March 15, 2024 • 23 mins
When Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross to extend mercy, He never intended for us to keep it to ourselves. Discover the freedom found in forgiveness and the greater story your scars can tell.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope
it gives you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Enjoy the message.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Last week we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember
his name? Yeah, Cleo. We call them Cleo. The Bible
calls them Cleopus, but we're friendly with Cleo.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
And so we gave him a nickname.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
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, men, when you get men
to worship, it's like a miracle. Women will lift their hands.
(00:55):
They just don't really have a problem coming into the
presence of God. Sometimes a woman will have the kind
of persistence and patience with a child.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I thought y'all would back me up right here. I'm
trying to give some some love to the women.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
But they went to the to remember to anoint Jesus's body,
but his body wasn't there. And in some ways I
guess it was an indictment that they thought he would
still be there when he told them I'm getting up
on the third day.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
They didn't really believe that.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Even though they were sentimental, they had not yet experienced
that kind of supernatural resurrection power that enables you to
know that even if it seems dead, was dead, is dead.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
It doesn't have to stay dead. That's what resurrection tells me.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
That's why our logo is a church is a Neon logo,
a Neon arrow pointing upward to let you know that
wherever your life is today, Loff can lift you. Whatever
pit you've fallen into. Loff can lift you, whatever time
you've lost, whatever years you've wasted. Love can lit you
(02:05):
whatever fear has held you down.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Up until this point. The grave is empty, he is risen,
and we're going somewhere, going somewhere.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So the women come to annoying his body, but his
body isn't there.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Somebody say, it isn't there.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I feel excited today God's going to set somebody free.
I feel it in every fiber of my being. God
is going to set somebody free today. Yeah, yeah, his
body wasn't there. And okay, so his body isn't there,
So he's up out of the grave.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Where is he? Well, he kind of appears throughout the day.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
But I want to go back to where can I
pick up where I left off last week?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Don't worry about it. If you weren't here, I'll bring
you in.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So he walks with Cleo in this unnamed companion some
scholar speculated could have.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Been his wife.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
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
(03:20):
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 (03:37):
It crushed Cleo.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
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.
Well it's unknown today. They knew where it was at
the time, but it was so insignificant in that day.
(04:00):
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
there in a hospital bed. He goes to this village
called a Mais and along the way, wouldn't it be
awesome if Jesus himself preached to you. I mean, I
(04:23):
know I'm pretty good, Stacy, But imagine so, y'all, you're
walking and Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he
can walk with you.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
He just starts talking and he asks him a question.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Okay, listen before before God gives you the answers, sometimes
he'll change your questions.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah, yeah, is it good? Mighty quiet in this church today?
Sena is mighty quiet. Sina looks good.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
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 and they tell him about their disappointment
and he can handle it, doesn't chase them away.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
They tell them about their doubt and he can handle it.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
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 learned the most.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
When it doesn't go the way I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
The detours, the details, the dead ends, the detours.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Remember we said we want to see him in three D.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
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 (05:41):
And as we're walking. As we're walking, he's.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
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.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Don't know exactly what he said.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
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 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
(06:15):
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 keep walking. Touch somebody say keep walking, and
Jesus is just talking, and they like his teaching and
they're interested.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
In what he's saying.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
You know how I know 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
(06:53):
to Amais. And when they got to the place where
they thought they were going, okay, because they weren't going
to stay there long. God will meet you where you are,
but he won't.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Leave you there. How good is this already?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Man?
Speaker 1 (07:13):
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 (07:19):
And as they walk, his words interested them. But when
they got to the place where they were going, this
village called the Maaeis. The Bible says that Jesus acted
like he was going to keep going, because the journey
starts where you are, but where it ends.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Depends on you.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
And 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 (07:53):
Write that down.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
The Cross is my operating system.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
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.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Whatever I do, it doesn't just change what I do
on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday, it transforms
my Tuesday. It works on Wednesday, it comes through on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Because he's the god of all seven miles. How many
have decided I'm going all the.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Way with Jesus he began a could work with me,
will be faithful to complete it.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I'm not stopping where I started.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Who touch somebody say, I'm going all the way, all
the way, and they were like, hey, you want to
eat something? Clio said, Man, 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 (09:09):
I love this. This resurrection Sunday. Every day is Resurrection Sunday.
