First Watch: Losing Hope

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here, and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways. [00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen in. Thank you, everybody. I appreciate it so much. Welcome to church. We want to welcome in all of you joining online from all around the world. John in Sarasota, from Tanya over in Corsicana, to friends in Mineral Wells, at Abilene and Fort Worth, our many friends in the mission field. We want to say with a very, very warm welcome from High Ridge family, we're glad that you're here. Come on, High Ridge family, welcome them in. We're glad you could have a little church to come to and you can hang out with us, even if it is only in the. In the interwebs. But we're glad that you're here. So if you want to follow along in your Bible today, God's got something important to speak to us. So we're going to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. And as we're turning there, I want to say I am overwhelmed by your generosity. Many of you have served and been so faithful you volunteered. Many of you have given incredible amounts of finances so that we could put off some amazing events. And our room smells a little different today because Friday night was Beast Feast. Come on, somebody. Let me just tell you, there are a lot of things we will never share with you because what happens at Beast Feast stays Beast Feast. And we believe God is doing incredible things that if you have. If you've never experienced what it's like to be in a room full of hundreds of men on their face before the Lord, you. Only the Holy Spirit could do that. God's doing some incredible things. Let me just say thank you for your generosity. None of this is possible without a lot of people standing behind us volunteering and serving and giving faithfully and financially of tithes and offerings. We're not some rich church. A lot of people believe that you're worth investing in. And I want to just say thank you. Thank you so much for being a very generous church. If you've never. If you've never given here, let me just tell you, there's a lot of easy ways to do that. I had a gentleman stop me last week, and he said, you said thank you for your generosity. I don't even know how to give here. Like, okay, there are Some offering boxes at the back of the room called giving stations. You're more than welcome to put whatever gift that you have if you want to honor the Lord, if tithes and offerings, that's the easy way to do that. You can also give online if you'd like, on highrichlv.com give. It's an easy way to do that. There's also an envelope right in front of you with a QR code. So if you want to give through your phone, it's easy to do that. But we're not a church that passes offering plates. We don't do that stuff. We just believe that God can speak to your heart, that you will be obedient to whatever he tells you to do. And we appreciate the fact that you're generous and we are able to do some incredible things because of that. So thank you so much. That's awesome. Luke, chapter 24. I want to continue on with our series called First Watch. This is dealing with what happens on the same week after Easter when Jesus gets up out of the grave. What is happening in the world? And the disciples that were on the very first watch, where do we find them in their walk with God? Where do we find them in terms of their emotions and, and their daily life? What are, what are we looking at? What is different about those that were on First Watch versus us today? And the good news is there's not much difference at all. They're. They're human, human, human beings walking through some incredibly traumatic and dramatic circumstances. They're dealing with anxiety. They're dealing with fear. They're dealing with great doubt. And here In Luke chapter 24, we see they're dealing with the loss of hope. And I love that the Gospels don't hide that humanity from us. They show us that even those that were closest to Jesus, those that had experienced his miracles firsthand, still had to walk through some junk, still had to walk through dark days. They were still dealing with stuff. I love that. The Bible doesn't hide that from me. It gives me hope. And in Luke 24, we find a couple of disciples that are walking away from Jerusalem. They're. They're processing through their grief. They're. They're dealing with their trauma. And they're. They're in, in the middle of a private conversation. And then Jesus steps in on the road. And Jesus steps in on purpose. He interrupts their conversations. He's wanting them to invite him in to their trauma. And there's something very important for us to see about the way that Jesus does this. Jesus longs to be a part of what you're walking through. He longs to be invited into our struggles. But unfortunately, many people say things like, I've got this on lock. I've got this handle, Jesus, I'm all good. You handle the big stuff. There's a war in Ukraine right now. And get that Hormuz straight back open. For the price of all to come down, I got this. I'll take care of my marriage. You take care of the big stuff. Unfortunately, Jesus wants a personal relationship with you, and not just on your wins, not just on the great days where you say, I want to just give God the glory for the fact that I just won the Super Bowl. More than. More than that, he wants to be there on your losses. He wants to be there when you're struggling, when things are not okay. I think if we can be honest today about where we at, we'll find that this scripture comes alive, that it brings us hope. It brings us right into the story. It helps us to see how important it is to allow Jesus to encourage us, to strengthen us, to give us the things that we need to get back on mission. So if you understand the story and what is happening in the city of Jerusalem, Jesus has been crucified. And now three days later, he's gotten up out of the grave. And not just Jesus, But Matthew, chapter 25 tells us there are many of the old saints that have gotten up from the graves, too. They're walking through the city. People are seeing angels. There's