Jesus on the Journey

hello everyone and thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Roderick caesar the third on the lead pastor of Bethel Gospel Tabernacle in Jamaica queens new york. And I’m so excited that you decided to join me for the full gospel hour. Right here on Global seven. My prayers that you will be blessed. You’ll be encouraged and inspired by this message. Thank you so much for joining and God bless. The title of today’s message is jesus on the journey, jesus on the journey. And this is a familiar passage for those that took communion with us last week Luke. Chapter 24 verse 13 through 36. I’m picking up right where we left off uh, Jesus rose from the grave. He was resurrected, showed himself to the women at the tomb and the angel said to go run and tell that, run and go and get the message out. And we see we pick up at verse 13 of Luke. Chapter 24 And the text then says that jesus Peter rose and and ran from the tomb marveling at what had happened. The text says of verse 13 that very day two of them, We’re going to a village named Amy is about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with one another about the things that had happened while they were talking and discussing with one another, jesus himself, ju near and went with them but their eyes were kept from recognizing him and he said to them, what is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk and they stood still looking and they said, then one of them named look excuse me and they stood still looking sad. Then one of them named Klopas answered him, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened uh there in these days? And he said to them what things? And they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all of the people and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes. And besides all of this, it is now the third day since these things have happened moreover, some of the women of our company amaze does they were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did not find his body, they came back saying they had seen even a vision of angels that said he was alive and some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said. But him they did not see and jesus said to them, Oh, foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory and beginning with moses and all the prophets. He interpreted them uh interpreted to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village which they were going and he acted as if he was going farther. But they urged him strongly saying stay with us for it is toward the evening and the day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them he took the bread, he blessed it, he broke it and gave to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other did not, our hearts burn with us while he talked to us on the road and while he opened up the scriptures and they rose that same hour and return to Jerusalem They found even the 11th who were, who, those who were with them gathered together saying the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon and they told what had happened on the road, how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. And as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, peace to you. Dear God, I thank you so much for this time. I thank you for your word. I thank you for your people. I pray Lord that as this word goes forth, we would see you as this word goes forth that we would follow you as this word goes forth Lord, that we would, just as these disciples did be excited about the fact that you have resurrected, excited about the fact that we have power through your spirit and excited about the fact that you want to walk with us on this journey called life, We thank you, we praise you, we give you glory, we ask these things in jesus name, Amen and Amen. Last week was resurrection sunday and we spoke from the text and the topic, you can’t guard me, the enemy tried to keep the our savior, jesus christ at bay, tried to keep him behind the stone, keep him behind the tomb, keep him from being seen, keep him from being acknowledged, keep him from coming back, but the enemy cannot card jesus and just as he can’t guard Jesus, he cannot guard us because we are hidden in christ, jesus christ resurrected and got up from the grave, he resurrected and he got up from the grave. The thing about the resurrection is it wasn’t just a moment that happened in a vacuum that affected jesus and jesus only, but that that resurrection has a ripple effect, right that resurrection has a response that resurrection should affect our walk. How will we walk in light of the resurrection realizing that jesus is not a dead, but he is alive, he is alive. And so the only reason that we can even follow jesus. The only reason that we can even walk with the Lord on this journey is because he is alive, we serve a risen king, we serve a risen savior. And so the text, let’s just know that on that very day two of them were going into a village named Amelia’s which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. Who is them them is the disciples. They are the them as the disciples who are, who are these people, they are the disciples, the apostles, right, and they’re going into this village now, this is the disciples, Not the 12, this is, these are the disciples were part of the 72, I’ve spoken about this a couple times and if you read throughout scripture, you’ll see that Jesus did not only have 12 disciples, but he had other individuals that followed him that followed his teachings, but his core was the 12 and even closer to his core he had the three peter James and john right. And then even closer than the three, he had, the one the disciple whom jesus loved, we see was john, but we see that in, in giving of himself to others, he was able to do that because he had a system of deposit, he deposited a lot to uh the one deposited a lot to the three