The Judgment Of God

The Judgment Of God

Book of Amos Chapters 1-4


Amos was a fiery preacher and God's prophet, but most all the things we know about Amos we find in the book that bears his name.

Amos is not mentioned in any other book of the Bible.

Amos was a native of Tekoa a place about 6 mile from Bethlehem in the Southern Kingdom but God sent him to the Northern Kingdom to do His work.

Amos may not have been just a poor shepherd because according to the Hebrew word used for shepherd, Amos could have been a breeder of sheep.

It is possible that Amos raised large herds of sheep.

And also possible that Amos managed a large grove of Sycamore trees.

BUT, Amos described himself simply as a simple farmer called of God.

Amo 7:14  Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
Amo 7:15  And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

Amos was a true prophet of God and he had the courage of a prophet called of God and remember the words of a prophet of God had to always be true.

Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

The only prophet that was different as far as we know was Moses who had a special task.

Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

In time there became what we would call prophetic order of men called of God probably begun at the time of  Samuel.

Amos said he had never belonged to such an order.

The 16 prophets in which we have books, were called of God, commissioned, and entrusted with the messages of God to His people.

They were not only prophets but also historians, and preachers of patriotism and had morals that were based on the Word of God.

It was also their intention to influence the politics of the government to follow the Word of God!

Amos' most important job was to reveal God's will to all mankind.

Most every prophet also foretold of the coming of Jesus Christ.

Amos' main target was the Northern Tribes of Israel and Amos preached the coming judgment of God!

We must remember all the books of the prophets were written as much for us as they were for the people of that day.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: "and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come".

And these things were written to teach how to live godly lives.

Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

The Book of Amos was written to call Israel to repentance and obedience to the Word of God to avoid the judgment of God.

We can also learn this valuable lesson.

So let's begin:

*****Amo 1:1  The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Amo 1:2  And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

To understand better the time of Amos we need to take the time to read in the Book of Kings from the time of Uzziah of the Southern Kingdom and Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom.

To relate the message of Amos to our life today, we need to remember those times when we have been told, "this is your last chance".

In most cases it meant one last chance to change our behavior or else?

The "else" that Amos was referring to was the "judgment" of God!

Amos made it very plain, these were not his words but that this message was from God Himself as it was from all God's prophets!

There are so many today that preach the God of Love and this is certainly true.

There are many today that preach a prosperity gospel and it is true that God will provide our needs but He did not promise to make us all rich.

There are very few that preach the "Judgment" of God and if these other things are true then we must accept that we can make God angry and God will one day reach a point where He will simply say "I've had enough".

There are those that preach that Amos only pronounced "judgment" on the Northern Tribes but they simply did not read the book.

Before God allowed Amos to preach "judgment" on Israel, the Northern Tribes, God mentions the nations that surrounded Israel in that day but also today.

Amos preached the judgment on Damascus, which is Syria, a cruel people.
Amos preached the judgment of Gaza, the Philistines in that day the so called Palestinians of today a callous people.
Amos preach the judgment Tyre, Phoenicia in that day but does not exist as a state today. They were a disloyal people.
Amos preached the judgment of Edom. Edom does not exist today as a state but they were an unmerciful people.
Amos preached the judgment of Ammon, now Jordan, they were a covetous people.
Amos preached the judgment of Moab, they were a vengeful people.
And before Amos preached the judgment of Israel, he preached against Judah, modern day Israel, a disobedient, and unfaithful people.
And finally Amos preached the judgment of Israel, a hypocritical people.

You see like a Lion the Lord will roar from Zion!

The message of Amos was judgment on all the people of this world that do these things!

*****Amo 2:6  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
Amo 2:7  That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
Amo 2:8  And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

We should also be clear that God's judgment will be on His own people first.

God's people will be the first to given an account for their own works after salvation.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

God will judge the Church first then the rest of the world.

God has said that there was to be a treaty of brotherhood among all human beings, and we can see how we have all failed.

We are to love one another no matter our race, our color, or our nationality after all we all come from the Living God!

The people of Judah and Israel were not accustomed to such preaching especially by such a man as Amos who was not connected to the line of Aaron or Moses or any of the priesthood.

Israel lived understanding that they were the chosen of God and above God's judgment which is not true.

There is no one above the "judgment of God!

The truth of God is that He is Love.

1Jn 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

God will continue to bless all people while He patiently waits on them to repent and turn from their wicked ways, right up until the time that He decides it is time for judgment.

Right up until the time when He says, "this is your last chance"!

What had Israel done? They had denied the power of God and turned to idol worship.

They had denied the salvation of the God who had set them free from the bondage of Egypt and claimed that power actually came from a false god.

They had rejected all the prophets of God. (It is during this time of Amos that we also find Jonah and Hosea)

They had rejected those who had pronounced their claim to be Nazarites who also witnessed for the Lord.

They had actually persecuted all those that remained true to God!

They had actually tried to force God's people to to violate their commitments they made to the Lord.

All these things sound so familiar to what is going on in our world today even in America.

The terrorists and the governments doing the same thing, trying to rid the world of God's people.

While pretending to be God's people they had become deceitful.

They were hypocrites!

They drank the wine of the condemned in the house of their god!

And what was the best example in the history of this people?

*****Amo 2:9  Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Amo 2:10  Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
Amo 2:11  And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

Amos had preached that the sins of terrorism and barbarism were truly great and would be judged.

Amos had preached that civilizations that made slaves of the poor and abused the needy would be judged even more harsh.

Israel had great victories but those victories had come by the hand of God.

It was God that had destroyed the Amorites.

These were a people full of passion and pride and all sorts of immorality. So much was the destruction of this people that they are no longer remembered except on some ancient Egyptian monuments.

This thing had followed the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt and their 40 years in the wilderness.

In fact they had spent 40 years in the wilderness because they had a deadly fear of these same Amorites.

It had been by God's mercy that Israel had been blessed.

But, It was God who had called the prophets who spoke only the words of God.

And, It was God who had called for the Nazarites who showed the way of God through the way they lived.

When we deny the power of God we will spend our days in wasted lives.

It is God who destroys our enemies.

It is God who provides a plan of salvation.

No matter what we think we have gotten for ourselves, it was God that provided it.

When we deny God's power we are wasting our time praying because the object of prayer is seek the God of all power!

This world we live in better wake up because to persecute God's messengers brings the downfall to every nation.

To persecute God's people will bring the wrath of God!   

We live in a world that simply refuses to hear about their sin, so they truly do not want to be around a righteous person.

A righteous person is only those that follow the teachings of the Word of God!

Persecuting the people of God was accepted by society in the day of Amos and we can see that persecuting God's people is accepted by society in the world today and yes even in America!

God only has one choice and this world is making it for Him!

God will judge each nation and then the world!

None of these will escape the wrath of God!

God says no one is swift enough nor strong enough to escape (vs14)

God says no nation has enough military power to defend against His judgment (vs15)

God says there is simply no one that can stand up to Him in this world (vs16)

The absolute worst sinner in this world is not the mass murderer or the ones who are the most evil.

The worst sinners in this world are the hypocrites who profess to believe upon the Lord but are deceiving those who truly believe.

Those that profess they know the Lord on a personal level and then live their own life by their own rules are hypocrites.

Israel had become a nation of hypocrites!

Tit 1:15  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Tit 1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

We are warned specifically about these things:

1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Chapter 3 is more about how to avoid the "Judgment" of God. God had chosen the nation of Israel to bring His message to the world and they had rejected this purpose and rejected His privileges and therefore they would see His "Judgment".

