September 12, 2025 • 50 mins
We love comfort. But it may be getting in the way of God’s plan for our lives. See why being comfortable may not be what God wants for us.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
In your life. Enjoy the message.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Where would you expect to find Jesus on resurrection Sunday.
You know, he's forty days away from ascending in to
heaven and the Holy Spirit is coming to Jerusalem, So
perhaps you would expect to find him in a place
with stained glass windows. Would it surprise you to know
that he went on the road, that Jesus Christ, the
Son of God resurrected from the grave, who's certainly risen
(00:38):
from the dead, has the power to call for any
means of transportation. I mean, if I'm up from the dead,
I'm getting an angel to give me a ride forget uber.
I don't need lyft. I would want to ride in style.
But Jesus sets out on this road. Touch somebody say
walk with me. You sounded like you didn't really want
(01:01):
to walk. You sounded like yeah, you sounded like you
were headed somewhere. You didn't want to be touch them
like you're going somewhere you want to go and say
walk with me, Walk with me. That's really the invitation
of the series. It's been turning my world upside down
and really revolutionizing my walk with God. To see Jesus
(01:22):
walking backward on the day that he got up from
the dead, to see that he's not in Jerusalem where
the Holy Spirit is coming. The place where he was
crucified was the place where the promise.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Is going to be released.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
The place where he suffered is going to be the
place where the glory of God is revealed. And while
waiting for that to happen, Jesus goes for a walk.
Last week, we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember
his name? Yeah, Cleo. We call him Cleo. The Bible
calls him Cleopus, but we're friendly with Cleo, and so
(02:03):
we gave him a nickname. And we were surprised that
we have never met him before. And he's the first
one that Jesus appears to. Well, I should give you
a little bit more context than that. The women went
that morning, because sometimes women have more faith than men do.
They have the ability to feel God in ways. You know,
(02:23):
when you get men to worship. It's like a miracle.
Women will lift their hands. They just don't really have
a problem coming into the presence of God. And sometimes
a woman will have the kind of persistence and patience
with a child. I thought y'all would back me up
right here. I'm trying to give some some love to
the women. But they went to the to remember to
(02:45):
anoint Jesus's body, but his body wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
And in some ways, I guess it was.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
An indictment that they thought he would still be there
when he told them I'm getting up on the third day.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
They didn't really believe that.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Even though they were sentimental, they had not yet experienced
that kind of supernatural resurrection power that.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Enables you to know that even if it seems.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Dead, was dead, is dead, it doesn't have to stay dead.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That's what resurrection tells me.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
That's why our logo as a church is a Neon logo,
a Neon arrow pointing upward to let you know that
wherever your life is today, love can lift you. Whatever
bit you've fallen into. Loff can lift you, whatever time
you've lost, whatever years you've wasted, Love can lift you
(03:38):
whatever fear has held you down up until this point,
the grave is empty. He has risen and we're going somewhere,
going somewhere. So the women come to annoy in his body.
But his body isn't there. Somebody say, it isn't there. Well,
(03:58):
I feel excited today. God's gonna set somebody free. I
feel it in every fiber of my being. God is
going to set somebody free today.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah. Yeah, his body wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And okay, so his body isn't there.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So he's up out of the grave. Where is he?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well, he kind of appears throughout the day, But I
want to go back to where can I pick up
where I left off last week?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Don't worry about it. If you weren't here, I'll bring
you in.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
So he walks with Cleo in this unnamed companion some
scholar speculated.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Could have been his wife.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
The text doesn't say that. The text doesn't give us
the other name because sometimes it's not about you. It
wasn't about revealing who the other person was. It wasn't
even about Cleo. And Jesus is sneaking up behind two
travelers who are disappointed and discouraged. Because God doesn't need
(04:52):
for you to be happy to do work in your heart. Okay,
he doesn't just hang out with people who pretend like
they have it all together. Cleo is not only concerned,
but in many ways he has crushed because his expectation
of who Jesus would be, what he would do, wasn't
met when he died on the cross.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
It crushed Cleo.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
And Jesus comes alongside the one who has crushed and
his unnamed companion, and he walks with them away from
the place where the promise will fall toward an unknown place.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, it's unknown today.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
They knew where it was at the time, but it
was so insignificant in that day. Because God doesn't just
show up in big places and appear too important people.
He might show up and speak to somebody in the
back of the room, somebody in overflow, somebody who isn't
even in the in the church building. They're in a
hospital bed. He goes to this village called a Mais,
(05:50):
and along the way, wouldn't it be awesome if Jesus
himself preached to you. I mean, I know I'm pretty good, Stacy,
but imagine so, y'all.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You're walking.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he can
walk with you. He just starts talking and he asks
him a question. Okay, listen before God gives you the answers.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Sometimes he'll change your questions. Yeah, yeah, is it good?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Mighty quiet in this church today? Sena is mighty quiet.
Sina looks good. He shaved his head, looking like a
UFC fighter, looking like a mixed martial artist. I mean,
choking nobody, Sena. But he goes for a walk and hey,
what you're talking about? And they tell him about their
disappointment and he can handle it, doesn't chase them away.
(06:37):
They tell them about their doubt and he can handle it.
And that's revolutionizing me because I thought I had to
have faith for God to meet with me. But I'm
growing to understand that maybe maybe God's presence is most
powerful when I get honest about my doubt, get honest
about my pain, and seek him even still, maybe that's
where I learn the most.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
When it doesn't go the way I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The detours, the details, the dead ends, the detours.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Remember we said we want to see him in three D.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
So here's the Son of God walking with two travelers
away from the destination. I'm supposed to be on that
stage right now, But we're walking the wrong way.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
And as we're walking.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
As we're walking, he's talking and he explains to them
all about himself. The Bible says that he started with
Moses and the prophets, and he talks about maybe I
don't know exactly what he said. The Bible just summarizes,
but maybe he talks about the passover Lamb that Moses
had the people prepare to celebrate and commemorate their coming
out of Egypt and their forgiveness of sin. Now they're
(07:37):
hearing about the Passover Lamb, but they don't know that
they're standing with the passover Lamb. They won't recognize that
right now, because usually you only recognize the full extent
of what God was doing in reverse. So while you're
on the road, you might not see it. But they
(07:58):
keep walking. Touch somebody say keep walking, and Jesus is
just talking, and they like his teaching and they're interested in.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
What he's saying. You know how I know.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Because when they got to where they were going, the
Bible says it was a seven mile journey, and that's
why we're calling it seven mile miracle, and we're using
it to look at the seven last statements that Jesus
made on the cross that are recorded in the Gospels.
But he went with them all seven miles. He went
with them all the way to Amais. And when they
(08:28):
got to the place where they thought they were going, okay,
because they weren't going to stay there long.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
God will meet you where you are, but he won't
leave you there. How good is this already? Man, this
is the introduction. I got to my topic yet. Don't worry.
I'll get you out on time. But I got something
to say today.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And as they walk, his words interested them. But when
they got to the place where they were going, this
village called Maaeus, the Bible says that Jesus acted like
he was gonna keep going, because the journey starts where
you are, but where it ends depends on you. And
(09:14):
you decide whether you want your relationship with God to
just be some superstitious thing, or whether you want it
to be something so real that you fully surrender the
operating system.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Write that down.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
The Cross is my operating system. It is not an addition,
It is not an accessory, It is not an app.
It is the new way that I do what I do,
whatever I do. It doesn't just change what I do
on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday, it transforms
(09:48):
my Tuesday. It works on Wednesday, it comes through on Thursday.
I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday.
Because he's the god of all seven miles. How many
have decided, I'm going all the way with Jesus. He'll
(10:10):
began a good work with me. We'll be faithful to
complete it.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I'm not stop him where I started.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Touch somebody said I'm going all the way, all the way,
and they were like, hey, you want to eat something.
Clio said, man, I mean we didn't really plan on
a guest, but come on in. And where we left
last week is that while look at verse thirty of
Luke twenty four.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I love this. This resurrection Sunday. Every day is resurrection Sunday.