posited a lot, deposited a lot then to the 72 who he sent out, we see in luke chapter 10, a couple chapters prior jesus sends out the 72 luke chapter 10 verse one. The text says after this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him two by two. We see in verse in verse 13 of chapter 24 they’re walking two by two. And so jesus appoints them and walks and tells them to walk two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go and he said to them the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly of the Lord to the Lord of the harvest to send out the laborers into his harvest. Go your way behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. And the text says they came back rejoicing they came back celebrating Lord, even the demons tremble to us in your name, all these different things and jesus says, look don’t just celebrate that but celebrate the fact that your names are written in the lamb’s book of life. And so there’s 72 other individuals that are following jesus along with this 12 and their disciples, they are still learning of jesus, they’re learning of him and the text says that two of them are walking and going to a village named Amy is that seven miles from Jerusalem. And this is after the crucifixion of jesus christ. And verse 14 of chapter 24 says they are talking with one another about these things that have happened about all of these things, they’re friends. They’re walking together. They’re having a conversation along the road about what’s going on. The crucifixion of jesus. The fact that Jesus died, This was a big deal, a crucifixion just as the resurrection didn’t happen in a vacuum and only affect just one person. The crucifixion was the same thing. It was not a solitary moment just between jesus and and the romans. A crucifixion was a public spectacle for all to see who wished to see it. It was the ultimate symbol of embarrassment. The ultimate picture of, of shame. The ultimate picture of Rome putting uh someone who they deemed worthy of, of this, this horrible brutal death on display so that their enemies and people that would think to rise up would say, oh no, I’m not doing that. No, no, no, I don’t want to I don’t want this to happen to me. This person said he was king of the jews. This Messianic figure said he was coming to to restore a new kingdom. No, no, no, I’m not, I’m not going to go up against Rome. No, no, no, I’m not going to get on the bad side of of the jews. No, no, that’s I’m that’s not gonna happen to me. They made an example of jesus and it was public for all to see. It was exposed for everyone who wanted to come. Everyone who would be able to to witness to see this. It was to shame the person that was hanging. It was to shame the person that was on the cross. But it was also a allowed proclamation to let uh to let everyone know, hey, don’t be like this guy because this is where you’ll end up, don’t be like this guy because this is where you’ll end up. And so they’re talking about everything that’s taking place and no doubt there there may be speculating and talking about what the word that they heard from the women that were at the tomb and peter that was at the tomb and they said, hey, the tomb is empty and they’re trying to scratch their heads and figure out what happened, who could have stolen the body what took place and verse 15 while they’re talking and discussing together, wants to pay attention to a couple of things in this verse, Jesus himself true near and went with them while they’re talking and discussing, Jesus himself drew near to them and went with them Verse 16, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him and he said to them, what is this conversation you’re holding with each other as you walk and they stood still looking sad Verse 15 says while they’re talking they’re discussing their talking about these things, Jesus shows up and walks with them, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, Jesus himself, we don’t need more of Jesus. What we need is less of us, Jesus himself showed up on the scene, gave all that he was in resurrected form, no doubt in a resurrected power. Mind you, this resurrected king didn’t just dip and go to heaven is a rabbi’s, it’s been 33 long years, I’m done with you guys. See y’all later, bye. But he interacted with the people that he died for still getting up clothed with power clothed with authority. Left those garments at the tomb, walked out and said, let me see, who can, who can I interact with today? Who can I show myself to today? And he stayed for some time and you have eyewitness accounts of people that saw Jesus resurrected. These two included and Jesus showed up and gave all of himself for us, but also brings all of himself to us. He gave all of himself for us but brings all of himself to us, Jesus himself, not an angel, not a representative, Jesus. The christ shows up and walks along side of them. He drew near to them so it doesn’t just stay far off. Watch us have a conversation. But he drew near, he came near how many of you know, there’s power in proximity, There is power in proximity. If you’re close to somebody that has juice as they say or has access to certain things as they say, you may be able to get some of the favor that rubs off on them, you’ll be able to get the overflow that rubs off on them if they get uh tickets to, to you know some game that you have been waiting to go to, they may say, hey, do you want to go to these tickets? You’re going to, You’re able now to go to this game, not because of you, but because of them. And so there’s power in you being close to the right people and the same thing applies in the kingdom with jesus. There’s power in proximity. They he draws near to them. There is power in getting close to jesus. There is power in getting close to jesus. What did the woman with the issue of blood say if I could just touch the hem of his garment, She pressed through the