THREE TRAVELERS,
THREE ROADS
Isaiah 35:8-10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: TREEMENNDOUS Puppy For Sale--$5,000.
1. A salesman was asked by a little boy how to sell his puppy. He told him to put out advertising and make the price a little high so he could negotiate to the price he wanted.
2. The salesman passed the boy’s house the next day and saw a large sign saying, “TREEMENNDOUS Puppy For Sale--$5,000. The salesman thought, “He’ll never get an offer asking that much!” But returning home that night he was shocked to see a "SOLD" written across it in big letters.
3. The salesman couldn’t believe it. This kid couldn’t have sold the dog for $5,000. His curiosity got the best of him and he rang the boy’s doorbell. The boy came to the door and the salesman blurted, "Son you didn’t really sell that dog for $5,000 now, did you?"
4. The boy replied, "Yes, sir, I did and I want to thank you for all your help." The salesman said, "How in the world did you do it?"
5. The boy replied, "Oh, it was easy. I just took two $2,500 cats in exchange!"
B. THESIS
1. CHRISTIANITY IS A ROAD
a. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me,” John 14:6. Jesus said salvation was following Him. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me,” Luke 9:23.
b. Earthly roads are symbols of the heavenly road that leads us to salvation. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,” Matt. 7:13,14.
c. John the Baptist came to “prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled, every hill and mountain laid low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough places smooth. And all mankind shall see God’s salvation” Luke 3:2-4, (Isa. 40:3-5).
d. Isaiah spoke of a “highway of holiness” that only the Redeemed would be able to walk on (Isa. 35:8-10). This is our spiritual journey on Earth, we are walking on a Highway God has provided.
2. DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE JOURNEY
a. Not all of the trip is identical; we travel on different segments of the road with different purposes for our growth.
b. Today we’re going to look at 3 different segments of the road mentioned in Scripture and learn from 3 different travelers traveling on those different segments. The title for this message is “THREE TRAVELERS, THREE ROADS.”
c. We’re going to look first at the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-9), then the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:13-35) and finally the Gaza Road (Acts 8:26-39), and see how the three different kinds of people on each road found a further revelation of Jesus Christ.
I. THE DAMASCUS ROAD (ACTS 9:1-9)
A. THE ROAD OF CONVERSION
1. Paul didn’t know what to call Christians, so he was going to Damascus to look for, “Any of this Way” (Acts 9:2). Paul was traveling to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them bound to Jerusalem.
2. When he met Jesus Christ, he was transformed. The Damascus Road Paul was traveling on represents the road of conversion.
3. How could you describe his conversion?
a. Sudden.
b. Dramatic.
c. Without warning.
d. Revolutionary.
B. THE ACCOUNT OF PAUL’S CONVERSION
1. Paul met Jesus Christ. Jesus said to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting: it is hard for you to kick against the pricks.’” This last comment represents Paul’s resistance to the dealings of the Holy Spirit. This is a common characteristic of those who begin their journey on the Damascus Road.
2. The Bible relates what happened next: “And trembling and astonished Paul said, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” And the Lord said to him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told you what you must do,” Acts 9:4-6.
3. A revolution followed. Paul’s life completely changed course and direction. He began to go the opposite direction he had gone before. This is what repentance means, to turn about, to reverse course.
C. HUMAN AGENTS NEEDED TO AID CHANGES
1. God chose Ananias to pray for Paul, instruct and baptize him. This is the human instrument God used to put Paul on the right track. We cannot say he was the “soul-winner” but he is more of the discipler, who comes along side and helped Paul get on the right track of following Christ.
2. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT ANANIAS? At first he was:
a. Skeptical. Didn’t believe Paul was converted.
b. Reluctant. Didn’t want to go to Paul.
c. Scared. Felt he might lose his life.
d. Influenced by gossip. He knew what people were saying about Paul. “I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem,” Acts 9:13.
3. Many can be used of God, even if we’re not the soul-winner. God wants to use us to be the discipler, like Ananias. Don’t underestimate the calling of the disciple.
4. This humble servant named Ananias helped turn Paul into one of the greatest soul winners the world has ever seen and his name was made famous and put in sacred writ because of his most famous pupil!