Every day is Easter at elevation.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
A miracle can break out in any heart, at any time,
in any circumstance, in any grave.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And so he sits down.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
And in a common experience of a shared meal, the
Bible says, while he was at the table, because remember,
they're interested in who he is, but they don't yet
recognize who he is like, some of y'all who come
here don't really believe this stuff yet, but you like
the way it makes you feel.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
It's cool.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
You're not committed yet, but you're curious. You're like, that
was kind of weird. That one thing. I want to
go back. Yep, good because because he meets you where
you are right and he sits down with him. Jesus Christ,
(11:41):
the son of God, has time for a meal break
on Resurrection Sunday, and the Bible says he just starts
taking over. Okay, you've heard before that God is a
gentleman and he won't come in if he's not invited.
That's partially true. But once you let him in, he
takes over. Be ready for that. He takes over. He says, down,
(12:01):
he took bread, he just took it. And Cleo Clio's
just watching. And this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
In somebody else's house. And that's what happens when he comes.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
In your heart and when he takes the bread.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And he gave thanks. So Mary taught him manners.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Okay, he said, blessing before you eat, and he.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Broke it.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And he began to give it to them. We postulated
last week that when verse thirty one says, it was
then that their eyes were opened, and then that they
recognized him. That perhaps the reason they saw his presence
when he sat down with them and gave them the
(13:00):
bread was not only that he broke the bread like
they broke his body, but that when he gave it
to them in Jewish custom of the bread was broken
like this and given like this. And they saw where
he was wounded, They saw where the nails were, and
(13:22):
when they saw where the nails were, they realized who
he was, which lets me know that sometimes the power
of an example is greater than the power of an explanation.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
He walked with them seven miles.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
He walked with them for the entirety of their journey,
and what his words could not show them they saw
in his wounds. Graham was listening to the sermon, and
you know, kids will just say.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
What they think he goes. How do you know?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Because he he was pointing out to me that it
doesn't say that they saw his scars in the text.
And the more we got to talking about it, I
realized the way he was thinking about it was like this, Well,
if Jesus got up from the grave, and he has
the power to overcome death. He wouldn't leave scars where
(14:20):
the nails had been. You know, if God asked resurrection power,
surely he do a little cosmetic surgery.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
So Jesus isn't having to.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Walk around with some big holes in his hand or
marks in the places where they had nailed him, where
the Roman guard that was led by the Jewish leaders
had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed him for
the sins of all menkind. Surely he wouldn't leave the scars.
(14:52):
But I had to show Graham, and I'm going to
show you today how I know they saw his scars
because look, the Bible says, their eyes were open and
they recognized him. They saw the one that was with
them all along. But they saw him not in his words,
but in his wounds.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
They saw him.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Not because they heard the stone was rolled away, but
because they were up close and personal with the one
who had suffered. And when they saw where he suffered,
they realized who he was. Then their eyes were open
and they recognized him, and then he disappeared from their
sight because that was never their destination.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Look at verse thirty two.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
The scripture says, They asked each.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Other, we're not our hearts burning while he talked.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
His words made their hearts burn, But it was his
wounds that opened their eyes. There are some things that
cannot be explained. They can only be experienced. And when
I tell you that God is near to the broken heart,
I can tell you that all day long.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
But it is not until your heart is broken.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
It is not until you are at the end of yourself.
It is not until those who walked with you had
turned their back on you.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
But God stood by your side.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
That you can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper.
What can man do to me? I bear on my
body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Let no man trouble me. I walked through the valley,
I went through the shadow.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
But it wasn't with his words. It was where he
was wounded. That's where they saw him. On the road.
He opened the scriptures to us. And now they're excited,
so they leave Amais. They got up and went back.
God told me to tell somebody get up and go back.
(17:02):
I know Jesus got up, but the reason he got
up is not so you could stand around with sacramental
spices and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary god.
He got up so I could get up the same power.
I'm sorry, I'm shouting for suffs inside of.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Me makes me shot.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Because I see you getting up, and I see you
going back.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I see you getting up. The prodigal son said, this.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Is ridiculous for me to be down here with the
pigs when my father owns the palace.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Get up, go back. You don't need a speech. This
is your second chance.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, and
they retreaded the seven miles.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
This is the second seven miles.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
When they turned around, rerouted by the resurrection power of
God revealed in the scars of the Savior. Thank you Lord,
I feel his presence today.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
They got up. They went back.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo, Come back, Cleo.
The spirit is coming Come back, Cleo. God's not done
with you yet. Come back, Cleo. They got up and
they came back, and when they got there, they found
the eleven. This is the disciples minus Judas. Judas didn't
(18:36):
go so well for him. He didn't come back. But
they were all assembled together, and when Cleo got there,
they were starting to get the picture. Because Jesus had
been appearing to them too, And now it all comes together,
and now the ones who went away come back and
the ones who stayed, they all get together and they say.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
It is true. The Lord has risen has appeared to
Simon and Clio's like, yeah, me too. He showed me.
We saw through amazing looking for thirty five. They were like, hey,
we were on this road and he was telling my Moses.
He thoughout the prophet. Do we even know he was
can He took the bride and he took the brac cabs.
The practice saw scars.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
That half when he broke the bread, he was recognized
in the scars. How do you know he still has scars?
Graham saying, Okay, here's what I know, because what Luke
(19:37):
doesn't tell us, John does tell us. And I want
to go there for a minute. Because it's resurrection Sunday.
Now it's evening. It's been a long day for Jesus. Okay,
you start off with a little exercise, pushed that stone
out of the way, a little CrossFit. If you they
take me for granted, that humor was epic. That is
(19:58):
elite level preacher humor. Whether you recognize it or not.
The Lord liked that joke. I never realized how funny
the Bible is. Man, It's hilarious, it really is. That's
something I didn't get because I always thought God was
so serious.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And I know, hey, I know it's serious as a
matter of life and death. Trust me. Nobody takes more
serious to me.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
But Jesus just messing around with people sometimes.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Because watch this.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It says on the evening of the first day of
the week, this verse nineteen John, chapter twenty, same evening. Now,
so Cleo is coming back, and the disciples were together
with the doors locked for fear. See that's what fear
will always do. It will always lock you in from
(20:45):
the inside. They weren't locked out, they were locked in.
We lock ourselves in because of fear. Remember that, that's important.
They were locked in for fear of the Jewish leaders.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Hey they might kill us.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Hey, there's a rumor circulating that we stole the body.
We better stay up here now now, Remember Cleo and
his companion went the wrong way. But is it any
better to stay in Jerusalem with the doors locked.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Some people go away from God. Some people stay in church,
but their.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Heart is so locked they might as well, not.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Even be there.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
It's about your heart. And Jesus, Jesus is so funny.
Why says the doors are locked for fear of the
Jewish leaders. And Jesus came and stood among them.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
How did he do it?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
He picked the lock. See, grace will break in the
back door, kick the door down.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Grace is a G. Grace will come on in, take
on over.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Take your bread, break your bread.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Change your life.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Jesus showed up and said peace, Grace is a G.
Touch somebody said grace is a G. Hashtag Grace is
a G. Just any way.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
In peace be with you.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
But watch this. After he said this, he showed them
his hands and his side. Five wounds. Five is the
number of grace.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Just remember that. Five wounds in his.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Sigh, in his hands, in his feet, five wounds. He
showed him his hands, five fingers. He showed him his
hands where the nails were, where the nails were. And
I wonder did they have a flashback, because the first word,
there are seven.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
We're going to get them all.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
This is the first word that Jesus spoke from the
cross is a statement. He said, Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do, what a generous interpretation.
When people insult me, I tell God, they know exactly
what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
And if I do forgive somebody, it takes me time.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
But while they were driving the nails, I'm flashing back
now from the cross. I wonder when they saw his hands,
did they remember his words? I wonder when they saw
where he was wounded? Did they remember the words he spoke?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Father?
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Forgive them, for they know not what they do, not
what they did. But while they were doing it, he
had the presence of mind to forgive, and he needed help.
Even Jesus, perfect as he was, human as he was,
(23:44):
knew that.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
He could not forgive without the help of his father.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So as I think about forgiveness today, I wonder where
you've been wounded, Jesus.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
That was in his hands.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
When they saw the hands, they realized this is not
an impersonator.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
If this is not an.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Impostor, they had to see something. They had to see
something that let them know what he went through. And
you keep trying to prove God's presence by your successes.
