The Resurrection of Christ and The Great Commission — Acts 1

0:00 Good morning. Praise the lord. I said, good morning. Praise the lord. Good morning.

0:08 Good morning. It's good to be back in Westlake, I think. It was nice to have you back. Thank you. I would like to...

0:21 I know we've been doing it for a long time, and it's... Was a surprise for me when I first came back to hear that the Eichenhowers are leaving tomorrow. I want to pray for them again right now. Father, we thank you for our lord and savior Jesus. Thank you lord that we are not saying goodbye to our brother and sister and their children.

0:46 Other brothers and sisters, lord. We're not saying goodbye. We're not saying farewell. We are saying we will see you later. We are so grateful as we remember this morning, not only did you die, but you rose from the dead.

1:01 You're preparing a place for us in heaven and you will come back again and we will be with you forever, with one another forever. We bless you. We praise you for what you've done in and through Todd, Miriam, and the children. What a blessing, Lord. What an example.

1:19 Thank you for the life of Jesus flowing out of them so freely. Lord, we pray that you would continue to grant them as Paul cried out, everyone of his letters, grace and peace from god our father and the lord Jesus Christ. Father, would you bless them with more and more and more unmerited, unearned, unearnedable, undeserved favor, your grace, and your shalom, your peace. Thank you, lord. Bless them, lord.

1:50 We know that you're gonna use them. We ask that you would anoint them afresh with your spirit to win many souls to Christ, to disciple many souls for Christ. And to be just filled with your joy and your peace. Your joy and your peace. We love you, Lord.

2:05 We continue to pray now for the rest of this service. Lord, as we give testimony of what you've done in one of your servants down in Florida, in the other areas. We just give you all the glory. We thank you for your word as we open it in a moment. You will speak to us.

2:21 Give us ears and hearts to hear. Lord, please just allow the Holy Spirit free access to our hearts. Come in, Lord, by your spirit. Teach us, build us up, equip us, challenge us, we pray. In Jesus name, amen.

2:37 We're giving out three different handouts. Everybody should have two full sheets of paper, different ones, and then also a gospel pamphlet. Time is gonna move quickly here. Thank you for sending me off to Florida for three and a half weeks when I left February 1. Three and a half weeks from February 1.

3:06 Man makes our plan. We make our plans, but the Lord orders our steps. It was shortly after I arrived down in Florida that I ended up on crutches and could barely walk. Did some real damage to a ligament or whatever those are called down there. Just walking up three steps, wait young people.

3:25 Just three steps. Anyway, the Lord healed it. I'm fine. My leg is fine. Praise the Lord.

3:32 But that was kind of a catalyst to really get me wondering if I could come back home and live in a second story apartment for a while, which I would have definitely had a hard time. But, went down to visit and work with, one main assembly, Boulevard Chapel, down in Hollywood, Florida, right in between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. And it was an awesome time. Just an awesome time. It was God's plan.

3:56 They invited me. They said I could stay as long as the Lord wanted me to be there, as long as I felt. They said there's plenty of opportunity there. As soon as I got there, one of the young men, Benjamin Renth, his father was Aaron Renth, one of the elders there. Benjamin had been out in the world heavily, drinking and all that stuff.

4:18 And through the prayers of the saints there, he came to repentance and really came back to the Lord big time. Big time. So when I got there, he comes up to me shortly after I arrived and asked if we could study the bible together. And I says, well, let me pray about it. No, I didn't say that.

4:36 I said, yes. That'd be awesome. And so we got together. I mean, he was like a sponge and just wanting to know the lord. And he wanted to go out and witness but he's very shy, very quiet, and still is.

4:52 He had already been going out, trying to go out door to door. That chapel there, they have a wonderful door to door program. Headed up even the elders. They spearheaded it, and three different elders there go out door to door once a week as they're able. Sometimes they're not quite able.

5:09 And one of their goals is to take young men with them and help encourage them and and to do the same. And Ben was already starting to go with that, but he would just stand and listen and terrified. Well, he went through the Ezekiel Project training. Brother Chris was down there with us for a week. And he went through that training, the open air sketch board, and we've got the beach twenty minutes away down there, and there's a boardwalk.

5:36 It's like a road. It's as big as a road. Thousands of people walking by on any given day. Sometimes 10,000, had to be 10,000. Well, the assembly goes out once a month and does open air there and some giving out tracks.

