Greg Laurie - The Hope of Easter (02/22/2018)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
Pastor Greg Laurie preaches on "The Hope of Easter" from Luke 24, telling how two downhearted disciples walking to Emmaus lost all hope after Jesus' death, thinking He failed as Messiah. Jesus joins them unrecognized, opens the Scriptures to show the prophecies of suffering before glory, and reveals Himself in breaking bread, causing their hearts to burn with renewed hope in the resurrection.
The Unshakable Hope of the Resurrection
Well let's turn in our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, the twenty-fourth chapter. The title of our message is "The Hope of Easter."
I heard a story about a man who went on vacation to Israel with his wife and his very difficult-to-deal-with, ever-nagging mother-in-law. And while they were there, sadly, the mother-in-law passed away. So the man was trying to figure out what to do with the body, where to bury her.
He went to a local undertaker and asked about it. The undertaker said, "Well sir, it will cost you $5,000 to ship her back to the States. But you could actually bury her right here in the Holy Land for $150."
The man thought about it for a few moments and said, "Okay, well I am going to go ahead and ship her back to America." The undertaker said, "Sir, did you hear what I said? You could bury her here in the Holy Land for $150. Why would you want to spend $5,000 to ship her back?"
The man replied, "Well, a long time ago a man was buried here. And three days later he rose again from the dead. And I cannot take that chance."
You know, you just can't ignore the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It changed human history. It has changed most of our lives as well. And because Jesus died and rose again, we have hope.
Now if He had never risen, we would have no hope. But because He did, we do. And our hope is in God. Our hope is not in technology—that is always changing. Our hope is not in human solutions. Our hope is certainly not in politicians. Or I hope your hope isn't in that, because they will disappoint.
Don't even put your hope in preachers. We will disappoint. Listen, if you knew me as well as I know myself, you wouldn't even sit there and listen to me preach today. But before you get up and leave, let me add: if I knew you as well as you know yourself, I wouldn't talk to you. So we are a good match, aren't we?
Our hope is in God. It's been said that man can live forty days without food, three days without water, about eight minutes without air—but not one second without hope.
Have You Lost Hope in Life?
So let me ask you on this Easter: have you lost hope? Has something happened to you recently that has caused you to be sort of like a rudderless ship without any real hope or purpose in life?
Research has revealed that when parents divorce, children often enter life with a sense of hopelessness. There is such hopelessness among our young people today that many are turning to suicide. I read an article recently about young people, and the suicide rate among 10- to 14-year-olds has risen dramatically since the '80s.
When they were asked why they were so despondent, the response was hopelessness. That is the mood of suicidal youth. There is a hopelessness. They don't know what is going to happen. They have lost hope.
Maybe you have come here today discouraged. Maybe your life has not gone the way you had hoped it would go. You were hoping you would be married by now and you are still single. You were hoping your marriage would be strong, but in fact it is unraveling, and for some it might even be falling apart.
You were hoping your business would have succeeded, but it just went belly up. You were hoping your ministry would take off, but it did not. Or perhaps a tragedy has befallen you. You have lost a loved one, perhaps unexpectedly. Matter of fact, they were sitting with you last Easter and they are not here today. And because of that there is a huge hole in your life.
Maybe it is an unexpected illness. You have had great health for so many years. You would always brag on how you were just fit as a fiddle. And all of a sudden your health has fallen apart. And you come here today without hope.
And I want to just say I am glad you came here. You have come to the right place. Because we are going to read the words of Jesus to two discouraged disciples that were down in the dumps. They had lost hope. They were burned out. And in their estimation Jesus had somehow failed in His mission.
The Road to Emmaus: When Hope Seems Lost
You see, they held the view that when Messiah came He was going to establish His kingdom and rule as King of kings and Lord of lords—which in their case meant the overthrow of Rome, who had occupied Israel at that time. And though it is true that Scripture says Messiah will come again and rule and reign, they failed to see that Messiah would first come and suffer and die. And so many passages pointed to that.
So when Jesus—their friend, their hero, their Messiah, their Lord—was suddenly arrested on false charges and beaten and then murdered in cold blood before their eyes, it seemed as though something had gone horribly wrong. It was like the train was off the tracks.
And so these guys were so downhearted, so discouraged, so hopeless they said we have to get out of town. So they left Jerusalem. They wanted to put as much distance between themselves and that bloody cross as possible.