rumors flying around that Jesus is alive. People that have been dead for maybe hundreds or even a thousand years are getting up and walking through the streets. It's kind of nuts. It's not just, oh, we're having a parade in downtown Longview. Like, this is, like, for real a hotbed of resurrection activity. Angelic things were happening. It is the one place on the globe to be in this moment. And yet we find disciples of Jesus walking away. Why? Because they're hurt. They're full of anxiety and doubt, and they're having to process. And like many of us, instead of pressing into Jesus, instead of wanting to see, is it true? Is Jesus alive? Is that great hope that we had, has that really come to fruition? Like many of us, they start isolating and pulling away. They pull back from their community. They pull back from their purpose. They pull back from their mission. Why? Because they lost hope. And the good news is, Jesus doesn't wait for them to change direction. He meets them where they are. And here's the. Here's the even better news. He doesn't leave them there. He sends them back on mission. Now, many people would say, jesus, you don't understand. I appreciate you showing up in my grief and the fact that my marriage is not doing well or my finances are messed up, my kids are messed up, or my grandkids. I've got a lot of. I appreciate you showing up. Thank you for helping me. But I can't do what you're asking me to do right now because I'm struggling. I just need some time to process. Jesus does not give them time. He says, get to work. Come on. And they respond. One of the greatest things about this story is we get to see Jesus's. It's not theologically correct to say he has a dark sense of humor, but that's how we understand those words. Jesus has a very morbid sense of humor. Why? Because every one of his friends are freaked out. They watched him get tortured and die. And he shows up making jokes. He shows up with jump scares and freaking people out. Read the stories, like, read the Gospels. Understand this. Jesus shows up, appearing at one point as a gardener. That's funny. He shows up at another point walking through walked locked doors and walking through walls. That's hilarious to me. We find Jesus doing things that he had never done at any other time. It's not just walking on water and healing the lame and sick. Like, this is Jesus just having fun with the fact that they're freaked out? Why? Because it shows that death is not as big of a deal to Jesus as it is to us. It doesn't freak him out. He's made sport of it. He's conquered death and hell in the grave. He's conquered our sin once and for all. And now he's celebrating. He's having fun. He breaks in on his disciples and says, peace be with you. And they freak out. And in this moment, he shows up on the road and he disguises himself so that they don't see him. By the way, this is not to deceive them. This is not deception. This is an invitation. Can I be part of your struggle? Now? I'm not sure who Jesus would disguise himself as, but I. I had to think in. In my own mind, like, if you had a chance to, like, be somebody else just for a few moments, like, wouldn't you like to look like Denzel Washington for a little bit? I don't know. Just like, who would you. Who would you, like? Just ask yourself as, like, is that Denzel Washington right Now, no, that's Jesus. Like, that would be hilarious to me. But Jesus disguises himself, and then through the process of them inviting him into their drama, he begins to reveal himself a little bit more and a little bit more and a little bit more. And that same process, by the way, is still true for me and you. I want to show you how Jesus reveals himself in the midst of our anxiety and worries and times where it's not okay. So Scripture picks it up in Luke chapter 24, verse 13. He says, now, that same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, and they were talking with each other about everything that had happened. And as they talked, look at this. Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him. And Jesus asked them, what are you guys talking about? And they stood still, their faces downcast. I love that Luke captures this, because it shows us like they're not in the greatest of places. They need Jesus to interrupt them. And I want you to notice the tone of what they say in response to Jesus question. What are you guys talking about? Notice the edge they have to it. Why? Because they're hurt. And they say this back to Jesus. Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened here in these days? And I love Jesus sense of humor. What things? If you cannot see the hilarity in that, I can't help you. Like, that's awesome. What are you guys talking about? Talking about Jesus. Who is that? What things? And they say this. We're talking about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet. He was powerful in word and deed before God and all the people and. And the chief priests and our rulers, they crucified him. But. And I want you to see these next three words. This is what was sticking out to me and burning in my spirit as I was praying for you and putting this together. Notice his response. We had hoped. We had hoped. This shows you exactly where. I love that he's honest. It shows you right where he is. We. We had hoped. We put all our hope in Jesus. And it seems like he let me down. He. He didn't do what I thought he was going to do. I thought he would come down from the cross. I thought surely he would reveal Himself. And all the miracles and the signs and the wonders. I thought he was the one. I've lost my hope. We had hope that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And in addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning. But they didn't find his body. And they. They came back and told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And then some of our companions, they went to the tomb. They found it just as the women had said. They didn't see Jesus. And look at this. Jesus said to them, how foolish you are. Like, excuse me, I met you 12 seconds ago. And Jesus is already pulling out the Mr. T. Pitying the