But when it came time for Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, to prove his presence, he said, look where
(24:23):
the nails were see my hands. See where they drove
the spikes between the bones so they would not break,
so that it would support the weight of my body
long enough for me to suffocate. See see it killed me,
(24:43):
but I didn't stay dead. It broke me. But I
am now whole. I was dead, now I'm alive. See
my scars. My scars tell a story. I'm not ashamed
to show my scars. Christianity is not cosmetic surgery, so
(25:05):
you can hide what you've been through to try to
get people to think you're perfect. Christianity. Jesus Christ didn't
come to conceal the pain. He came to reveal his glory,
and he showed it. It is stars, but there was one.
(25:26):
God has always looked him for the one who wasn't there.
And the Bible tells us that even though the eleven
minus Judas got to see him, there was one who
wasn't there, named Thomas. Can I talk about Thomas for
one minute? Let me teach you about Thomas. Oh Man, Thomas.
He gets a bad rap. They call him in the church.
They call him doubting Thomas. Have you ever heard this before?
Doubting Thomas? Because church people will label you by one
(25:48):
moment in your journey, doubting Thomas adultery.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Annie, I'll stop right there.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Some things going through my head that would have to
be edited out for you too, because light will label
you by what you did, and the Bible gives us
a little Only John tells us this, because John had
the sensitivity to him.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
When you read his gospel, he tells you things other people.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I'll mention he said, now Thomas, also known as Didimus.
I mean, if we've just got to label Thomas a doubter,
can we at least call him doubting Didamis because the
alliteration works much better doubting Didimus. The Bible says that
(26:40):
doubting did he one of the twelve.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Was not with.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Somebody say he wasn't there. So now Jesus and Thomas
got something in common. When they went to look for
Jesus that body, he wasn't there. When Jesus showed up
alive and resurrected, Thomas wasn't there, and Thomas wasn't there.
The Bible doesn't say why he wasn't there. I've always
heard it preach like he wasn't there because he didn't
have enough faith to be there, but the boys inside
had the doors locked.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
They weren't any better.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
So if we're gonna give out nicknames, let's talk about
Simon Peter inside with the doors locked.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
How about scaredy cat Simon Peter, scaredy Simon.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
How about locked door Levi, lock him up Levi?
Speaker 1 (27:27):
And doubting Dicky. And we all have dolves. That's what
I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
We all have scars, we all have dysfunction. You might
have long sleeves, but if I could roll up your sleeves,
you've been through something.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
You'll struggle with something. Your wife may not know it.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
But God goes, I gotta hurry, I gotta hurry.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
I'm getting really indulgent.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I gotta get you out of here because the next
crowd's coming in. Somebody somebody say, nails nails, nails nails.
So the other disciple told him we have seen the Lord.
But Thomas said, this is why I had come down
in Thomas. I call him honest Thomas. I don't come
him down in Thomas. I call him honest Thomas, truthful Thomas.
(28:16):
Because Thomas is like, I'm not buying it. I'm not
buying it. Off what you said, I need to see
for myself. I got to see Jesus for myself. This
has to be real to me. So hey, unless I
see the nail marks in his hands, unless I see
(28:37):
where he suffered, I will not believe in his glory.
And unless I put my finger where the nails were
and put my hand into his sigh, I won't believe.
Watch Jesus. Now, I want to point out one thing
(29:00):
in verse twenty six.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Look at it.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Seven days later, a week later, seven seven miles, seven days.
God will leave you in a space where you don't
understand to create faith in your heart. So Thomas says,
I need to see the scars. Jesus could have showed
(29:24):
up on the spot. He waited seven days. Jesus could
have walked up to Cleo and said, see my scars.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
It's me. But sometimes he wants to let you walk
and wonder and walk and wonder.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Not because he doesn't love you, but because if your
faith needs an explanation, it cannot sustain the trials of life.
So he waits seven days. You'll help me ap preach this.
He waits seven days. Have you ever had to wait
seven days? Have you ever had to wait through a
custody battle. Have you ever had to wait to see
(29:59):
if this is ever gonna feel better? Have you ever
had to wait through pain, wake through depression, wake through
anxiety attacks, wake through bad reports, way.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Through a newscast? Have you ever had to wait.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
There awaiting a waiting period? And then when Jesus shows
up a week later?
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Seven?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Everybody say seven, seven days, seven miles, seven days, seven miles.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
It's the number of completion. And then Jesus shows.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Up, maybe just at that point where Thomas is tired
of waiting. And the disciples were in the house again,
and Thomas this time was there, and Jesus walks in.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Look at the next part. Though the doors were locked, they.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Still locked, the doors still scared, but they stayed, still scared.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
But they stayed.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I still got some addictions, and I'm in church today.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
God can work with that. I'm still on the road.
I don't get it, but I'm still.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
And this time Thomas was there. He's not gonna miss
it this time. And Jesus came in, stood among them
and said, peace, watch what comes next? You'll temmy, Hey diddy, hey, honest, Thomas,
(31:30):
I heard you wanted to see my.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Scars Now this is important.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Put your finger here, where where the nails were?
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Isn't that what you needed to see?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Thomas? Where the nails were? And I noticed something? He
didn't say, where the nails are? You'll tell me.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
I'm back from the grave and I need you to
see something.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Look, Thomas, no more nails. Look, Thomas, they're not here.
But your finger where the sin was. Put your finger
where the shame was. Put your finger where they tried
(32:24):
to crucify the creator of the world. No more, somebody
shall no more nails, No more nails. In other words,
what held me doesn't hold me anymore. I came to
(32:45):
the clare. Today is the day of freedom.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
I wish you would push.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Your neighbor to they almost fall over, and say, no
more nails, No more nails. Now, I've heard so much
any sermons about forgiveness, because we've all been wounded. Raise
your hand if life hasn't wounded you yet. I want
to see where the liars are in the church, because
I want to have a special prayer for all the
liars who would have the audacity to lie in the
presence of God and act like you haven't been wounded.
(33:16):
We've all been wounded, rock Hill, Gaston County.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
It don't matter Toronto, Canada. You can't.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
You can't walk the road without being wounded. You can't
go to church without being wounded.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Faked, I'm mad. That's why I have that gange. Faked.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
I'm a I was in a church one time and
the preacher got on to sing about wounds. And it
was so weird, y'all, because he was like he was.
He was preaching about wounds. His thing was trying to
get everybody go back and remember all the ways they've
(33:54):
been wounded throughout their whole life. He had me thinking
of stuff in the third grade, just the craziest stuff
like that was going to bring healing. Look at this,
Jesus didn't show Thomas his wounds. He showed him his scars.
There is a difference between being wounded and being scarred.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
That's good. So when I prayed about this first word
of forgiveness, the Lord told me to talk to you
about the nails, whatever has wounded you, whatever you hide,
(34:41):
whatever happened. See when Jesus shows Thomas his scars, I'm
glad he kept his scars. I'm glad he kept that
part I'm glad he didn't stay dead, but I'm also
glad that he came out scarred because that gives me hope.
And that's how I try to preach. I don't want
to preach wounded, because if I preach wounded, I'm going
(35:02):
to inflict my pain on you.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
And I don't want to be a wounded parent. I
don't want to be a wounded spouse. I don't want
to walk around. God spoke to.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Me a couple months ago and he said, if I've
really healed you like you claim I have, why are
you still so touchy? Thomas said, I want to see
where the wounds were. And when I teach pre cherch
Jonathan can tell you.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I tell him.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Don't you get up and tell the church all the
ways that you woke up at five thirty am. And
you know, if I put you in my puppet show
the church some of your scars, you can show them
the stones that God has rolled away. That's fine, that's
the part of it. He is a god of miracles,
he is a god who makes dreams come true. And
we've all got some stones that he's rolled away. But
we've all got some scars too, So show them your scars.