5. It’s sad but true, that many Christians have never gotten off the Damascus Road segment. As one writer put it, “Most Christians have stopped somewhere between Calvary and Pentecost.” They’ve never gone on to greater experiences in the Lord.
II. THE EMMAUS ROAD (LUKE 24:13-35).
A. CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE TRAVELING ON THIS ROAD
1. Two people were returning home after the Passover (the first Easter). Notice the characteristics of these people:
a. They were discouraged.
b. They were disoriented about their beliefs or purpose.
c. Blinded to Jesus.
d. They had suffered a setback in their walk due to troubles and trials.
2. They are like people who have followed Jesus for years but only on a more superficial basis. Situations had arisen that only a miracle could solve. They were having trouble believing God would come through for them. They were in a crisis and couldn’t see a way out. They were on the Emmaus Road!
B. THE ROAD OF NEW REVELATION OF JESUS
1. Jesus chose to accompany them, to walk with them in their moment of defeat, and to listen to their problems.
2. The Emmaus Road is the road of a new revelation of Jesus. When Jesus came to them, He opened the scriptures to them. “Slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all of his prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).
3. As with us, at first they did not perceive that Jesus was traveling with them. But the Bible tells how He came to reveal Himself to them; “It came to pass as he (Jesus) sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it and break and gave to them. And their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished out of their sight” (Luke 24:30-31).
4. Jesus is always revealed by the breaking of the Bread of Life – the Word, and prayer.
C. THE ROAD OF NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS
1. The Emmaus Road is not only a road of new revelation of Jesus, it is the Road of a new relationship with Jesus!
2. As the disciples had travelled with Jesus, they had not been aware, but His presence with them had been having a subtle effect on them: it had been warming their hearts!
3. When we travel the Road to Emmaus, we may begin with hearts that are cold, but they will not stay that way. On this Road you don’t realize that you’re not traveling alone until the full revelation of Jesus hits you, then you become aware that He had been traveling with you all along.
4. Then you begin wondering why you had ever let the devil torment you with troubling thoughts; when you have Jesus with you what is there to be afraid of?
5. The “BURNING HEART” is a new on-fire exposure to the presence of Jesus. You know, when you get close to a fire, you begin to be warmed by it. So it is with Jesus, except that the fire “warmth” is not on the outside, but on the inside. This signifies the presence of Christ within is a renewed presence of Christ, i.e., fellowship with Christ in the inner sanctum of the spirit.
6. This is the destination of the Emmaus Road, where it leads to; to “burning hearts,” set aflame by the presence and fellowship of the Lord of Glory; for our God is an unquenchable fire! Let us draw near and be warmed in His presence!
III. THE GAZA ROAD (ACTS 8:26-39)
A. THE MAN ON THIS ROAD
1. Last is the Gaza Road, the Road of Evangelism. The soul-winner in this example was a deacon, who is also called Philip. What do we know about Philip?
a. Bold.
b. Obedient.
c. Filled with the Spirit. He made things happen.
d. He was sensitive.
2. Philip had just been involved in a series of outreaches in Samaria and was having good success. He must have thought God was mistaken the first time God asked him to leave Samaria. I wonder if he thought it might be the devil, trying to get him to stop the meetings at Samaria.
3. But you see, God is bigger and wiser than us. Our measure of what is important is not necessarily God’s. It probably took some stretching for Philip to agree to go out toward the desert.
4. The Road to Gaza is definitely a road of stretching. It is not a road of our own choosing. We sometimes feel we’re already in the middle of God’s will. But God wants you to try something new, something that challenges your faith, of trying out gifts you didn’t know you had.
5. This road seems like it’s in the wrong place; it doesn’t make sense to travel that direction. What can be accomplished by doing that, we ask? Why would God ask me to do that? It defies logic! Ah, that’s the point! God cannot do the miraculous in ordinary ways; He does it in wilderness deserts or on the Sea of Galilee, or down the back alley of some town.
B. THE GAZA ROAD IS A ROAD OF ENLARGED MISSION
1. What do we know about the Ethiopian eunuch?
a. From African descent, i.e. Ethiopia.
b. A man of learning and influence.
c. The Minister of Finance to a wealthy court.
d. Seeking salvation.