fools. Some of you have no idea what I'm talking about. He says, how foolish you are and. And how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things that enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself. He reminds them of what they've been reading their whole life. What? Why is that so important? Because sometimes what we know and what we believe, what we put our faith in, we forget when we're struggling. And instead of the things that we've proclaimed and we've worshiped and we've believed and we've ingrained it to our memory, we start being led by what we feel. What we feel has a tendency to drown out what we know to be true. And Jesus said, come on, what are you. What are you talking about? You know this stuff. You've studied it your whole life. Don't you remember what Moses said? Don't you remember the prophets? Don't you remember the Old Testament? The things that you've memorized since you were a kid? They all point to the Messiah. And they're all very clear that the Messiah had to die so that he could be raised again on the third day for the forgiveness of your sins. You know these stories. Everything points to the Messiah. It's all about Jesus. I love that Jesus reminds them of what they're supposed to know, in spite of what they feel. And as they approached the village, Jesus continued on as if he was going to go farther. But they urged him strongly. No, Stay with us. So Jesus went in. He went in. He went in. Jesus goes where he's invited. There's some important weight to those words. They invited him in, not just into their conversation. Now they're inviting him into their home. Jesus loves to go where he's invited. He went in, and when he was at the table, he took bread. He gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. And then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And then Jesus disappeared from their sight. If you don't think that's funny. I don't know what to tell you because that's awesome. They're like, omg, that is not Denzel. That is. And Jesus, you know, Jesus smiled. He's like, boom. Because that's what I would have done. I might have even done the finger guns or the gotcha, you know, that kind of thing. And Jesus disappeared. And look what happens. They look at each other. They say, we're not. Our hearts burning within us while he talked to us on. On the road. And when he opened those scriptures to us saying, I knew the moment he started talking, something started stirring in my spirit. I. I was. I was wondering, did you feel it too? But something was changing. Something was stirring while he was talking to us on the road. And when he opened the scriptures to us. Jesus still loves to open scriptures to people that are willing to invite him in to their drama, to their trauma, to their anxiety, to their doubts, to their dark days. And the scripture is still open by Jesus to people that are willing to invite him in. And then it says they got up at once and returned to Jerusalem. It goes on to say, they're screaming out, it is true. I love that they moved. They moved from we had hoped to. It is true. And the only thing that was different was their revelation of who Jesus is. There's some wonderful things that we see in this story that speak to us today. Things that tell us about Jesus's personality so we could understand him better, so we could know him better. And that really is the heartbeat of not just this message, but the heartbeat of our church. And I want you to know him better. I want the scriptures to come alive to you. I want you to see yourself in the story. And I want you to, even more than that, hopefully see Jesus in the story. Jesus shows us how he approaches people that have lost hope, how he approaches people that are struggling, how he approaches people that are willing to be honest enough to say, I'm not. Okay, I had some hopes. Here's the first of three things I wanna share with you. If you're a note taker, you might wanna write this down because you're gonna need this. At some point, you might walk in this place today and say, pastor, if my life is going as great as it has ever been, this is the most incredible week of my life. Keep living. You're gonna need this. And this is gonna help you be able to override what you feel with what you know. Here's what we know to be true. Number one, Jesus loves to walk with broken people. So walk with Them, because to tell the truth, we're all broken. All of us walk through rough times. We have difficult days. We have things that we can't figure out. We have things that we. We're not processing through. Right? We have times where our feelings overwhelm what we should know. We all have parts of our lives that are broken. You're not perfect. Nobody in this church is. There's only one perfect person. He was perfect enough to do it for you. We're broken people. The good news is Jesus loves to walk with broken people. Loves to walk into broken situations. So walk with him. Invite him in. And I love that when Jesus asked them, what are you guys talking about? They were honest enough to tell him the truth. They say, we had hoped. It shows us something important about these disciples. These are not people that are lost. These are not people that have even lost faith. Faith. These are people that have lost hope. There's a big difference between losing faith and losing hope. And they'll say, I don't believe in Jesus because he didn't do what I thought he was going to do. No, no, no. They believe in Jesus. They're just saying, I lost my hope, not my faith. They've lost hope. And so they find themselves walking away from Jerusalem, processing through their grief with. With one another. And Jesus meets them there on the road to Emmaus. So for those of you that know my story, know that I am on my second marriage and my final one, by the way, but when I was 18 years old, there were some people that loved me enough to tell me the truth that I did not want to hear. They told me, you do not need to be getting married at 18. And I'm like, all you need is love. You guys don't know. You're old. Like, we're trying to tell you the truth. You don't know what you're talking