowing Him? Once He open the Word, 00:49:59.42\00:50:01.75 they went from being very sad to very happy. 00:50:01.78\00:50:06.48 And it happened in the context 00:50:06.70\00:50:08.86 to seeing Christ in the scriptures. 00:50:08.89\00:50:11.46 They didn't even know He was right at their side. 00:50:11.49\00:50:13.80 By the way, He's right at your side, when you read the Word. 00:50:13.83\00:50:16.72 Is that just something I'm theorizing, or did Jesus say: 00:50:16.88\00:50:20.32 "I'm with you always. " 00:50:20.35\00:50:21.79 And especially when you open His Word, 00:50:21.90\00:50:23.79 and when you talk to others about His Word, 00:50:23.82\00:50:25.40 He says: "I'm There. " 00:50:25.89\00:50:26.86 He promised to send the Holy Spirit to help us 00:50:27.40\00:50:29.74 to comprehend His Word. Amen? 00:50:29.77\00:50:32.31 Would you like to see Jesus? - Amen. 00:50:32.34\00:50:34.59 How did they see Christ? 00:50:34.77\00:50:37.13 You know, I'll let them tell the story. 00:50:37.70\00:50:39.97 They were so excited now, they couldn't keep this to themselves 00:50:40.15\00:50:43.19 The Sun has gone down. - Oh, by the way, 00:50:43.22\00:50:44.99 that song "Abide with me", they usually save that for 00:50:45.02\00:50:47.87 funerals, it's really a song about Bible study, 00:50:47.94\00:50:50.69 and having a personal relationship with Jesus. 00:50:50.72\00:50:54.35 A wonderful hymn of the church. 00:50:54.48\00:50:56.05 Abide with me, fast falls the even tide, 00:50:56.08\00:50:58.69 The darkness deepens, Lord with me, abide. 00:50:58.72\00:51:00.92 I tell you that should be a song for us in the last days. Amen? 00:51:00.95\00:51:04.01 Ask the Lord to open our eyes, to come and abide with us. 00:51:04.35\00:51:07.32 "And they said to one another". Oh by the way, I always thought 00:51:07.90\00:51:11.23 that was sort of a dirty trick. It says: 00:51:11.26\00:51:13.33 "They knew Him, and He vanished from their sight. " 00:51:13.36\00:51:15.36 I mean, you can picture the table. He breaks the bread, 00:51:15.40\00:51:17.37 He blesses the bread, He gives the bread to them, 00:51:17.41\00:51:18.89 all of a sudden, they recognize Him, maybe He pushed His 00:51:18.93\00:51:21.97 hood back, or took His turban off, I don't know, 00:51:22.01\00:51:25.82 and they went: "Jesus!" And they threw themselves 00:51:25.85\00:51:28.18 at His feet to worship Him, and He goes: "Pooff!" 00:51:28.21\00:51:30.58 Why did He do that? 00:51:32.59\00:51:34.48 I think, part of the reason is, He said: Look, now that you 00:51:35.49\00:51:38.47 understand the Word, you don't need to see me, 00:51:38.54\00:51:41.28 because you will see me in the Word. 00:51:41.31\00:51:43.99 He wants us to see Him through His Word. 00:51:44.38\00:51:47.88 Follow me. They said: 00:51:47.91\00:51:50.59 "Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked 00:51:50.62\00:51:53.50 with us on the road, and while He opened the scriptures to us?" 00:51:53.53\00:51:56.62 What gave them that heavenly heart-burn? 00:51:56.65\00:51:58.54 The opening of the scriptures. 00:51:58.57\00:52:00.66 "So they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, 00:52:01.33\00:52:04.47 and found the eleven, and those who were with them 00:52:04.50\00:52:06.88 gathered together. " 00:52:06.91\00:52:08.42 Why didn't they say: Well, you know, we ought to probably 00:52:08.45\00:52:11.24 send the messenger up to tell those in the upper room. 00:52:11.27\00:52:14.04 Maybe in the morning, let's get a good night's rest, 00:52:14.07\00:52:16.70 I mean, they had walked, and it had been a tough weekend. 