We must remember that the Living God has offered every human being the opportunity to walk and talk with Him and most of the world still rejects His offer. Therefore most of this world will see the soon coming "Judgment" of God.

As we continue we will see that God's "Judgment" will fall on an unrepentant people who have been given many opportunities to do so.

Selfishness, stubbornness, and hypocritical worship will bring the "Judgment" of God on every people!

The answer to all these things is repentance.

Chapter 4 is about repentance.

This is not the repentance of Judas who was very sorry for what he had done but his heart was still unchanged.

True repentance is a change of mind, a change of our purpose in this life, a complete change of direction of where we were headed.

This is the only repentance that will bring forgiveness of sins!

It takes a true realization of our sin.
It takes a true realization of God's mercy.
It takes a true hatred for any and all sin.
It takes a true walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The truth is stubbornness will result in the "Judgment" of God.

In the past God has used famine as a means of discipline and I am sure He may still use this and other things today.

The truth is discipline means that "Judgment" has not yet come.

God will make use of famine.

Amo 4:6  And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

The truth is, we live in cursed world and many evils may come upon us which we may be innocent in relation to them, but God's discipline is for the sin we know we have.

When we know what God expects and He gives a complete list, so we are without excuse, then to do those things is just being stubborn and in open rebellion to the Word of God.

If there is a famine then we should ask ourselves what are we doing wrong and repent.

We should consider that even if God did not cause a situation, He did allow it for some reason and God judges sin, but rewards good works even though good works cannot get you into a personal relationship with God.

We should also consider that God has a reason for everything He does and "Love" and "Concern" are His two greatest reasons.

Afflictions are designed to humble us to the point of asking why and then we can look in the mirror of our lives to get the answer.

God will do the same thing to a government that He will do to a person and God sometimes uses human wickedness and we can see this in America today. We should see this as discipline to give us time to repent before "Judgment" come, for it will certainly come without repentance!

Cleanness of teeth means that Israel had a lack of food in all their cities.
They had a cupboard or a pantry that just did not have enough food in it to sustain good health.

But they refused to repent!

So God added drought.

*****Amo 4:7  And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

Sometimes when we will get so relaxed in our lifestyle that God will do things to make us uncomfortable.
In America we have when many other nations to do have.

Notice here that God had sent the drought early enough that if Israel would repent then the crops could have been saved but they refused to repent and their hunger increased, their lack of food increased.

We can see that God even showed favor to one city more than another to show His power over nature. Some suffered for thirst while some had plenty. Some gardens suffered while other gardens produced plenty.

This was done to show them the error of their ways but they would still not repent but we can be sure they blamed God for their misery.

When we are foolish enough to blame God for our misery but still to foolish to repent this in itself should show us how foolish we truly are.

If it is truly an act of God then God teaches us how to avoid such things so these things are really an act of sin and sin is to be blamed!

Sin is anything that goes against the Word of God!

*****Amo 4:8  So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Many would leave their homes to find a place where things were better but so many would do this that that new home would soon be the same and they would be lacking again.

If they had stayed at home and changed their ways then things would have been much better but they refused to repent.

The truth is God has much more patience than most people have stubbornness but even the patience of God has it's limits.

The more stubborn people are, the more discipline is required.

*****Amo 4:9  I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Blasting is what we would call "blight".

Blight effects plants sometimes causing the whole plant to whither and sometimes only the leaves, or the blossoms, or the fruit will shrivel up as if they were scorched.

In America we sometimes call boils or eruptions in the skin as blight.

Blight has the meaning of to prevent or to frustrate growth and or fertility.

This was God's intent!

Mildew can be said to be paleness of the skin in people who are afraid but in most cases it refers to the corrosion of plants or stains on objects caused by moisture.

The Palmer-worm is thought to be a type of locust that devours plants and are a nuisance to humans.

What this verse is saying is that God brought economic devastation to these people in ways that that they knew came from Him but they still would not repent.

We wonder sometimes why our economy just does not seem to get better, well instead kicking God out of every door and laughing at the Word of God, maybe we just need to repent and change our evil ways.

If we would return to the Lord, things could be so much better but we simply allow a very small portion of our population, who so engrossed in sin and in power to control, to dictate the sin in our nation. Until we take a stand on the Word of God, things simply will not get any better no matter who sits in the White House.

SO, When we refuse to repent it then hits closer to home.

*****Amo 4:10  I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

There are always those that have no fear of drought.

There are always those that have no fear of doing without food.

There is no one that does not have a fear of disease and plagues.

And, Not everyone can protect themselves from the murderers and the terrorist.

And no one likes to live in a place where it just stinks all the time.

The Lord sent sickness and disease to all of Israel.

The Lord sent military defeat and many of those young sons were killed in lost causes by governments that rejected the Lord.

Rejecting the Lord is harmful to all people in all cultures and all societies.

Life without God is a life of misery!

Misery is the force of human depravity!

But Israel still would not repent.

*****Amo 4:11  I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

There is no one with any sense that does not realize the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and God destroyed these places with fire and brimstone.

In all of Israel, there were catastrophes to cities and to homes where some only escaped with the clothes on their backs.

It's amazing how stubborn these people were but yet we can see these same things happening today and yet those causing much of the problems we face, deny the wrath of God and say we have only a God of love.

God certainly has more love than He has wrath but one moment of the wrath of God is still the most destructive thing that can be witnessed on this earth.

When we have a tendency to disregard what God has done in the past saying He will not do those things again, then we are fools!

All these things are only examples what our God is capable of to those that reject Him!

When discipline just will not work then God only has one alternative.

The truth is that people only go to Hell because they have chosen too!

Therefore these are the reasons for God's "judgment"!

*****Amo 4:12  Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

There is one truth that holds to every human being that has ever lived on this earth, "judgment is certain"!

The "judgment" of God is inescapable.

Luk 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

When we reject the truth of God then along with the other things we may think we can do, we certainly had better be prepared to meet the One and the Only Living God!

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These words are just as true as all the Word of God.

This is the same God of creation who is denied by most of the world.

This is the same God that has revealed Himself to Israel and then to all the world but is denied by most.

This the omnipotent God of all power who it was that has established all the laws of nature and who controls all the things of the day and of the night, here and throughout all that we can see.

This the same omnipresent God who dwells wherever He chooses and we simply cannot go anywhere where He is not present.

This is the Lord God of all the Angels and rules over all life in Heaven and on Earth.

We must not be fooled by this world, "judgment" is guaranteed!

Judgment is inescapable!

The only hope for all people is repentance and then forgiveness!

The sad part is that many will never come to the Lord and repent and the Book of Revelation was written for this purpose and in the end God simply says these words.

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

God will come as a thief in the night and while the world is still going about it's routine of evil, this world will get to see the God that they have rejected and it will not be a pleasant day.

When the Lord comes it will be done very quickly!

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Who in their right mind wants to see the God of Wrath! I know I do not.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

It Takes A Perfect Heart To Serve The Lord

Amaziah, The King With An Imperfect Heart

2 Chronicles 25


We have been in the New Testament Book of Luke for several months now so let's spend some time in the Old Testament and look at some kings other than David and Solomon and some others we do not hear much about.

According to the Bible, our heart is not only the center of our spiritual activity but also the center operations of the human life.

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

So the heart is then the home of our personal life!

Psa 24:4  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Psa 24:5  He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

The heart is also the seat of our conscience.

Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

All these things are true but the greatest truth of our heart is that since the sin of Adam, we each carry within our selves a wicked heart that has to be over come daily.

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

So the process of salvation that leads to discipleship of all others must begin in the heart!

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Psa 51:13  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Today we will see a King of Judah who had an imperfect heart.