about. Like, I believe in the ancient philosophy that the Beatles have given us that all you need is love. What are you gonna do for work? That's not important right now. How are you gonna support a family? Love. That's all you need. They're like, you don't know what love is. You're a teenager. And so having to struggle through the loss of a marriage, having to watch my young family burn down, having to watch my wishes and dreams fall apart. I know what it's like to lose hope. I know what it's like to lose hope that things will ever change. And I know what it's like for people that are well meaning to try to tell you things that are just dumb. And they'll tell you things like, you know what? Just keep living. You'll be fine. Like, cool. I didn't plan on dying today, but, you know, I guess that could always be worse, you know, oh, tomorrow's gonna come, the sun's gonna come up, and you'll get over it. Here's what I know. Please hear me. Time heals nothing. Time heals nothing. And as we're reading this story, it's not just time that begins to do a work in these two men walking away from Jerusalem. And it's not just walking. Just keep on walking, keep on walking. You're going to be fine. The healing doesn't come in the walking. Let me say it this way. Walking through life doesn't bring healing. Walking with Jesus does. When you invite Jesus into the conversation, oh, just give a little bit of time, you'll be fine. No, no, no, you'll get bitter. That's what happens. You get. You get more broken. You find better ways to cover it up. You become hardened, you become rebellious. You become a biter. Time doesn't heal anything. If you don't. If you don't deal with it with Jesus, you just become better at hiding it. But thankfully, Jesus meets them where they are and they invite him in to their doubts and anxieties. They invite them in to their situation that they're having a process through. And they listen. Why do we have to walk through those seasons of life? Why does a good God allow me to have to deal with those moments of life? They all serve a purpose. You might not see it at that exact moment, but there's a God given purpose to every season. That doesn't mean God caused it to happen, but God would allow things to happen so that you'll invite him in. It's an opportunity for you to invite him in. See, most people find Jesus. They meet Jesus in seasons of disappointment, not success. And I would venture a guess that every single person in this room that's had a relationship with Jesus didn't find him at the time of, you were on the highest mountain when life was going great. No, you didn't. You found him when you realized you needed him. You needed a savior. We meet Jesus and some of our greatest disappointments. And here's where Jesus shows up, by the way. He doesn't force himself into that situation. He asks them, what are you talking about? Can I be part of this conversation? Can I be part of this process? And the good news is they allow him to be most of us would have said, you know what? Mind your business. We're talking here. This is an ab conversation. See your way out. Remember that? Middle school, nobody. Ab conversation. See your way out. They invite him into the conversation and this is where the miracle begins to happen. Jesus loves to walk with broken people, so walk with them and be honest about what you're walking through. Here's the second key that we see about Jesus personality that still speaks to us so prevalently. Number two, Jesus loves to reveal himself in stages, so don't rush him. Don't you wish that Jesus would just tell you all the things he's going to do with your life and tell you the next step all the time? I really wish he would do that. Jesus is like, no, you don't. Why? Because then you wouldn't do it. Then it'd freak you out if you knew the plans that God has for you, by the way, they're good plans. Plans to prosper you, plans to. Plans to bless you. They're good plans. It's a perfect plan for your life. But. But if he told you, you'd be like, that ain't me. And he'd tell you, yeah, that's me through you. I love the fact that Jesus doesn't reveal himself all at once because you couldn't handle it. But he reveals himself in stages and segments and invitations for us to go deeper with him. He's not gonna force you, but he reveals himself in stages and at just the right time. Jesus knew the perfect time to interrupt them right in their moment of losing hope. Jesus shows up on that road and asked him a question. Jesus is the God of perfect timing. Even when you think it's already passed over, it's already past, done. God didn't do anything. I would show you some scriptures that show you. Just when you think it's over and it's well past anything that could happen, that's when he shows up. Let me just remind you of Lazarus. They come and tell Jesus, your friend Lazarus is sick. He's like, yeah, I'm waiting on him to die. Oh, Lazarus is dead. Yeah, let's wait four days. It gets nice and stinky, then we'll go. That's Jesus shows up. Long past. People thought this is the last final moment, long past that. Because what we think is final is not final with him. He's the master of perfect timing. Even we don't understand it. Remind yourself at the wedding at Canaan, when Jesus turns water into wine just to freak Baptist out and his mother comes and tells him, they're out of wine. And he says, woman, my hour has what not yet come. I know the right time. He's the master of perfect timing. He knows the exact moment to interrupt you and see if you'll invite him in. Romans chapter five tells us this. At just the right. Somebody say the next word with me Time. At just the right time, when we were still powerless. Christ Jesus died for our sins and for our transgressions at just the perfect moment. Was the perfect moment. When I had so much power and I'm at the top of the game. No, when we were powerless and we had nothing. It's the perfect time for Jesus to step in. He's the master of perfect time. And he interrupts them at the perfect time. And every step leads to a deeper revelation of who Jesus is. A deeper revelation. Please hear me. Of who they were. Even though