00:52:16.73\00:52:18.27 By the way, it's up hill, it's dark now. 00:52:18.30\00:52:21.47 They did not have flashlights. 00:52:21.51\00:52:25.39 And they said: Let's go now. Why? 00:52:25.42\00:52:27.36 'Cause all of their friends were gathered in the upper room 00:52:27.39\00:52:30.18 for fear, discouraged. Let's go tell them that He's alive! 00:52:30.21\00:52:33.40 They are now going uphill, in the dark, and they're happier 00:52:34.22\00:52:39.98 than they were going downhill in the daylight. Why? 00:52:40.01\00:52:45.05 They are now happier going uphill in the dark, 00:52:45.08\00:52:48.80 Jesus is with them, but they can't see Him, 00:52:48.84\00:52:51.60 but they know Him; than they were before, going 00:52:51.63\00:52:53.86 downhill, in the daylight, He's there, but they don't know Him. 00:52:53.89\00:52:57.15 What made the difference between those two? 00:52:57.18\00:52:59.44 You may have trials in your life. You may go uphill, 00:52:59.47\00:53:01.93 it may seem dark, but if you know Jesus is with you, 00:53:01.96\00:53:04.49 you're going to be happy. - Amen! 00:53:04.52\00:53:06.10 If you know you're heading back to the city of God, 00:53:06.13\00:53:08.74 it makes all the difference in the world. 00:53:08.97\00:53:11.01 And they had a mission. They had good news to share, 00:53:11.04\00:53:14.85 they could not keep it to themselves. 00:53:14.88\00:53:17.54 So they go back to the upper room. 00:53:17.57\00:53:19.64 "And they told them about the things that happened 00:53:21.01\00:53:23.70 on the road, and how"... Notice this, verse 35: 00:53:23.73\00:53:26.69 "He was known to them in the breaking of bread. " 00:53:27.10\00:53:31.03 What is that bread that is going to reveal Jesus to you and me? 00:53:31.20\00:53:34.21 "Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word. " 00:53:35.56\00:53:38.20 "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more, than my 00:53:38.23\00:53:41.19 necessary food. I found my word and I did eat it. " 00:53:41.22\00:53:44.44 And as we feed on the bread of life, 00:53:44.86\00:53:48.07 this is what helps us know Him. 00:53:48.16\00:53:50.80 Now, I'm almost out of time. 00:53:51.10\00:53:53.11 Probably the most important thing that I can impress on you, 00:53:53.14\00:53:56.24 is: what can we do during this time of revival right now, 00:53:56.60\00:53:59.94 that's going to make a tangible difference, 00:53:59.97\00:54:02.06 that will last? 00:54:02.09\00:54:03.57 If you have a revival in your personal devotions, 00:54:03.60\00:54:08.25 in spending more time in the Word, 00:54:08.28\00:54:11.20 really reading the Word, 00:54:11.23\00:54:13.09 letting Jesus talk to you on the road, 00:54:13.12\00:54:15.76 reasoning with Him, going from scripture to scripture, 00:54:16.30\00:54:20.00 Jesus went bouncing around probably from Psalms 00:54:20.03\00:54:22.50 to Genesis, to Malachi, all through the Bible, 00:54:22.53\00:54:25.48 comparing scripture to scripture. 00:54:25.51\00:54:27.24 "He expounded unto them" how many scriptures? 00:54:27.27\00:54:29.46 All the scriptures. 00:54:29.49\00:54:30.88 I would have loved to hear what Jesus said about 00:54:30.91\00:54:32.91 Ezekiel's wheel 00:54:32.94\00:54:34.86 and what all this means. 