(35:52):
Show them where you didn't get up at five thirty.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
In fact, show him.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Where you pretended like you didn't hear the baby crying
at five thirty got up.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Tell them that story. Tell them how you almost quit.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Tell them how you wanted to throw up the first
week you went out to preach after the news media
ran a story about you for four days straight saying
things about you.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Tell them that.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Tell them how you were in the bathroom and you
came out smiling. Show them where the wounds were, and
it'll give them hope that what wound did me doesn't
have to hold me forever.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Come on, it's time to be free.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
It's been long enough, it's been seven days. Forgiveness doesn't
mean it didn't happen. The scar shows it happened. Jesus
didn't show up and say what Cross? What to talk
about Cross? I don't remember Cross. I heard a preacher
(36:59):
say one time, this guy's an he should have his
credentials revoke. He said, if you've really uh, let's get
a preacher voice going, if you've really forgiven someone in
your hearts, you will not even remember the offense. There
is a word that comes to my mind to describe
what he said, but I'm gonna just say it's it's inaccurate.
(37:25):
It's not denial when I say forgiveness, because I gotta
be careful because I'm a pastor, right, I'm not just
passing through preaching one week leaving.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
I'm not trying to just get something.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
I'm trying to go on a journey with you and
to let you know that when you when you let
go of whatever wounded you so that you can be
free and go into the.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Future God has for you.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
It doesn't mean that you pretend it never happened. This
is not denial. The nails were there. My dad walked
out on.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Me, not my dad. I'm saying that you could say my.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Mom had an impossible standard that I could never live
up to, and I believe that part of my eating disorder.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Today has to do with that.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I can't let
it hold me. I cannot blame her forever, not if
I'm a Christian, not if I am a Christian, not
if I worship the one who was wounded for my transgression. See,
I need to let you know something because the hardest
person you'll ever forgive. Is not your ex, is not
(38:26):
your mom, is not your dad. It's not your neighbor
who came over your fence and your property line. The
hardest person you will ever have to forgive is yourself.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
See the truth be told.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
It is my self inflicted nails that I have the
hardest time.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Letting go off.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
But I want the devil to know when he comes
to hammer at me with accusation. I don't know where
you go when that start to happen, how worthless you are.
Have you noticed the devil loves to hammer you, and
he's got a big hammer. But let me tell you
a little secret. He ain't got no more nails. Somebody
(39:11):
shout no more nails?
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Do that, Sime?
Speaker 2 (39:15):
The devil hammers you with accusations, shout back in his face,
she got no nails. All my nails are in that cross.
All my shame is on that cross. Somebody shouting no
(39:35):
more nails. There is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the
law of the spirit of life has set me free
from the law of sin and death. The devil might
have a hammer, but he doesn't have any nails, breaks.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Out in touch the place.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Where the nails were, where they were. It doesn't mean
it didn't happen. It happened. I fell sure it happened.
I ruined the relationship.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
It happened. They abused me in ways that I don't
even want to tell my own spouse. It happened. I
deal with the traumatic rememorancy.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
It's not that it didn't happen, and it's not that
it doesn't hurt. That's not what forgiveness is. Forgiveness doesn't
mean it it doesn't hurt.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
I mean the nails might be gone, but the memory
is still there. And it's really easy.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
To forgive sometimes when the person that you're forgiving is gone,
but when you still have to work I'll share custody,
when you still have to live with the memory, when
you still can't be touched without recalling the shame of
when you were touched the wrong way, and now you're
trying to learn how to love the right way, when
(41:06):
you're trying to learn how to trust.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
It doesn't mean it won't hurt.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Away with the preaching that will teach you that the
pain will go away when you forgive the offense. It's
not that the pain goes away. I'm helping somebody, I'm
setting somebody free. You keep waiting for the feeling of
forgiveness to come.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
It's not a feeling. It takes faith. I said, it
takes faith. I said it takes faith. I said it
takes faith. It takes faith to believe.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
That the same place where the nails were is the
same place where the healing is.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
They saw it in a scarce.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Jesus needed those nails. If they had nailed him to
that cross, if they had, if they hadn't punctured, if
the blood didn't flow from that place, the power wouldn't
be released. I'm saying not that God's gonna take the
(42:11):
scar away, but that he is going to release the
greatest strength in your life from the place where the
nails were.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Come on, shout no more else. It's a declaration. Doesn't
mean it didn't happen. It happened. They bullied you, it happened.
They lied about you.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
By the way, not only have you suffered some wounds,
but you've inflicted a few two. And it's kind of
crazy how we can be comfortable putting all of our
nails in Jesus cross, but then walk around with a
pocket full of our own to put in other people.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
If all my.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Nails are in his cross, that means all of yours
are too. I cannot demand to receive a grace from
God for me that I will not give to you.
And so what it means, what it means isn't that
(43:27):
it didn't happen. What it means isn't that it didn't hurt.
What it means is not that I won't handle it.
I might not be able to be friends with you
in the same way anymore because I might not be
able to trust you. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation.
Don't go email in your ex on message them on
Facebook when you're married now for twelve years talking about
(43:50):
will you forgive me?
Speaker 1 (43:52):
In the still of the night, into the road.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Flashbacks to prom It's not that things won't be different.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
It's not that I won't handle it. But Thomas, I
want you to put your finger in the place where
I was held to the cross, and I want you
to know that what held me doesn't hold me anymore.
(44:29):
That's what forgiveness is. Friends.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
It's not that it didn't happen. It happened, and it
was horrible. It's not that it doesn't hurt, It's just
that I'm not going to live in the offense any longer.
I've been wounded long enough. Why would I choose to
stay wounded when healing is in his hands? Why would
(44:58):
I keep nailing you to cross when it's only hurting me.
Somebody say, no more nails, No more nails. The spirit
of God is in this place. No more nails. It's
all in the cross, all my past, all my shame,
it's all in the cross.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
No more nails. To be free, I.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
Gotta let go, and I declare over your life today.
Not that it won't ever hurt again, not that some
things won't need to change, not that it won't be
a process.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
Remember this is only my one of our journey.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
But if you will put your nails in that cross
and trust what Jesus proved that all things, somebody shot
all things, even the nails, even judas, even that. I
talked to a woman who went through the most traumatic
(45:58):
childhood experience you can disc I wouldn't put it in
this sermon because there are kids who came in.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
But what she went through was so horrible.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yet she was able to look at me in the
eye and say, although I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Choose it, and although I'm not saying.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
It was okay or that it was right or that
God did it, I'm not trying to justify it when
I see how God has used even the things that
I wouldn't choose. It's not that I wanted it to happen.
It's not that it doesn't hurt. I'm not gonna fake.
I'm not gonna live in denial. I'm not gonna stay
(46:35):
in dysfunction. I'm not gonna but I I wouldn't trade
my scars for anything, because my scars.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Are the proof of his power. Yeah I got scars.
Yeah I went through it.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Yeah it hurt like hell. Yes they drove the nails.
Yes it was offensive, and yes it was wrong.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
But no, I won't stay here.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
No, I won't sacrifice my future on the altar.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Of my past. No more nas. I'm coming out.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
I'm coming out. Come on, shot like your fred, shot,
like your freends. How long do you want to stay wounded?
(47:47):
How long do you want to stay stuck? It happened.
I'm not living in denial it hurts. I'm not going
to live defensive, pretending it doesn't hurt, and I have
to handle it. I'm not gonna live in dysfunction, enabling
dysfunctional situations and calling it forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
But I'm not gonna stay here dead. When he is risen,
no one else, no more else.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
He is going on the cross today, all of it,
all of it, the sin you did, the sin that
was done to you, is all going on the same
cross today. And all things, even the scars, not just
the stone, but the scars, all things will work together.
Speaker 1 (48:53):
For the good.
Speaker 2 (48:55):
Look, Thomas, it doesn't hold me anymore, Thomas. Your doubt
doesn't have to hold you anymore. Look, Thomas, touch you
see my scars. You see my scars. I know you
(49:17):
got some mounds. They've been open long enough.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
It's time. It's time, Thomas.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
I know you're not over it yet, you may never
feel completely over it, but you gotta move on.
Speaker 4 (49:34):
You can't stay like this forever. You can't stay angry
about it forever. You gotta get going.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
Lift your hands, lift your hands, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (49:52):
Special things to those of you who give generously to
this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give
now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more
information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1 (50:09):
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
share it on your social stories and tag us at
Elevation Church.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
In your life. Enjoy the message.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Where would you expect to find Jesus on resurrection Sunday.