they had lost hope, they hadn't lost faith, they lost hope. And every step where Jesus gives an invitation that they determine, okay, you know what? We'll let him go a little bit closer, a little bit, a little bit deeper in the conversation with. I'll get a little closer to Jesus. Every single time that they follow Jesus's willingness to be invited with an invitation, they have a deeper revelation of who he is. And that process, by the way, is still. Is still tried and true for people like me and you. I want you to see the process, the revelation process with Jesus was this number one invitation. And then scripture and then generosity and then intimacy. Invitation. Jesus says, what are you talking about? And they invited him into the conversation. Are you the only one? Now there's an edge to it because they don't know who he is. But it says at that moment, later on, they say our hearts started burning inside of us. There's a revelation that this is not just a normal conversation. Something's beginning to happen inside of my heart. It starts with an invitation. Now, most people will never get to that point. They'll say, I'm dealing with stuff. God knows my heart. Yes. And he wants to change it. We invite him in, and there's a revelation that begins to happen. And then it comes through the scriptures. It says, beginning with the scriptures, with Moses and the prophets, Jesus begins to reveal how all those things testify about himself. Why is that so critical for us to see? Because many of us read this Bible looking for a revelation of who we are and miss the most important part. He says, all the scripture points, not to you, to him. And when you start reading the Bible with Jesus in mind, you'll take your walk with Christ from rookie level to the next level. Many people will read this Bible looking for inspiration. Where's that scripture about I can do all things through Christ? Where's that one? Because I need a new tattoo? Judas went and hanged himself. No, that one won't work. Where's the one that tells me that Jesus is going to make me wealthy? Where's the one that the athletes use? Where's that John 3:16 one? Where does that. John 3:16. But we'll, we'll look through this word looking for inspiration. We'll look through this word to give us a reason not, not to slap somebody. Like, it's, it's way more than that. He said all the scriptures point to, to Jesus. And as they were opening up these scriptures, it says our hearts were burning inside of us. He. He opened the scriptures. I have a deeper revelation of, of who he is. I'm not just reading the Moses and the prophets to define myself. I'm reading them to find him. And when you start looking to Jesus in the midst of your trauma and drama and anxiety and worries, something begins to change. You have a deeper revelation of who he is. It starts with invitation. It moves to Scripture. And at some point, believer, you're gonna have to read this book. I just want Jesus to reveal everything to me. That's why I read the Bible. I just skipped straight to revelation. Cool. You're going to be kind of confused if you think that you can just read the end of the Bible and you're going to get it. Like, no, you won't. There's a few things you're going to have to understand. Like, start with, start at the beginning. And then when you get bogged down, just skip it to the next part and keep going. Don't quit. But there are revelations about Christ in scripture that will help you to process through stuff. It's called rhema. The Word of God comes alive in the beginning was the Word. The Word is Jesus. It's the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the Word. The Bible is about him. It's not about you. It's about him, him, him, him, him, Him. And Jesus began to speak to them about how all the scriptures pointed to himself. And the light bulb comes on. Wow. And then it moves, by the way, to generosity and hospitality, where the conversation doesn't just stay on the road, it moves inside the home where they begin to treat him as a guest. They bring him closer in the ancient world, by the way, hospitality and generosity. The Way that we treated strangers, the way that we interacted with them was a true sign of morality. If you're a good person, you're going to serve people, you're going to take care of people, you're going to invite them into your home, you're going to feed people that maybe don't have a place to go or to sleep or, or to have something to eat. And Jesus was wondering, in the midst of your anxiety and drama and all the things that you're processing through, are you still willing to serve somebody else? Are you still willing to be generous? Are you still willing to give? When it feels like I don't have anything left to give, I'm walking through stuff right now. I, I, I can't be pouring out. I need something to pour in. Like, there's a beautiful process that's happening here. As they begin to serve Jesus unaware, there's a revelation that begins to happen in each of our hearts. If you're walking through something and you invite Jesus in, you begin to read his word asking him for help, Let me find you, Lord. And you begin to serve and you begin to become generous in spite of what you may be feeling. There's a deeper revelation of Jesus. He sees what is done in secret. He begins to reward you openly. He says, when you gave the cup of water, when you visited me in the jail, when you served me, you did those things to me unaware. You serve me. And there's a deeper revelation of Jesus on the other side of our generosity and our hospitality. And then it moves to intimacy where they sit down at the table and they're right next to one another and they're sharing a meal together and Jesus takes the bread and he blesses it. By the way, this is where we get praying for our food and blessing the food. We get it as a model for Jesus. That's the reason why it's important. You don't just have a moment of silence. That's for baseball games. That's for when somebody dies. No, no, we, we bless it. We say, thank you, Lord, for this food. Would you, would you bless these donuts? To the nourishment of my body. We claim your promise in