crowd. She pressed through the adversity. She pressed through the shame. She pressed through the bad reports from the doctors, she pressed through all of that to touch the him and immediately her issue of blood ceased immediately, she was healed, jesus, we see would reach down and touch the eyes of the blind and pray for them and immediately they would receive their sight. There is power in proximity. There is power in the present, so much power that when moses was was praying on behalf of Israel, he said to the Lord God, We’re not leaving here without you. I’m not going without your presence. I’m not going without your presence and we have to be so committed to God that we are not able to to walk forward and move forward unless God opens the door, unless we know that God is with us, I don’t want to go anywhere where we can’t take the Lord with us. We want to be able for God to be with us and God comes and draws near to them, Jesus is not afraid of getting close to us and all of our mess and all of our sin and all of the issues we’re dealing with from day to day and all of our uh imperfect uh dealings God gives grace and Jesus is not afraid of getting close to us, even when we don’t even understand, even when we don’t fully comprehend, Jesus is not afraid to come and get close to us and he’s also not afraid to invite us to get close to him. We see this if we were to read later on in the other gospels and we realized that that Jesus would appear to thomas who was doubting and he said, look thomas, you don’t believe here, touch touch my wounds, touching my scars, get close to me and Jesus gets close to us as he did with the disciples here on this journey, but he also isn’t afraid for us to get close to him. How many of you are thankful for the fact that Jesus is not afraid of getting close to us. Amen a man. If that’s you just typed closer in the chat closer closer, closer when I have a closer walk with jesus be closer with him, jesus is not afraid of getting close to us or inviting us to be close to him. He walked with them. So he got close to them. He uh he gets close to them, he drew near to them and then he went with them. He went with them, I think that is so important to know that he didn’t just stay with them, but he went with them. He walked with them, I think it’s a him or or older song says and he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own and the joys we share as we tarry there none other has ever known. And the thing about that is you have to walk with jesus to experience the joys right? It’s not, it doesn’t start off with and the joy we share as we tarry. No, no, its and he walks with me and he talks with me and it’s so important for us to realize that on the journey is how we experience jesus, jesus, yes, can be with us in those moments when we’re not moving forward or when things are stationary, but he’s also with us as we’re moving in the process, from our point A to our point B from B to our point F from F to our point Z all the way God is with us. From our first steps uh in christ as a babe in christ to our final steps in life, God walks with us from our first steps to not even know in christ, God has orchestrated some of our steps and has uh blocked us and shielded us from things and protected us from things when we didn’t even want to have anything to do with him. God walks with us in the good moments, he walks with us and in the bad moments he walks with us. The text says so I’m 23 1 of David’s most famous psalms. Yea though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why not? Because all you just sent me on ahead. Not because because you’re you know, waiting for me at the finish line because you’re with me and your rod and your staff, they comfort me. So even in pain as I walk through the valley, even as I shed tears through the valley, you’re not just waiting for me to catch up saying All right, come on, follow me. Follow. Come on, come on. But you’re with me, you’re present. You’re a very present help in time of trouble. You are walking with me. And the thing I love about jesus is he is not afraid of the journey. He is not afraid of the journey. Many people, they’re fair weather friends, right? They come alongside you and their friends when everything is going well. But as soon as you need them, as soon as you need some assistance, as soon as you need some help, as soon as you know your money is running low, as soon as soon as you’re not where you used to be or where you were, they are poof magic trick, watch me disappear, goodbye. They’re not, they’re, they’re, they’re fair weather friends, they’re only friends when, when the weather is good, when everything is doing fine. But jesus, aren’t you glad that jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother? He’s a friend that’s with us in each and every season and he’s not just one that we follow, he’s not just one that sends us instructions, but he’s one who walks with us on the journey, I think it’s so important that to realize that jesus, when he was here on earth, took time to invest in specific people specific things and met people on their journey. Did you know that the very first miracle that jesus performed was at a wedding, the very first miracle that is recorded that jesus performed was at a wedding and it gets its famous because he turned water into wine and they said, oh there’s no more wine and jesus goes ho let’s keep the party going, boom, The water turns into wine and everyone’s so excited and happy, but this was at a wedding, This was on in somebody’s journey of them, the two becoming 1 and jesus was active in that journey by making that one of the more memorable weddings that the disciples and everyone in that region had been to and in the same way he also meets the woman at the well who’s on her journey and she has a conversation that changes the course of her life and changes the lives of the people that are in the town of samaria