You know, he's forty days away from ascending in to
heaven and the Holy Spirit is coming to Jerusalem, So
perhaps you would expect to find him in a place
with stained glass windows. Would it surprise you to know
that he went on the road, that Jesus Christ, the
Son of God resurrected from the grave, who's certainly risen
(00:38):
from the dead, has the power to call for any
means of transportation. I mean, if I'm up from the dead,
I'm getting an angel to give me a ride forget uber.
I don't need lyft. I would want to ride in style.
But Jesus sets out on this road. Touch somebody say
walk with me. You sounded like you didn't really want
(01:01):
to walk. You sounded like yeah, you sounded like you
were headed somewhere. You didn't want to be touch them
like you're going somewhere you want to go and say
walk with me, Walk with me. That's really the invitation
of the series. It's been turning my world upside down
and really revolutionizing my walk with God. To see Jesus
(01:22):
walking backward on the day that he got up from
the dead, to see that he's not in Jerusalem where
the Holy Spirit is coming. The place where he was
crucified was the place where the promise.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Is going to be released.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
The place where he suffered is going to be the
place where the glory of God is revealed. And while
waiting for that to happen, Jesus goes for a walk.
Last week, we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember
his name? Yeah, Cleo. We call him Cleo. The Bible
calls him Cleopus, but we're friendly with Cleo, and so
(02:03):
we gave him a nickname. And we were surprised that
we have never met him before. And he's the first
one that Jesus appears to. Well, I should give you
a little bit more context than that. The women went
that morning, because sometimes women have more faith than men do.
They have the ability to feel God in ways. You know,
(02:23):
when you get men to worship. It's like a miracle.
Women will lift their hands. They just don't really have
a problem coming into the presence of God. And sometimes
a woman will have the kind of persistence and patience
with a child. I thought y'all would back me up
right here. I'm trying to give some some love to
the women. But they went to the to remember to
(02:45):
anoint Jesus's body, but his body wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
And in some ways, I guess it was.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
An indictment that they thought he would still be there
when he told them I'm getting up on the third day.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
They didn't really believe that.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Even though they were sentimental, they had not yet experienced
that kind of supernatural resurrection power that.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Enables you to know that even if it seems.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Dead, was dead, is dead, it doesn't have to stay dead.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
That's what resurrection tells me.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
That's why our logo as a church is a Neon logo,
a Neon arrow pointing upward to let you know that
wherever your life is today, love can lift you. Whatever
bit you've fallen into. Loff can lift you, whatever time
you've lost, whatever years you've wasted, Love can lift you
(03:38):
whatever fear has held you down up until this point,
the grave is empty. He has risen and we're going somewhere,
going somewhere. So the women come to annoy in his body.
But his body isn't there. Somebody say, it isn't there. Well,
(03:58):
I feel excited today. God's gonna set somebody free. I
feel it in every fiber of my being. God is
going to set somebody free today.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah. Yeah, his body wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
And okay, so his body isn't there.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So he's up out of the grave. Where is he?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well, he kind of appears throughout the day, But I
want to go back to where can I pick up
where I left off last week?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Don't worry about it. If you weren't here, I'll bring
you in.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
So he walks with Cleo in this unnamed companion some
scholar speculated.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Could have been his wife.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
The text doesn't say that. The text doesn't give us
the other name because sometimes it's not about you. It
wasn't about revealing who the other person was. It wasn't
even about Cleo. And Jesus is sneaking up behind two
travelers who are disappointed and discouraged. Because God doesn't need
(04:52):
for you to be happy to do work in your heart. Okay,
he doesn't just hang out with people who pretend like
they have it all together. Cleo is not only concerned,
but in many ways he has crushed because his expectation
of who Jesus would be, what he would do, wasn't
met when he died on the cross.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
It crushed Cleo.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
And Jesus comes alongside the one who has crushed and
his unnamed companion, and he walks with them away from
the place where the promise will fall toward an unknown place.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, it's unknown today.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
They knew where it was at the time, but it
was so insignificant in that day. Because God doesn't just
show up in big places and appear too important people.
He might show up and speak to somebody in the
back of the room, somebody in overflow, somebody who isn't
even in the in the church building. They're in a
hospital bed. He goes to this village called a Mais,
(05:50):
and along the way, wouldn't it be awesome if Jesus
himself preached to you. I mean, I know I'm pretty good, Stacy,
but imagine so, y'all.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You're walking.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he can
walk with you. He just starts talking and he asks
him a question. Okay, listen before God gives you the answers.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Sometimes he'll change your questions. Yeah, yeah, is it good?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Mighty quiet in this church today? Sena is mighty quiet.
Sina looks good. He shaved his head, looking like a
UFC fighter, looking like a mixed martial artist. I mean,
choking nobody, Sena. But he goes for a walk and hey,
what you're talking about? And they tell him about their
disappointment and he can handle it, doesn't chase them away.
(06:37):
They tell them about their doubt and he can handle it.
And that's revolutionizing me because I thought I had to
have faith for God to meet with me. But I'm
growing to understand that maybe maybe God's presence is most
powerful when I get honest about my doubt, get honest
about my pain, and seek him even still, maybe that's
where I learn the most.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
When it doesn't go the way I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The detours, the details, the dead ends, the detours.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Remember we said we want to see him in three D.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
So here's the Son of God walking with two travelers
away from the destination. I'm supposed to be on that
stage right now, But we're walking the wrong way.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
And as we're walking.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
As we're walking, he's talking and he explains to them
all about himself. The Bible says that he started with
Moses and the prophets, and he talks about maybe I
don't know exactly what he said. The Bible just summarizes,
but maybe he talks about the passover Lamb that Moses
had the people prepare to celebrate and commemorate their coming
out of Egypt and their forgiveness of sin. Now they're
(07:37):
hearing about the Passover Lamb, but they don't know that
they're standing with the passover Lamb. They won't recognize that
right now, because usually you only recognize the full extent
of what God was doing in reverse. So while you're
on the road, you might not see it. But they
(07:58):
keep walking. Touch somebody say keep walking, and Jesus is
just talking, and they like his teaching and they're interested in.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
What he's saying. You know how I know.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Because when they got to where they were going, the
Bible says it was a seven mile journey, and that's
why we're calling it seven mile miracle, and we're using
it to look at the seven last statements that Jesus
made on the cross that are recorded in the Gospels.
But he went with them all seven miles. He went
with them all the way to Amais. And when they
(08:28):
got to the place where they thought they were going, okay,
because they weren't going to stay there long.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
God will meet you where you are, but he won't
leave you there. How good is this already? Man, this
is the introduction. I got to my topic yet. Don't worry.
I'll get you out on time. But I got something
to say today.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And as they walk, his words interested them. But when
they got to the place where they were going, this
village called Maaeus, the Bible says that Jesus acted like
he was gonna keep going, because the journey starts where
you are, but where it ends depends on you. And
(09:14):
you decide whether you want your relationship with God to
just be some superstitious thing, or whether you want it
to be something so real that you fully surrender the
operating system.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Write that down.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
The Cross is my operating system. It is not an addition,
It is not an accessory, It is not an app.
It is the new way that I do what I do,
whatever I do. It doesn't just change what I do
on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday, it transforms
(09:48):
my Tuesday. It works on Wednesday, it comes through on Thursday.
I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday.
Because he's the god of all seven miles. How many
have decided, I'm going all the way with Jesus. He'll
(10:10):
began a good work with me. We'll be faithful to
complete it.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I'm not stop him where I started.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Touch somebody said I'm going all the way, all the way,
and they were like, hey, you want to eat something.
Clio said, man, I mean we didn't really plan on
a guest, but come on in. And where we left
last week is that while look at verse thirty of
Luke twenty four.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I love this. This resurrection Sunday. Every day is resurrection Sunday.
