John Gunter: Certainly glad to be with you this morning. I'm glad that you're here as well. Hope you've had a great weekend. We had only one game yesterday, and so that was like a vacation. Logan's team has has certainly battled for the last two seasons playing up, and we actually we've been beaten a lot, quite frankly.
Yesterday, we dished one out, eight to one, and so we were very happy. It is so rewarding to watch these young men, even even on the field as I coach, I forget how small they are until they come to the sideline, I go to pat them on the back and go, oh, I need to ease up a little bit, there's not much to them. But it's so rewarding to see people grow, and that's a blessing in my life. I hope you've had plenty of blessings this week for yourself. Well, today marks the end of our series as we've talked about Encounters with Christ, Lives Transformed.
So throughout the series, we have watched people encounter Jesus. We've seen the hungry, we've seen the curious, the ashamed, the broken, and even last week in Zacchaeus, maybe the resistant as he climbed up on a tree just to see who Jesus was. And every time someone encountered Jesus, they left changed. But one question that we haven't really answered and wish we had more information on is is what happens after that encounter? What happens after you meet Jesus?
Because following Jesus was never meant to end at, I believe, or that's a good point, or even baptism. That's not the end. It's a beginning. Right? And so, it continues following Jesus has to continue with a movement, that we have to be challenged to do something else.
Right? As you're confronted with Jesus, you're confronted with the things in your life that need to change, you can either walk away from that, you can say good point and do nothing, or you need to be changed. And I believe everyone that we've talked about, in this series so far has been changed. Today, we're gonna talk about a little bit different scenario because the encounter that we're gonna read about this morning with Jesus happens after Jesus has died. Can you imagine being friends with someone, and how many of you have lost someone in your life, someone very important to you?
The feeling of the uncertainty that comes with that, the the loss that you you didn't even realize you had that anchor or that pillar in your life, but when it's removed, you certainly feel that's no longer reachable, attainable. It's not there. And so I think we can we can certainly empathize with his friends and disciples as they kind of scrambled to figure out what life would look like for them, even even knowing that they've been told he's no longer there. I don't know how you you wrap your mind around that. Right?
And so we're going to begin in that place, a place of uncertainty, and how do I move forward, and and maybe even terms that we would use today, the new normal. What is it going to look like, in our in our life? And so, we're gonna start in John chapter 20 and verse 19. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked were the disciples were for were for fear of the Jews. So in this short passage, the doors are locked.
These are disciples, not outsiders. They followed Jesus, they saw his miracles, they heard him teach, and now, after this, they're hiding in fear. They are not just afraid of dying, they're afraid of what happens next in my life. What does this mean for me? What do we do now?
We can't go back. Do we go back? Can we go back? Do we pretend none of this happened? They certainly had an idea, and and Jesus confronts it throughout his ministry, that this was gonna go a certain way.
Even though Jesus keeps saying, it's not gonna go that way. We're not gonna form this government or military and take this over. They had an idea that this was going to lead to something, even positions of power for some of them. And now that seems to be gone. So the question is, what is next?
And so, it it continues on. It says, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you. Now, you know me, I've got a sense of humor, and I don't know why in this text there's not a or where'd you come from? Because John tells you the doors are locked, they are in fear, and all of a sudden, Jesus is is throwing the peace sign. What's up?
I can't imagine the feeling. Now, it reads completely different from that, but I have to know somebody jumped. Right? But he said to them, peace be with you. Jesus enters the room anyway.
And what I want you to notice from this, you might not be thinking about, but Jesus does not wait for them to fix their fear to show up in their life. How do you say that one more time? Jesus does not wait for them to fix their fear to show up in their life and offer peace. He steps in. He steps into the situation.
And and let me point this out too. Fear does not mean you do not have faith. Fear comes from oftentimes, I don't know what's next. And that's okay because you're a human, and we don't know what's next. Oftentimes, we everything is so planned in our lives that that little disruption has to happen to remind us that we don't know what's next.
But oftentimes, that in itself is unsettling and and brings about a fear of, oh, okay. I'm not as in control as I thought I was. But Jesus steps in anyway and said, peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus not only says peace once, he says peace twice.
He doesn't ask them anything, he doesn't check their faith, hey, did you believe this was gonna happen? I've kept telling you, was gonna have to rise on the third day. He simply shows up in the midst of this uncertainty and says, peace be with you. And oftentimes in church, what people will say, or when you really get down to it, people will not come to Christ because they believe in their mind that what I need to do is get my life together first. And how many of you can attest that if you wait until that point, you're not gonna come to Jesus?
Because even those of us who have come to faith and come to Jesus, we understand our faults. We understand our imperfections. And guess what? So does Jesus. And that's okay.
He came for you. You know, while we were yet sinners, God sent his son. Amen? And that is the story. That is the gospel.
You don't have to have your life together. You don't have to have all your fears removed. Jesus still offers peace. So come to him with the fear and with the uncertainty, and allow him to give you that peace. And that's what we see, and after they see him, of course, they are happy to see their friend.