5:52 And some of the men standing there with a sign on Styrofoam, it says, you must be born again. Just standing there. All the people going by, people start coming up and they talk. What does that mean? And people are...

6:06 I mean, Aaron Renth, the one elder there, he he had a line of people waiting in line. And Malcolm, who was just here shortly, he had another sign. It said, are you going to heaven? Free test. People come up because people are worried.

6:24 They're concerned. Not everybody, of course, but as the Lord leads, and we train people to give out gospel tracts and that. And so Ben is out there on the the once a month outreach, and he's scheduled, and Chris goes, Ben, Ben, you're gonna you're gonna preach first. I can't do it. I can't do it.

6:44 He'd been saying that all week because he is very, very shy. Oh, okay. Okay. We're not gonna force you. And so somebody else shared, and then a little bit while later, someone else was gonna share.

6:55 Okay. Ben, you're up next. I can't do it. I can't... About ready to pass out.

7:02 I I think that happened one more time. Maybe... I know it happened twice. Maybe a third time. Anyway, I I said, Ben, come out with me.

7:09 So we walked and we were standing right again in the boardwalk here. The the water's behind us. And just here, take some tracks. Just stand here. Just hold them out.

7:17 Just hold them out. People can... So he's standing there like this. You can't see my knees. His knees are knocking.

7:25 And they took one. And another one. And another one. And another one another one another one another one. Oh, this tells you about Jesus.

7:35 What is this? It tells you how to make sure you go to heaven and we're handing out thousands of scriptures similar to the one we we passed out this morning here With the holy scriptures out, the written word of god, the gospel, people walking down the beach, on the boardwalk, many reading the bible. The Christians weren't reading the bible. The non Christians were reading the bible. You know what I'm saying?

7:57 It's awesome opportunity. And so Ben began, and then then then we started going out during the week, three and four times a week because it's just people are there all the time. We go out after the workday, and people are just loads of people. We had to get them printed in Spanish and some French speaking people and all kinds of gospel tracts going out. And before you know it, people were stopping to talk to Ben.

8:45 And it's just awesome. God's been doing some great things there. From that, I got invited to speak at one Spanish assembly. There's a number of Spanish people down that way. And it was a youth meeting, the first one.

8:58 And four, five, six different Spanish assemblies gather once every other month, and they share, they move around. But they have a youth meeting on a Friday night. 200 young people come out. It's awesome. I spoke to a translator.

9:11 And Rigoberto, he was an elder at one of the assembly... Assemblies from Honduras. And me and him just... It was wonderful. And the same with that fellowship there with just the youth and got some more invitations at four different Spanish assemblies to work with them and come and share and help them encourage them in the Lord and evangelism and working with the youth.

9:32 And it's just been awesome. There's one Indian fellowship there that I got to share with a number of times. Brothers, I was I was there five years back. So the Indian fellowship and the main chapel I had been in before. But the other four Spanish assemblies and another assembly in Fort Lauderdale, a struggling assembly, used to be strong and vibrant, 200 folks, and some things happened, and now they're down to about a dozen or so older people.

9:58 Physic... Physically weaker and just needed some encouragement. And just to be in their prayer meetings and encourage them with the scriptures about praying, don't give up. These saints are crying. Literally crying.

10:10 God, we're sorry that what happened happened. Forgive us. Cleanse us. Lord, please send your spirit and do a great work here in Fort Lauderdale. Pray for that assembly.

10:20 Fort Lauderdale Bible Chapel, I believe it's called. And some beautiful people. They're right in the middle of a a Haitian community. It's changed, transition there. So, just pray that god will keep working on.

10:31 And I'm back. So, praise the lord. I'm not sure what else to share but it's just been a great opportunity. You folks have been praying. You folks have been giving me gas money and ability to be there.

10:46 And that's how the Lord works. You know, he sends us out. Whether we're working with our hands or working with our mouths, we're working together for the kingdom. We're supposed to be. We wanna be.

10:57 Right? Open up your Bibles to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. I'm coming out of the dark ages. No, I still got my old flip top phone.

11:18 I guess I'm not up yet but met some friends down in Florida, some younger folks, and they are computer oriented. And a young brother, Jason, was able to help me put together a real nice presentation of the last time... One of the last times, I think it was that we spoke on the second coming of Christ. And you've got one of those handouts in your in your lap. And, that's for you to keep and just use, and you can fold that in half.

