Suffering and Sacrifice
March 11, 2024
Each day we separately walk different sandy roads to arrive at the same destination so that we can talk about Jesus with one another. Then we eat lunch from a common bowl, a symbol of our united hearts. Today, Sunday, we participated in communion, reminding us that we have Christ in common with one another. There is so much that draws us together. But there is also much that is uncommon/different between us and our African brothers and sisters.
During the testimony time this morning, M, thank God for taking his family to Heaven. Just last week soldiers pursuing terrorists, massacred 150 people in his village, killing M’s mother, two sisters, cousins, and nieces. And yet today, on Sunday, he, thanked God for grace and Heaven.
S was a sheep thief. It’s how he made his living. But one day he met an American missionary, who told him about Jesus. S refused Christ but soon found himself in a sandstorm like no other he had ever encountered. As he covered his face and knelt in the sand, he prayed, “Oh God of the Christians, save me, and I will serve you.” S survived the sandstorm, found the missionary and trusted Christ. As of today, he has discipled a multitude of new believers in his country.
When J became a Christian his father shot at him with a shotgun, trying to kill him. Today he says, “I am my father’s favorite son.” Fortunately, his father, who is not a Christian but who carries much influence in his community, has enabled his missionary son to be released from prison multiple times.
When E became a Christian, he prayed seven years for a wife. He eventually led a woman to Christ, married her, and they had a baby. But when her Muslim parents found out their daughter and her husband were Christians, they used the country’s law to threaten to take the child. Rather than abandon their baby, E’s wife returned to her family who moved her and the baby to an undisclosed location in their country. He however, considered Christ the greater treasure, and could not turn back from following Jesus. Like every other story, I have told in this post, there are now innumerable believers in these countries, because of the sacrifice these Christians have made.
These are just a few of the countless and common stories of common men and women who have opted to follow Jesus in Muslim dominated countries. Suffering and sacrifice is as common to their Christianity as sand is to the ground of the countries in which they serve. Uncommon in our world but common to much of the world.
Today, during the preaching time, I thanked them for loving Jesus, and told them they were the model for the American church. It astounds them to believe this is true, but it is. We have much to learn from our African friends. And we are watching them…thanking God for them…and hoping to imitate them in their love for Jesus.
- Reggie Weems
Created to Delight in His Word - Psalm 119:73-80
God's Goodness in the School of Affliction Psalm 119:65-72
The Lord Is My Portion - Psalm: 119:57-64
The Comfort of God's Word Psalm 119:49-56
Life From The Dust - Psalm 119:25-32
The Pilgrim Life - Psalm 119:17-24
The Guarded Life - Psalm 119-9-16
Psalm 119 - Outline
Big Idea: The resurrected Jesus meets the fear and doubt of my life with His real, bodily presence and speaks peace to my troubled heart. Introduction: Peace is one of the most desired and least experienced realities in our lives. We look for peace: By resolving circumstances By controlling events By creating outcomes But Luke 24 shows us a different kind of peace. This passage finds the disciples in fear, confusion, and uncertainty. A resurrected Jesus steps into that moment and speaks peace to those he loves. So, this passage answers an important question: What kind of peace does Jesus actually give, and how does He give it? First: The Peace of Jesus Comes to Fearful People (v. 36–37) As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. Jesus appears among them and says, “Peace to you.” This is not a calm room. The disciples are: gathered behind closed doors confused by reports of the resurrection startled and frightened by Jesus’ appearance And the room becomes even less calm because Luke says they thought they were seeing a spirit. But the important point here is that the peace of Jesus is not given after their fear is resolved. It is given in the middle of fear. He comes into their confusion and speaks peace into it. APP: If you are waiting for fear to be eliminated before you have peace, you won’t ever have peace. The peace of Jesus is not the reward for