Leviticus that the fat belongs to the Lord in Jesus name. No, there's a reason why we bless the food. There's, there's the intimacy that we have every single time that we eat. And Jesus blesses the food. He blesses it and he breaks it. And there's a, a deeper revelation of who Jesus is. Do you see the process. The Lord longs for us to invite him in to our grief, to our anxiety, to our depression, to our worries, to our concerns, to our anxiousness, to our issues. He wants to be part of your marriage. He wants to be part of your business. He wants to be part of your finances. He wants to be part of your relationship with your children and your grandchildren. And he wants to show you a deeper revelation of who he is in the process. Jesus loves to reveal himself in stages. So don't rush the process. Let me just say it this way. Jesus Christ is revealed to those who make room for Him. Make room for Him. Here's the last and final thing I'll share with you from Luke, chapter 24 that I think is so critical is that Jesus loves to send people in a different direction. So go. Jesus loves to send people in a completely different direction. And notice this in this story, that they're walking away from Jerusalem by the end of the story, they're walking right back. And by the way, at a time where it's not safe to be on that road. Why? Because they know who Jesus is. It's true. And if Jesus has just come back from, from the grave, you ain't scaring me with stuff. Remind yourself everything that is great is happening in Jerusalem. Where are they going? Away. Scripture tells us it's about seven miles away from Jerusalem. If you, if you study archeology or the history and you, if you look for Emmaus and ancient, ancient maps, you're not going to find it. Why? Because it barely even exists. They can't even agree on where it would be. And all the different places that are seven miles away from Jerusalem, they say it's nothing. There's nothing there. All those roads that would lead away are. They're all dead end roads. Which is still profound because it shows us that walking away from what God has called you to do, please hear me, is a dead end road. Processing through grief while you're walking away from community, walking away from purpose, walking away from what is happening. It's a dead end road. There's no healing there. But the good news is Jesus doesn't wait for them to change their mind. He meets them where they are, but he doesn't leave them where they are. He sends them back. And I think that's so important for us to recognize today that no matter what may have been done to you, no matter what you may be experiencing, there is no one in this room that is outside God's grace that God cannot use to send you back to your Life's mission to your importance. What God is destined for you to do. He doesn't wait for you to get it. All right? He says, go, get in community, get around my people, get back to mission. Get back on purpose. You have the truth. And they move from we had hoped to, it is true. Here's what we see in this great story, is that they weren't lost. They're just going the wrong way. And Jesus loves to walk with people that are going the wrong way, but he ain't gonna leave you going that direction. He tells them, turn around, let's go. He does it by the simple disappearing act. That was enough to set them on fire. Now, what is he essentially saying? It's your turn. What are you gonna do with this? What are you gonna do on your watch? I think many believers are in the same place. We've processed through stuff and we find ourselves drifting away, just like these two disciples did. When you get hurt by a church, when a pastor doesn't do what you think he should do, and when Christians treat you differently, it's really easy, really easy, very normal for us to want to pull back. When you see something that offends you, it's very, very likely that you're going to pull back. This is the attacks that the enemy has always done from the very beginning to Christians, just to get you lost in your feelings enough to get off your mission. It's called spiritual drift, by the way. It is the greatest thing that is attacking most of the believers in our country today. Spiritual drift. I'm okay. I'm good enough. I can just worship Jesus at home. I can do my thing. Jesus knows my heart. Here's the thing. Spiritual drift doesn't feel like rebellion. It feels like reasonable distance. It feels like it's reasonable to me to do this. But Jesus meets them where they are, begins to reveal himself. He does not leave them there. He doesn't say, you know what, it's okay, you guys just stay here for a while and process. No, no, no, no. He says, get back on that horse. Move. And they go from we had hoped to it is true. Let me just challenge you with something that the Lord put on my heart this week. And I'm just going to step on your toes one time, just once. This is it. If your relationship with Jesus hasn't changed your direction, you might still be on the same road. Has your walk with Jesus changed any part of your life? Has it made any difference whatsoever? That's a good question to ask yourself. Please, please hear me in Love, let me challenge you. My job. My job is to challenge you, to get you to see the potential that is inside of you. But if your walk with Jesus doesn't change anything about your life, you might still be on the same road. That doesn't mean you've lost faith. It means you've lost hope. You're walking away from what God's called you to do. Jesus loves you too much to leave you there. It's time to take a step. It's time to get back to community, get back to purpose, get back to your mission. Become who God has called you to be. We're gonna offer you several steps today, by the way. If you're here and you're like, you know what? Okay, what step do you want me to take? What is that? There's nobody on the same place. I don't know what the Lord is asking you to do specifically, but for some of you, like, we'll come to church just to be anonymous. Just want to walk in and just be anonymous. I'm just hoping that they sniff me and walk away, right? Please, nobody talk to me. I just want