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Welcome to the Jesus Image Podcast. Wonderful Holy Spirit, you are the Lord, the giver of life, and you open our eyes and you show us Jesus. And Lord, I ask you to open our eyes to the beauty of the sun. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. You can be seated. How many of you were moved by the simplicity that you just heard about? You felt like the Lord was returning you, recalibrating you. Would you just lift your hand? Okay, we're gonna pray for that in just a moment. And I think as we pray that, we will be praying something very dear to the heart of the Lord. That God would release the gift of simplicity to us. You know, another gift you should ask for is the gift of tears in the Lord's presence. There are some people who stream tears for months and months at a time at a time because they're so moved by the love of God. So blown away by the glory of the gospel. So what verse did I give you? Okay. I didn't give you a verse yet, right? Okay. I want us to go to verse verse uh nineteen. At evening, and by the way, this is following the Lord's interaction with Mary Magdalene. 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, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. He himself is our peace, and then he shows them his wounds. After seeing the wounds, the scripture here says they saw the Lord. Verse 21. So Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now Thomas, called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. I should have worn my glasses. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. Wow, what a testimony. I said, What a testimony. So he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace to you. Three times. He releases peace. Then he said to Thomas, Reach your finger here, and look at my hands, and reach your hand here, and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God. And that believing you may have life in his name. Say amen. I'm writing right now on this section for school. Thank you, buddy. Now I want us to go to Luke twenty-four. What I'm talking about now is a very holy progression. That is very real. It's very real. And this is why this year, Jesus 26, the theme is Sacred Wounds. For those of you who were at the pastor's conference, you have to hear a new song that we had the joy of writing called Say O Sacred Wounds. What I'm about to talk about right now is very, very holy. So you've heard me many times teach on Luke 24 in the road to Emmaus or Emaus, which means hot springs or warm springs. And there are two perspectives here. Actually, some a lot of wonderful people, or few people I know, believe that. It's great. I'm sure many of you who are stressed have done that before. But I think it also speaks to an internal uprising of the river inside of us that is meant to be a fiery river that Jesus talked about, that from our innermost being, rivers of living water would flow. And he said that if we would drink from this river, then it would spring up. Notice that the prerequisite to getting this river to flow is drinking. It is communing with the Lord that releases a greater move of the Holy Spirit within us. On the road to Emmaus, I don't want to teach line by line. I just want to give you the basics and then move into the touching of the wounds. On the road to Emmaus, these disciples begin with a dull heart and blind eyes. And to a degree, all of us are dealing with a heart that is too dull and eyes that are too dim. Life is really about the heart catching fire and our eyes opening. Pastoring, leading, being in the ministry, it's really about taking people who are not seeing him well because of a myriad of reasons. Who have faced it, let's just say, in the sun in a Sunday scenario, who have faced the difficulties of the week, who are living in the world, and the stresses of life dull the heart, and they don't have that kind of power unless you give it to them. And then the eyes grow dim. And it should be the role of the church when we gather to set the heart on fire and see the eyes healed of their blindness. Make sense? Now, the burning of the heart, which I love the fact that we called the youth camp burning ones, the burning of the heart actually helps heal the blindness. Because Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in, for they shall see God. The people who have the clearest vision are the people with the most fiery hearts. And don't let anybody put the fire out. Don't let anyone call you to a more dim or balanced or palatable Christian experience. We should be the most fiery, clear-eyed people on the earth. So these disciples were restrained from seeing. They're restrained in some ways because of their own doubt. And the Lord knew exactly when to open their eyes and how to open them. But we walk into church blind in many ways. And we should leave as the young people were talking, as the one young man was quoted, I think his name is Ethan. Is that his name? What is it? Daniel. No, somebody quoted Ethan. Yeah, Ethan. When somebody asked him what happened, he goes, The Lord. Not what happened. It's actually who happened. The Lord. And I don't think it's the ability to explain what happened that carries you the longest. I think it's the experiences with God that you can't explain that carry you the furthest and the longest, right? It's the experiences with the Lord that are impossible to articulate. We call this phenomenon. Or beauty. That's why, in many ways, we're building the the Lord's