calmness. It is the gift He gives in the midst of fear and doubt. Second: The Peace of Jesus Confronts Our Fear (v. 38–40) And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Jesus responds directly to their inner struggle: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Then He shows them: His hands His feet He invites them to touch Him. Jesus does not ignore doubt or shame their fear. He confronts it with the resurrection, as if to say, “Is there anything a resurrected Savior cannot do/calm?” IMP: This means the resurrection is not presented as an idea to believe, which we often see it as, but it is a reality to embrace so that it changes the way we interact with life. APP: In other words, you don’t overcome fear by pretending it does not exist. You overcome it by remembering that Jesus has come back from the dead. If God can do that, what can’t he do? Where are doubts rising in your heart? about God’s goodness about your future about the truth of the gospel Jesus meets your doubt and fear with his resurrection. Third: The Peace of Jesus is Grounded in His Real Resurrection (v. 41–43) And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. Luke tells us Jesus’ followers still struggled to believe, “for joy.” So Jesus takes it further. He asks for food and eats in front of them. This is not incidental to what Jesus is doing. It is essential. Jesus is proving He is not a spirit He is not a vision He is physically, bodily alive Again, Christian peace is grounded in a historical, bodily resurrection. It’s not just a fact to believe. It’s a reality to bring into your world when you are troubled. If Jesus is alive: sin has been dealt with death has been defeated the future is secure APP: Your peace will only be as stable as what it is built on. What is it built on? If it is built on: circumstances, it will fluctuate feelings, it will shift control, it will collapse But if it is built on the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, it will provide you peace in the midst of fear and doubt. Ill: I’ll create a word about Ebenezer here. Fourth: The Peace of Jesus Leads to Assurance and Rest The progression in the passage is important. Is there, fear - Jesus speaks peace doubt - Jesus reveals Himself confusion - Jesus provides assurance Real peace that will change you comes through encountering the risen Jesus. APP: Peace is not something you create. Just like salvation, it is something God has created for you and that you receive from Jesus. This means: you don’t have to hold everything together you don’t have to resolve every question you don’t have to secure your life or future Jesus has already secured what matters most and his resurrection proves it. Fifth: Applying the Resurrection to Your Life Now So, the question is not: “Do you have a peaceful life?” The question is: “Have you received the peace of Jesus?” And for those who have: “Are you living in the power of his resurrection?” ILL: Think about how Paul applied Jesus’ resurrection to his life (And this may be the most important part of the sermon). Philippians 3:10-11 - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Paul means two things here: He wants to live again after he dies. He wants to enjoy the resurrected life now What Paul longs for in Philippians 3 is what the disciples are encountering in Luke 24. They are not just seeing Jesus alive. They are seeing the beginning of the life Paul says he wants to attain. In Luke 24, the disciples are standing in the presence of the risen Christ. In Philippians 3, Paul is saying, “I want that life to fully take hold of me.” This means the resurrection is something to believe. But it is also a life to enter, a power to live by, and a future to press toward. The same Jesus who stood in that room and said, “Peace to you,” is the one Paul is pressing toward, and He is the one who gives us both the power to live now and the promise of life forever. ( Friends , that’s a great conclusion for believers but it will take the rest of the week for me to flesh that out and say it with the full force it deserves). Conclusion: Think about this - The words “Peace to you” are not casual. They are purchased. (Hallelujah!). Jesus can speak peace because: He went to the cross He bore the wrath of God He satisfied divine justice His resurrection proves he is King of kings and Lord of lords Gospel: The peace He offers is not superficial calm. It is reconciliation with God and all the benefits of it. As Paul says in Romans 5:1 - “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You can have that peace!