Every day is Easter at elevation.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
A miracle can break out in any heart, at any time,
in any circumstance, in any grave.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And so he sits down.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
And in a common experience of a shared meal, the
Bible says, while he was at the table, because remember,
they're interested in who he is, but they don't yet
recognize who he is like, some of y'all who come
here don't really believe this stuff yet, but you like
the way it makes you feel.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
It's cool.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
You're not committed yet, but you're curious. You're like, that
was kind of weird. That one thing. I want to
go back. Yep, good because because he meets you where
you are right and he sits down with him. Jesus Christ,
(11:41):
the son of God, has time for a meal break
on Resurrection Sunday, and the Bible says he just starts
taking over. Okay, you've heard before that God is a
gentleman and he won't come in if he's not invited.
That's partially true. But once you let him in, he
takes over. Be ready for that. He takes over. He says, down,
(12:01):
he took bread, he just took it. And Cleo Clio's
just watching. And this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
In somebody else's house. And that's what happens when he comes.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
In your heart and when he takes the bread.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And he gave thanks. So Mary taught him manners.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Okay, he said, blessing before you eat, and he.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Broke it.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And he began to give it to them. We postulated
last week that when verse thirty one says, it was
then that their eyes were opened, and then that they
recognized him. That perhaps the reason they saw his presence
when he sat down with them and gave them the
(13:00):
bread was not only that he broke the bread like
they broke his body, but that when he gave it
to them in Jewish custom of the bread was broken
like this and given like this. And they saw where
he was wounded, They saw where the nails were, and
(13:22):
when they saw where the nails were, they realized who
he was, which lets me know that sometimes the power
of an example is greater than the power of an explanation.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
He walked with them seven miles.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
He walked with them for the entirety of their journey,
and what his words could not show them they saw
in his wounds. Graham was listening to the sermon, and
you know, kids will just say.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
What they think he goes. How do you know?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Because he he was pointing out to me that it
doesn't say that they saw his scars in the text.
And the more we got to talking about it, I
realized the way he was thinking about it was like this, Well,
if Jesus got up from the grave, and he has
the power to overcome death. He wouldn't leave scars where
(14:20):
the nails had been. You know, if God asked resurrection power,
surely he do a little cosmetic surgery.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
So Jesus isn't having to.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Walk around with some big holes in his hand or
marks in the places where they had nailed him, where
the Roman guard that was led by the Jewish leaders
had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed him for
the sins of all menkind. Surely he wouldn't leave the scars.
(14:52):
But I had to show Graham, and I'm going to
show you today how I know they saw his scars
because look, the Bible says, their eyes were open and
they recognized him. They saw the one that was with
them all along. But they saw him not in his words,
but in his wounds.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
They saw him.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Not because they heard the stone was rolled away, but
because they were up close and personal with the one
who had suffered. And when they saw where he suffered,
they realized who he was. Then their eyes were open
and they recognized him, and then he disappeared from their
sight because that was never their destination.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Look at verse thirty two.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
The scripture says, They asked each.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Other, we're not our hearts burning while he talked.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
His words made their hearts burn, But it was his
wounds that opened their eyes. There are some things that
cannot be explained. They can only be experienced. And when
I tell you that God is near to the broken heart,
I can tell you that all day long.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
But it is not until your heart is broken.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
It is not until you are at the end of yourself.
It is not until those who walked with you had
turned their back on you.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
But God stood by your side.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
That you can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper.
What can man do to me? I bear on my
body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Let no man trouble me. I walked through the valley,
I went through the shadow.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
But it wasn't with his words. It was where he
was wounded. That's where they saw him. On the road.
He opened the scriptures to us. And now they're excited,
so they leave Amais. They got up and went back.
God told me to tell somebody get up and go back.
(17:02):
I know Jesus got up, but the reason he got
up is not so you could stand around with sacramental
spices and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary god.
He got up so I could get up the same power.
I'm sorry, I'm shouting for suffs inside of.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Me makes me shot.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Because I see you getting up, and I see you
going back.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I see you getting up. The prodigal son said, this.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Is ridiculous for me to be down here with the
pigs when my father owns the palace.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Get up, go back. You don't need a speech. This
is your second chance.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, and
they retreaded the seven miles.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
This is the second seven miles.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
When they turned around, rerouted by the resurrection power of
God revealed in the scars of the Savior. Thank you Lord,
I feel his presence today.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
They got up. They went back.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo, Come back, Cleo.
The spirit is coming Come back, Cleo. God's not done
with you yet. Come back, Cleo. They got up and
they came back, and when they got there, they found
the eleven. This is the disciples minus Judas. Judas didn't
(18:36):
go so well for him. He didn't come back. But
they were all assembled together, and when Cleo got there,
they were starting to get the picture. Because Jesus had
been appearing to them too, And now it all comes together,
and now the ones who went away come back and
the ones who stayed, they all get together and they say.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
It is true. The Lord has risen has appeared to
Simon and Clio's like, yeah, me too. He showed me.
We saw through amazing looking for thirty five. They were like, hey,
we were on this road and he was telling my Moses.
He thoughout the prophet. Do we even know he was
can He took the bride and he took the brac cabs.
The practice saw scars.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
That half when he broke the bread, he was recognized
in the scars. How do you know he still has scars?
Graham saying, Okay, here's what I know, because what Luke
(19:37):
doesn't tell us, John does tell us. And I want
to go there for a minute. Because it's resurrection Sunday.
Now it's evening. It's been a long day for Jesus. Okay,
you start off with a little exercise, pushed that stone
out of the way, a little CrossFit. If you they
take me for granted, that humor was epic. That is
(19:58):
elite level preacher humor. Whether you recognize it or not.
The Lord liked that joke. I never realized how funny
the Bible is. Man, It's hilarious, it really is. That's
something I didn't get because I always thought God was
so serious.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And I know, hey, I know it's serious as a
matter of life and death. Trust me. Nobody takes more
serious to me.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
But Jesus just messing around with people sometimes.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Because watch this.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It says on the evening of the first day of
the week, this verse nineteen John, chapter twenty, same evening. Now,
so Cleo is coming back, and the disciples were together
with the doors locked for fear. See that's what fear
will always do. It will always lock you in from
(20:45):
the inside. They weren't locked out, they were locked in.
We lock ourselves in because of fear. Remember that, that's important.
They were locked in for fear of the Jewish leaders.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Hey they might kill us.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Hey, there's a rumor circulating that we stole the body.
We better stay up here now now, Remember Cleo and
his companion went the wrong way. But is it any
better to stay in Jerusalem with the doors locked.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Some people go away from God. Some people stay in church,
but their.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Heart is so locked they might as well, not.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Even be there.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
It's about your heart. And Jesus, Jesus is so funny.
Why says the doors are locked for fear of the
Jewish leaders. And Jesus came and stood among them.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
How did he do it?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
He picked the lock. See, grace will break in the
back door, kick the door down.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Grace is a G. Grace will come on in, take
on over.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Take your bread, break your bread.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Change your life.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Jesus showed up and said peace, Grace is a G.
Touch somebody said grace is a G. Hashtag Grace is
a G. Just any way.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
In peace be with you.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
But watch this. After he said this, he showed them
his hands and his side. Five wounds. Five is the
number of grace.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Just remember that. Five wounds in his.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Sigh, in his hands, in his feet, five wounds. He
showed him his hands, five fingers. He showed him his
hands where the nails were, where the nails were. And
I wonder did they have a flashback, because the first word,
there are seven.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
We're going to get them all.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
This is the first word that Jesus spoke from the
cross is a statement. He said, Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do, what a generous interpretation.
When people insult me, I tell God, they know exactly
what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
And if I do forgive somebody, it takes me time.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
But while they were driving the nails, I'm flashing back
now from the cross. I wonder when they saw his hands,
did they remember his words? I wonder when they saw
where he was wounded? Did they remember the words he spoke?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Father?
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Forgive them, for they know not what they do, not
what they did. But while they were doing it, he
had the presence of mind to forgive, and he needed help.
Even Jesus, perfect as he was, human as he was,
(23:44):
knew that.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
He could not forgive without the help of his father.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So as I think about forgiveness today, I wonder where
you've been wounded, Jesus.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
That was in his hands.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
When they saw the hands, they realized this is not
an impersonator.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
If this is not an.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Impostor, they had to see something. They had to see
something that let them know what he went through. And
you keep trying to prove God's presence by your successes.