to come here, check the box. Give me just enough Jesus so I don't feel guilty for the rest of the week. Let me just tell you, I'm glad you're here. I'm so glad you're here. But you're worth more than that. And the Lord is speaking to you today and calling you to connect. Don't just drift, connect. It's on the other side of your obedience, your willingness to accept that invitation and take a step. They're going to find a deeper revelation of who Jesus is. It's what you're waiting on. So I'm gonna invite you today. If you wanna take the easiest step I will ever give. I'll give you two. The easiest steps ever. Like, easy. Like baby steps, remember? What about Bob? Baby steps to the sidewalk. Baby steps to. I'll give you the baby step. Like, okay, me and several members of our staff will be across the street in the youth building. I will have some donuts, some orange juice and some water for you. I'm not gonna ask you for money. I just wanna shake your hand and say, hello, how are you? That's as easy as I can make it for you. I'm gonna ask you to take a step, okay? A few steps to walk across a parking lot. I don't know if I can do that. Yes, you can. You're going to be fine. These guys walk seven miles. You can walk 100ft. You'll be fine. You'll be fine. Do you have a golf cart? If you'll write a check, I'll buy a golf cart. We'll have it here next week. It'll be fine. Whatever. But if you want to connect and not just be anonymous, I'd love to meet you. I'd love to shake your hand. You'd see, you're just as weird as the rest of us. It's not a competition. You're going to be fine. You'll love it here. That's it. I'm not gonna push anything off. I just want to meet you. Just to connect. Okay? That's as easy as I can make it. Also, if you're walking through something, you're struggling, you're like, I wish somebody would pray for me. I just don't know how to ask. I'm gonna give you the best prayer warriors that this church has. People that I know that when they pray, God does incredible things on there, but God listens to their prayers. They're gonna be lined up right across the very front of this stage at the end of this church. They are the elders of our church, as high as you can go. Like my bosses. They're gonna be right here and they would love to pray for you. Once again, that's your step. Nobody's gonna force you. We're not gonna come and grab you by the hand. We're not gonna do that. Not gonna put a bunch of oil on you unless you ask for it. Like, we could dump the whole thing if you want. Whatever you want. We just, we, we. We wanna pray for you. But that's your invitation. Some of you have been kicking the tires around here. Like, I think this needs to be my church home. God's leading me here. Great. Do more than think about it. Make a commitment. Put a ring on it. Commit to me. Let me commit to you. I will, Pastor you commit to being here and being part of this church family. Serve. Find your gifting, find your calling. Use it for more than just being a consumer. I'm here to contribute. I'm here to be a part of this church and defend it. Connect with my church family. How do I do that? That's in our third service. It's called our growth track class. We would love to see you there. It happens at 12 o'. Clock. It's over there in the youth building. You can go grab something really quick to eat and come right back. And we would love to walk you through what our church believes and where your place is. I'M not going to ask you for blood. We don't want your money. But you need to connect. So if this is your church home, commit to us and we'll commit to you. But make it official for others. You've never allowed the Lord to be the Lord of your finances. You've never given a single dime to the Kingdom of God, never supported the church, never supported the body of Christ. Let me just tell you. Let me challenge you. Give. Give something. Start today. I want to challenge you with one thing. Give it one year of your life where you honored God with the first and the best of your paycheck. I want to challenge you. You would be shocked what God can do when you start putting him first. More than just with your words. Put your money where your mouth is. Honor God with the first and the best before you pay a single bill. So, Lord, I'm honoring you with the first with the best of what I have. Why? Because you're worth it. I want to challenge you to take God seriously. Take a step of faith, no matter what you may be walking through. Invite Jesus into your finances. Invite him into your marriage. Invite him into your hurts, your worries, your doubts, your discussions. Invite him in and watch him reveal Himself and put you back on mission. Can you receive that? Everybody? Is that okay? I want to finish up right there, if it's okay. And go ahead and put away your Bibles, if you would, and put down your phones for just a second. I think it's important that you connect with the Lord. This might be the only chance that you really get in the busy world that we live in, to really just sit with him, to drink in from his presence. So would you bow your head and close your eyes and just forget about the person on your right and left. Forget about the people you came with. Just have a moment before the Lord and want to invite. If you're watching online as well, would you just close your eyes and take your eyes off the screen. Just put your attention on the Lord. All your issues and worries are going to be waiting for you when you leave this place. But you have this one moment between you and the Father to invite him in. Let me ask you, what's the area that you need to invite Jesus into? What's the area of your life? I believe if you could see it right now, Jesus is reaching out his hand and say, tell me where it hurts. What are the parts of your life that are broken? What are the things that keep you up at night? Where are you afraid? Where are you anxious? Where have you lost hope. Take a moment between you and the Lord and invite Jesus in. Father, we invite you into our marriages today. We don't know how to make them work. We need your help, Father. We invite you into our finances, Lord, our