is building the building we're building. And it has to be just right. And it's expensive and it's worth it. We've built too many black square boxes for too long in the name of not being Catholic. So we just built theaters. That's the beauty of the House of Bethany, for example, the worship academy. Is they're able to write, able to play, able to create with the Spirit, create in ways that doesn't complicate but minimizes and leaves people speechless. A young man said, Pastor, would you come speak on beauty, the beauty of the crucifixion? Initially, they wanted to do something at Oxford and now at a Catholic university, and then write or actually create music around the message I was going to preach. Create music around the crucifixion and just let the crucifixion speak for itself and let that inexplainable power of the crucifixion run people through until they're speechless. It's those speechless moments that carry you the longest. If you can totally explain everything that happened to you in the presence of God, well, I think I'm probably gonna doubt that you were in his presence. Because there is so much mystery in the cloud. Do you understand what I'm saying? And so people need beauty. And if you're going to create something, why not create every square inch of something with the gospel in mind? So if we're gonna have windows, they need to share the gospel. Amen? If we're gonna have a wall, why not put the passion on the wall? Why not have seraphs and living creatures when you look up to be reminded of heaven? That doesn't make you an idol worshiper unless you get in front of it and call that the Lord. God does not have a problem with beauty. Look at the tabernacle. Look at the temple. Look at the high priest's robe. Look at the cherubs that were formed on the mercy seat. Look at the beauty of the mercy seat. Look at the garments of the Levites. God is into this. You understand? So this creates an experience with God that you just can't put into words. And if we can perfectly articulate who God is, it's not the real Lord. Well, let me say it a different way. If you think you can completely articulate his vastness, if you think you can look at the crucifixion one time and completely describe it with perfection just once, you don't understand the crucifixion. The crucifixion, the death, I should say the passion, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the sum total of God's attributes on display. And it's going to take eternity to discover one little drop of the wisdom and majesty of God. All right. So these disciples, they're blinded, and we're all blinded to a degree. And they start talking to one another in Luke 24. And Jesus shows up. Now listen. Your conversations will either draw him or repel him. You get to choose. My son Benny asked me the other day, we were driving in California. He said, Baba, how do I know when I'm preaching too long or talking too much to somebody about the Lord? Or how do I know if I'm going too long or if I'm saying the wrong thing? I said, Well, by sensing an increase or a decrease in your nearness to God. Have you ever said a little too much or said something about someone you shouldn't have said? And instantly you feel that moisture dissipate. That's God's way of saying, shut up. Instantly, you just don't feel right. And what kicks in when you don't feel right? Reason. You start to reason your way out of the Word of God. Well, uh, it's family. I can gossip to family about anyone. It's family. No, you can't. Well, it's my husband. It doesn't matter. It's still gossip. Huh? Well, uh, that family member, that preacher is family. He's still a preacher. We should be quiet. He still wears oil. We don't like these things because they they challenge our own individualism. But these are the ways of God. They're time-tested, they're eternal. Huh? So the disciples are talking, and the Lord shows up, and he begins asking them questions, and he says, What are you guys up to? And they can't recognize him. And this should cause us to want the Holy Spirit's help more than ever. I mean, what a scary thing to think that Jesus can show up and us not know it's Him. Now the Bible says regarding our care and hospitality for strangers that we should be very careful because we entertain angels unaware. That's still the Word of God. Imagine how we treat people we don't know. According to Scripture, it could be an angel. I don't want to get that one wrong. A priest was recently telling me how in their homeless outreach, I don't want to say too much, but multiple people said that they believed they saw the Lord while feeding the poor. The Lord himself visibly came to visit their homeless outreach. Makes sense to me. Didn't Mother Teresa say that you have to see Jesus and every single person you're serving? So Jesus shows up and he begins to talk to them and they don't recognize him. And may the Lord heal us from being in his presence and not recognizing him. And so he begins to ask them questions and they say, Where have you been? I'm paraphrasing. Where have you been? Haven't you heard what happened? In verse 17 of Luke 24, he says, What kind of conversation is this that you've had with one another as you walk and are sad? This should really get our attention. That Jesus is watching, that he is engaged, he is listening to conversation, and these conversations move him. And so in verse 18, they basically say, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which happened there these days? He was the one crucified, and