The bottom line is that when our heart is not right with God we will loose the opportunity to serve Him and this is the greatest purpose we have in this life!

But there are terrible things that happen when are hearts are not right with God and right with each other!

There is also a secondary thing we will see in these Scriptures and that is as a nation grows weak the opportunity to have to defend itself against an enemy increases and war is most likely!

All these things lead to an increase in wicked behavior and this is evident in our own nation today!

*****2Ch 25:1  Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2Ch 25:2  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.

Amaziah was 25 years old which even today seems too young to be a national ruler but his father King Joash had been assassinated.

In reality Amaziah had already ruled the last year of his father's reign because Joash was deathly sick and unable to rule and there may be an actual reason that he was killed.

2Ch 24:24  For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.
2Ch 24:25  And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.

To me this seems like these Syrians used some king of biological warfare substance to kill Joash and his family all except Amaziah, maybe just poison but it's the same thing.

Amaziah's mother was Jewish and the better kings of Judah all had Jewish mothers.

There should be little doubt that Amaziah had made a commitment to the Lord early in life but it will be also obvious that he had not committed with his whole heart. Without a total commitment to the Lord our life will never be as it could have been.

This describes the modern day church of today!

The modern day church is not totally devoted to the Lord and getting farther away all the time!

In 2 Kings we can see that Amaziah failed to remove the places of false worship from Judah and even allowed people to continue to build worship centers to pagan gods.

No matter how our constitution is viewed today, America was established on the principles of the Bible and it was never intended to allow the places of worship to false gods that we see today.

When these things take place there will always be those who will allow some practices of false worship to seep into the worship of the true God and this is an abomination to God!

Psa 81:9  There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

1Co 8:5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

The early settlers to America used this truth as their guiding principle!

This is called compromising and we simply cannot compromise in the things of the Lord nor on the Word of God.

To allow worldly activities to go on in the Church can lead to immorality and deadly sin!

But, the first thing Amaziah did was to revenge his father's death.

*****2Ch 25:3  Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father.
2Ch 25:4  But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

It's fair to say that those that killed Amaziah's father deserved punishment. In that day that punishment would extend to the entire family but the Word of God says different and Amaziah followed the Word of God in this instance.

The one rule of God we should be able to see is that, when we face God it will be for our own sin and not the sin of others!

We also cannot pray for God to forgive the sin of others, this is something that they must do themselves.

So we are to be obedient to God in all things.

*****2Ch 25:5  Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield.
2Ch 25:6  He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

As any good leader should do, Amaziah began to establish an army to protect his kingdom. Judah had become weak militarily in the last years of Joash.

He took a census of all men over 20 years old.

He selected officers according to the leaders of all the clans of Judah and Benjamin which was the wise thing to do and not install officers that he hand picked for his own political agenda as is what happens today here in America.

He found that he could have a 300,000 man standing army.

It is then that Amaziah got stupid.

Israel was a divided nation at that time and had been since the death of Solomon.

The Northern Kingdom called Israel were enemies to the Southern Kingdom called Judah.

God had withdrawn His hand from the Northern Kingdom because they now worship false gods and had rejected Jehovah God.

To hire mercenaries from Israel could have never been a good idea!

But to hire mercenaries from a nation God has already withdrawn from is totally ridiculous

A hundred talents of silver may not sound like a lot but when you consider that this was 3 and 3/4 tons of silver, you can see that this was an awful lot of money in any day.

These are the stupid things that governments waste money on when it could have been better used for the people of Judah.

Any money or any other thing provided to things that go against the Word of God is a total waste of God's provision for His people!

And God was not happy with Amaziah!

*****2Ch 25:7  But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.
2Ch 25:8  But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.

Today we have the complete Word of God with all His commandments and many examples of how we are to do things but Amaziah did not at this time and God would send His prophets.

So before Amaziah did this foolish thing, God sent a prophet to inform Amaziah of his mistake.

It's not important who this prophet was, it is only important that he brought the Word of God, he was only the messenger the words he used came from God.

God was not with Israel because He had been rejected by them, to hire an army from Israel would cause God to withdraw His right hand of power and Judah would lose the battle.

If Judah was going to win a war, then they needed God on their side and not an enemies army.

Amaziah hesitated for a moment.

*****2Ch 25:9  And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.

What is the truth of the Scriptures? If we love the Lord God with all our heart, our mind and our soul, He will provide our needs to fulfill His purpose.

It was a great sum of money Amaziah had paid and it could effect the economy of Judah but God will always provide for His people and our God has deep pockets when necessary.

We can also be sure that the life of a child of God is not in material things and we cannot depend on material things to solve our problems.

But as we know mercenaries are ruthless men who are all about money and riches and anyone can be their enemy can any given day.

*****2Ch 25:10  Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

These ruthless men who would hire out their services became very angry because they had planned to plunder and steal anything they could get there hands on wherever they fought. They absolutely had no morals at all.

They served the god of riches and the god of power.

Psa 52:7  Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

These are the same types who are in control of our government today and most other governments in this world!

Power and riches are destroying our nation and will completely destroy it!

So Amaziah led his own army into battle.

*****2Ch 25:11  And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand.
2Ch 25:12  And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

Since the time of King David the Edomites had been under control but when Israel became divided and spent most of their time in war with each other, the Edomites had escaped and again began to harass Judah.

Some of these same descendants are what are called the Palestinians today who continue to cause turmoil in Israel but the world is blind to these things and see them only as refugees.

The war was fought and the battle was won but to capture another 10,000 to simply brutally murder them was truly unnecessary and certainly not the will of God.

They themselves acted just like the lawless hoodlums that were the Edomites and God teaches us to never sink down to the level of our enemy!

It is God Himself who will avenge His people!

While Amaziah was ruthlessly murdering his enemy, another enemy was seeking revenge on his nation.

This is a sure proof that our leaders are really stupid when they give all our military plans to our enemies!

Just as our leaders should very careful in joining with our enemies and announcing red lines or any such plan of action on our part.

But stupid is what stupid does!

*****2Ch 25:13  But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

While the army of Judah was busy with the Edomites, those mercenaries of Israel had free reign to do as they wished and they wished to plunder and maim in Judah every city on their way home to Samaria.

Because all the fighting men were called into the army, 3000 of the children and older folks in Judah gave up their lives to these ruthless men hungry for riches and would hire out to anyone with money.

These men were simply terrorist in reality who attacked women and children and older folks.

It should obvious that we as a nation and as a people, should avoid associations with our enemies and evil people.

The Lord Himself had ordered Amaziah to have nothing to do with unbelieving enemy soldiers.

When we join regularly with unbelievers, it is we who will be pulled down, we are witnessing all these things today as the Church has lost it's influence on our society of today.

That the reason God gives us a commandment to stay away from such associations.

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Yes we are to witness to the uttermost but we are certainly not to fellowship with the world!

Christians should be the most loving, the most kind, and the most caring people on this earth but we are not to be the most foolish and we certainly are not to be a door mat for the evil of this world.

We are not to form close alliances, or covenants, or associations with the wicked and evil of this earth!

But Amaziah did another even more foolish thing.

*****2Ch 25:14  Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.
2Ch 25:15  Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?
2Ch 25:16  And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

Amaziah went to battle in the name of the Lord.

Amaziah was directed and encouraged by the prophet of God.

Amaziah conquered the Edomites only because of the "Grace" of God.

Then Amaziah deserted the God of Israel, who gave him the victory, to worship the false gods of a defeated people.

Besides unbelief, not believing in God at all, the worst sin for any of us is to say we are Christians and worship some other so called god!

God is very serious about who we are to worship!