00:54:34.89\00:54:36.97 But He did all this to reveal to them who He was. 00:54:37.00\00:54:40.80 Then they saw Him. He may have disappeared, 00:54:40.83\00:54:43.70 but they saw Him. 00:54:43.73\00:54:45.04 "As they began to talk about Jesus, and tell their friends 00:54:45.07\00:54:48.05 about Jesus " - in verse 36-, 00:54:48.08\00:54:50.37 "He stood in their midst and said: Peace to you!" 00:54:50.40\00:54:52.68 Do you know what that means? 00:54:52.71\00:54:54.24 He was with them all the way down, 00:54:54.27\00:54:55.84 and He was with them all the way back up. 00:54:55.87\00:54:57.79 They just didn't see Him. 00:54:57.82\00:54:59.18 He went back on the trip with them. 00:54:59.21\00:55:01.22 And he said: "Peace to you!" 00:55:01.50\00:55:03.33 "They marveled and they were terrified. " 00:55:03.74\00:55:05.65 He said: "Behold my hands and feet, it's me. " 00:55:05.68\00:55:08.25 He gave Him something to eat. 00:55:08.50\00:55:10.30 And He says: "These are the words that I spoke to you 00:55:10.97\00:55:13.24 while I was still with you: that all things must be fulfilled 00:55:13.27\00:55:16.87 which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets 00:55:16.90\00:55:20.62 and the Psalms concerning me. 00:55:20.65\00:55:22.52 And He opened their understanding, that they might 00:55:22.55\00:55:24.90 comprehend the scriptures, saying: Thus, it is written, 00:55:24.93\00:55:27.20 thus, it is written. " And this is how the book of Luke closes. 00:55:27.23\00:55:30.35 It's a picture of Jesus teaching them the Word, saying: 00:55:30.38\00:55:33.63 If you want to know me, the difference between misery 00:55:33.66\00:55:36.42 and exuberance, it's in the Word. 00:55:36.45\00:55:38.64 Isaiah saw the Lord and then God said: now, you got to go 00:55:38.67\00:55:41.37 tell other people. 00:55:41.40\00:55:42.92 Paul saw Jesus, and he had to go tell other people. 00:55:42.95\00:55:45.93 On the road to Emmaus, they saw Jesus, they had to go 00:55:46.36\00:55:49.06 tell someone else. 00:55:49.09\00:55:51.06 If you really get to know Jesus in His Word, 00:55:51.27\00:55:53.63 you'll find Him, and you'll want to tell others. 00:55:53.69\00:55:56.25 My challenge, my appeal to you, my plea to you, is I commend 00:55:56.28\00:56:00.29 you this book. There are so many distractions that want your 00:56:00.32\00:56:03.48 visual attention right now, God is saying: 00:56:03.51\00:56:05.68 I'd like to have your attention, please. 00:56:05.71\00:56:07.48 Don't be like little children that are so distracted 00:56:07.51\00:56:10.02 with all these things in the world, fix your eyes on Jesus! 00:56:10.05\00:56:13.10 How did Peter walk on the water? 00:56:13.13\00:56:14.66 He saw Jesus, and he could do the impossible. 00:56:14.73\00:56:17.09 Fix your eyes on Jesus, and that's possible four you. 00:56:17.12\00:56:19.63 Is that your prayer, friends? 00:56:19.66\00:56:21.25 Can I pray with you? 00:56:21.28\00:56:22.90 Father in Heaven, we just rejoice in the revival, 00:56:23.58\00:56:27.25 that we see transpiring in our midst. 00:56:27.28\00:56:29.16 We pray that this will only be the beginning. 00:56:29.19\00:56:31.97 That it will grow on and go on, and we will all experience 00:56:32.00\00:56:35.29 a new birth, because of Jesus in our hearts and in our lives. 00:56:35.32\00:56:38.24 Bless this church, bless this program, 00:56:38.27\00:56:40.86 and pour out Your Spirit. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. 00:56:40.89\00:56:44.57