11:47 If you see on the backside where the writing is, there's a halfway mark. Fold it in half. You can keep it in your Bible. I trust it'll be helpful for you to think about where we're at in the Lord's return. And we're...

12:01 That's gonna help us lead into this morning's message from Luke 24. I just wanted to recapitulate, if that's a word, it is now, about the Lord and his big picture, his plan. And that's what you have on that handout sheet with the diagram there. The other handout sheet, take that home and read that. That's from the Uplift magazine, which they've just recently started in Outlook section on the opposite back of the magazine.

12:30 You have to turn the magazine upside down, but they did that purposely. You'll see them, brother Scott McGroff, writing about that. Just before I came to the assembly in Florida, he had been there and gave a week's teaching on the Bema Seat Judgment for for Christians, the day when every Christian will stand before the Lord and give account for everything that we've done, said, after becoming a Christian. And I'd just like to read that passage Corinthians, just two verses, verses ten and eleven. Says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

13:04 The all there is believers. This is not an unbeliever judgment. And the English says it's the judgment seat of Christ. That's not what it says in the Greek. It just says the bema seat.

13:16 And the bema seat was not so much a judgment for being punished, like we think of judgment. It was a time when you received your reward after you ran the race. It's an Olympic term. It's an Olympic picture. It's in the Olympics, the the sporting Olympics.

13:33 You run, you do your your your exercise, whatever it might have been, and you come before the judge. And depending on how well you ran the race, either received a reward or you didn't. That's what this is for believers. All our sins have been judged at Calvary. We celebrated that in the first service.

13:54 Hallelujah. So even as a Christian, we still do things wrong. We still sin. I do. So do you.

14:02 Those are taken care of. Those won't be brought up again. I will remember their sins no more. They're gone. As Far as the east to the west, behind the father's back, the depths of the sea, right?

14:30 We are here right now at number four. And I'll try and get out of your way here so you can hopefully see this. And sorry, we would've had it up higher, but I don't know. We got invaded by a bunch of little kids, which is good. Praise the Lord.

14:46 So we're here today, and there's no gap really. Nothing else has to be fulfilled before the rapture. The rapture is when Jesus takes his church, the believers who have been saved from believing on Christ back with him. He doesn't come to the earth. He comes in the clouds.

15:03 The dead in Christ rise first. You know this verse if you're a believer. And then we who are alive remain, go with him. And that's where he's already up there preparing a place for us. John 14, he's preparing a place for us to be married to him and to live in his father's house.

15:19 In my father's house are many dwelling places. So he's gonna come and get his bride, take us up to be with Jesus. And during that time, from the time of the rapture till the time of the second coming when he comes back with us to earth and sets up his kingdom for a thousand years, in between that seven years, while god is pouring out his wrath here on earth for seven years of tribulation, in heaven, two main events happen. We get married to Jesus and the Bema Seat Judgment. So if the rapture happened today, somewhere in there, we don't know when it happens, we stand before Christ.

15:56 Every believer, perhaps all alone it would seem. And God, according to the verses, says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may be recompensed or repaid for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or, again, the English Terrible Translation says good or bad. We don't get judged for our bad deeds. Good or useless, worthless. Things we did in the flesh for me, for this world, for myself, for now, for this kingdom.

16:26 But things we've done for his kingdom, for eternity's sake, for him, through the power of Christ, we get rewards. First Corinthians three says that. We're going to get stand before the lord. Our works are going be judged with fire. Apparently, his eyes are like fire.

16:41 He's just going to look. And that which was built with gold, silver, and precious stones, the things we did for Christ and the power of Christ for his kingdom, not ours, not the Satan's kingdom, we get a reward because fire doesn't get rid of gold, silver, and precious stones. It only makes him gets rid of all the impurities. We get a reward and apparently, we give that back to Christ but if we built in wood, hay, and stubble, again, any selfish deed for this life, for now, for me, for this kingdom, gets burned up. And somebody once said, help me, Lord.

17:12 I don't want to be standing knee deep in ashes. On that day. Martin Luther said, there's only two days on my calendar. Today, this day. Not worried about tomorrow.

17:25 Might not see it, right? This day and what? That day. That's a great way to live. He was living this day in light of that day.

17:36 And we need to also. Paul says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. The Bema says, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according, that means in our body after becoming a Christian. What did we do? That's what it says.