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

There are people in this world that actually believe in the false gods that they worship, but as Christians we are simply not to recognize them or that they have any power to do anything at all, for they are all powerless because they exist only in the minds of those who worship them!

It is now very evident that Amaziah's heart was not perfect before God.

But how many of us place our little gods before God on a daily basis?

False worship is false worship no matter how it takes place!

To explain why this thing happened, it was common practice to take away the false gods of the enemy to show them how powerless they were to defend them, but to take them home and begin to worship them was utter foolishness but throughout history this has happened many times.

So what happens when we do these foolish things?

We will see that God gets angry.

Psa 44:20  If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Psa 44:21  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

What did God first do? First we will always see God's warning.

But God will only warn us so many times because he is always true to His Word!

When God sends His messengers and we do not treat them as the truth of God or as the Word of God then we will feel the wrath of God!

At the time of Amaziah God spoke through His prophets.

Today we have the complete Word of God and God's messengers speak using this as their guideline.

The truth is why would we dare worship material things that can only rob us of the truth of God?

But Amaziah reacts in rage to God's man and threatened the man of God to keep his mouth shut or die.

Is this not what our own government is telling God's people today. Well maybe not threatened with death but certainly with jail, and taking away deductions given to the Church and any other way they can cause harm to the Church.

The Edomites were another group that sacrificed their own children among the many other sinful ways they had, which included terrorism.

God's prophet still told Amaziah that God would destroy him if he would not listen to the Word of God and this is what will happen to all those who do such things.

This is God's Word and not my idle threat.

We can see that not only did Amaziah worship false gods, but he was also full of arrogance and pride and he hated the Word of God therefore hating God's people.

Jesus said:

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

We live in a world today where even our own government hates God's people and the governments of most nations also, especially those that surround Israel.

Is God angry with America, I believe we can see the evidence of that now.

God will certainly not stay where He is not welcomed.

God will not force Himself on anyone at least during this period we call "Grace", the Church Age!

What did Amaziah do but ignore the Word of God and follow the counsel of ungodly men maybe even from some religious leader of those false gods he had taken from the Edomites.

Religion will destroy you!

Only Christianity can save you!

*****2Ch 25:17  Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.
2Ch 25:18  And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

In the language of us in the south, we would say that Amaziah's victory over the Edomites had made him cocky, as in a strutting rooster.

Amaziah had essentially declared war on the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

King Amaziah may have been angered at what those mercenaries for what they had done on their way back to Samaria but that was something he would have to accept the responsibility for causing.

Jehoash, King of the Northern Tribes, informed Amaziah that he was too filled with pride and arrogance and he was only asking for trouble to meddle in the affairs of the Northern Tribes and he was right.

Jehoash was not threatened at all by Judah and Amaziah was to full of arrogance to back down.

My friends this is how wars get started even today!

Arrogance and pride and stupidity by governments that were put in place to protect their people.

When we get puffed up with pride and feel that we are superior to others or better than others, or worth more than others, this is the driving force behind the effort in bringing others under your control.

What do we see in American politics today?

We see men and women who think that normal people are just not smart enough to make their own decisions and because of their arrogance and their pride and their upper crust value of themselves they have become power hungry and will do anything to achieve it.

They will not accept the Word of God because He points out their faults and they hate anyone that does not see things their way.

They make promises to others that they have no intention of keeping nor do they have the power to keep!

This was the world of the Jew under King Amaziah.

This is the world of America under those in power in our day!

What is the truth of the Scriptures?

Pro 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

All those that are worried about some one unknown should better worry about those we know that are already power hungry because of their arrogance and pride.

Pro 26:11  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Pro 26:12  Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

King Amaziah could not see the truth in the Word of God.

*****2Ch 25:19  Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
2Ch 25:20  But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom.
2Ch 25:21  So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah.
2Ch 25:22  And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent.

The truth of Joash is that at this time he had no reason to go to war with Judah. He did not want to cause harm to those people who were innocent of the arrogance of their king.

Amaziah simply "would not hear", and God had said He would punish Amaziah for his idolatry.

If can just imagine Pharaoh in the days of Moses, Amaziah was given to blindness and hardness of heart as he was in his day.

You see it was "they" not just the king but many others that had taken up with the false gods of the Edomites.

In fact Joash had to defend his own nation but he did so by moving his army into the land of Judah which means his army was already prepared well ahead for Amaziah who had just fought a conflict that was simply to easy for his army.

In this surprise action Joash quickly routed the army of Judah and they withdrew from the battlefield and ran for their lives.

It is then that King Joash decided to teach Amaziah and Judah a lesson.

*****2Ch 25:23  And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.
2Ch 25:24  And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obededom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

Joash captured King Amaziah and then marched into Jerusalem which was left undefended and broke down about 600 feet of the wall that was there for protection against the enemies of Judah.

Joash was not satisfied with these things and he then looted the house of God, the Temple of all it's gold and valuables and he then looted the King's palace, and he then took the King and other hostages and went back to Samaria, his own capitol city.

Amaziah's arrogance had costs Judah greatly and also impeded the worship of the One true God!

*****2Ch 25:25  And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.
2Ch 25:26  Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

After Amaziah was allowed to return to Jerusalem, he lived another 15 years but we find not one other thing that he accomplished in all that time.

Amaziah had a great opportunity to do good for his nation, after ridding them of the terrorists of Edom.

He could have done many things worthwhile but he chose to leave the One True God and worship the falseness of idols, and false gods.

The truth is we have a president who had a great opportunity to do good for all Americans but especially those of his own color but he turned to false gods and has tried his best to remove the One True God from the eye of the public.

America has suffered greatly and may not ever recover.

Judah suffered greatly and truly never recovered from the time of this king.

But the same thing holds true for us all when we fail to seize the opportunities that God has given us.

Great opportunities almost never present themselves again in our lives!

The truth is that we age a little everyday and we all reach a point to where we are not much use to God. Now He does not abandon us, but we have certainly missed many benefits of serving Him if we miss the opportunities He has provided to each of us before that time comes.

But how many opportunities have we missed with our children because we felt like work was more important.

How many opportunities have we missed in our family because we chose other things instead.

How many things have we missed out on because we chose a life of sin in our younger days.

How much damage have we done to our bodies because we chose drugs, or drink, or the many other sins instead of the opportunity to live a moral life.

Many of those still out in the world are like King Amaziah and they will go to their grave without one good thing to be remembered for left behind them.

It will be as though they accomplished nothing as what this king was remembered for was nothing except that he had been king and had no legacy at all.

But that was not all.

*****2Ch 25:27  Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there.
2Ch 25:28  And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Amaziah discovered a plot against his life and he fled to no avail and he was assassinated.

His life was ended while he was still in his prime years but he was a nothing that died still being a nothing.

What is the truth?

In verse 16 we read that he knew that God had already determined to destroy King Amaziah because he led Judah into false worship.

It is very true that God will punish all sin but without a doubt when a national leader goes against God and leads the people away from God the results can certainly be deadly!

When national leaders reject the Word of God or twist it to mean something entirely different from God's intent, they are walking on perilous ground.

Oba 1:3  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Oba 1:4  Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

Those that conspired against Amaziah proved these things were over by bringing the dead body of Amaziah back to Jerusalem.

The only way to escape the wrath of God is by Jesus Christ and that takes a heart that dwells on the truth of the Word of God.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Christ Gave Us A Commission

The Certainty Of Christ's Commission

Luke 24:36-53


To be commissioned is to be appointed as a representative. It is like an order given from a superior and carries His authority.

We can go all the way back to the Book of Genesis and we will see that from that time of creation, God has not created anything new.