that she goes down and speaks to and jesus then meets a pharisee named Nicodemus who has questions about the faith and his wrestling with some things and jesus meets him in his questions and speaks with him and says you must be born again for God, so loved the world. He gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life and Nicodemus says like wait, what do you mean, do you mean I have to be born again, I can’t enter into my mother’s womb a second time and he says, no, no, no, you have to be born of the spirit. And he breaks things down for Nicodemus and he’s patient with Nicodemus on his journey. And in the same way Jesus was involved with the, the wedding at Canaan and Jesus was involved with the samaritan woman and jesus was involved with Nicodemus on his journey, he is with us on our journeys wherever we find ourselves and whatever seasons we find ourselves in the Lord is with us on our respective journeys, walking with us taking steps with us encouraging us motivating us breathing life into these dry bones when we get weary, encouraging us when we want to throw in the towel, steering and guiding us and directing us when we need clarity. God is not just waiting for us to obey, but he is helping us in the process. He is patient with us in the process. Even when we don’t see him, even when we don’t see him, the text says their eyes were kept from recognizing him. So jesus draws near to these two disciples, Jesus walks with these two disciples and they do not even realize who is walking with them. They don’t even know that jesus is with them, they don’t even know that they’re in the presence of the resurrected savior, the person who they’re talking about, they have no idea. The text says their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Now we don’t know what happened or why they had difficulty seeing God, God could have kept them from seeing him. Uh we see that sometimes when when jesus was before he resurrected, he would let people know, hey, I healed you but don’t let people know it was me, he was very quiet about his moves, Real Gs move in silence, like lasagna, right? He was like don’t tell anybody. And so I think for us like looking at the text, we see it’s important because when jesus sometimes would stop people from realizing that it’s him. But then also we see that there are other things that can stop us from seeing God. There are things that can stop us from actually realizing that God is moving. And so the text doesn’t let us know why their eyes were kept from seeing God, but it just knows that their eyes were kept from seeing God. And this is a theme that’s seen throughout scripture. What keeps us from seeing God? Is it him or is it us, is it him or is it us what keeps us from seeing God in the beatitudes Jesus said what blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. And so for some of us, some of us yeah, maybe God is in a season where he’s not allowing himself to be seen but let’s flip the coin and see another side of it. For some of us maybe there’s something some issues in our hearts, some issues with our perspective that need to shift so that we can see God better. We see that Alicia was in a difficult time if we move back in the text of the old testament. Alicia was in a difficult time and his servant was with him and this army was coming to attack and the servant was just going through like oh my gosh we’re gonna die. He’s on panic mode and Alicia uh praise to the Lord has a simple prayer but it changed this servants life forever. He says Lord, he says he before he prays the prayer, he says to the servant, don’t be afraid because there are more that are for us than the army that’s around us. And the servant says, what are you talking about? Were clearly outnumbered, There’s two of us here and Alicia says, Lord open his eyes that he may see and immediately immediately the text says his eyes were open and he saw the armies of the living God around them. And that’s where we get the song. You know, this is how I fight my battles. It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by you and it’s so important for us to realize that sometimes when our situation seems overwhelming it’s God that is, is uh surrounding the situation and is able to intervene just as he did in Alicia’s situation, we see that uh when jesus came back to life and resurrected mary uh the woman at the tomb realized and thought that jesus was the gardener. I didn’t realize there was jesus until he spoke a word and suddenly the scales fell from her eyes and she says, oh my gosh, rabbi, this is this is jesus, the disciples were in a storm and jesus was walking on the water towards them and they didn’t know it was him, they thought it was a ghost, I thought it was a ghost, God is moving and you, you don’t, you don’t realize, wait a minute, what’s happening here? They walked with this man, but yet they see him in a context in which they are unfamiliar and they say this can’t be him. And Jesus says, hey, it’s me, and Peter says the famous words, if this is you then told me to come and walk on the water, jesus does and peter then walks on the water. So they’re instances in scripture where jesus is present as active, is right in front of individuals. But yet they cannot realize, they cannot see, Jesus gives them directions after he resurrects and they’re going fishing, they’re not catching anything. And he says, hey, why won’t you cast the nets down on the other side? They do, they get some fish. And this this Peter remembers Jesus did this, he looks and he sees, oh my gosh, it was jesus giving us these instructions. The whole time jumps out and swims to jesus. Jesus shows himself two people, but there are some things that can keep them and us from seeing him, we must be spirit led. We must have a renewed mind. We must commit our heart to see the things of God and we must not be overwhelmed and to and to uh paralyzed or blinded by