they're going, Don't you know what happened? In verse 19, he, oh gosh, Jesus is amazing. He goes, What things? That's not being dishonest, but he will play with you. He will mess with you. He will take you to the end of your self-constructed vision of yourself. You think you're so smart, and he will ask you, oh, like what things? He'll just let you get to the end of yourself so that you look foolish. And they replied, look, look at verse 19. The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth. So what are they doing now? They're telling him about him. And in verse 25, he calls them fools. I think that's wonderful. I said, I think that's wonderful. Oh, foolish ones and slow of heart to believe. And he connects the two. Being slow of heart to believe, to simply believe, is foolish to him. To believe in what? In all the prophets have spoken. Isn't it amazing that the walking living Christ here is rebuking them for not believing Scripture? There was a man who shared a story, he was on his deathbed. I actually got to speak to him. A very poor Mexican man, a very saintly man. And I got to spend time with him, and he was dying of a blood disease. And they had given up on him. He was supposed to die, I think, that night or the next day, and the Lord Jesus walked into his hospital room, touched his foot, and said, I am Jesus, be healed. And the Lord Jesus saw the scriptures, the Bible, on his nightstand in the ICU. And the Lord, the man told me this. He said, the Lord pointed to the scriptures and says, That's my word. Read it. That man walked out of the hospital completely healed. It's amazing to me that Jesus, the risen Christ here, is rebuking them for not believing what the prophet spoke, not believing the scriptures. And then he begins with the passion. Look, verse 26. He begins with the cross. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and entered into his glory. Then he gives them an entire Bible study in the next verse. He expounds to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And I promise you, that took a minute. It sounds to me like servants of the Lord, or the Lord himself, does not have a problem preaching for a long time. Paul put someone to sleep, they fell out of the window. Died and he raised them and kept back preaching. Because I'm not sure we realize what's happening when the word is being preached. True, invisible, life-giving bread that formed the worlds is available to you. Some grab it and some don't. I think our attention span, the Spirit, is too weak. We're too easily distracted. I asked Dean Becker about so many of the early church fathers who had memorized all the gospels and prayed all of the psalms daily, how they could do that. He said, Focus. I was like, oh, well, you think they wrote it down? He said, no, concentration. I was like, oh. Because this generation has lost the power of long-term concentration. Long-term prayer. Long-term locked-in focus. And when you're distracted, turn the eyes of your soul back to what the Lord is doing, whether it's in prayer or in a corporate setting, do not let your soul live a distracted existence. You've got to learn to be a master over it by the Spirit and say, no. And you need to learn how to mention the name of Jesus. This is just a side note, but it'll bless you. When you find yourself distracted and the Lord recaptures your attention, say his name. Many pray the Lord's Prayer in that moment. Many say the name of Jesus. Many for hundreds and hundreds of years have prayed the Jesus prayer. Whatever it takes, get your attention back on the Lord. So when the scriptures are being released like they are right now, it is not God's fault if we squander it. I'm just telling you, I've been doing this a long time now. With a lot of the people you would love to be around. And a lot of the people the world thinks are the greatest people. The ones I walk with have seemed to grab this. They just seem to capture moments by the Spirit that everyone else just doesn't get. And they do it more often. Ten years goes by. They are light years beyond them in the spiritual life. So he goes through in verse 27 all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. So we know that scripture speaks of him, but it must be done. I mean, we must look at scripture in proper order through Moses and the prophets, and we must look at the crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and his glorification. That's the only way to encounter God in the scripture. Alright, now. Then they draw near the village. I want you to look at verse 28. It says they drew near the village where they were going, and he indicated that he would have gone farther. Why would the Lord do that? Why would he say, I just I need to keep going? Because he wants them to hold on. Now I told you, I think, before I left, usually the most important tests that you will take in the spirit are the ones you don't know you're taking. And I would actually, I would actually make it a matter of prayer to say, Lord, get my attention. Let me know if I'm being tested. If there is a moment that I'm missing, because some are obvious, but some are not. And this is where you need spiritual leadership in your life to go, oh, I've been there before. Grab that moment. I had somebody recently call me. He had some disagreements theologically with his pastor, which is fair. And there are no two people in the world who are going to open this massive book and agree on every verse. What we have to agree on are the central