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Of course this can be disputed but that does not change the facts but there is one thing that has been made new. Every time a sinner is "Born Again" they have become a new creature or a new creation!

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

A wise man once said that there is nothing we have that God needs and that is true, but the one thing we can give to God is that we are sinners in need of being saved which He will gladly do if we come to Him with a true heart. We can give God a sinner in need of salvation!

God then takes His new creations and commissions us all for a special work.

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

An ambassador in the Old Testament meant someone who was sent on an errand:

Pro 13:17  A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.

An ambassador was also an interpreter:

2Ch 32:31  Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

An ambassador was also a messenger:

Isa 33:7  Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

The Apostle Paul says an ambassador for Christ must be all these things:

Sent by Christ on His errand.

Interpreters of the Scriptures or making sense of the Word as Nehemiah put it.

Bringing God's Message of peace through His "saving grace".

Eph 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

What this world seems to forget is that to do harm to one of God's ambassadors is an insult to our King, King Jesus.

2Sa 10:5  When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

So what is the commission given to each of us by our Lord and our tasks as ambassadors for Christ?

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This is the work of the Church and more important the work of each of us as individuals!

The truth is, our work is not inside the Church building, that's the place to hone our skills, the work of the Church is outside the doors of the Church!

Let's Begin:

In these Scriptures we will see the great statements of the Christian Faith.

1) Jesus has risen, we worship the Living God, the only One.

2) All prophecies of the Scriptures and the Promises of the Lord must be fulfilled.

3) Repentance and the forgiveness of sin is imperative.

4) We must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

*****Luk 24:36  And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luk 24:37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luk 24:38  And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luk 24:40  And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

Of the disciples we may not know who all were present but we know that Thomas was not with these others at this time.

The truth is, this was an evening service and you can miss some important things when you miss the evening service!

Many will say that this was a spirit of Jesus and He was not actually risen in a body but the first thing we see is that He can speak and He still had the same message of "Peace".

Jesus knew their thoughts and Jesus knew they were all frightened, in fact terrified, because Jesus just appeared in the room as if He had just walked through the closed door which He had indeed.

No doubt they recognized His familiar voice!

But this was not enough for them to believe and Jesus knew this.

So besides hearing, Jesus said look upon Me!

See where the nails were driven in His feet and in His hands and Jesus showed them these places.

Along with "seeing" and "hearing" Jesus said use all your natural senses and "touch Me".

What we know of spirits is that they do not have bodies of flesh and bones that can be touched!

Anyone that believes differently is calling Jesus a liar!

But are their then ghosts or spirits? The truth is, we know for sure the God is Spirit.

We know the truth of the Holy Ghost and we also know that Satan, the Devil is capable of doing many things.

Besides these we know of no others!

BUT, Some of these disciples still could not step over the threshold of the truth and believe even at this time.

So Jesus went one step farther.

*****Luk 24:41  And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luk 24:42  And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luk 24:43  And he took it, and did eat before them.
Luk 24:44  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Jesus did not scold any of them for their doubts, Jesus patiently entered into the fullness of fellowship with them.

The Lord wants a very personal relationship with each of us and He will never ridicule us if we have questions, He will always provide the necessary proof of the truth!

There is no question to small for God, but when He exposes the truth then He ask that we believe it!

Jesus then ate of the same food that they had made available for themselves, a clear token of fellowship with them.

And then Jesus said, let's look at the real truth and the real proof "The Scriptures".

Peter said:

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

It is the Scriptures that are our sure proof of the truth of God!

Jesus taught from the 5 Books of Moses, all the Books of the Prophets, and also in the Psalms which contain the prophecies of the Messiah.

Not one of these men who had abandoned Jesus deserved His loving patience and certainly not His "Grace" for what He was doing but not one breath of anger was in the person of Jesus Christ on this night.

We can just imagine the excitement that was in the air, the hearts beating out of those chest and those minds grasping to understand what was happening before their eyes and before their person.

God's anger only comes when we deny Him!

AND, We just cannot interpret the Word of God in a spiritual sense, we must understand the Word of God in a literal sense!

Jesus did not have to perform one miracle to prove who He was, because He is the miracle of life!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The one other thing that was evident of the glorified body of Christ, was that it was not bound by this physical world and it's natural substance, which they had first seen as He had appeared.

The glorified body of Christ, could be seen, could be touched, could do things that the average person could do, but could also pass through walls and doors without being hindered,

What is one of the promises given to every believer?

Php 3:20  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

In all probability this change in our bodies will take place at the "Rapture" of the church but it is also true that whenever we see Jesus we will be like Him.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Those that have their doubts about a glorified body, do ignore the truth of the Scriptures!

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Most of us do not realize the importance and the truth of these Scriptures!

The Greek word "soma" is used to describe the natural body and the spiritual body.

The difference in the natural and the spiritual is, that the spiritual body will be be perfected!

No longer subject to pain or illness, or aging, or death, or tears, or sorrow, or crying  and many other things we experience now in our natural body.

Our natural body is sown in corruption but it will be raised in "incorruptible"
Our natural body is sown in dishonor but it will be raised in "glory"
Our natural body is sown in weakness but it will be raised in "power"
Our natural body is "sown" but our spiritual body is "raised", what a difference that makes!

And just so we know, that same body we had on earth will be a similar body to that we will have in Heaven but perfected.

A body that is not "flesh and blood" because flesh and blood are corruptible, they age, they deteriorate, they die and then decay.

That spiritual body cannot do any of these things!

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

That glorious day lies ahead for all those that confess the truth of Jesus Christ!

Our old bodies will be radically changed!

No "body" that has been glorified will need reproduction to continue the redeemed human race.

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

This law of creation will no longer be necessary!

And Jesus began to explain all these things to His disciples.

*****Luk 24:45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Understanding, is said to be when our minds grasp the real truth of the things presented to it.
Understanding, is when we can comprehend the idea which are expressed by another when we communicate.
Understanding, is the faculty by which we obtain our knowledge.

It was Jesus Christ who did this for His disciples:

Luk 24:45  Then opened he "their understanding", that they might "understand" the scriptures,

It is the Holy Spirit that does that for all those that believe today:

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Jesus opened the understanding of the Scripture to these disciples, because the things that happened to Him should not have been a surprise to these men.

These things were written down in the Scriptures!

Our problem is, that we simply do not have enough faith to believe what the Scriptures teach us!

The truth is, it is the Word of God that predicts most all the things that happen in this world. Notice "predicting" is not the same as "causing"!

God does not cause the evil things that happen in this world. God does not cause the catastrophes that happen in this world.

The only thing we know for sure is that God may send famine to some places for His own reasons but these people may just need to move on to some new location.

If the water is rising on our place of living maybe you need to move inland.

If the wind is blowing your home away, maybe you need to build in a place more sheltered.

The truth of us all is, that we either accept and believe, or ignore what God says to our own harm.

It is a mistake to spiritualize the prophecies of God!

It was utterly necessary for Jesus Christ to die for our sins!

It was utterly necessary for Jesus Christ to rise from that death to show the power God!

If we cannot see a victory in our Lord, how can we ever know we will have victory over death?

The Church is built on these truths, those that disagree are only trying to destroy the Church that Christ has built!

We are fools to believe that only the New Testament is relevant today, because Jesus has already said that the entire Old Testament told of His coming and most important of His salvation!

We need Jesus Christ to open our own eyes to the understanding of the entire Word of God!

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

What is our job after salvation?

We must put forth the effort to show that Jesus Christ had to suffer and die for our salvation!