But as they were on their way to Emmaus, someone joined them. A stranger. They didn't know who he was. And as it turns out, it was Christ Himself.
So let's read what happened here in Luke 24 starting in verse 13. I am reading from the New Living Translation today.
"That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. And as they were walking along they were talking about everything that had happened. Then suddenly Jesus came along and joined them and began walking beside them. But they didn't know who he was because God kept them from recognizing him."
He seemed to be in deep discussion about something. He said, "What are you so concerned about?" They stopped short. Sadness written across their faces.
Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about the things that had happened here in the last few days." "What things?" Jesus asked.
"All the things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth," they said. "He was a prophet who did mighty and wonderful miracles. He was a teacher regarded by God and the people. But our leading priests and the religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death. And they crucified him. We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel." Notice "we had thought"—past tense. "This all happened three days ago."
"Then some women from our group of the followers were at his tomb early this morning. They came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing. And they had seen angels who told them, 'Jesus is alive.' Then some of our men ran out to see. And sure enough, Jesus' body was gone, just as the women had said." We will stop there.
Jesus Appears to Ordinary People
Our story begins with two people. One is not even named. Cleopas, whose name is a derivative from Cleopatra who ruled over Egypt. And another—some commentators suggest it was a woman perhaps. So maybe this was a man and a wife. Or maybe it was just two men and we don't know the name of the other.
The point is these were not front-line disciples. We are not reading about Peter, James, or John. Why did Jesus appear to these two guys? Isn't it interesting to note who Jesus made His post-resurrection appearances to?
If I were Christ after I rose, the first person I would have appeared to would have been Caesar in Rome, who thought he was a god. And I would have said, "Hey Caesar, you think you are a god? Check this out. Years from now all they will remember you for is a salad. A good one. But I will change human history." He could have said that.
Or he could have appeared to Pilate. "Hey Pilate, remember me? Ever heard the saying you can't keep a good man down? Listen, you can't keep the God-man down." But no, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene—not even Peter, James, or John. Mary Magdalene. Maybe it is because she was the last at the cross and the first at the empty tomb.
And now here He is appearing to these two men, reminding us that Jesus always seemed to go out of His way to reach out to ordinary people.
Quick poll: how many of you were the top student in your class during your childhood? Raise your hand. You were the top student. Always got the best grades. Honor roll. Wow, we have a lot of losers in this service. Like I think I saw two people. Okay, how many of you got really bad grades in school? Raise your hand. Yeah, this is the loser service. Okay. Guess what? I am one of you.
Okay, going to sports now for a moment. How many of you were super athletic? Always the first one chosen for the team. Raise your hand. This kid right here is. Good, good. By the way, I hate you people. No I don't. How many of you were the last one chosen for the team? Raise your hand. Yeah. Well that was me. No one wanted me. When they were picking teams they would be like, "Oh no, we don't want Laurie. We had Laurie last time. You take Laurie." "No, we don't want him." Then they say, "Okay Greg, you can play first base." Great. First base. No, we actually want you to be first base. You don't understand. You are the base itself.
Jesus went out of His way to reach out to ordinary people, to obscure people, to people that were often forgotten by others.
Jesus Walks with Us—Even When We Don't See Him
And now we have this interesting detail. He is traveling incognito. We read verse 15. And Mark adds a detail that explains it. He says He appeared in another form to them as they went into the country. I am not sure what that means but it means simply that they didn't know it was Jesus.
They do not know who they are walking along with, not realizing that Jesus is walking with us. And sometimes we don't realize that either. You know He is with us all the time. He is with us on those sunny days. And He is with us on those cloudy days. He is with us on the mountaintops. And He is with us in the valleys.
He is with us in our fiery furnaces as He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the three Hebrew teenagers. And He is with you through all that you go through in life.
Isaiah 43:2 says, "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you."
Are you in the rivers of difficulty right now? Are you in a fire of oppression? Listen. Jesus is here with you. If you are a Christian, He will never abandon you. He will never leave you alone. He has promised He will never leave us or forsake us.
But here was the problem. They were going in the wrong direction. See, they should have stayed in Jerusalem with the other disciples, or gone with them to Galilee where Christ had told them to go. But instead they wanted to put as much distance as possible from themselves and the cross.