But when it came time for Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, to prove his presence, he said, look where
(24:23):
the nails were see my hands. See where they drove
the spikes between the bones so they would not break,
so that it would support the weight of my body
long enough for me to suffocate. See see it killed me,
(24:43):
but I didn't stay dead. It broke me. But I
am now whole. I was dead, now I'm alive. See
my scars. My scars tell a story. I'm not ashamed
to show my scars. Christianity is not cosmetic surgery, so
(25:05):
you can hide what you've been through to try to
get people to think you're perfect. Christianity. Jesus Christ didn't
come to conceal the pain. He came to reveal his glory,
and he showed it. It is stars, but there was one.
(25:26):
God has always looked him for the one who wasn't there.
And the Bible tells us that even though the eleven
minus Judas got to see him, there was one who
wasn't there, named Thomas. Can I talk about Thomas for
one minute? Let me teach you about Thomas. Oh Man, Thomas.
He gets a bad rap. They call him in the church.
They call him doubting Thomas. Have you ever heard this before?
Doubting Thomas? Because church people will label you by one
(25:48):
moment in your journey, doubting Thomas adultery.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Annie, I'll stop right there.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Some things going through my head that would have to
be edited out for you too, because light will label
you by what you did, and the Bible gives us
a little Only John tells us this, because John had
the sensitivity to him.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
When you read his gospel, he tells you things other people.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I'll mention he said, now Thomas, also known as Didimus.
I mean, if we've just got to label Thomas a doubter,
can we at least call him doubting Didamis because the
alliteration works much better doubting Didimus. The Bible says that
(26:40):
doubting did he one of the twelve.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
Was not with.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Somebody say he wasn't there. So now Jesus and Thomas
got something in common. When they went to look for
Jesus that body, he wasn't there. When Jesus showed up
alive and resurrected, Thomas wasn't there, and Thomas wasn't there.
The Bible doesn't say why he wasn't there. I've always
heard it preach like he wasn't there because he didn't
have enough faith to be there, but the boys inside
had the doors locked.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
They weren't any better.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
So if we're gonna give out nicknames, let's talk about
Simon Peter inside with the doors locked.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
How about scaredy cat Simon Peter, scaredy Simon.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
How about locked door Levi, lock him up Levi?
Speaker 1 (27:27):
And doubting Dicky. And we all have dolves. That's what
I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
We all have scars, we all have dysfunction. You might
have long sleeves, but if I could roll up your sleeves,
you've been through something.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
You'll struggle with something. Your wife may not know it.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
But God goes, I gotta hurry, I gotta hurry.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
I'm getting really indulgent.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I gotta get you out of here because the next
crowd's coming in. Somebody somebody say, nails nails, nails nails.
So the other disciple told him we have seen the Lord.
But Thomas said, this is why I had come down
in Thomas. I call him honest Thomas. I don't come
him down in Thomas. I call him honest Thomas, truthful Thomas.
(28:16):
Because Thomas is like, I'm not buying it. I'm not
buying it. Off what you said, I need to see
for myself. I got to see Jesus for myself. This
has to be real to me. So hey, unless I
see the nail marks in his hands, unless I see
(28:37):
where he suffered, I will not believe in his glory.
And unless I put my finger where the nails were
and put my hand into his sigh, I won't believe.
Watch Jesus. Now, I want to point out one thing
(29:00):
in verse twenty six.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Look at it.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Seven days later, a week later, seven seven miles, seven days.
God will leave you in a space where you don't
understand to create faith in your heart. So Thomas says,
I need to see the scars. Jesus could have showed
(29:24):
up on the spot. He waited seven days. Jesus could
have walked up to Cleo and said, see my scars.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
It's me. But sometimes he wants to let you walk
and wonder and walk and wonder.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Not because he doesn't love you, but because if your
faith needs an explanation, it cannot sustain the trials of life.
So he waits seven days. You'll help me ap preach this.
He waits seven days. Have you ever had to wait
seven days? Have you ever had to wait through a
custody battle. Have you ever had to wait to see
(29:59):
if this is ever gonna feel better? Have you ever
had to wait through pain, wake through depression, wake through
anxiety attacks, wake through bad reports, way.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Through a newscast? Have you ever had to wait.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
There awaiting a waiting period? And then when Jesus shows
up a week later?
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Seven?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Everybody say seven, seven days, seven miles, seven days, seven miles.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
It's the number of completion. And then Jesus shows.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Up, maybe just at that point where Thomas is tired
of waiting. And the disciples were in the house again,
and Thomas this time was there, and Jesus walks in.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Look at the next part. Though the doors were locked, they.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Still locked, the doors still scared, but they stayed, still scared.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
But they stayed.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I still got some addictions, and I'm in church today.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
God can work with that. I'm still on the road.
I don't get it, but I'm still.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
And this time Thomas was there. He's not gonna miss
it this time. And Jesus came in, stood among them
and said, peace, watch what comes next? You'll temmy, Hey diddy, hey, honest, Thomas,
(31:30):
I heard you wanted to see my.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Scars Now this is important.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Put your finger here, where where the nails were?
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Isn't that what you needed to see?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Thomas? Where the nails were? And I noticed something? He
didn't say, where the nails are? You'll tell me.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
I'm back from the grave and I need you to
see something.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Look, Thomas, no more nails. Look, Thomas, they're not here.
But your finger where the sin was. Put your finger
where the shame was. Put your finger where they tried
(32:24):
to crucify the creator of the world. No more, somebody
shall no more nails, No more nails. In other words,
what held me doesn't hold me anymore. I came to
(32:45):
the clare. Today is the day of freedom.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
I wish you would push.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Your neighbor to they almost fall over, and say, no
more nails, No more nails. Now, I've heard so much
any sermons about forgiveness, because we've all been wounded. Raise
your hand if life hasn't wounded you yet. I want
to see where the liars are in the church, because
I want to have a special prayer for all the
liars who would have the audacity to lie in the
presence of God and act like you haven't been wounded.
(33:16):
We've all been wounded, rock Hill, Gaston County.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
It don't matter Toronto, Canada. You can't.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
You can't walk the road without being wounded. You can't
go to church without being wounded.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Faked, I'm mad. That's why I have that gange. Faked.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
I'm a I was in a church one time and
the preacher got on to sing about wounds. And it
was so weird, y'all, because he was like he was.
He was preaching about wounds. His thing was trying to
get everybody go back and remember all the ways they've
(33:54):
been wounded throughout their whole life. He had me thinking
of stuff in the third grade, just the craziest stuff
like that was going to bring healing. Look at this,
Jesus didn't show Thomas his wounds. He showed him his scars.
There is a difference between being wounded and being scarred.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
That's good. So when I prayed about this first word
of forgiveness, the Lord told me to talk to you
about the nails, whatever has wounded you, whatever you hide,
(34:41):
whatever happened. See when Jesus shows Thomas his scars, I'm
glad he kept his scars. I'm glad he kept that
part I'm glad he didn't stay dead, but I'm also
glad that he came out scarred because that gives me hope.
And that's how I try to preach. I don't want
to preach wounded, because if I preach wounded, I'm going
(35:02):
to inflict my pain on you.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
And I don't want to be a wounded parent. I
don't want to be a wounded spouse. I don't want
to walk around. God spoke to.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Me a couple months ago and he said, if I've
really healed you like you claim I have, why are
you still so touchy? Thomas said, I want to see
where the wounds were. And when I teach pre cherch
Jonathan can tell you.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
I tell him.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
Don't you get up and tell the church all the
ways that you woke up at five thirty am. And
you know, if I put you in my puppet show
the church some of your scars, you can show them
the stones that God has rolled away. That's fine, that's
the part of it. He is a god of miracles,
he is a god who makes dreams come true. And
we've all got some stones that he's rolled away. But
we've all got some scars too, So show them your scars.
(35:52):
Show them where you didn't get up at five thirty.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
In fact, show him.
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Where you pretended like you didn't hear the baby crying
at five thirty got up.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Tell them that story. Tell them how you almost quit.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Tell them how you wanted to throw up the first
week you went out to preach after the news media
ran a story about you for four days straight saying
things about you.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Tell them that.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Tell them how you were in the bathroom and you
came out smiling. Show them where the wounds were, and
it'll give them hope that what wound did me doesn't
have to hold me forever.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Come on, it's time to be free.