We must teach that repentance and forgiveness go together, forgiveness cannot happen without repentance!

We must teach that these things must take place before Christ will send Holy Ghost power to live with us throughout eternity!

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

These things must take place before we are ever equipped to be witnesses for the Lord!

To receive the power of the Holy Spirit is to be clothed in that power!

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

The source of the Holy Spirit and that power, is God!

Jesus Christ brought this promise to us!

BUT, The promise came from God the Father!

We are to tarry until we receive this promise.

Because that promise comes from on high!

It is the Holy Trinity of God Himself that is the source of the power of evangelism!

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

That uttermost part of the earth is our mission field!

Salvation has it's benefits but being that witness for the Lord, is when we become capable of receiving the blessings of God.

*****Luk 24:51  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
Luk 24:52  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
Luk 24:53  And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

The last thing that completed the earthly work of the Lord Jesus was to bless those who would begin the Church, the Apostles and the disciples who were with Him that day but in fact every disciple of Christ has receive this blessing.

Then the Lord allowed them to witness His ascension back to Heaven,

This is another thing that a glorified body can do that could not be done other wise.

It is only a "glorified body" that can come face to face with God!

Exo 33:20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

This was also important, because it gives all the disciples of Christ a vision of our own ascension into Heaven.

Heaven is not on this earth as some may say!

Heaven is where my Lord is and that is where I will be one day soon.

There was not one moment while God was on this earth, even when He was on that cross that He was not in full control of His created world, but we must recognize that Heaven is the true place of His throne.

There were 120 eyewitnesses that day that know for sure that our "God is alive"!

**We worship the Living God!

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

**The ascension of Jesus Christ is further proof of the Tri-Une God, the Holy Trinity, The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost.

2Co 4:14  Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

**It proves that Heaven, is a real place.

Php 3:20  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

**It proves that the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ, is true!

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

**It proves that it is now the time of the Church to carry on the work of the Lord until He returns!

Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

**It proves that it is God, and God only who has the power to save and that power is through His Son!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

**It also proves that we do indeed have a Mediator in Heaven.

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6  Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Just as these who loved the Lord did next, we are now to worship our God!

A worshiper by Greek definition is a Temple Keeper.

When you ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart the Holy Spirit will move in and you become a Living Temple of the Lord and also a Temple Keeper.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

**The Temple in Jerusalem was the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity.

The Holy of Holies was where the mercy seat was located, the throne of God.
The outer courts were the place of the sacrifices, a type of Christ.
The burning incense, the sweet aroma of the Holy Spirit

**The Temple was also the treasury of the sacred truth. "A type of Christian life".

Aaron's rod that bloomed, represents the freshness of the Gospel throughout the ages.
The manna, represents the Word of God the bread from Heaven.
The laws of Moses, are a type of the perfect law, the law of love, the commandments of Jesus.

**The Temple was also a partial reflection of Divine Glory.

Sin explains the early worship.
Sin explains the later worship.
Only when all sin is destroyed, will the Christian heart be a perfect Temple of God, the complete reflection of Divine Glory!

Jesus Christ is the center of the Heavenly Temple.
Jesus Christ must be the center of our lives to be a living Temple of God!

Are you a true Temple of God? We need to answer this question every day!

And how did the Apostles respond to the Lord's ascension?

**They were inspired to worship.

As Christians we need to worship the Lord, "in His way"!

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

**They were filled with joy.

They were filled with joy, because they would soon be filled with the Holy Spirit.

As Christians we should have this same joy.

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

**They found that the Temple was the center of their life and the focus of God's presence and worship!

As Christians, we need to find a place of worship where the truth of God is preached and taught and Jesus Christ is still the center of all worship.

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

There are a great many things that we are to learn about and from the Lord Jesus Christ!

We can learn from every step that Jesus took on this earth!

Joh 21:25  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

There are a great many things that we are to learn about and from the 12 men who turned this world upside down, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Act 2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:43  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

We can do none of these things without the salvation that Jesus has provided us when He came to this earth to die on Calvary's cross that we can be saved.

It is "Faith" in these things that is the true beginning of life!

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Resurrection Of Christ

The Certainty of Christ Resurrection

Book of Luke 24:1-35



The truth is, the atonement of Jesus Christ did not end with His death. The atonement of Jesus Christ could not end until His resurrection.

Rom 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

When John and Peter raced to the tomb of Jesus they saw grave clothes lying in the tomb still retaining their shape as though the body of Jesus was still in them but He was not there.

They realized that only one thing could have happened. The body of Jesus had passed through His burial wrapping and Jesus had risen from the grave just as He had said He would do.

It is John who later writes how Jesus had passed through the walls or the physical doors in that upper room in His resurrected body.

Joh 20:19  Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Joh 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

It was John who verified the reality of a bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and in His final work, He had overcome death to show us all what true life is all about!

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ what hope would we have of eternal life?

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Jesus Christ openly displayed this truth for all the world to see!

It must be clear to us all discovering that empty tomb was the greatest discovery in human history.

The facts remain, that many people either have not heard of the resurrection or they simply refuse to accept that Christ Jesus arose from that grave having defeated death.

Every human being must discover this fact for themselves in order to be saved from the wrath of God!

It's called "Faith" and that faith in the Word of God and His promises.

*****Luk 24:1  Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

This first day of the week would have been on Sunday and would have begun at 6 PM the previous Sabbath evening.

This was the day after the Jewish Sabbath and the same day chosen by the early church and the modern day church to gather together to worship the Lord, the Apostle John called it the Lord's Day.

We are to worship the Lord everyday but the Lord's Day should always be special!

The Lord's day should remind us all of the "Resurrection" of the Lord.

After all, Jesus Christ is the only One who said He would come back from the dead and then proved it by doing it!

That empty tomb that morning was the greatest discovery in all of human history and there is no other way to look at it.

The truth is, Jesus arose before the dawn of that day because He had made a promise to another man on a cross and we know that God will always keep His promises.

Luk 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was His triumph over death to prove to us all that we could also triumph over death if we would place our "Faith" in the work that He did at the Cross.

Death reigns no more in the life of the believer!

The rule of death hanging over our heads has been broken forever!

1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Co 15:56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The laws of the Sabbath and it's observances no longer had any authority over the Lord nor His New Testament Church.

The New Covenant was in place for the Church!

Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Because of "Resurrection Power" every believer is now dead to the law but open to the laws of Christ.

Rom 7:4  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Rom 7:6  But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Those who first witnessed that empty tomb are a strong evidence of this truth because they had also witnessed His death.

They knew He was dead. They knew He had been buried in a borrowed tomb. They had no question in their mind about His death because they had been eyewitnesses to all these things.

If it had been a stranger who found this empty tomb, it could have made all these things irrelevant and no one would have ever trusted in the resurrection.

Further proof is the fact that they had purchased spices to anoint the body of Christ in a more proper Jewish way as it had only been hastily done before.

They knew Jesus had died.

They truly cared for the Lord.

They wanted to take care of the body of Jesus just as they would have for any family member who had died.

They were also obedient to the Law because they had strictly obeyed the law of the Sabbath.

They had refused to break the Sabbath even though they certainly wanted to take care of the Lord.

They certainly would not have lied about any of these things and they had no cause to!

*****Luk 24:2  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

On the way to the grave they had discussed how they could ever roll the stone that had closed off the tomb from thieves, so we can just imagine that it was a great stone.

Mar 16:3  And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Mar 16:4  And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

They were perplex at what they saw, the stone was not where it had been placed as they had also witnessed.

We now know that the physically resurrected body of Jesus was was not bound by the physical laws of this earth!