17:50 What did we do? Whether what we did in the body whether it was good or worthless or useless. Therefore, knowing the fear of the lord, the king James says, the terror of the lord. That day, I'm not going to be terrified that he's going to judge me and send me to hell. He took care of my sins on the cross but you better believe.

18:09 There's just like John when he saw the lord Jesus, the one who laid his head on the bosom of Christ. Now, Christ is glorified. And when John saw him in his glorified state, in in Jesus' glorified state, what happened? He fell at his feet like a dead man. Just collapsed.

18:30 And so are we in one sense. The song, I can only imagine. Well, I... We don't have to imagine. He's holy.

18:37 He's beyond our comprehension. We're not gonna give him a big hug and a kiss and and and I I guess we might. I mean, I don't know but he he's god. He's almighty god and so there's fear involved here. I wanna please the lord.

18:52 That's what he says in the first part of the chapter because we're gonna be absent from this body one day and present with the lord. Therefore, our goal, our aim is to please him. And it goes back to the end of chapter four in Corinthians and he says, why? Because everything you can see is temporary. Everything.

19:09 Think about it, brothers and sisters. Everything. I mean, there's some good stuff that god made. It's all temporary. One another, our families, in that sense, temporary.

19:23 But that which is unseen is eternal. And he builds upon that in chapter four, then he moves into chapter five, and he talks about we're gonna get new bodies one day. We're gonna be with the Lord one day, and that's what it's all about. That's God's big picture. God created everything whenever he created it.

19:39 There was nothing. There was eternity past, and that was paradise. There's god. He's always been. No no beginning.

19:44 No end. And one day, it's gonna just continue back to normal. But from number one on your timeline until number seven is this creation stage. Planet Earth, sun, moon, and stars. But at number seven, at the end of it all, second Peter three says he's gonna dissolve it all with fire.

20:21 And then he convinces Adam and Eve. And here's Satan's kingdom begins. God's kingdom, it was very good. Satan's kingdom today, darkness, death, and destruction. And us Christians, we just love this kingdom.

20:33 No, we hate this kingdom. We long to be with the lord. We long to be out of here where there's going to be no more death, darkness, and destruction. And so god has a plan of redemption. He sends his son, Jesus, at the first coming, his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, and then he ascends, goes back up into heaven, preparing a place, then three, then fifty days after the resurrection, he sends the Holy Spirit and so from Pentecost, the beginning till right today is called the church age.

21:02 This Earth, Revelation one through chapter three. And here we are today waiting for the rapture when the Lord comes. We don't know know not when it's coming. Then seven years later, after we receive our rewards for how we've lived our Christian life, we come back, Revelation 19 to the Earth, the battle of Armageddon. Boom.

21:22 Satan's kingdom done. Done. The king has come. Yes, it's okay to say amen and hallelujah. It's over.

21:32 No more death, darkness, and destruction. Thousand year rule of Christ on this Earth, not the new Earth, this Earth, lifts the curse. Lions gonna lie down with the lamb and so will we. Can't wait to lay on a big old furry lion. It's going to be awesome.

21:54 It's going to be awesome. If you're a believer, it's going to be awesome. Jesus will rule. We will rule with him. We'll have our new bodies already.

22:01 Satan is bound during those thousand years. At the end, he's released for a short time. No more kingdom. See, I was thinking about this this morning. This is Satan's kingdom now visibly and numerically, right?

22:14 We're outnumbered But God's kingdom is still in the hearts of men and women. And so there's a minority, but it's still there. One day it's gonna be swapped. During the millennium, Christ is gonna be the ruler. But there's still gonna be those who were born, who didn't die, and then they're gonna get born with a sin nature during that thousand years and still have to make a choice of Christ, ruling in a perfect world, with Christ ruling, putting down every wickedness immediately, and still the heart of man is so wicked.

22:43 At the end of that thousand years, Satan is released for a short time. He gathers so many people against Christ. It says, you can't number them like the sand of the sea. And so Satan's kingdom, even during the thousand years, is internal. People are rebelling.

22:59 Born with that sin nature. I will not have this man rule over me. But then Satan is released. The buyers... Bible says, just fire comes down from heaven, destroys them all.

23:08 Satan thrown into the lake of fire for how long? For how long? I love that verse. I always point to it when I'm reading because I know there's a demon or two watching, and I'm not trying to be funny, but it's true. Revelation 20 verse 10, the devil was thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet already were for that whole thousand years.