Big Idea: You can be near the things of God and still miss Jesus until He opens the Bible to you and reveals Himself. When He does that, everything changes. Introduction: These two disciples are not searching for Jesus even though they’ve heard reports he’s alive, women have seen angels and Peter and John have seen the empty tomb. Even so, they are not staying in Jerusalem waiting to see what happens next. They are leaving town. Jerusalem and headed toward a small town. Now, they’ve listened to Jesus correct their misunderstanding about a suffering Savior but they’ve not yet returned to Jerusalem. They’ve got the facts. They just have no feeling. That should get our attention. Because it means: You can know the facts about Jesus and still not know Jesus. So what does it take to move from us from information to recognition and from recognition to submission? That’s the big question this text hopes to answer - This text answers that. First: You Can Be Close to Jesus and Still Miss Him (vv. 28–29) Jesus has been with them walking and teaching and now He acts as though He will go on. They urge Him to stay but they still don’t know who He is. IMP: They are with Him—and still blind. This is not ignorance. They are coming to the truth. This is partial understanding without true sight. There are people in the church and around the things of God but Jesus is not real. APP: Proximity is not the same as conversion and it’s also not the same as discipleship. Second: Jesus Must Make Himself Known (vv. 30–31) Notice what Jesus does. He takes bread. He Blesses it. He breaks it. He gives it to them. And then: “Their eyes were opened.” IMP: That is the hinge of the passage. It is not that they figured it out, that they remembered some key piece of information that changed everything or connected the dots. Instead, God acted. Knowing Jesus is not something you achieve. Loving Jesus is not something you produce. It is something God gives. You don’t come to Christ because you got smarter or reasoned better or felt something more deeply than others. You became a Christian because God opened your eyes. Note: Somewhere around here I’m going to build a theology of conversion that will look something like this –What just happened at that table is not just the story of these two disciples. It is the story of every Christian. Because the Bible is clear: We do not come to Christ by discovering him. We come to Christ by the Holy Spirit enabling us to see him and changing our minds and hearts about him. a) God Must Open Our Blind Eyes These men were not ignorant. They had information. But they could not see. And the Bible says the same is true of every one of us. 1 Corinthians 2:14 - The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… he is not able to understand them 2 Corinthians 4:4 - The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. So what must happen? ILL – Saul on the Damascus road is the perfect example of this – God blinded him to give him sight. 2 Corinthians 4:6 - God… has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ APP: Salvation is when God does in your heart what He did in creation—He says, “Let there be light.” b) God Must Give Us A New Heart The problem is not just what we see. It is what we love. We don’t naturally love Christ. We don’t naturally choose Him. So God does something deeper. Ezekiel 36:36 - I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you The Holy Spirit changed our heart and made us fall in love with Jesus c) Then God gives us faith Even the act of believing is not something we produce. Ephesians 2:8-9 - By grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God. Philippians 1:29 - It has been granted to you… to believe in Him Faith is not your contribution. It is God’s gift. d) Sanctification Follows the Same Pattern And here’s what matters for this text. The way you are saved is the way you grow. You don’t begin by grace and continue by effort. Galatians 3:3 - Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? No. Philippians 2:13 - It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. The same God who opened your eyes to Jesus, gave you a new heart and faith, must continue to shape your heart. Lazarus in John 11 is the perfect example off this: 1 – Ephesians 2:1 - And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 – Ephesians 2:5 - Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, Think about Lazarus dead in the grave. Jesus called specifically to him and only Lazarus came out. That’s salvation. Then, Jesus had to instruct him be loosed from the linen cloths that bound him. That’s sanctification. Back to the Text: So when you read 16 - But their eyes were kept from recognizing him and 31 - …their eyes were opened, and they recognized him - That is not just a small detail. That is a declaration. This is why prayer is so important – A Prayer – John 11:1-3 - Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” A Model – v 4 - But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” A Resurrection – vs 43-44a - “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out A Loosing – v 11:44b - … his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” This is what we are working for. This is what we are praying for. Third: The Word Burns In Our Hearts Before Our Eyes See Jesus (v. 32) After Jesus vanishes, they say: “Did not our hearts burn within us… while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Before they saw Him something was already happening. Their hearts were being stirred, their assumptions were being dismantled and their understanding was shifting. The Word was doing its work. APP: Jesus does not bypass the Scriptures. He reveals Himself through them. We want shortcuts. We want immediate clarity and instant recognition But God works through the Word to give us sight. Fourth: When We See Jesus, Everything Changes (vv. 33–35) These two disciples, who earlier in the day were confused and discouraged, now get up “that same hour” and return to Jerusalem. It’s the ae road but the opposite direction. Everything reverses from leaving to returning, from confusion to clarity, from depression to declaration. APP: When you see Jesus in the Bible, everything changes. You don’t need to manufacture your witness. When Christ is real, you don’t stay on the road away from Him. If nothing has changed in your life. If there is no definite direction, no urgency to living and no witness to others, the issue isn’t knowledge, it’s seeing Jesus. Conclusion: These disciples had all the information they needed but that wasn’t enough. They didn’t see Jesus in the Word. Until Jesus opened the Bible, opened their eyes, and made himself known. Some are still walking the road away from Jerusalem. You’ve heard it. You know it. You’ve been near it. But Christ is still distant. And the problem is not that Jesus is absent. The problem is that you don’t see him. Because when you see him – your heart awakens your mind changes your direction reverses (That’s Bible repentance!)