Speaker 2 (36:38):
It's been long enough, it's been seven days. Forgiveness doesn't
mean it didn't happen. The scar shows it happened. Jesus
didn't show up and say what Cross? What to talk
about Cross? I don't remember Cross. I heard a preacher
(36:59):
say one time, this guy's an he should have his
credentials revoke. He said, if you've really uh, let's get
a preacher voice going, if you've really forgiven someone in
your hearts, you will not even remember the offense. There
is a word that comes to my mind to describe
what he said, but I'm gonna just say it's it's inaccurate.
(37:25):
It's not denial when I say forgiveness, because I gotta
be careful because I'm a pastor, right, I'm not just
passing through preaching one week leaving.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
I'm not trying to just get something.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
I'm trying to go on a journey with you and
to let you know that when you when you let
go of whatever wounded you so that you can be
free and go into the.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Future God has for you.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
It doesn't mean that you pretend it never happened. This
is not denial. The nails were there. My dad walked
out on.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Me, not my dad. I'm saying that you could say my.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Mom had an impossible standard that I could never live
up to, and I believe that part of my eating disorder.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Today has to do with that.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I can't let
it hold me. I cannot blame her forever, not if
I'm a Christian, not if I am a Christian, not
if I worship the one who was wounded for my transgression. See,
I need to let you know something because the hardest
person you'll ever forgive. Is not your ex, is not
(38:26):
your mom, is not your dad. It's not your neighbor
who came over your fence and your property line. The
hardest person you will ever have to forgive is yourself.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
See the truth be told.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
It is my self inflicted nails that I have the
hardest time.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Letting go off.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
But I want the devil to know when he comes
to hammer at me with accusation. I don't know where
you go when that start to happen, how worthless you are.
Have you noticed the devil loves to hammer you, and
he's got a big hammer. But let me tell you
a little secret. He ain't got no more nails. Somebody
(39:11):
shout no more nails?
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Do that, Sime?
Speaker 2 (39:15):
The devil hammers you with accusations, shout back in his face,
she got no nails. All my nails are in that cross.
All my shame is on that cross. Somebody shouting no
(39:35):
more nails. There is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the
law of the spirit of life has set me free
from the law of sin and death. The devil might
have a hammer, but he doesn't have any nails, breaks.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Out in touch the place.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Where the nails were, where they were. It doesn't mean
it didn't happen. It happened. I fell sure it happened.
I ruined the relationship.
Speaker 1 (40:17):
It happened. They abused me in ways that I don't
even want to tell my own spouse. It happened. I
deal with the traumatic rememorancy.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
It's not that it didn't happen, and it's not that
it doesn't hurt. That's not what forgiveness is. Forgiveness doesn't
mean it it doesn't hurt.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
I mean the nails might be gone, but the memory
is still there. And it's really easy.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
To forgive sometimes when the person that you're forgiving is gone,
but when you still have to work I'll share custody,
when you still have to live with the memory, when
you still can't be touched without recalling the shame of
when you were touched the wrong way, and now you're
trying to learn how to love the right way, when
(41:06):
you're trying to learn how to trust.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
It doesn't mean it won't hurt.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Away with the preaching that will teach you that the
pain will go away when you forgive the offense. It's
not that the pain goes away. I'm helping somebody, I'm
setting somebody free. You keep waiting for the feeling of
forgiveness to come.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
It's not a feeling. It takes faith. I said, it
takes faith. I said it takes faith. I said it
takes faith. It takes faith to believe.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
That the same place where the nails were is the
same place where the healing is.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
They saw it in a scarce.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Jesus needed those nails. If they had nailed him to
that cross, if they had, if they hadn't punctured, if
the blood didn't flow from that place, the power wouldn't
be released. I'm saying not that God's gonna take the
(42:11):
scar away, but that he is going to release the
greatest strength in your life from the place where the
nails were.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Come on, shout no more else. It's a declaration. Doesn't
mean it didn't happen. It happened. They bullied you, it happened.
They lied about you.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
By the way, not only have you suffered some wounds,
but you've inflicted a few two. And it's kind of
crazy how we can be comfortable putting all of our
nails in Jesus cross, but then walk around with a
pocket full of our own to put in other people.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
If all my.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Nails are in his cross, that means all of yours
are too. I cannot demand to receive a grace from
God for me that I will not give to you.
And so what it means, what it means isn't that
(43:27):
it didn't happen. What it means isn't that it didn't hurt.
What it means is not that I won't handle it.
I might not be able to be friends with you
in the same way anymore because I might not be
able to trust you. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation.
Don't go email in your ex on message them on
Facebook when you're married now for twelve years talking about
(43:50):
will you forgive me?
Speaker 1 (43:52):
In the still of the night, into the road.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Flashbacks to prom It's not that things won't be different.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
It's not that I won't handle it. But Thomas, I
want you to put your finger in the place where
I was held to the cross, and I want you
to know that what held me doesn't hold me anymore.
(44:29):
That's what forgiveness is. Friends.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
It's not that it didn't happen. It happened, and it
was horrible. It's not that it doesn't hurt, It's just
that I'm not going to live in the offense any longer.
I've been wounded long enough. Why would I choose to
stay wounded when healing is in his hands? Why would
(44:58):
I keep nailing you to cross when it's only hurting me.
Somebody say, no more nails, No more nails. The spirit
of God is in this place. No more nails. It's
all in the cross, all my past, all my shame,
it's all in the cross.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
No more nails. To be free, I.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
Gotta let go, and I declare over your life today.
Not that it won't ever hurt again, not that some
things won't need to change, not that it won't be
a process.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
Remember this is only my one of our journey.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
But if you will put your nails in that cross
and trust what Jesus proved that all things, somebody shot
all things, even the nails, even judas, even that. I
talked to a woman who went through the most traumatic
(45:58):
childhood experience you can disc I wouldn't put it in
this sermon because there are kids who came in.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
But what she went through was so horrible.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yet she was able to look at me in the
eye and say, although I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Choose it, and although I'm not saying.
Speaker 2 (46:13):
It was okay or that it was right or that
God did it, I'm not trying to justify it when
I see how God has used even the things that
I wouldn't choose. It's not that I wanted it to happen.
It's not that it doesn't hurt. I'm not gonna fake.
I'm not gonna live in denial. I'm not gonna stay
(46:35):
in dysfunction. I'm not gonna but I I wouldn't trade
my scars for anything, because my scars.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Are the proof of his power. Yeah I got scars.
Yeah I went through it.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Yeah it hurt like hell. Yes they drove the nails.
Yes it was offensive, and yes it was wrong.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
But no, I won't stay here.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
No, I won't sacrifice my future on the altar.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Of my past. No more nas. I'm coming out.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
I'm coming out. Come on, shot like your fred, shot,
like your freends. How long do you want to stay wounded?
(47:47):
How long do you want to stay stuck? It happened.
I'm not living in denial it hurts. I'm not going
to live defensive, pretending it doesn't hurt, and I have
to handle it. I'm not gonna live in dysfunction, enabling
dysfunctional situations and calling it forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
But I'm not gonna stay here dead. When he is risen,
no one else, no more else.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
He is going on the cross today, all of it,
all of it, the sin you did, the sin that
was done to you, is all going on the same
cross today. And all things, even the scars, not just
the stone, but the scars, all things will work together.
Speaker 1 (48:53):
For the good.
Speaker 2 (48:55):
Look, Thomas, it doesn't hold me anymore, Thomas. Your doubt
doesn't have to hold you anymore. Look, Thomas, touch you
see my scars. You see my scars. I know you
(49:17):
got some mounds. They've been open long enough.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
It's time. It's time, Thomas.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
I know you're not over it yet, you may never
feel completely over it, but you gotta move on.
Speaker 4 (49:34):
You can't stay like this forever. You can't stay angry
about it forever. You gotta get going.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
Lift your hands, lift your hands, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (49:52):
Special things to those of you who give generously to
this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give
now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more
information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1 (50:09):
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2 (50:10):
You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
share it on your social stories and tag us at
Elevation Church.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
Host
Steven Furtick
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