And listen: when you are downhearted, when you are discouraged, when you have sinned, the last thing you want to do is run from God. You should run to God. I urge you to go to God with your troubles. Go to God with your questions. Go to God with your pain. Go to God with your complaints. The main thing is go to God. Don't run from God.
Don't Listen to the Devil's Lies—Run to the Cross
But you know the devil, he is a clever one, isn't he? He will come and whisper in our ear, "Hey you, happy Christian. Come here for a second. Uh huh. I am the devil. I hate your guts. I want to kill and destroy you. Anyway, I am just kind of thinking you are living this Christian life. You are doing so well. But I thought you might like to have a little fun. You know you deserve a break today. You work so hard. And why don't you go ahead and play this little game here. Or taste this little enticement I have for you. And I will tell you what. You are going to really enjoy it. And I won't tell anyone if you won't."
So we foolishly take the bait. And then the moment we fall into sin the devil comes back and says, "Hey you, miserable hypocrite. Who do you think you are? You think you are a Christian? Don't even think about showing your ugly face in church again. Don't even consider opening the Bible. And you should never pray. You are not worthy."
And we actually listen to this and say, "You are right, devil man. I am not going to talk to God." That is when you should be running to God. The devil is playing Jedi mind tricks on you. Don't you see?
Remember Star Wars Episode 1: Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi. And they are being pursued. And so the guards come up to them. And they are looking for the droids C-3PO and R2-D2. And so Obi-Wan Kenobi does a Jedi mind trick. And he says, "These aren't the droids you are looking for. You can go about your business." And the guard says, "These aren't the droids we are looking for. We can go about our business."
The devil says, "You are not worthy to approach God. You are a hypocrite." We say, "I am not worthy to approach God." No. You are not a hypocrite. You are an idiot for listening to the devil. Stop it. He is a liar. Listen. You can go to God and you can find forgiveness.
These guys were getting away from the cross when they should have been running to the cross. The devil's objective is always to keep you from the cross. The Holy Spirit's objective is to always bring you to it.
I heard a story about a little boy in northern England who got lost. So a policeman found him in the shadows crying. The officer asked the little boy where he lived. The little guy said, "I don't know where I live." "You don't know your address, son?" "No I don't."
So the officer started listing restaurants and stores and hotels. And the boy didn't recognize any of them. And then the officer looked toward town and there was a church there that had a large steeple with a cross that was lit up. And he said, "Son, do you live anywhere near that?" And the little boy, seeing the cross, said, "Yes. Lead me to the cross. I can find my way home from there."
That is what we need to do. Go to the cross. You will find your way home. Yes, the devil wants to keep you from the cross. And listen to this: the devil wants to keep you from fellowship with other believers.
Why We Need Church Fellowship More Than Ever
That is why it is so important for us to gather together and worship. When you are discouraged, when you are down, make a beeline to church. And get with God's people. As I have often said, the church is not a museum for saints. It is a hospital for sinners.
Some people will say, "Well I don't need church, man. That is like man-made religion. I am into spirituality. I commune with God wherever I am. Out hiking or surfing or out on the golf course I talk to the good Lord." And you know, come on. Please.
I heard a story about a pastor who actually decided to play hooky on Easter Sunday of all days. It was a beautiful day and he wanted to go golfing. So he called up his associate pastor and said he wasn't feeling well and asked him to preach for him. And he got in his car and drove eighty miles away because he was certain no one from his church would see him there.
Meanwhile up in heaven God is watching all of this happening. And an angel says to the Lord, "That preacher should be preaching in his church on Easter Sunday morning. Are you going to let him get away with that?" The Lord said gently, "No."
And then the angel and the Lord watched as that preacher hit the ball and it went straight toward the pin, dropping just short of it, rolled up and fell into the hole. It was a 320-yard hole in one. The angel was astonished and said to the Lord, "Why did you let him do that?" God said in response, "Who is he going to tell?"
So let me say I am glad you are in church today. I know some of you don't come every week. I know some of you come twice a year. So I guess I should say, "See you next Christmas or Easter." But let me say something else. You are really missing out. You are missing out on what God wants to do in your life.
The Bible urges us, even commands us, to be a part of the church. Hebrews 10:25 says, "Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but encourage one another—and do it so much more, especially as we see the day of the Lord's return approaching."