It says, they were glad when they saw the Lord. And so Jesus offers this peace before really anything else happens. In verse 21, Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, even so, I am sending you. There's a lot in that.
Because I I like thinking about peace. Everybody like peace in your life? If you had a peaceful weekend, that's a good weekend. Right? Or a peaceful week?
Tomorrow's Monday, sorry to ruin your day. Some of us would really like a peaceful Monday. Right? But Jesus said to them, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
That is a very weighty statement. Just think about Jesus' life. Think about what Jesus went through. Someone who had done no wrong should not be facing any anger, hostility, death threats, all of those things, and think of the way his life was. Think of Jesus' purpose, that he went out to be with the sick, to be with the people, as we have read in this series, to be with the people that the other religious people didn't think he should be with.
As the father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And so after Jesus says peace, he gives them a purpose. The purpose is not to sit around and talk about the good old days. The purpose is not just to chill with your friends. The purpose is that wherever I go, I take the message of Christ with me.
That does not mean that my life is going to be filled with health and wealth. I hope it is. But it, quite frankly, is life, and we face difficult days. Right? We face difficult situations, circumstances, issues with our health, all of those things.
As the father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Jesus faced a lot of hardships, and now he sends those people who have walked with him just as the father has sent him. Skipping over to Luke 24, this is known as the road to Emmaus episode. In verse 13, that very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
Now, that's tricky. Jesus is just showing up in locked rooms, and now he's able to do something where they are unable to recognize him. Now, it may just be that these people are like me, non observant. Something new goes up and I'm like, when did that get there? And Katie's like, several months ago.
Okay. It's just on my regular route. Okay. When Evan was a young, I don't know, he hadn't been talking that long, we pulled up to IHOP and he says, I love the smiley face in that logo. I didn't know IHOP had a smiley face in their logo.
Apparently, I black out and think of pancakes as I'm walking in and don't see anything. And I can only imagine what these men are are talking about. Can you imagine living in a time like this? You're you're probably trying to wrap your mind around what in the world has just happened. Or talking verse 14, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him, and he said to them, what is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk? Jesus just likes to mess with people. I'm just gonna say that this morning. He just kind of pride and say, alright, won't you tell me as if I don't already know. And they stood still looking sad, and then one of them named Cleopas answered him, are you the only visitor to to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?
Cleopas is a little chippy. And why? Well, they're gonna tell you why. And he said to them, what things? And they said to him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. This is the issue. We had this hope, we thought it was going to play out in a certain way, and it didn't. Now he's gone. I can only imagine thinking of the way my brain works and how I'm just I'm in a whole conversation with myself, and Katie said, did you hear what I said?
I said, what? I didn't know you were talking. I can only imagine they were there. This is not news to her, by the way, if you're wondering. This is not news.
We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Now, what that meant for them was to get Rome out of the way, become our own country again, our own people, all of that. Yes, and beside all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
Now, these men don't seem to be in the company of of people who have seen him at all. Right? They are going on the testimony of others. What do you do with that? This has not worked out in any way the way I thought it was, the way I hoped it was.
He is gone. It's been three days, and these women are saying, he is alive. Jesus could have come up wearing a jacket and a and a shirt that said, hello, my name is Jesus, and I wouldn't have recognized him because I would have been trying to figure out what does this mean for me. As they are going to Emmaus, that's exactly what they're doing. I don't know what to do.
In verse 24, some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. And he said to them, oh, foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Wonderful. Thank you, Jesus. Slow foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
So this this man they don't even know is calling them foolish and slow of heart. He says, was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther.
See, Jesus is is he's just messing with people. But they urged him strongly saying, stay with us for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them, very hospitable. But when he was at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. I'm left with more questions than answers at that point.
If that happened to you today, how many people would you absolutely not tell because they'd think you were nuts? I was walking and this guy, he was telling us he got on to us about some stuff, we had dinner together, all of a sudden I realized, I think this guy is Jesus, disappeared. How many of you are calling a lot of folks and telling them? There are some places they'll check you into around here for that. And so you can only imagine, again, as they're trying to wrap their mind around the first part of this, now they've got a whole story to kind of keep going through.
Oh, okay. What do I do with this? And so I think what we can take from this is we know they were disappointed, but disappointment with God often sounds like or looks like we had hoped or I had hoped for this in my life. But Jesus continues to walk with us even when those things don't go the way we think they should. Anybody know somebody or you are that person who has you've had your life planned out, one of those people that I'm gonna go to college, I'm gonna get married by 25, those people?
Maybe we are we can be friends. I don't I don't understand all that. I I don't think in that way. How about that? But I do have hopes.
I do have dreams for my kids. I thought they'd play baseball. Here we are in soccer. A hidden blessing I didn't know I would love. Thank you, Lord.
But how many how many times within your life do things not go according to plan? I thought that person was the right one for me. Turns out, he or she was not at all. I wish I wouldn't have had to go through this difficult time of my life, only to find out later I'm a better, stronger person because of it. But oftentimes, before we get to that, it is we had hoped and we're disappointed.