Every day is Easter at elevation.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
A miracle can break out in any heart, at any time,
in any circumstance, in any grave. And so he sits
down 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
(09:40):
recognize who he is. Like some of y'all who come
here don't really believe the stuff yet, but you like
the way it makes you feel.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
It's cool.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
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, good, because because.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
He meets you where you are right and he sits
down with him.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Jesus Christ, the son of God, has time for a
meal break on Resurrection Sunday, and.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Bible says, he just starts taking over.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Okay, you've you've heard before that God is a gentleman,
and he won't come in if he's not invited.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
That's partially true.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
But once you let him in, he takes over. Be
ready for that. He takes over. He says, down, he
took bread. He just took it.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
And Cleo Clio's just watching.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host in
somebody else's house. And that's what happens when he comes
in your heart. And when he takes the bread, and
he gave thanks. So Mary taught him manners. Okay, said
(10:58):
blessing before you eat. And he broke it, 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,
(11:22):
that perhaps the reason they saw his presence when he
sat down with them and gave them the 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, the bread was broken like this and
given like this, and they saw where he was wounded,
(11:46):
they saw where the nails were, and 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 (12:03):
He walked with them seven miles.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
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 this sermon, and
you know, kids will just say what they think he goes.
How do you know, because he was pointing out to
(12:29):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Leave scars where the nails had been.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
You know, if God asks resurrection power, surely he do
a little cosmetic surgery. So Jesus isn't having to walk
around with some big holes in his hand or marks
in the places where they had nailed him.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Where the Roman guard that was led by the.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Jewish leaders, had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed
him for the sins of all mankind.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Surely he wouldn't leave the scars. But I had to
show Brahmman.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I'm going to show you today how I know they
saw his scars because look, the Bible says, their eyes
were opened 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 (13:35):
They saw him not.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
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 (13:58):
Look at verse thirty two. The scripture says, they.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Asked each other, we're not our hearts burning while he talked.
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
(14:25):
I tell you that God is near to the broken hearted,
I can tell you that all day long. But it
is not until your heart is broken. 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. But God stood by your side that
you can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
What can man do to me? I bear on my
body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Let no man
trouble me. I walked through the valley, I went through
the shad.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
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.
(15:29):
I know Jesus got up, But the reason he got up,
it's not so you could stand around with sacramental spices
and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary god.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
He got up so I could get up the same power.
I'm sorry I'm shouting, but something's inside of.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Me makes me shout.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Because I see you getting up, and I see you go.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I see you getting up.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
The prodigal son said, this is ridiculous for me to
be down here with the pigs when my father owns
the palace.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Get up, go back. You don't need a speech. This
is your second chance.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, and
they retreaded the seven miles.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
This is the second seven miles.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
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. They got up, they went back.
This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo, Come back, Cleo.
(16:49):
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 they found the eleven.
This is the Disciples minus Judas. Judas didn't go so
well for him. He didn't come back. But they were
all assembled together. And when Cleo got there, they were
(17:12):
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 (17:23):
It is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared
to Simon. And Cleo's like, yeah, me too. He showed me.
We saw through Mazzly looking for thirty five. They were like, hey,
we were on this road and he was telling my Moses.
He thought the prophet don't even know he was. He
took the pride and they took the brad Gavis the
pricticea scars, that's half.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
When he broke the bread, he was recognized in the scars.
How you know he still has scars. Graham's saying, Okay,
here's what I know. Because what Luke 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.
(18:10):
It's been a long day for Jesus. Okay, you start
off with a little exercise, push that stone out of
the way, a.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Little CrossFit, if you.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
They take me for granted, that humor was epic. That
is elite level preacher humor, whether you recognize it or not.
The Lord liked that joke. I never realized how funny
the Bible is.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Man. It's hilarious, it really is.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
That's something I didn't get because I always thought God
was so serious. And I know, I know, hey, I
know it's serious as a matter of life and debt.
Trust me, nobody takes more serious to me. But Jesus
just messing around with people sometimes because watch this. It
says on the evening of the first day of the week.
This is verse nineteen, John, chapter twenty, same evening. Now,
So Cleo is coming back. And the disciples were together
(19:03):
with the doors locked for fear. See that's what fear
will always do. It will always lock you in from
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 (19:26):
Hey they might kill us. Hey, there's a rumor circulating
that we stole the body. We better stay up here now.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Now, Remember Cleo and his companion went.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
The wrong way.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
But is it any better to stay in Jerusalem with
the doors locked?