2. Perhaps he had spent a long time seeking and drawing near to the God of Israel. We know he was a eunuch, which meant he was barred from full membership within Judaism (Deut. 23:1). But he was so determined to find God, that he had gone to Jerusalem (was not given entrance to the temple), and on his way home was reading the Book of Isaiah.
3. This man was like another Saul of Tarsus. He evidently went back to Ethiopia with his newfound faith and won many Ethiopians to Christ. The Ethiopian Church is large and strong today and has withstood the assaults of Muslim armies and centuries of oppression.
4. All because Philip took a break from his Samaria meetings to go where it didn’t make any sense to go. His obedience started a revival that has lasted far longer than the Samarian one. What seemed illogical and a deadend was the very spot God chose to start a 2,000 plus year revival that has influenced a continent!
5. What’s the lesson? When God decides to sidetrack what you’re doing to have you do something that sounds crazy, He’s probably putting you on the Gaza Road, to be stretched. God wants you to strike out on something new that challenges your faith and gets you out of your rut. He wants you to try out gifts you haven’t tried before.
6. It’s a little unsettling, but it will add new life to your life and your walk with God, and will take you to new heights you haven’t attained before.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
1. My first assignment 35 years ago was to an inner city parish in Washington, D.C. Money was stolen from my room; the garage mechanic said my gas tank may have been sabotaged, destroying my engine; one weekend we had 34 windows broken in the school. When a new pastor was sent, the parish held a party and some teenagers left and started a rumble.
2. The civil disturbance unit of the Metropolitan Police had to be called out. One of my priest classmates going to the hospital to visit a sick parishioner, had his car stoned at a stop sign.
3. A group of us in the parish realized that we were either going to make the church into a fortress - more bars on the windows, etc. – or we were going to reach out and try to change the lives of the young people who lived around the church. So we announced a retreat weekend in the country. It was going to be free to any teenager who wanted to attend. The announcement was a stepping out in faith on our part, since we actually had no money for this event. We simply trusted God would provide the means.
4. Our hearts were touched by the generous response of people. A bus company donated transportation. A priest classmate donated some funds. A group of monks gave us food, etc. The retreat team meanwhile was praying and studying together. We each wrote and reviewed witness talks. The big weekend came and we all found ourselves at this beautiful church camp on a wide river. We enjoyed dinner together; had recreation; a witness talk, prayer session and then "bed time". I fell sound asleep.
5. Many of the teens got up and created chaos. They raided the kitchen and had raw hamburger fights. They threw heads of lettuce at each other. They flooded the bathrooms and broke out screens. The boys raided the girls cabin at 2:00 AM. Next morning the adults were devastated; and a lot of the teens upset. We decided we would have to call the bus back immediately and leave before the place was burned down.
6. Then one man said, "Let’s separate the boys and girls into their cabins and talk to them. It was the only positive suggestion. I will never forget the look of the boys when I walked into their cabin with a parishioner. Their faces looked like hardened steel. They had lived with violence and heard every kind of reprimand. They were ready for anything. At a loss for words, I said the most intelligent thing I may ever have said. I turned to the layman who made the suggestion and said, "Go ahead, Bob."
7. He looked at me, the priest, puzzled; but then he spoke. "You men did a lot of horrible things last night. You upset the women and the girls. You destroyed food shared with us by poor people. You destroyed property that good people trusted us with. You created a mess. But there is one thing you didn’t do and one thing you can’t do." This got their attention. They wondered what they hadn’t and couldn’t do. He continued, "No matter how badly you act, no matter how much grief you cause, you can’t make me stop loving you. I care about you. When you need me I will be there. Nothing will change that."
8. The boys expressions changed completely. They had no defense against this unconditional love. They begged to stay. They promised to be good. We gave them another chance. They spent the afternoon working with the maintenance man. We had no more problems with conduct. We received complete cooperation.
9. The retreat turned out to be very grace filled - all because one man knew what it was like to love others as God loves us!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. We have looked at 3 of the different roads which make up the Highway of Holiness. We’ve looked at the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-9), the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:13-35) and finally the Gaza Road (Acts 8:26-39), and the three different kinds of people on each road and the new revelations, relationships, and experiences they found with the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Do you find yourself on one of these roads? Which one would it be? What are your challenges? Can you now see the benefits of being on your road?
3. Would you like prayer for grace to make it to the end of the road you’re on? Raise your hands.