our situation because we see that jesus himself drew near and went with them and their eyes were kept from recognizing him in verse 17 and he asked them, Jesus is so funny. He’s, he asked them like, he doesn’t know, what are you guys talking about? What is this conversation that you’re holding with one another as you walk and the text says watch this. They stood still looking sad and then one of them named Cleo piss answered him, are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened here these days? This is a big deal, remember I said that Crucifixions were not just something that happened in a vacuum, but they were something that everyone knew about. And so uh Cleo piece says to jesus who doesn’t know is Jesus? He says you are you just visit her like where you coming from? You know what’s been going on? Do you know the political unrest that’s been happening? Do you know what, what’s been going on these past few days? You know that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and Jesus says, he says this is a big deal. How have you not heard about this? Where have you been living under a rock? And Jesus says further acting more confused. What things, what are you talking about? And they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty indeed and word before God and all the people and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes. And besides all this is now the third day since these things have happened moreover, we have some testimony from some women in our company. They came to the tomb early in the morning and they didn’t find his body. They came back and they said, even seeing a vision of angels that he was alive and some of those who were with us after they heard this, they ran to the tomb and they found it just as the woman had said. But they did not see him, Jesus says what things he asked them as if he does not know. He asked him as if he is not the person that they’re talking about, jesus will say this oftentimes, God will oftentimes ask questions he already knows the answers to not for his information, but to gauge where we’re at and so we can gauge where we’re at, but listen to to their delivery, listen to to what they see, what they’re saying. This is all with a natural mind, what things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, A man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, that’s it, A man who was a prophet, mighty and indeed and worried before God and all the people that is not jesus, the son of God, that is not this Messianic figure, that is just a man who was a prophet and that unfortunately is how a lot of people see jesus today as the man who was a prophet. He was mighty, indeed, mighty in word. He did some good things. But then they go on to say, look, he died, he was crucified. But we had high hopes, verse 21. We had high hopes. We hoped that he would be the one to redeem Israel. We hoped that he would be this messiah we hoped. But you know, besides all this now, the third day, it’s been the third day since everything happened. That’s a clue for us as the reader that hey, the third day something, something went down on this day and then they say, hey, we have testimony from people that said he’s not there, but we haven’t seen him, We don’t know what’s going on. So imagine how they’re feeling. They had high hopes and this messiah, this person that was to redeem Israel is killed not just quickly but slaughtered slowly and killed. They put their hopes in him. They put their trust in him. They went out with the 72 among the 72 they preached in his name and saw great things happen. Saw demons flee, they came back rejoicing then they heard his body was out of this tomb. They heard word from these angels, the people that said, they saw the angels but they didn’t see it for themselves. Imagine how they’re feeling, putting their hope in jesus only to find that this jesus was crucified and now gone disappointed. They’re frustrated, confused, bewildered, not knowing what steps to take next, in. Our inability to see God, what do we do? They’re walking on the road to Amelia’s little is known of, of the town mayors, but they’re walking away from Jerusalem when jesus says to, to go and preach the gospel, where does he say to start in Jerusalem? They’re walking away from the place where they have to initially get back to as disciples. They’re walking away from that on their journey and Jesus meets with them as they’re walking away and then their inability to see, they go back, we see in scripture that in the inability to see an inability to cope with the reality of disappointment led the disciples to do what go back to fishing, Peter said, I’m going fishing, y’all, you know, I’m, I don’t know what to do next. I guess we gotta go back to where he called us from, go back, go back fishing, called us to be fishers of men, but that’s, that’s a dub. So let’s go catch some fish. Now we see these disciples are going back to amaze why were they going? We don’t know, but that’s where they were going to um areas in their disappointment and their frustration and their confusion. That’s where they’re going and our ability in our inability to see what will our response be, what we will do, what direction will we go in when we stay rooted. But we stay grounded when we stay faithful and when we go back To some things and look at Jesus response, he says, Oh, foolish ones. Slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary that Christ would suffer all these things and then enter into his glory and watch this verse 27, beginning with moses and all the prophets. He interpreted to them the scriptures concerning himself and you expect after something like that, the text of, let’s say, he interpreted the scriptures concerning himself and then their eyes were opened and they said, oh my gosh, jesus, they heard a full message about jesus from jesus and didn’t realize it was jesus, the full gospel, I’m