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Some people go away from God. Some people stay in.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Church, but their heart is so locked they might as
well not even be there. It's about your heart. And Jesus,
Jesus is so funny. Why says the doors are locked
for fear of the Jewish ly And Jesus came and
stood among them.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
How did he do it? He picked the lock.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
See, grace will break in the back door, kick the
door down, Grace is a G.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Grace will come on.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
In, take on over, take your bread, break your bread,
change your life.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Jesus showed up and said peace, Grace is a G.
Touch somebody said grace is a G. Hashtag Grace is
a G.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Just any way, in peace be with you.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
But watch this, watch this.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
After he said this, he showed them his hands and
his side five wounds.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Five is the number of grace. Just remember that five
wounds in.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
His side, in his hands, in his feet, five wounds.
He showed him his hands, five fingers. He showed him
his hands where the nails, where the nails were. And
I wonder did they have a flashback, because the first word,
there are seven We're going to get them all.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
This is the first word that Jesus spoke from the cross.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's a statement, he said, Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
What a generous interpretation.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
When people insult me, I tell God, they know exactly
what they're doing. And if I do forgive somebody, it
takes me time. But while they were driving the nails,
I'm flashing back now from the cross. I wonder when
(21:42):
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, Father, forgive them, for.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
They know not what they do, not what they did.
But while they were.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Doing it, he had the presence of mine to forgive,
and he needed help. Even Jesus, perfect as he was,
human as he was, knew that he could not forgive
without the help of his father. So as I think
about forgiveness today, I wonder where you've been wounded, Jesus.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That was in his hands.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
When they saw the hands, they realized, this is not
an impersonator, this is.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Not an impostor. They had to see something. They had to.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Presence, he said, look where the nails were. See my hands.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
See where they drove the spikes for between the bones
so they would not break, so that it would support
the weight of my body long enough for me to suffocate.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
See.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
See, it killed me, but I didn't stay dead. It
broke me, but I am that 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
(23:31):
cosmetic surgery so you can hide what you've been through
to try to get people to think you're perfect.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Christianity Jesus Christ didn't come to conceal the pain. He
came to reveal his glory, and he showed it in
his scar
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope
it gives you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Enjoy the message.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Last week we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember
his name? Yeah, Cleo. We call them Cleo. The Bible
calls them Cleopus, but we're friendly with Cleo.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
And so we gave him a nickname.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
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, men, when you get men
to worship, it's like a miracle. Women will lift their hands.
(00:55):
They just don't really have a problem coming into the
presence of God. Sometimes a woman will have the kind
of persistence and patience with a child.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I thought y'all would back me up right here. I'm
trying to give some some love to the women.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
But they went to the to remember to anoint Jesus's body,
but his body wasn't there. And in some ways I
guess it was an indictment that they thought he would
still be there when he told them I'm getting up
on the third day.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
They didn't really believe that.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Even though they were sentimental, they had not yet experienced
that kind of supernatural resurrection power that enables you to
know that even if it seems dead, was dead, is dead.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
It doesn't have to stay dead. That's what resurrection tells me.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
That's why our logo is a church is a Neon logo,
a Neon arrow pointing upward to let you know that
wherever your life is today, Loff can lift you. Whatever
pit you've fallen into. Loff can lift you, whatever time
you've lost, whatever years you've wasted. Love can lit you
(02:05):
whatever fear has held you down.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Up until this point. The grave is empty, he is risen,
and we're going somewhere, going somewhere.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So the women come to annoying his body, but his
body isn't there.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Somebody say, it isn't there.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I feel excited today God's going to set somebody free.
I feel it in every fiber of my being. God
is going to set somebody free today. Yeah, yeah, his
body wasn't there. And okay, so his body isn't there,
So he's up out of the grave.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Where is he? Well, he kind of appears throughout the day.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
But I want to go back to where can I
pick up where I left off last week?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Don't worry about it. If you weren't here, I'll bring
you in.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So he walks with Cleo in this unnamed companion some
scholar speculated could have.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Been his wife.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
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
(03:20):
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 (03:37):
It crushed Cleo.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
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.
Well it's unknown today. They knew where it was at
the time, but it was so insignificant in that day.