Jesus did not resurrect as a spirit but His body was now obedient to the Heavenly Laws and this world we know of, had no control over Him!

So twice already we have had a glimpse of a "Glorified Body"!

*****Luk 24:3  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

There was no body in that tomb.

Oh, the folded napkin was there, to serve it's own purpose.

The wrappings that had been placed around the body of Jesus were there, still holding to the shape of the body but his body was not within those wrappings.

The body of the Lord Jesus Christ was not inside that tomb anywhere!

They were then persuaded that what Jesus had said that He would do, He had actually done!

Rom 4:21  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

We must believe that God means what He says and He also says what He means!

2Ti 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

And if further proof was needed God also provided His own witnesses.

*****Luk 24:4  And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
Luk 24:5  And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Luk 24:6  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
Luk 24:7  Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Luk 24:8  And they remembered his words,

We should clearly understand that stone was not rolled back because Jesus could not have escaped without that being done.

That stone was rolled back so these ladies could enter that Garden Tomb.

AND, There was no doubt that these were angels:

Mat 28:2  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Mat 28:3  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

These women fell down in reverence but they fell down more in fear.

But these angels only had one question which really meant, "Why Did You Not Believe The Words Of Jesus"

We are fools not to believe the Word of God!

The world is full of people who honor truly dead men, who they believe to be their savior.

How can anyone honor a dead man in that way, as they certainly could not save themselves, so what power could they have over death.

I worship a Living Savior!

I worship a Living God who has power over death, the grave, and in fact over all things!

All these that worship a dead savior have no hope for any life after this life they live now!

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

To be without God, is to live all your life in the grip of death!

These angels said He is not here, because He has risen!

That evidence was very clear. Jesus was not in that tomb!

Those angels reminded these ladies that Jesus had done exactly what He said He would do.

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

They had never accepted these words of Jesus as being true!

But now they were convicted by their own thoughts.

All the followers of Jesus had been confused about these things Jesus had said but they now realized that they had been wrong.

We should all remember these simple words of Jesus:

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

We serve the God who has the power to do as He wishes to do at any moment!

There are some places we just will never find our Lord!

We will never find Him dead and in some grave!

We will never find Him in man's law!

We will never find Him in human nature!

We will never find Him in philosophy!

Since our Lord is alive and cannot die, He certainly cannot be found among the dead!

Even though some Christians are worldly, you will never find Christ Jesus to be worldly!

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

What we see in the Scriptures about the Lord will always hold true!

The modern day Christ is the same One who is written about by the New Testament writers!

These ladies who now knew the truth then rushed to tell the 11 remaining disciples what they had seen.

*****Luk 24:9  And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
Luk 24:10  It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
Luk 24:11  And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

It seems amazing that these men who had spent so much time with the Lord and had heard the words that He had said, simply refused to believe these ladies who now knew the truth.

To these 11 men these things just seem to be too astonishing to be true and had to be ridiculous and wild imaginations.

Mat 28:8  And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

It would have been hard to miss the excitement these ladies had when they were trying to convince these men of the truth and them so full of doubt.

They had a lot to tell.

The stone was rolled away, the body of Jesus was not in those grave clothes that were still laying there.

They had seen the angels and the angels had told them many things.

These 11 men really had no excuse to not believe, these were the very things that Jesus had said He would do.

Mary Magdalene was a true believer not some religious nut.

Joanna had provided finances for the ministry of Jesus and no doubt much of that had provided for the families of these men. She was a sincere Christian.

Mary was the actual mother of James the Less one of these 11 men and a mother would have never lead her son in the wrong way.

And there were other women also.

Salome the mother of James and John.

These men simply thought that the government had done something with the body of Jesus.

The government thought these disciples of Christ had stolen the body but neither of these things could have been true.

This secret could not have been hidden!

The governments persecution proves they did not have the body of Jesus.

The faith of the disciples proves they did not have the body of Jesus.

The family of Jesus became believers so they could not have stolen the body of Jesus.

There was only one alternative, Jesus had done exactly what He said He would do!

There can be no Church if this is not true!

1Co 15:12  Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
1Co 15:13  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14  And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1Co 15:15  Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

But Peter's heart was still drawn to the Lord, even though he had failed Him!

*****Luk 24:12  Then arose Peter, and 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.

Peter who had denied Jesus three times at His trial and whose heart was broken for what he had done, just could not wrap his head around the things that Jesus had told Him.

BUT, Peter was still drawn to the Lord despite his failures.

When we look down on Peter we need to take a hard look at ourselves in life's mirror.

Peter arose.

Peter rushed to the tomb.

Peter was ready to believe what Mary and the other ladies had told him.

Peter took a close look at the evidence.

The folded napkin lying by itself. We already know that a folded napkin meant the one who folded it was not finished.

The linen clothes in which Jesus had been wrapped lying undisturbed as the body of Jesus had just passed through them.

It was plain that the body of Jesus had not been carried away or stolen because no one would have taken the time to do these things!

BUT, Peter still could not accept what he saw as many do today.

The truth is, it is very dangerous for us not to understand the Word of God.

God says:

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

Unless the words we read are intended to be symbolic and those places are noted, we need to accept the Word of God just as it is written!

Twisting the Word of God to mean something else is sinful.

Adding to the Word of God is sinful.

Taking away from the Word of God is damnation!

These things lead to unbelief and eternal damnation.

The evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ speaks for itself.

That tomb was empty!

The evidence within, revealed that no one could have stolen that body of Jesus.

Peter was so locked up in the impossibility of these things that he just could not believe at this time.

This my friends is where most of the world is today, yet they still believe in so-called gods whose bones are still within the tomb in which they were buried.

Who can figure that one out?

What other proof do we have?

The Apostle Paul wrote these words:

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

But at this time Peter and John departed from that tomb just wondering about these things that had seen and heard.

Next we see how the Lord Jesus deals with those who have lost all hope.

*****Luk 24:13  And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
Luk 24:14  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

The first thing we see is how easily the Lord Jesus can join in communication with us.

And like Jesus has already said, where two or three are gathered He would be there with them.

Mat 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Many have guessed who these two men are but that is not even important or the Word of God would have said.

This was simply a lonely walk by two disciples of the Lord who walked with broken hearts, their world was crushed by the death of our Savior.

This day was the same day that those women had discovered the empty tomb and reported it, so these two disciples had heard all these things.

As they made their way to Emmaus they were very sad to the point of despair.

So as they walked they hardly noticed as a stranger joined with them.

*****Luk 24:15  And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
Luk 24:16  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

As these two disciples were walking and discussing all the things that they had heard that morning, Jesus did what He does for everyone of us. "He went with them"

They had been so caught up in their sorrow that they had not noticed Jesus who had joined them in their travel.

Their eyes being "holden" would be similar to not being able to see because of the glare of the Sun.

The truth is, we can become so preoccupied with our own sorrows and distress, that we do not recognize the truth of our Lord:

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Jesus had been walking along with them for a while and they had not noticed Him.

*****Luk 24:17  And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

Jesus will always show concern for our troubles and sadness as He said unto them, "why are you so sad".

The Lord will always ask us "Why are we so sad".

No matter what happens to God's people, we are still saved.

The truth is, these two were trying to understand the death, the burial, and the empty tomb of out Lord.

Jesus Christ was the subject of their conversation!

They wanted answers that only God could provide!

*****Luk 24:18  And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
Luk 24:19  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
Luk 24:20  And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

Then Jesus ask them "what things" have cause you to be this way?

God will always want us to know exactly what is bothering us.

When we pray to God we need to give Him a good description of what our problems are!

He already knows, He just wants us to see if we know exactly what we are seeking the answers to.