I believe we are living in the last days. I believe Christ is coming back again. That is why we are doing this series in Revelation. And I can't think of a time when it is more important for us to be gathering with God's people so we have perspective and we have focus.
But that verse does not say, "Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together... unless of course Sunday is your only day off. Or if there is a triathlon. Or if it is a nice beach day. Or you are just not in the mood." No. Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together.
Some will say, "Well you see I love God. I just don't love church." But that is a contradiction. If you love God you love His people. The Bible asks the question, "How can you say you love God who you can't see when you don't love His people who you can see?"
And so for us to not be in fellowship with other believers to me is an indicator that we are not really walking with God as we ought to. Because birds of a feather flock together. And I find that I want to be around people that share my beliefs, that have my worldview, that will encourage me in that.
I don't necessarily want to hang around people that will drag me down and try to change the way that I think. No, I want to try to influence them. But I want to be around people that will encourage me in my walk with the Lord.
Oh yeah, but the church, you know, it is so judgmental and it is so full of hypocrites. My response to that is, well come on in. There is always room for one more. Now I am not excusing hypocrisy. I think you know that. But I think really that is more of an excuse than it is a reason, isn't it?
Let me say something you might find controversial. Not being a part of the church is a proof that something is wrong with you spiritually. Because over in 1 John 2:19 it says, "These people left our churches because they never really belonged with us. Otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left us it proved they did not belong with us."
I can't emphasize how important this is, not only for you, but for your children, you see. You are setting an example for your kids that they will follow in years to come.
Our survey revealed that when mom and dad attend church regularly, 72 percent of their children will remain faithful in attendance. If only dad attends, 55 percent of the children will remain faithful in attendance. If only mom attends regularly, 15 percent will remain faithful. And if neither attend regularly, only six percent will continue to attend.
I read the story of a father and his young son who were climbing up a mountain path. And it got pretty treacherous. And the dad was trying to decide which way to go. And he heard his little boy say, "Choose the right path, Dad. I am coming right behind you." The kids are following you. They are watching you.
Something wonderful happens when God's people gather together. Jesus said, "When two or more are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them."
How Jesus Rekindles Hope Through Scripture
Here was the problem with these guys. They separated themselves from the cross. They separated themselves from other believers. And the result was they were discouraged and down. But Jesus did not give up on them. He joins them.
And He asks them this question, verse 17, "What are you so concerned about? Why the long face? What is wrong?" He is trying to draw them out. And then they respond in verse 18, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that had happened in the last few days."
And then to add insult to injury, they say, "We thought He was the Messiah"—past tense. "And it has been three days since it has happened." I wonder if Jesus was thinking, "Oy vey. Three days. Hello. Don't you guys remember how many times I said three days?" He broke it down pretty clearly. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. He is going to be crucified. And in three days—repeat after me, three days—arise.
And here it has been three days. And people have said He is alive. But I don't know. What can you say? Jesus is listening to all of this. But you know it is easy to criticize them. But the fact of the matter is if we had been in their sandals we probably would have done the same thing.
You know a lot of times we don't listen to what God says in His Word. We worry when we should pray. We panic when we should trust. We turn away when we should cling. So we understand this.
But what did Jesus do to restore hope? What did Jesus do to rekindle their hearts? He took them to the Scripture. He opened God's Word to them and explained it. And that is where you will find your hope being rekindled.
Romans 15:4 says, "These things were written for our learning that we through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."
Let's see what happened. Verse 25: Then Jesus said to them, "You are such foolish people. You find it so hard to believe all the prophets wrote in this Scripture. Wasn't it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all of these things before entering this time of glory?"
And Jesus quoted passages from the writings of Moses and all the prophets explaining what the Scriptures said about Himself. Man, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that sermon. I wonder what He told them.
I wonder if He said, "Hey guys, remember Psalm 22 where the psalmist says, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' And he says, 'They have pierced my hands and my feet.'" That was speaking of the crucifixion. And by the way, Psalm 22 was written 1,000 years before the first crucifixion had even taken place historically.
Maybe He took them to Isaiah 53. And remember that passage where Isaiah says, "As the lamb before her shearers is dumb or quiet, so he opened not his mouth." That was talking about me. "He was wounded for your transgressions." That was me, you guys. It's all pointing to me.
All of those Old Testament types—from the Passover lamb to the others. That's me. The rock that was broken in the wilderness where the water came out. That was me. It's all a picture of me. You see?