23:28 And there they'll be in torment day and night forever and ever. And verse 15 says, and and also every human whose name is not found written in the book of life. Because we're all born into the kingdom of darkness. And unless you're born again by repentance, turning from your sins and believing on the lord Jesus Christ that he died for you, shed his blood for you, rose from the dead on the third day for you. Unless you're born into his kingdom, you'll be in the lake of fire forever.

23:55 However, new heaven and new earth, righteousness, peace, and joy forever and ever. Back to normal. This is not normal, folks. At least in time span, it's not. Creation, most believe it's only about six thousand years.

24:13 Somewhere since creation, maybe shortly after that, Satan fell, sin entered the world. Satan's kingdom, maximum time, six thousand years. What was going on before that? Righteousness, peace, and joy. Paradise, perfection, joy, life.

24:33 Hallelujah. And for a short time, God allowed sin to be sin so that he could demonstrate his love. That's what it says. Well, if God is so powerful, how come he didn't put an end to it? He will.

24:46 Why didn't he do it right in the beginning? Because he has a facet of himself. He wants to demonstrate to the universe. It's called grace. Was he good and loving and kind to Adam and Eve in the garden before sin entered?

25:00 Yes. Perfect world. That's love. Gave him everything. But his grace still needed to be manifest, made known.

25:09 And it was. How? Well, what's grace? Unmerited favor. Well, they already had a portion of his grace, unmerited favor.

25:18 What did they do to receive everything they had? Nothing. Just poof, here I am, made from dust. And now they're receiving everything from God. But it gets even greater.

25:29 It says sometimes people might die for somebody. Maybe if they're a good person. I'm paraphrasing loosely, but this is what it says. But God demonstrates his love toward us. He wants to demonstrate his love and his mercy and grace is even greater than it was just by giving you food and clothing and providing family and all that you have.

25:48 That's good. But his love is so much greater than that. While we were yet sinners, rebels against god just like Satan. Oh yeah. I don't want Jesus to rule over me.

26:03 I don't want god to be my god. I'll be my own god. I'll do what I want, when I want, how I want. I will be god. That's what sin says.

26:14 That's how bad it is. That's why there's a lake of fire. But god so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. Put all our sins in his body. Treated him as if he committed every act of rebellion against a holy, loving father.

26:47 Why? Because we are going to meet Christ one day. Therefore, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Therefore, knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, we persuade men. Why?

27:02 That's who Christ is. He is the savior of the world. He came to seek and save that which was lost. This isn't just an evangelist up here speaking. This is the word of God.

27:13 This is not a bent from an evangelist point of view. This is the word of God from beginning to end. God comes to redeem lost humanity and he does it through witnesses who have already experienced it. That's his plan. That's his plan.

27:32 In doing so, I get the benefit, the joy. I got a phone call last night, 10:30 at night. After all these testimonies I just shared with you, I got a phone call last night at 10:30 at night. That's not late for me. Usually, I'm up too late but I knew I had to speak this morning and as I just about ready to fall on my knees and pray again and you know, just review what I was thinking about to for for the message in Luke 24 here.

27:56 Phone rings. What? Lord, this is important. I need to get with you. I need to get some rest.

28:05 For an hour and some minutes, it's on my phone. Brian Horstman called me. God saved that boy. He's big time different. He's not here, I don't think, today.

28:24 I invited him to come. But something's going on. He's been listening to Ravi Zacharias and apologetics he's saying. He says, I'm convinced. It's true.

28:36 And he he says, and when they understood that the resurrection of the early disciples, that he really rose from the dead, they had to tell somebody. And he says, that's how I feel now. I just gotta tell somebody. I gotta but I want to know how to do it because all my friends are just like me and they got their doubts and I guess I had my doubts and so I I didn't have a desire for the word. I didn't have I didn't understand the word.

28:55 Quote unquote, now I have a desire for the word. Now, I understand the word and now I gotta tell somebody. Jesus is alive Luke 24. We are just going to read After the death, three days of despair beyond any human despair we have ever experienced, disciples lost their best friend through death. It was sudden.

29:30 It was like a car accident or a murder. It was a murder. They weren't anticipating it. He told them three times it was gonna happen. All the prophets told them it was gonna happen.

29:39 They didn't get it. They thought he's setting up his kingdom that we just talked about, the millennial kingdom. They thought it was now. But there was something more important that had to be set up first. Grace, righteousness in the hearts of men and women.