And so, I believe God walks with us through those times even when he's maybe hard to see or hard to see what's coming next. In verse 32, they said to each other, did our heart did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the 11, and those who were with them gathered together. Can you imagine this? They're kind of replaying the whole thing.
Some something was happening. You ever had a feeling about something? And you couldn't I can't name it right now, but something's up. I've done that recently, and after everything kind of came up, it's like, ah, that was it. And that's what they're doing right here.
Did our did our hearts not burn while he was doing it? Something was happening. This feels different. This feels special. And and so as soon as they come to that conclusion, okay, we know this was real.
This was something special, and you see, this encounter leads to, we've got to go tell people. We've got to go back, we've got to go to the 11, we've got to find them. Before this, it's it's just the lady saying, hey, he's still alive. Well, now we've seen him too. He was with us, he ate with us, he read the scriptures to us, and now it is time to go tell everyone else he is there.
Verse 21, Jesus said to them again, peace be with you as the father has sent me even though I'm sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the holy spirit. And so Jesus, again, says, as the father sent me, I send you, probably into brokenness, certainly towards sinners, with a purpose to reach and save the lost, with a sacrifice of your life not going maybe the the way you had planned out. But now he sends us in the same way. Jesus invites us into this life.
He invites us to be light, to be salt, to be examples everywhere we go, not just sitting here in a chair on a Sunday morning, but wherever we find ourselves in the community, at our job, some of us this week flying to Chicago. We are sent into this, and and notice he says in in '22, it says, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the holy spirit. God does not send you alone. God does not send you to a place he is not going to go, that he gifts you with the power of his spirit, and that when he sends you, you are empowered through this spirit just as Jesus was empowered through this spirit. And so God never sends us without giving us what we need.
Now, know it often doesn't feel that way. Right? I wish I I had a better knowledge of this. I'm scared of this person who seems to know a lot more about this than me. We're always afraid of the atheist who's just angry and and well versed in everything.
We're scared of rejection, but God never sends us without the things we need. And I'll tell you, one of the things we need is right here in this room, and you're looking at them. Look around just a second. We have a beautiful thing in the church where we have encouragement that we can find every week. I told the class this morning, every part of my week, Saturday evening, Sunday morning, I I I begin getting a little anxious about the sermon.
Is it enough? Have I done enough? Is it perfect? The answer is, 100% of the time, no. Because those of you who have ever done it, or those of you who have ever coached, or taught, or anything like that, as soon as you're done, you're thinking, I should have said that in a different way, or I planned to say that in that way, I didn't do it, and all the things.
But after that anxiety goes away, on Sunday morning, I think it's about the time where I know in my head, I don't have time to change it anyway. I get a peace, and part of that peace is knowing I'm about to come and worship with people who I love and who love me, that I'm gonna I'm gonna draw encourage some of us this morning, I see your face, I'm gonna draw encouragement from you even if we don't have a conversation just because I know we're in this together. And so I start it starts changing at some point on Sunday morning. I can't wait to be here because I know and this is what I encourage people when I try to get these guys to to do sermons and everything, is that just being here knowing I'm not gonna do anything perfectly, but there is encouragement to be found. This is where I started, is filling in and having opportunities, and all of a sudden, God is growing me in a way that I wouldn't have even planned for.
I certainly wouldn't have said I hoped for it, was so scared, I just thought I want to get through it. But we find encouragement right here, And that that should help us as we go throughout our week thinking about that. That you can just be yourself, you can shine the light of Jesus, and you don't do so alone. You're not isolated unless you choose to isolate yourself because one, God has given you his holy spirit, and number two, we're all with you together. And if you need that help this week, call me.
If you don't like me, call somebody else. Okay? They'll help you. I'll still help you. But we are here together.
And so this morning, you might be fearful, You believe, but something's holding you back. Maybe you're too comfortable. You encounter Jesus, but you've kind of stopped there, you've stalled for some reason, or maybe you feel that call, that you know God is prompting you to step forward, and you need to do that this morning. But following Jesus, encountering Jesus always moves us forward. It always changes us.
And so every week, have asked what happens when someone meets Jesus, and we've seen the hungry are filled, the curious are transformed, the ashamed are restored, the broken are healed, the resistant are pursued. And they, like Zacchaeus, think I'm looking for Jesus and Jesus calls him by name. But today, we see kind of a final truth. The person who encounters Jesus, the person who is changed is sent. And so this morning church, I'm gonna encourage you to act as one who is sent.
Not alone, but with the spirit of God and with others. As we go out into the world this week, may we shine the light of Jesus. May we be people who draw others to ourselves and to Christ because of our actions and not that we are holy, but because he makes us holy. So we're gonna encourage you this morning. If you'd like to, ask for prayers, we would love to pray with you.
If you would like to put on Christ in baptism and and overcome a fear, maybe it's a fear of I'm not good enough. Maybe it's a fear of, well, if they only knew. God is one who already knows and his arms are already wide open ready to receive. Begin that walk with him this week. Would you stand and say your prayer?