They still don't know it's Jesus, but they know this much: this guy really knows his Bible. We like this guy. And they found as they listened that their heart was being rekindled.
Has that ever happened to you when you have read the Word of God? Or when you have heard a message that spoke to you and you said, "Yeah. That's it. That's what I need. That's what I have forgotten." That's what was happening to them as they are walking along on this road.
And then they make this great statement in verse 32: "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
That's what we all need. A good case of heartburn. Not the kind from eating a burrito late at night. I know that heartburn well. Pizza will also bring it about. Especially if you add Tabasco sauce, as I do. I'm talking about spiritual heartburn. A heart that burns for God.
Checking Your Spiritual Temperature This Easter
You know if you are not feeling well and you go to the doctor one of the first things they will ask you is, "How are you feeling?" Then they will say, "Let me take your temperature." Why? Because your temperature will reveal your true condition.
Well maybe we ought to take our spiritual temperature right now. Because that's an indicator of our spiritual health. According to the Bible there are three categories that we will fall in—one of three categories showing where we are at as far as our spiritual temperature goes. We are either icy cold or miserably lukewarm or we are burning hot.
Which one of those would describe you best this Easter Sunday?
Number one, you may have a cold heart. What does that mean? That means that your heart is like stone. It is like ice. To quote the great theologians, Foreigner, "You are as cold as ice." If you laughed you are old. This is the old loser service. Because I was just kidding.
But your heart is not responsive to God's Word. And this is a scary thing to me. That you could come and hear a message like this—it is not really about me preaching, just to hear God's Word—and say, "Who cares? When is this thing going to be over with? I am here because my wife wanted me to come. Or my husband. Or my parents. Or my kids. Or someone else. Let's get this thing over with."
You are not moved by anything. Nothing affects you. And you are kind of proud of that. Listen, you have a cold heart. And that is a scary thing because the Bible says one of the signs of the end times is because iniquity would abound, many would have their love grow cold.
Man I hope if your heart is cold it will be broken today and you will turn to God.
Category number two is an interesting one. Miserably lukewarm. Listen there is nothing worse than lukewarmness. Sort of like tea or coffee. You like it hot or cold. I like iced tea. Do you? I like hot coffee. I like cold coffee over ice. I like milk cold. Especially if some cookies are with it. I like milk hot. Especially if there is a little chocolate or cocoa put in it. But who likes lukewarm milk?
Jesus made this statement in Revelation 3:15: "I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will spew you out of my mouth." That is a nice word. King James translation. There is "spew." Spew is British for barf.
An English person that is not feeling well: "Oh I am feeling terribly upset and nauseated. I think I will go spew straight away. Cheerio. It is lovely really." Americans say "I am going to barf." I don't know about you but I hate to throw up. I mean I don't know if people like it but some people seem to do it better than others. Have you noticed that?
Like my wife. I hate to use her as an example but you know she is feeling sick. She goes "I am feeling sick." She goes blech. Done. With me it is like "I am feeling sick. I am going to throw up. Oh no. I am going to throw up. Oh no. No. No. No. No. No." And I fight it. I hate it. Oh.
So let's say you are going out with a girl and you are wondering what she is thinking of you. Say "So what do you think of me?" "You make me want to throw up." This is not a good sign.
So to put this into the vernacular Jesus is effectively saying you know what because you are not hot and you are not cold but you are lukewarm you turn my stomach. You make me want to throw up.
Oh who was He saying this to? Listen to this. He was saying it to people in the church. I didn't say He was saying it to Christians necessarily. He was saying it to the church of Laodicea.
And what was their situation? Well they didn't think they needed help. They didn't think they needed God. They said "Oh we have got it all together." God says listen. "Because you say that you are rich you are increased with goods and have need of nothing. I will tell you what your true condition is. You are poor. You are miserable. You are blind. And you are naked."
And so Jesus is actually saying to His own church: "You guys need to wake up." And it is to this church that He says "I stand at the door and knock. And if you will hear my voice and open the door I will come in."
You say "Wait a second. Isn't that verse to a nonbeliever?" Well in effect it is. But listen to this. You can be an evangelized nonbeliever. I think there might be somebody in a bar right now nursing a beer who could be closer to the kingdom of God than someone sitting in this service.