here preacher. They heard they heard the word from the word, they heard it, but their eyes were, they still did not realize that it was jesus, The gospel unpacked by Jesus himself about himself after he’s now resurrected and they didn’t see it. But the beautiful thing about jesus is he’s patient with them, he’s patient with them. The text says they drew near to the village in which they were going and jesus being human just as a you know God and man, but he acted as if he was going further a lot of times when we do that sometimes you don’t want to be in an awkward situation or whatever you’re like, Alright, nice talking to you by, you know, you act like you’re going further. But jesus knew what was up, he knew that they were going to be like, hey, you know, don’t don’t go so far, stay with us, stay close. So he acted as if he was going to go farther, but they urged him strongly, they said stay with us, look it’s getting late, the day is far spent and so he went in to stay with them, even when they didn’t see him, even when they didn’t understand the process, even when they didn’t understand the road he was, the way he was taking or his way or how he was going, he still was patient enough with them. Just stay with them. How many of you are glad that God does not leave us when we don’t get it, when we don’t understand it. When we’re missing the mark, when we’re falling short, when we’re not meeting our expectations, God doesn’t leave us and say no no. But he stayed with them. He preached the message of all messages. The bible study of all bible study is explaining to them who he was from the scriptures and their eyes were not yet opened. But yet he stayed with them. Now watch this and then he was at the table with them verse 30 He took the bread, he blessed it, he broke it, he gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight, jesus on the journey when he was at the table, he took the bread, he blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. These two disciples were probably at the feeding of the 5000, perhaps they were maybe even in the upper room or heard, excuse me, in the uh at the last supper, or perhaps heard what took place at the last supper or seen or physically have have they had physically seen before or heard about jesus breaking the bread. And when this happens, when he breaks the bread and he blessed it and he broke it and gave to them, no doubt this heart uh back to their minds, memories Of seeing him break the bread after he fed the 5000 or memories of hearing about or seeing what took place at the last supper because walking with jesus and jesus being on the journey, it’s more than just hearing a good message to open your eyes. You have to walk with people, it’s more than just hearing good good preaching or good teaching is more than just uh me and and and and others are individuals getting up here with the microphone and sharing, but you have to be able to do life with people, You have to be able to walk alongside people on the journey. And that’s what we see jesus doing. He didn’t just divide the scriptures and say I piece them out by, but he was able to walk with them and say, look let’s break some bread. And over the breaking of bread, one of the most intimate things that you can do with someone else is share a meal, share a meal with them. And we see that jesus shared a meal with these people and in that, that Porsche, that portion of the journey, you see, that was a part of the journey. Oftentimes we look at journey is just the steps just walking with, but even in the sitting, even in the resting, even in the eating, even in the just doing life, jesus is with us on the journey. And that is when their eyes were opened, not when the reader would expect their eyes to be open, but when he blessed the bread and broke it gave it to them their eyes we’re open as I closed, it says, the text says that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And it’s so crazy because as soon as they recognize him, poof, he’s gone, He’s gone. And then they say to each other, verse 32 Did our hearts not burn within us while he talked to us on the road. And while he opened up the scriptures too. Us, did our hearts not burn within us. Look, that message was convicting. That message was it was crazy. God really did something new and amazing. And our hearts were burning within us as he opened to open up the scriptures to us. This is something new. And then they realized, oh yes, that’s why because this is jesus, This was jesus. But look at the response, they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. It was just too late to walk. A little, a couple hours prior, a couple of moments prior, it was too late to walk. It was evening, jesus. Stay with us, jesus, it was evening uh stay with us to this stranger because they didn’t know he was jesus then. But then as soon as they find out they’re able to walk back now, it’s about seven miles from Jerusalem. And now they go back to Jerusalem And they find the 11 because Judas had had uh killed himself at this point, and they they come back and they find the 11 and the other disciples that are with them gathered together and they said to them, the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon because Peter was the one that came back from the tomb with the women as well and said, look, jesus is gone. And so the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon and then they told them what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. The journey, Yes, we oftentimes think is just the step by step, the walking the road to a mayor’s, yes, there’s that aspect of the journey. But the journey is just as much the breaking of bread and that is how he was known to them in their fellowship. And as they were talking about these things, verse 36, Jesus himself himself stood among them and said, Peace be on to you once again, jesus on this journey, he’s not afraid of