29:54 And that's why Jews today are still blinded. They're waiting for the second coming of Christ, not thinking they need the first coming to pay for their sins. And Gentiles also believe that. But on the first day of the week, on the first day of the week in the depths of despair, in the depths of depression and discouragement, we've lost loved ones. We know the agony, the pain.

30:15 I'm going through it now a long term with my mother. It's terrible. I hate it. I cry every day. It's wicked.

30:23 It's evil. Death is horrible. But Christ conquered on the first day of the week. At early dawn, they, all the followers, some of the followers that were with Christ, came to the tomb, and we'll find out later it's the ladies, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They weren't expecting that.

30:45 Big rock rolled away from the tomb. But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. They weren't expecting that. The tomb was empty. Tomb was empty.

30:58 And it happened that while they were perplexed, you better believe they're perplexed, they're in the depths of despair. And what happened? Somebody stole the body. Oh my God, it can't get worse. And it did get worse.

31:10 They stole the body. As they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel. These are angels. And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men, the angels said to them, why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he is risen.

31:34 Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee? Now they are really screwed up emotionally. They are terrified now. They're discouraged. They're they're probably feeling bitter towards whoever stole the body.

31:47 Now they're really in the depths of despair. They're terrified of these creatures. They fall on their faces. These angels made it happen like that. They're afraid of the angels.

31:56 What? Living? Remember how he spoke to us? Maybe? Just a little thread, a glimmer of hope, maybe.

32:14 Remember he said in verse seven, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why we're we we want to die. And on the third day rise again. Maybe it just started to click a little bit.

32:31 His words. It's recorded. He told them at least three times before it happened. Death and resurrection. And they remembered his words.

32:41 Yeah. But still there's no Jesus. They're not all the way there yet, folks. They're still just in the grave, but now their eyes are open. Maybe there is a little hope here.

32:55 Verse nine, And they returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the 11 and to all the rest. Judas is dead, right? And there is others there with the 11. Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, also the other women and with them were telling these things to the apostles. And these words appeared to them as nonsense and they would not believe them.

33:14 No way. Angels, come on. Body is not there? Okay. Raised from...

33:24 What? Raised from the... No way. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only and he went away to his home marveling at that which had happened. Freaked out.

33:38 Still confused. Big time. Where's Jesus? Where's the body? Two angels said he's alive?

33:58 The angels, the ladies come to the 11 disciples. Now somewhere on this road to Emmaus, another city, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem, was two of these people. And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had taken place. And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus himself approached. Ah, great, right?

34:19 Not quite yet. And began traveling with them, but their eyes were prevented by Jesus from recognizing him. He didn't let them know it was him. They think he's just some other traveler on the road. And these two are in the depths of despair like the other ones we were just talking about.

34:34 They are freaked out. They're they don't know. They left everything to follow Christ. And now he's missing. He's gone.

34:41 So I guess he's not the Messiah. What did we do? And they're looking for any believers of Christ. They're going to kill us like they killed him. What are we going to do?

34:51 We ain't got no job. We left our job. Our families are the, I don't know. They'll take us. What do we do?

34:57 And he, this is Jesus, but they didn't know it, said to them, what are these words that you're exchanging with one another as you're walking? And they stood still looking sad. And one of them named Cleopus answered and said to him, hello? Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which had happened here in these days? What things?

35:21 Jesus just lovingly playing with them, not teasing them. He's got a plan. He knows. He is just, he's probably beaming with joy. Big smile on his face because he knows he's alive obviously and he can't wait for them to experience the joy they're about to experience.

35:45 And they said to him, the things about Jesus, Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the peoples, and how the chief priests and our rulers... You know, Did you hear about all the miracles this guy Jesus was doing? He raised people from the dead. He walked in the water. He fed 5,000 people.

36:02 Thousands of people were healed, deaf, dumb and blind. You didn't hear about this guy? And now the chief priests and our rulers, they delivered him up to the sentence of death. They just crucified him. Weren't you hear a couple days ago?

36:15 They put him on a cross like a common criminal. They murdered him. You didn't hear about this? And we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. We thought he was the Messiah going to set up the kingdom.

36:29 Indeed, besides all this, it's the third day since these things happened. It's been three days. But then it even gets worse, I guess, or more confusing. Some of the women among us amazed us. They said they went to the tomb early this morning.

36:45 They didn't find his body. His body was gone. Then they said they saw a vision of these angels that He is alive. And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and yeah, Peter and some others, it's just what happened. The tomb is empty.