At first this Cleopas attacks, saying "how could anyone in the area not know what had happened in Jerusalem".

We need to always be aware that when we are full of doubts, that is when the Devil will launch one of his attacks.

It helps to have friends we can discuss these things with. That's why God wants us to be like a family because we are the family of God.

Cleopas said Jesus, the Great Prophet of Israel had been condemned to death and crucified.

It had not just been the elders of Israel but also the Roman rulers, in a sense the whole world that had done this evil thing.

BUT, this was not what they had expected from Jesus, they had had higher hopes.

*****Luk 24:21  But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
Luk 24:22  Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
Luk 24:23  And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
Luk 24:24  And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

You see the biggest disappointment of Cleopas and the disciples. They had expected Jesus the Messiah to over come all these enemies of the people and it had been just the opposite, He had been overcome. He had even promised to return in 3 days and they still believed He had not even done that.

The disciples could only see the end of all their hopes.

When we allow the things of this world to take us down to this level, we need to question our faith!

Jesus had told them to watch, for on the 3 day something dramatic would happen, days are still 24 hours long.

They had expected this to mean that His triumph over Rome would have taken place but they had seen no changes in these things.

Added to all this, they felt that even the body of Jesus had been stolen.

They had heard about the heavy stone that was rolled away, the women could not have done this thing.

They had heard of the empty tomb but could not understand the significance of this.

They had heard about the angels but that seemed too far fetched.

Some had felt that Jesus was alive but how could that be true.

If so, then why had Jesus not been seen.

The things of this world had robbed them of their "faith"!

Jesus Christ wants to know all the things that bother us as we go through this life down to the most minute detail.

And how did Jesus respond?

*****Luk 24:25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Luk 24:26  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
Luk 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

What's wrong with this world? This world does not take the Word of God serious!

These disciples of Christ Jesus simply did not believe what the prophets had said and they had come up with their own plan of what the Messiah would be and would do.

The greatest sin of all is the sin of unbelief!

The world today refuses to accept the truth of a "risen Savior".

The sin of unbelief will send them to an eternity in the "Burning Lake of Fire"!

If we have faith in our risen Savior, then we must relinquish the control of our lives to Him and obey and serve Him.

Act 2:36  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

What had been the truth of the Scriptures?

As true disciples we are to take the Word of God seriously!

We are to study the Word of God to see what it says and not so much how men interpret what it says.

God says what He means and God means what He says and we need to feel comfortable with this truth!

If we were not capable of understanding the written Word of God, God would have chosen another method to teach us.

If the death of the Messiah and then the Resurrection of the Messiah had not been necessary we can be sure God would have used some other method!

In order for our salvation, these things had to take place.

Jesus had no choice but to obey the will of His Father!

We must accept these things and also realize that we are also to obey the will of our Father who is in Heaven.

In fact to be in the will of our Heavenly Father is to be in the safest place we can be in the world!

The pure truth is, that the plan of God had not been defeated but there was actually a great victory!

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

When our doubts over come us, then we need to return to the Word of God and begin at the beginning, the Book of Genesis and we will see that the Messiah was promised even from the words of Moses.

The Lord Jesus Christ can be found throughout all the Bible!

Unbelief will ruin our day and also our testimony and break the heart of our Lord, but He will never give up on us because His faith remains steadfast.

1Co 1:8  Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 1:9  God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Jews lived according to the Pentateuch, the 5 books of Moses so Jesus began from these books and went through the writings of all the prophets and pointed out all the places that concerned the Messiah.

We are expected to believe what the Word of God says!

If we are to slow to believe, then we may listen to what some man says that opposes the Word of God.

We are to believe what the prophets of God say. If we are to slow to believe we may miss the fulfillment of that prophesy.

The Bible plainly states that the Messiah had to die!

The Bible plainly states that the Messiah had to rise again!

The Bible plainly states that the Messiah had no choice!

These things were the will of God and had been God's plan even before creation began.

AND, God's plan was a complete success!

Jesus showed these two disciples "all the Scriptures" concerning these things.

We can see that "unbelief" not only destroys our testimony but it will leave us sad, perplexed, and in despair.

We simply cannot symbolize all the Scriptures.

The disciples of Jesus Christ had begun to accept a dead Savior just like the world does, and so many other men today but they had a hard time dealing with a risen Savior and most of the world has that same problem today.

We simply cannot pick and choose what we are going to believe in the Word of God. It is an all or nothing book.

This trip was about 7 miles or as much as 3 hours as they drew close to the village where they were going.

*****Luk 24:28  And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
Luk 24:29  But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
Luk 24:30  And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
Luk 24:31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

When the  truth of the Scriptures open up our eyes then we will always want to hear more.

Jesus wold have gone on further because He will never enter into any house where He is not invited, just as He will never enter into any heart unless He has been invited.

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

In order to hear the truth, we must invite Jesus into our temple to become a Temple of God!

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

There are 9 different occasions recorded in the Gospels where Jesus broke bread with His disciples and then blessed it.

SO, We can see why they remembered this thing but not only that, those hands still bore the scars of the nails that bound Him to the cross.

God opened their eyes to the truth and Jesus vanished out of their sight!

If they had not invited Jesus into their home they would have missed out on this great opportunity.

We miss so very much when we do not accept the Lord when we first come under Holy Ghost conviction. Even when we do later, we have already missed out on so many blessings.

It is a fact that once we are saved, the Word of God will burn within us and our need to tell others about  what Jesus has done in our lives will just want to come out.

When we hear the Word of God explained and conviction comes, the only thing lacking is a response on our part.

What is Christian Heartburn?

Jer 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

It is a fact that once we are saved the Word of God will burn within us and our need to tell others about what Jesus has done in our lives will just want to come out.

When we sit on our hands and refuse to do the work of the Lord we not only hinder our blessings but someone in this world may have missed their own opportunity to know the Lord.

Quit having Christian heartburn and get busy serving the Lord!

That soul that is won to the Lord is the remedy to Christian Heartburn!

These two disciples of the Lord had Christian Heartburn.

They now knew the truth and they had to let it out!

*****Luk 24:32  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luk 24:33  And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
Luk 24:34  Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Luk 24:35  And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

It was night time and night time travel was dangerous but that did not stop these two disciples. They now knew the risen Savior and not just a dead Savior.

It was a late hour when they arrived back in Jerusalem but most all the disciples were already gathered together and all the talk was about their risen Savior!

They were all bursting with excitement because the truth of the Messiah was finally sinking in!

The amazing truth about the Word of God is that there are promises that no man has ever tried to find!

There are treasures that no one has taken the time to dig up.

There are medicines that have not been uncovered.

There are truths that have not yet been exposed.

There are little golden nuggets of information that are waiting on those that are willing to search for them!

The Bible is a love letter from God, He has not left anything out that would be a help to us but we just refuse to search the Scriptures.

These disciples had been around the Scriptures all their life and the truth of a risen Savior had never been a part of their reality until now when the truth was before their eyes.

This was one of those things in the Scriptures that had eluded them but was now exposed by the Lord Himself.

One of the most beautiful sights there are is when that lost soul finally realizes the truth of the Scriptures and faith takes over.

Once we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, it is then time for our feet to take over and go tell someone else about it!

Our biggest mistakes are made in this life when we look at our plan for this life from ground level and not from God's level

We can be certain that Jesus Christ arose from that grave, not because there were so many witnesses to this truth but because the Word of God has told us about our Messiah, our Savior, from the very first book of the Bible and has relayed His truth all the way to the Book of Revelation and every book in between.

Questions?

Let's Pray!