(04:00):
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
there in a hospital bed. He goes to this village
called a Mais and along the way, wouldn't it be
awesome if Jesus himself preached to you. I mean, I
(04:23):
know I'm pretty good, Stacy, But imagine so, y'all, you're
walking and Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he
can walk with you.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
He just starts talking and he asks him a question.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Okay, listen before before God gives you the answers, sometimes
he'll change your questions.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah, yeah, is it good? Mighty quiet in this church today?
Sena is mighty quiet. Sina looks good.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
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 and they tell him about their disappointment
and he can handle it, doesn't chase them away.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
They tell them about their doubt and he can handle it.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
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 learned the most.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
When it doesn't go the way I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
The detours, the details, the dead ends, the detours.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Remember we said we want to see him in three D.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
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 (05:41):
And as we're walking. As we're walking, he's.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
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.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Don't know exactly what he said.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
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 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
(06:15):
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 keep walking. Touch somebody say keep walking, and
Jesus is just talking, and they like his teaching and
they're interested.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
In what he's saying.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
You know how I know 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
(06:53):
to Amais. And when they got to the place where
they thought they were going, okay, because they weren't going
to stay there long. God will meet you where you are,
but he won't.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Leave you there. How good is this already?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Man?
Speaker 1 (07:13):
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 (07:19):
And as they walk, his words interested them. But when
they got to the place where they were going, this
village called the Maaeis. The Bible says that Jesus acted
like he was going to keep going, because the journey
starts where you are, but where it ends.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Depends on you.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
And 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 (07:53):
Write that down.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
The Cross is my operating system.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
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.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Whatever I do, it doesn't just change what I do
on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday, it transforms
my Tuesday. It works on Wednesday, it comes through on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Because he's the god of all seven miles. How many
have decided I'm going all the.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Way with Jesus he began a could work with me,
will be faithful to complete it.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I'm not stopping where I started.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Who touch somebody say, I'm going all the way, all
the way, and they were like, hey, you want to
eat something? Clio said, Man, 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 (09:09):
I love this. This resurrection Sunday. Every day is Resurrection Sunday.
Every day is Easter at elevation.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
A miracle can break out in any heart, at any time,
in any circumstance, in any grave. And so he sits
down 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
(09:40):
recognize who he is. Like some of y'all who come
here don't really believe the stuff yet, but you like
the way it makes you feel.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
It's cool.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
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, good, because because.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
He meets you where you are right and he sits
down with him.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Jesus Christ, the son of God, has time for a
meal break on Resurrection Sunday, and.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Bible says, he just starts taking over.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Okay, you've you've heard before that God is a gentleman,
and he won't come in if he's not invited.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
That's partially true.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
But once you let him in, he takes over. Be
ready for that. He takes over. He says, down, he
took bread. He just took it.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
And Cleo Clio's just watching.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host in
somebody else's house. And that's what happens when he comes
in your heart. And when he takes the bread, and
he gave thanks. So Mary taught him manners. Okay, said
(10:58):
blessing before you eat. And he broke it, 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,
(11:22):
that perhaps the reason they saw his presence when he
sat down with them and gave them the 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, the bread was broken like this and
given like this, and they saw where he was wounded,
(11:46):
they saw where the nails were, and 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 (12:03):
He walked with them seven miles.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
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 this sermon, and
you know, kids will just say what they think he goes.
How do you know, because he was pointing out to
(12:29):
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.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Leave scars where the nails had been.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
You know, if God asks resurrection power, surely he do
a little cosmetic surgery. So Jesus isn't having to walk
around with some big holes in his hand or marks
in the places where they had nailed him.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Where the Roman guard that was led by the.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Jewish leaders, had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed
him for the sins of all mankind.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Surely he wouldn't leave the scars. But I had to
show Brahmman.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I'm going to show you today how I know they
saw his scars because look, the Bible says, their eyes
were opened 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 (13:35):
They saw him not.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
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 (13:58):
Look at verse thirty two. The scripture says, they.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Asked each other, we're not our hearts burning while he talked.
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
(14:25):
I tell you that God is near to the broken hearted,
I can tell you that all day long. But it
is not until your heart is broken. 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. But God stood by your side that
you can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
What can man do to me? I bear on my
body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Let no man
trouble me. I walked through the valley, I went through
the shad.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
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.
(15:29):
I know Jesus got up, But the reason he got up,
it's not so you could stand around with sacramental spices
and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary god.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
He got up so I could get up the same power.