37:06 They didn't see Him there. Verse 25, Jesus said to them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary for the Messiah Christ, to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses, remember back in Genesis, guys, when Adam and Eve sinned and then God pronounced a curse on the serpent? And then he said that the seed of this woman is going to come and crush the serpent's head. Remember that?

37:37 Then remember when Moses said that there's going to be a prophet like him to come and you've got to obey him? And remember the Passover lamb? And remember Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice and how god provided a substitute? Sacrifice? And the sacrificial system, the tabernacle?

37:55 Then Moses went up on the mountain and received the tabernacle, what we're supposed to do and sacrificed on all those lambs that were always sacrificed? The day of atonement, remember that? And Micah, remember how he prophesied the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem? And remember Isaiah prophesied he'd he'd be pierced through for our transgressions? And remember David prophesied that he'd be raised from the dead?

38:17 All the prophets. Man, that must have been a bible study. Now I know why they call it the Emmaus bible study course. Emmaus. He explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures.

38:32 They approached the village where they were going and he acted as though he would keep going. They urged him saying, stay with us. It's getting, it's it's getting dark out. It's getting night time and the day is nearly over and so he went in to stay with him. He knew that.

39:04 He's the master. He's the lord. When he breaks the bread, gives thanks. Maybe it was at that time they saw the scars in his hands. The Lord lifts the blinders when they saw, when they believed the resurrection.

39:20 The blinders were lifted. That's what happened in Brian Horstman's life, he said. What happens? Poof, then he's gone. Double.

39:42 Did you see what... Were our hearts burning under... He is alive. We got to go what? Tell somebody.

39:52 So they go back. Verse 33, 32, Weren't our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road while He was explaining the scriptures to us? And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. It's nighttime, seven hour journey. When you believe in the resurrection, you have got to tell somebody.

40:16 Encouraged, aren't you? Sure we are. He is alive. So they go back to tell everybody and they return to Jerusalem, they found gathered together the 11 and those who were with them and they walk in, they are going to break in and share this good news but already the 11 grab them and say, hey man, you should have seen it you two guys from Emmaus. Jesus is alive.

40:37 He's appeared. Peter saw him and this guy here. And he says, yeah, yeah, we just saw him too. He was here and he told them what happened on the Emmaus Road. Verse 36.

40:50 While they were telling these things, Jesus himself stood in their midst. Poof. That had to be awesome. Had to be awesome to see and to believe. But what did Jesus tell Thomas?

41:06 You're blessed because you've seen and you believe. But blessed are those who believe and have not seen. We got the Holy Spirit. In our hearts, if you're a believer, you're in the you're in the story right now, aren't you? Sure, we are.

41:20 Because it's real. Holy Spirit is teaching us. He's showing us Jesus Christ rose from the dead. So, he stood and stands in their midst and they were startled and frightened and though they thought they were seeing a ghost And Jesus said to them, why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts?

41:40 Todd, Miriam, no doubts, no fears. Christ is alive. He's with you. See my hands, my feet? It's me.

41:52 Go ahead, touch me. The spirit ghost doesn't have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And then he shows him his hands and his feet. Oh, man, it's been three days since I had anything to eat. You guys got anything to eat?

42:04 No, he didn't say that. He wasn't hungry because of that, but he wanted to prove he's alive, so he takes some fish and King James says, and some honeycomb and he sits down and eats. And you can believe there was silence. And he's just sitting there. Pretty good honeycombing fish.

42:25 Whoever made this is pretty awesome. Oh, I made it. That's right. Awesome god. Awesome Jesus.

42:34 Loving Jesus. They gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb and took and ate it. Verse 44. Now he said to them, these are my words which I spoke to you before while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms from Genesis to Malachi. Every book in the Old Testament is about me.

43:01 Ruth, the kinsman redeemer, everything, it's all about me. Remember? Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. That's what we've been praying, that's a great prayer to pray. Lord, open my mind to understand the scriptures.

43:17 And he said to them, thus it is written. Look at, here it is. Here is the whole testament wrapped up. It is written that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead the third day. Is that it?

43:33 What else was written in the Old Testament scriptures? And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed, First in Jerusalem and to all the world. That's God's plan. It didn't just Christ died, rose again so we could sit around as Christians and get fatter and fatter and sassier and sassier and just wow, this Jesus stuff is so good. Yes, it is.