You say "Well you lost me there. I don't get that at all." Well maybe that person in the bar has come to the end of themselves. And they realize how empty their life is. And maybe they are saying to themselves "I am going to get right with God and put my faith in Jesus."
But there could be someone in this church who because they have been raised in the church and they have heard all these things before thinks they know it all and would effectively blow it off. You see lukewarmness is a self-satisfied condition where one thinks they have it all and they know it all. It has inoculated them to the gospel. The best inoculation against the gospel is the gospel heard but not heeded.
Years ago I was flying to some third world countries and I had to get inoculated. So I went down to get a bunch of shots. And this lady she had done this a few times. It was really good. And I complimented her. I said "Ma'am thank you. It didn't hurt at all." She said "Well son there is one more shot." And this syringe was so big it took two orderlies to carry it in. And they gave me the shot. I won't say where but I didn't sit for a while. And I felt it going in. And I was in pain. And I was delirious with the effects of this poison they put in my body so my immune system would build up. And so effectively I had enough in me to develop my immunity.
Again the best inoculation against the gospel is the gospel heard but not heeded. G. Campbell Morgan made this statement and I quote: "There is more hope for the man outside the church and all of his coldness than for the man within the church who is near enough its warmth to appreciate it but far enough from its burning heat to be useless to God and man." There is a greater chance for the non-believer who has not heard the gospel than for the man who has become an evangelized non-believer.
I hope you are not miserably lukewarm. I hope you are burning hot like these disciples were.
The Moment of Revelation: Hearts Burning Within
Well there is one final movement to our story. And we will wrap this up. Look at verse 28 of Luke 24. By that time they were nearing Emmaus. At the end of their journey Jesus acted as if He were going further. You might underline that. I love that statement.
But they begged Him to stay the night with them since it was getting late. So He went home with them and they sat down to eat. He took a small loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. And at that moment He disappeared.
And they said one to another, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So here is Jesus waiting to be invited to join on life's road. In other words He doesn't force His way in. Notice that it says He acted as if He were going further.
Have you ever wondered if you are really wanted somewhere? If you are the third wheel? Maybe you are at someone's house and you know it is getting toward dinner time and they are starting to cook things up. You are hungry and you are thinking, "Man I wish they would invite me to dinner." So you start dropping hints. "Yeah I am going to go on out to Denny's in a little bit. Get that Grand Slam special. Have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Boy I tell you that food sure smells good. Boy oh boy it smells good."
You are just wanting them to say, "Oh stay for dinner." And they say to you in response, "Well you know have a good meal at Denny's. Bye bye." Guess what? They don't want you. Take a hint.
But let's go back to the same scenario. Maybe before you even drop hints they say, "Hey would you stay for dinner?" "Oh I couldn't." "You don't have enough." "We have plenty. We would love to have you. Please stay as our guest." See you want to be wanted I hope.
Some people don't seem to understand this. Jesus would not force His way into their life. He acted like He was going to go, "Ok guys good to be with you. I will see you later." "Wait wait wait wait. Sir, sir wait. We don't know what your name is. I am Mr. Know the Bible really well guy. But could you stay with us and break a little bread?" "Ok."
So they sit down. He is breaking the bread. All the bread. They get it. That was the sound effect there. That is the idea. Their eyes were open. And they say, "It is Jesus." He is gone. Oh. Then they say, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He opened the word?" No wonder that guy knew the word so well. He wrote it.
But Jesus won't force His way into anyone's life. And as we come to the close of this service I am going to extend an invitation as you probably assumed I would. To get right with God. To be forgiven of your sin.
But you say, "Well Greg I don't want to." Well then you don't have to have it. You can leave here with a cold heart. You can leave here as a lukewarm person. You can leave here and face your hopelessness all alone. Or you can ask Christ to come into your life. He will forgive you.
Coming back to that statement I quoted earlier from the Lord to the church: "I stand at the door and knock. If you will hear my voice and open the door I will come in." He is waiting for an invitation.
Listen. God offers to you a free gift. You either accept it or you reject it.
Yesterday I was with two of my granddaughters, Stella and Lucy. And they set up a lemonade stand. They were doing pretty well. They were selling it for a buck a cup. And people were buying. And so I watched them and would give them little bits of advice. Like say thank you. Say please.
And one very nice lady comes along and says, "Well I don't want any lemonade. But I am going to give you a dollar for someone else who can't afford any. So give a cup of lemonade to someone who can't afford it."