I'm sorry I'm shouting, but something's inside of.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Me makes me shout.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Because I see you getting up, and I see you go.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
I see you getting up.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
The prodigal son said, this is ridiculous for me to
be down here with the pigs when my father owns
the palace.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Get up, go back. You don't need a speech. This
is your second chance.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, and
they retreaded the seven miles.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
This is the second seven miles.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
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. They got up, they went back.
This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo, Come back, Cleo.
(16:49):
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 they found the eleven.
This is the Disciples minus Judas. Judas didn't go so
well for him. He didn't come back. But they were
all assembled together. And when Cleo got there, they were
(17:12):
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 (17:23):
It is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared
to Simon. And Cleo's like, yeah, me too. He showed me.
We saw through Mazzly looking for thirty five. They were like, hey,
we were on this road and he was telling my Moses.
He thought the prophet don't even know he was. He
took the pride and they took the brad Gavis the
pricticea scars, that's half.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
When he broke the bread, he was recognized in the scars.
How you know he still has scars. Graham's saying, Okay,
here's what I know. Because what Luke 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.
(18:10):
It's been a long day for Jesus. Okay, you start
off with a little exercise, push that stone out of
the way, a.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Little CrossFit, if you.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
They take me for granted, that humor was epic. That
is elite level preacher humor, whether you recognize it or not.
The Lord liked that joke. I never realized how funny
the Bible is.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Man. It's hilarious, it really is.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
That's something I didn't get because I always thought God
was so serious. And I know, I know, hey, I
know it's serious as a matter of life and debt.
Trust me, nobody takes more serious to me. But Jesus
just messing around with people sometimes because watch this. It
says on the evening of the first day of the week.
This is verse nineteen, John, chapter twenty, same evening. Now,
So Cleo is coming back. And the disciples were together
(19:03):
with the doors locked for fear. See that's what fear
will always do. It will always lock you in from
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 (19:26):
Hey they might kill us. Hey, there's a rumor circulating
that we stole the body. We better stay up here now.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Now, Remember Cleo and his companion went.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
The wrong way.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
But is it any better to stay in Jerusalem with
the doors locked?
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Some people go away from God. Some people stay in.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Church, but their heart is so locked they might as
well not even be there. It's about your heart. And Jesus,
Jesus is so funny. Why says the doors are locked
for fear of the Jewish ly And Jesus came and
stood among them.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
How did he do it? He picked the lock.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
See, grace will break in the back door, kick the
door down, Grace is a G.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Grace will come on.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
In, take on over, take your bread, break your bread,
change your life.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Jesus showed up and said peace, Grace is a G.
Touch somebody said grace is a G. Hashtag Grace is
a G.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Just any way, in peace be with you.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
But watch this, watch this.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
After he said this, he showed them his hands and
his side five wounds.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Five is the number of grace. Just remember that five
wounds in.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
His side, in his hands, in his feet, five wounds.
He showed him his hands, five fingers. He showed him
his hands where the nails, where the nails were. And
I wonder did they have a flashback, because the first word,
there are seven We're going to get them all.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
This is the first word that Jesus spoke from the cross.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's a statement, he said, Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
What a generous interpretation.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
When people insult me, I tell God, they know exactly
what they're doing. And if I do forgive somebody, it
takes me time. But while they were driving the nails,
I'm flashing back now from the cross. I wonder when
(21:42):
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, Father, forgive them, for.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
They know not what they do, not what they did.
But while they were.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Doing it, he had the presence of mine to forgive,
and he needed help. Even Jesus, perfect as he was,
human as he was, knew that he could not forgive
without the help of his father. So as I think
about forgiveness today, I wonder where you've been wounded, Jesus.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
That was in his hands.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
When they saw the hands, they realized, this is not
an impersonator, this is.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Not an impostor. They had to see something. They had to.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Presence, he said, look where the nails were. See my hands.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
See where they drove the spikes for between the bones
so they would not break, so that it would support
the weight of my body long enough for me to suffocate.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
See.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
See, it killed me, but I didn't stay dead. It
broke me, but I am that 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
(23:31):
cosmetic surgery so you can hide what you've been through
to try to get people to think you're perfect.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Christianity Jesus Christ didn't come to conceal the pain. He
came to reveal his glory, and he showed it in
his scar
Host
Steven Furtick
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