Luke chapter 24 is the basis of Christianity …it’s what we believe…
Luke chapter 24 is also how most of us react to what we believe.
I call this message ….Christianity in 3D……
Because, we have our moments of doubt, disbelief and discouragement …
We also have moments when we just don’t understand.
We have doubts and drift back into the world little by little ….
Then in disbelief …..we drift from God.
Then discouragement kicks in….and we have the woes as me syndrome.
Christianity in 3D is when Christ fades into the background and the world and self centerness stands out in our life….it becomes a picture of humanness…
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How could that possibly happen to those who followed Jesus Himself for over 3 years?
I’m sure that Christ told His disciples many times what He came to Earth to do…….I would say that He explained to them a lot more than what’s recorded here in the Bible.
Let’s look at some of that doubt, disbelief and discouragement and see if we see ourselves in the 3D of Christianity… and what we can do to help with it in our daily life.
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In the first few verses of Luke 24 tells us that several women came to the tomb on that resurrection morning of our Lord.
Vesre 3 says they… found not the body of the Lord Jesus and they were much perplexed.
Even the angles that they saw at the tomb that morning said .. in verse 5
Why seek ye the living among the dead?..... He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,….. Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again……
verse 8 says And they remembered his words…OH Yeah…but, where is He?
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Then in….Verse 10… Mary Magdalene, and Joanna and other women ran and told these things to the apostles and the Bible says…….. in verse 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not
It was disbelief …it was doubt….
Look at verse 12 ….Peter ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
The ones who were closest to the Lord were the ones who doubted the most………
But you know…Those who doubt most, and yet work to overcome their doubts, turn out to be some of Christ’s strongest disciples don’t they?
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llustration: A man and his dog are walking along the beach when they meet a guy coming by.
The owner of the dog was proud of what his dog could do.
So he says to the guy, "Watch this." The man tosses a stick far out into the ocean and the dog runs on top of the water, fetches the stick and runs back.
The guy shacks his head in disbelief. The guy throws the stick two more times and his dog would run on top of the water and fetch it every time.
Finally, the man ask the guy, "Did you notice anything unusual?" The guy said,
"Your dog can’t swim can he?"
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Verse 13 Luke 24 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlong 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him
These 2 disciples where probably on their way home to Emmaus which was about 7 miles from Jerusalem.
They were talking about the things that had happen over the past few days concerning Jesus….His arrest…..and crucifixion.
They had walked that road many times from Jerusalem to Emmaus but this time it was different.
They were walking home in discouragement rather than then walking home excited and happy talking about the things Jesus had taught them.
Then Jesus Himself drew near but, they didn’t recognize Him and walk with them…..and ask...what are you talking about and why are you so sad?...and they could have said….man where have you been?
Haven’t you heard the news about Jesus of Nazareth. That was mighty in deed and how we hoped he would have redeemed Israel…
Folks…Jesus did redeemed Israel and the whole world...He paid the price of sin and death.
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But they were looking for Jesus to save them from the Roman empire…..they were looking for Him to save them from human suffering….. Make life a bed of roses.
Things haven’t changed much, have they? ……We still want the same.
We want a Saviour who will make life a bed of roses, who will take away all our problems and worries.
We want resurrection without death; we want victory in our life without a battle …..
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ILLU: Heard of a Sunday class that was asked the question.
In your time of discouragement, what is your favorite Scripture?
A young man said, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want Psalm 23:
A middle age woman said, God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
Another woman said, In this world you shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome this world. John 16:33
Then old Mr. John who was pushing 90 years old, with head of white hair stood up with as much strength as he could said: and it came to pass 85 times in the Bible.
The class started to laugh a little thinking that old Mr. John lack of memory was finally getting the best of him.
When the snickering stopped, he said.
At 30 I lost my job with six hungry mouths and a wife to feed.
I didn’t know how I would make it.
At 40 my eldest son was killed overseas in the war. …..That almost got me.
At 50 my house burned to the ground. Nothing was saved …we had to start over.
At 60 my wife of 40 years got cancer. It slowly ate away at her. We cried together many a night on our knees in prayer.
At 65 she died. I still miss her today. The agony I went through in each of these situations was unbelievable.
I wondered where God was ….But each time I looked in the Bible I saw one of those 85 verses that said, and it came to pass.
I felt that God was telling me, my pain and my circumstances were also going to pass ……….and that God would get me through it…..and He did…and those things came to pass.
Those bad times in our life will come to pass too….because God is our refuge and strength.
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But those 2 disciples didn’t recognize Jesus walking beside them...because the Bible says in verse 16…...But their eyes were holden that they should not know him
The Bible also says in
Mark 16:12 ... he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
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Why didn’t they recognize Him?
It was so that they might be in the same position as us today.
Live by faith and not by site.
We may not recognize Him but he is right there.
Where 2 or more have gathered in my name….what does the Bible say?
He’s there in their mist.
He is in each of His children but sometimes we just can’t see Jesus in others… or we don’t want to see Christ in others.
Lot of Folks spend more time judging others and never recognize Jesus inside of them.
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I believe that’s why the Bible says in Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
You see...as we walk this road while we are here on this Earth..we are not alone...Jesus didn’t leave us alone.
He left us the promise of the Father, the Comforter, and the Holy Spirit. That lives within each of the ones that accept Him as their Saviour.
And of course he works within us to help us along the way ……and will forever
But He comes in different forms and sometime we don’t recognize them. He comes as a friend, Pastor, Preacher, brother sister...anyone who has accepted Jesus and He lives inside them.
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So when we do have our times of discouragement, doubt, and disbelief and someone happens along or….the phone rings out of the blue and someone with some encouraging words on the other end…. A brother or sister in Christ ……it’s not by chance….it’s God’s gift….every child of God has somebody…if they don’t God will send somebody. When we do get discouraged, or have doubt or disbelief…and someone comes along we should say….Jesus is that you?
When we here a message from a preacher and it even steps on our toes…...We should say JITY
When we hear a message on the radio and it almost has our name in the message. ...JITY
When a song speaks to our heart and gives comfort and peace...JITY
Have you ever meet a stranger and began to talk about how good God is and a chill ran down your back bone? ………..JITY
When we accept Christ as our Saviour...a super natural thing happens at that moment….
God sends the Holy Spirit to live inside us...that’s what Jesus promised to all that would accept Him.
That’s the reason He said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee……..No one or anything can take that from you.
The Bible says that Salvation is of the Lord.
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Jesus left us the Comforter…the Holy Spirit…that protects…speaks to us.. seals us….and He lives in each of His children…..we are indwelled….set apart….we are signed seal and waiting to be delivered by Jesus!
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the SHADOW of death, I will fear no evil: WHY?.......BECAUSE ….for thou art with me; .....thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
We are going to get discouraged…we are going to have doubt…..we are sometimes going to be in disbelief.
Psalm 46:1 says….God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Reach out to Jesus….reach out to others who belong to Him.
Love in Christ Jesus, Ronnie Miller www.themillersbiblestudy.com