And so I said to Stella, "Stella this is great. You can give away a free cup of lemonade. So let's find the right person." And some people were coming along and said, "Go ask them." Stella walks up. She is so cute. You know, "Would you like a free glass of lemonade?" The person says, "No." I went after that person. I smacked them. No I didn't. But I should have.
Another person comes along. They kind of move around her. No. No. She is offering free lemonade. No. No. Then Stella looks at me like, "Papa what is going on here? You told me to do this. And it is not working."
They said, "You know Stella. They just don't think it could be good if it is free. Why don't you find someone to sell a cup to. And then if there is two people there you could give the cup to the other person." So a couple comes along. She sells one cup. Gives the other one away.
But that is just like us. Isn't it? God says, "I have a free gift for you. Here it is. Free." What is the catch? Well the catch is He sent His son to die in your place on the cross. And He was beaten to a bloody pulp. And He paid the highest price imaginable for you. And now He offers you this gift.
See I don't get that. I am thinking, "Well no. How much does it cost?" "Okay. It costs one billion dollars." Now we are talking. I don't have a billion but I understand that. Or if God said, "Okay you want to go to heaven when you die. You have to wear a green chiffon robe. Cover your head in whipped cream. Go down to LAX. Twirl in circles and sing, 'I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener.' Do this for three months straight." Okay. How does that song go again? "I wish I were an..." Yeah. See because I get to work for it. I get to pay for it.
God says, "Well actually you could never afford it even on your best day. It is a gift. My son shed his blood. Here it is."
Now listen to this. If I bought you a gift and spent everything that I had on that gift and offered it to you and you rejected it, that would be insulting to me. "Well you know I am really busy right now. And yeah I know that. But you know what? I bought this. I sold everything for it. Please take it." "Why would you do that for me?" "Actually because I love you. Would you receive the gift?" "Yeah. You know probably not today. But thank you anyway."
Now that may sound good to you. But that is an insult to God. He offers you forgiveness. If you don't want it, you don't have to take it. But what a tragic thing. Because you face the repercussions of future judgment. Separation from God for all eternity. And all He really wants to do is forgive you so you can join Him in heaven.
Would you like that forgiveness? Would you like Jesus to come into your life? Would you like Him to change you and forgive you of all of your sin?
And so I am going to give you an opportunity to do that right now. I am going to ask everybody to bow their head. And we are going to extend this opportunity for you to get right with God. Let's all pray.
Father I pray for everybody here, everybody watching this. Help them to see their need for Jesus. There is nothing I can say to convince them Lord. But I pray your Holy Spirit will make them aware of their sin and their need for a Savior. And bring them to yourself. Now we would pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, wherever you are, if you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you would like Him to forgive you of your sin, if you would like to know that when you die you will go to heaven, if you want to receive this gift of eternal life that He offers, would you lift your hand up wherever you are sitting? And I would like to pray for you.
If you want Christ to come into your life, lift up your hand if you would please. God bless you and you and you. God bless you. Up in the balcony. God bless you.
Now you outside in the amphitheater, up in the court building, you that are watching at Harvest Orange Crest, Harvest Orange County, I can't see you but I want you to lift your hand too. It is a little step of faith you are taking. So lift your hand up. If you want God's forgiveness today. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. God bless you.
If you haven't lifted your hand yet, you want Christ to come into your life, lift it now. Let me pray for you. God bless each one. God bless you up there in the balcony. God bless all of you.
Now while our heads are still bowed, I am going to ask all of you that lifted your hand if you would please to stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand to your feet. Stand up wherever you are. Here in the sanctuary. Out in the amphitheater. In the court building. Harvest Orange County. Harvest Orange Crest. Stand to your feet right now.
I am going to lead you in a prayer. A prayer where you are committing your life to Christ. Anybody else stand now. Stand up. Wherever you can see me stand. You will pray this prayer. This is between you and God.
One final moment. You want to make this commitment to Christ. Stand to your feet now. Anybody else? God bless all of you that are standing. Many of you are. One final moment. Stand now. God bless you.
All of you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking Christ to come into your life. Again as I pray you pray this out loud. Pray this with me if you would.
Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross for my sin. And I am sorry for it Lord. I turn from it now. I choose to follow you Jesus. From this day forward. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. Thank you for loving me. And calling me. And forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.