contact, stands among them and wishes them peace, stands among them and shows them himself stands among them and says, don’t be troubled, I’m here. Don’t be troubled. I’ve accomplished all things. Don’t be troubled. Come near, draw near peace beyond to you. It’s important for us in this time. And in this journey to realize that God is with us, every single step of the way that jesus is with us on the journey as we walk through the valleys. He’s with us on the journey as we sit on top of the mountain tops, but he’s also with us as he breaks the bread, revealing himself to us, even when we cannot see him, he is patient with us. Even in seasons when it seems like he’s left us, he is patient with us. Even in seasons, when it seems like he cannot be found, he is with us. We have to trust it. That even though we cannot see him, even though we cannot see him, we can rely on his word. Faith. Faith is just the ability to continue to walk. Even though you cannot see we walk by faith and not by sight. So we’ve been in situations where the Lord seems distant when the Lord seems far, we must understand that jesus is with us on the journey, not leaving us, not forsaking us. Even when we uh perhaps maybe cannot see him because of the difficulties of life, because of the pains of life, because of the cares of life. You see when you look at the parable with the solar sowing the seed, some of the seed, yes, fell on good ground, good soil. But there are a number of different reasons why the seed got taken away or why the seed did not reach the intended target. The birds came and got it. They got stuck among the thorns that fell on hard hard ground. Some got distracted by the cares of the world and the seed only stayed for a little while. But for us it’s the journey of letting that seed continue to grow and letting God continue to speak to us and walk with us and break bread with us on this journey of life. So let’s stay committed. Let’s stay surrendered. And even though it may be difficult to see at times understand that jesus isn’t leaving us alone on this journey, but jesus is always with us on the journey. Let’s pray to God, I thank you so much for who you are. I thank you for your love for your people. I thank you for your patience for your people. I thank you because you want to see us continue to succeed, continue to rise up in you that you want to open the eyes of our hearts Lord, so that we can see you God. We’re so grateful for who you are in our lives for how you’ve called us out of darkness and into light. And I pray Lord that as this word has gone forth as this message and this service has uh taken place that you were not only glorified, but you were seen by someone today. If you’re here, you’re, you’ve heard this word, you’re, you’re watching on stream and you realize, hey, I don’t know, jesus christ, I don’t have a relationship with him. It’s very difficult for me to uh put my faith in someone, I can’t see if that’s you and you want to say, hey, I want to make a change in my life. I want to walk differently. I’m going to ask you to text saved to the number at the bottom of the screen, saved to the number at the bottom of your screen. We have individuals that are able to pray with you uh, and lead you to christ And now for those that no jesus, you have a relationship with him, you’ve been walking with him, like those two disciples, you know what it’s like to have spirit power moving in your life, but you’re in a season now when it’s difficult for you to see God, it’s difficult for you to see jesus to see what he’s doing to see how he’s moving and it’s just a fog a foggy day out here and for some of you that may be a reflection of your spiritual uh state. Things are foggy right now and you’re having difficulty seeing God. If that’s you, I just want you to just extend your hands to heaven as we pray, going to pray over that. So God, I thank you so much for your sons and daughters. I thank you God first and foremost for those that do not know, you could have come to know you as as a result of this service father. As a result of your moving. I pray that they would continue to walk in the ways that you called them to walk. They will continue to trust in you as you move and as you have your, your way in their lives, be with them and strengthen them. Lord and God, I thank you father for those that do know you. But perhaps there are some fog in their hearts. There’s some difficulty seeing Lord, I pray that you would have them to see clearer. Lord have them to see you see how you’re moving, see what you’re doing, that they would trust in you And then no matter what is going on, Father, they would know you’re not gonna leave them, You’re not going to forsake them. But you walk with them through the valley of God. I pray for encouragement. I pray for strength. Come against the hand of the enemy that would try to distract that will try to uh turn their fogginess to blindness. And I pray Lord that you would give them spiritual sight to see you. Spiritual ears to hear you and a mind God to remember you’re breaking of the bread, remember the things you’ve done in the past that allows them to see now in the present. Thank you. We praise you, we give you glory and we ask all of these things in the mighty name of jesus christ. We pray amen and amen. Thank you so much. God bless you as my prayer. Hello again and thank you so much for tuning into the message at global seven. Once again, my name is roderick CAesar the third, the lead pastor of Bethel Gospel Tabernacle. My prayer is that you were blessed and encouraged by the message. And if you want to contribute and give to the ministry, you can text B G T F. I 277977. Again, you can text B G T F I 277977. We’re so thankful for you and my prayer is that God will continue to strengthen and empower and encourage you as you listen to this message. We hope you tune again later and God bless you. Thank you so much. All right