44:02 Yes, it is. But so many Christians, including the speaker today, were constipated. Yeah, we are. We're just eating and eating and eating and eating and eating and eating and eating and then we wonder why there's so much sickness spiritually in our own self and in the assemblies in the church. Same way it would be physically.

44:25 Just keep eating and don't go for a while. Right? Don't give it out. Not trying to be irreverent at all, but it's true. As we as Christians receive of Christ, we receive freely you received, freely give.

44:55 Do you? Are you his witness? You are my witnesses of these things. And behold, am sending forth the promise of my father upon you, but you are to stay in the city in Jerusalem. I am sending forth the promise of my father, you are supposed to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

45:17 Am going to send the Holy Spirit to Pentecost. And he led them out as far as Bethany. He lifted up his hands and blessed them and it came about that while he was blessing them, he departed. He parted from them and he was taken up into heaven and they worshiped him. What a sight.

45:36 You're my witnesses. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. They're thinking his life, the miracles, three years. They're thinking his death, his crucifixion, the horror. They're thinking forty days of resurrection appearances.

45:55 They're thinking they're with the resurrected Christ. Is it at this time you're gonna set up your kingdom, lord Jesus, acts chapter one? He says, that's not for you guys to worry about. Yeah, I'm coming back. I'm going to set up my kingdom.

46:07 That's not our department. Only the father has that fixed. But verse eight of chapter one of Acts, you shall be my witnesses. When? First, you shall receive dynamite, explosive power.

46:23 Then you're going to be my witnesses unto all the earth. Start in Jerusalem, your hometown, your family, your friends, your workplace, your neighbor, Westlake, Sheffield, wherever you live, then go into the neighboring towns, then go into all the world. That's why you're still here. And then he levitates up into heaven. And once again, the familiar scene that I'm sure was happening, you got few 100 believers, maybe 500, over 500, maybe this is the appearance of the 500, and their jaws are on the ground.

47:01 And we'll close with two verses in Acts chapter one. I wanna quote it instead of just giving reference to it. Acts chapter one. Luke writes Acts chapter one. Luke is his first letter, he finishes, writes his second letter, Acts one:nine, After he had said these things, that you will be my witnesses, you will receive power, He was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received him out of their sight as they were gazing intently into the sky.

47:36 While he was departing, behold, two men, there's those angels again, boy, just keep poking us in the ribs, don't they? Those two men in white clothing stood beside them. And they also said, men of Galilee, hello? Why are you guys standing looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come again in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven.

48:09 Here's the church today. And I trust the Holy Spirit is taking the words of these angels to all of us. What are you waiting for? You've got the power from on high now. Those believers had to go and wait for ten more days of prayer, seeking the lord and then the holy spirit came and all of a sudden, Peter, who's denying the lord earlier, is now preaching the gospel.

48:36 He's gotta tell somebody. Will we go and be his witness? Will you? Will you tell somebody? You got one gospel track.

48:49 Pray. Pray for somebody you can give that to. We got thousands more already printed. We give you as many as you want. I don't have them here today.

48:55 Sorry. We got a few more. It's one way, a gospel track. Who are you gonna tell today? Who are gonna tell today?

49:35 Lord, we confess we've grieved him. Holy Spirit, we know your God. We confess that we have grieved you. We've quenched you. You've told us to go so many times and we've said no and no and no so many times.

49:48 Lord, forgive us. Thank you, lord, that you can take Ben Renth, a guy shaking with his knees knocking together. Katrina, another young girl the same way, and myself, and so many others. Lord, we don't know what we're doing. Lord, we pray that you'd fill us with your spirit fresh again.

50:05 We're sorry, lord, for quenching and grieving your spirit. Lord, please revive your church. Revive us. We pray that we would just have a passion, lord, to tell somebody about Jesus and your resurrection, your death, your life, your death, your resurrection. Again, we commit.

50:23 Blessed Todd, Miriam, and his family to you, Lord. Thank you. Lord, use them. I I know they're his job description as music teacher but lord, from heaven's point of view, just like all of us, we might be a grocer, a housewife, a a computer buff, or some businessman or something but lord, from heaven, you see our job description, witnesses, witnesses, witnesses. Fill us with your spirit, Lord.

50:48 You've given us everything we have, everything we need, Lord. Make us bold, we pray. Blessed be the name of Jesus. Everybody said amen. Amen.

50:58 God bless you, folks.