world is crazy. And bills, the world is expensive. I don't know how to make it all work. Will you help me? Lord, we invite you into our families for our children, for our grandchildren, for prodigals, for those that are struggling with addiction and depression, bad marriages and hurts and pains. It hurts so much, Lord, sometimes to see our children struggle. And hurt so much to see our grandchildren struggle. Lord, we want so much for you to help them. We invite you in, Father. We invite you into our unforgiveness for those that have hurt us. I specifically pray today for ex wives and ex husbands, ex relationships, ex in laws where many bitter words have been spoken and lots of hard lines in the sands have been drawn. We invite you in right now, ask for deeper revelation of who you are. We ask for healing. Lord, we invite you into our hurts, our broken areas of our life. Would you come? Would you heal? Would you help? Now, with heads bowed and eyes closed, perhaps you came here today or you may be watching online, you'd say, pastor, I need a relationship with Jesus. I'm so far from God, I need to come home. My friend. Yes, you do. And I'm going to help you do that. I'm going to lead you in the same prayer that somebody helped me with one time, and it changed my life. For others. You might be watching today or in this room, and you might say, pastor, I don't have a relationship with Jesus at all. I don't even know what that is. But. But I want one. My friend, please let me help you meet Jesus today with heads bowed and eyes closed, I'm gonna. I'm gonna say a prayer. I'm not just going to pray for you. I want to invite you to pray with me. If you want a relationship with Jesus, if you've been away from God and need to come home, repeat this prayer with me. I'm not going to single you out. I'm not going to embarrass you in any way. As a matter of fact, all of us in this room are going to pray this prayer out loud together so you don't feel embarrassed. But you need this prayer. Say it and mean it from your heart. So, high rise family, let's pray together. Just say, jesus, I believe that you're the Son of God, and I believe that you came and Died. And I believe that you rose from the grave so that I could have life, so that I can have forgiveness, so I can have grace. Jesus, I've messed up and I need you. Please forgive me. And I'll give you the rest of my life in Jesus name, with heads bowed and eyes closed with no one else looking around. If you can say, pastor, that was me. I prayed that prayer. I meant that prayer. I just see your hands all across this place. Would you lift them up? Just us, nobody else. Good. I see you. See you up there in the balcony. Good for you. Yes, young lady, I see you. Good for you. Good. You guys can put your hands down. If you're here watching in person, if you're watching online, there's a phone number that's appearing behind me on a screen and on your screen as well. If that was you and you prayed that prayer, would you do me a huge favor? Would you text me? That number's for you. Text the words I prayed to that number, and I'm gonna send you back to link to some things that will just help you understand what just happened in your heart and what to do next. It's the greatest honor of my life to help people meet Jesus and know him better. Please let me help you. I'm proud of you. Good for you. Highbridge family, go ahead and look up at me if you would. Then let's stand to our feet together as we end our service today. I'm going to invite our elders forward once again. These are the prayer warriors I told you about. They're stepping forward right now. And if you need prayer as this service ends today, step forward, grab one of their hands and say, I need some prayer. You don't even have to tell us details. God knows. Watch the Holy Spirit lead them. The Lord will meet you here. You don't have to struggle alone. Let us be your church family. Let us cover you. Let us pray for you, for everyone else. Hey, I just want to say thank you again for being so generous. You guys blow me away with how you support what we're doing. It. It's making a massive difference here. Thank you for that. I want to also say thank you for the dozens and dozens and dozens of you that volunteered for. For Beast Feast for our men's event. You guys have blown me away. One of the percentages that we track that helps us to mark the health of a church is how much of your percentage of your church is actually serving and doing something besides just consuming. That's a marker of a very unhealthy church. If you just come every week and say, I'm here to hear the message and get something. Like when you start seeing your church community as a place to give something, it's a marker of health, it's a marker of maturity. And so watching 80% of this church serve, that's nuts for me. That's a beautiful, beautiful thing. So I want to challenge about 20% of you. What doth hindreth? What doth hindreth, Right? It's time for you to see something that's bigger than you to give something back. I want to say thank you in advance. You're going to thank me, by the way, on the other side of this. Thank you for giving me a chance to serve. I needed this. Let me bless you and send you out. Father, would you bless my friends with an incredible week following after you, hearing your voice, being led by your spirit, Would you bless their families, bless their marriages, bless their homes, bless their children, their grandchildren? Father, bless their businesses. And I pray all these things in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus and all of us said together. Amen. God bless you as you go. Have an awesome week. [00:48:46] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening. [00:48:57] Speaker B: Listening. If you want to be a part [00:48:59] Speaker A: of our online community, connect with us through Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv. Or you can check out our [email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give we appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life. Have an incredible week and we will [00:49:23] Speaker B: see you next time.