issues of the faith. You say, well, what is that? Well, that's why we read the creed. I was just in a beautiful unity gathering, as I told you, with with uh people out in California at a monastery, and uh we were like, well, what well not I wasn't saying this, but some other people were saying, well, what is central and what's peripheral? So I just I thought, well, I think that's why the creed was formed. Can't we look at Nicaea and go, I'm in. I'm in. I'm baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity. I went into the waters. I believe what the creed says. It's been formed to actually give language to the faith. I've been baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I'm living a life that's bearing the fruit of the Christian life, the fruit of the Spirit is seen in me. I've been changed. I've gone from darkness to light. If that's the case, you're my brother, you're my sister. Your expression is not the point. Your expression is peripheral. But what I just talked about is central. I actually think we have access to what's central, but we're missing. It's actually why the whole church recites the creed. We need to remember why we're doing it. Maybe if we just noticed it, we could be more united. You know what I mean? So we were talking about this, and the lights went on. Isn't it amazing that we can recite the creed in thousands and thousands of churches, tens of thousands of churches, every Sunday, but somehow miss a moment that could change everything. So the tests we take, we need mercy. Well, let me back up. So this this pastor who's who said he was having some theological disagreements with his pastor, he said, Pastor Michael, what do you think? I said, What? I said, I think you're in a test. He goes, huh. I said, the test isn't so much about whether or not you're right. The test is whether or not you will embrace the humility of Christ. Now, if it's full-blown heresy, in other words, where you don't glorify Christ crucified, the gospel's under, of course, of course, you just run. But I'm talking about the peripheral issues. Maybe the test isn't actually winning the argument. Maybe the test is becoming like Jesus in the moment. Maybe there's a greater victory than being right. Maybe the most right posture I can actually take is the lowest one. And we need people in our life to go, I know you think this is just a Wednesday at 3 o'clock. It's not. That phone call you're about to have is not just a phone call. All of heaven is watching. You walking by that homeless person, passing them by, and then once you pass them by, feeling convicted of the spirit, I need to go back. That sounds like just a little invisible battle. No, all of heaven is watching. You are obeying and and and gaining treasure in heaven, and you have no idea when the damn is about to break. You have no idea when the next past test becomes your final exam to be promoted in the spirit. It may not just be a pop quiz, it could be a final exam. And this is why we need people in our lives to go, I've been there before. I wish I did it differently. Don't do it the way I did it. People have asked me in the past, what's the best thing about pastoring at Jesus' image? Number one, it's the Lord Jesus, it's his presence. Number two, it is watching you fall in love with him. It's just wonderful. It's wonderful watching God set your hearts on fire. Number three, it's amazing. It is amazing. Watching the Lord take a group and seeing them impact the nations. It's just incredible to watch. Then they ask, what's been the most challenging part about leading in Jesus' image? It's watching people who you've given the scriptures to in your life and decades of experience in, giving that to them consistently and watching them choose another way of life. Something comes over them, darkness veils them, and the devil takes over. It's very difficult. Very painful. And this is where we need, listen, we need people to go, you're in a test. You forgiving that person is bigger than that relationship. It's a test. Here, the disciples are in a test. And the Lord is just saying, I'm gonna go on. He didn't say, Hey guys, this is a test. I'm gonna go on. What I'm gonna need you to do is constrain me. He doesn't say, if you'll constrain me, I will open your eyes. And you'll see me when I break the bread. He just says, I'm gonna go on. There's a side to the Lord that is mysterious and loving, and you have no idea what one inch of obedience can produce. So, I love this. It says that he would have gone for further in verse 29, but they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening. They told the light of the world that he shouldn't go outside in the dark. It's so funny. I don't know if you think this stuff is funny, but God has a sense of humor. You must stay with us. It's getting dark out. I'm sure the Lord was freaked out over the dark. And the day is far spent, and he went in to stay with them. Alright, now listen up. Then he takes bread. That's the Eucharist. He breaks it in verse 30. He blessed it and broke it, gave it to them, and their eyes were open. Why are we so protective over communion here? Because number one, we believe it is the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. You say, well, I don't like that, I don't understand it. It doesn't matter. It's what he said. It's what he said. And the bulk of Christendom believes that this is the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. Now, how that happens, that's where most of the disagreement takes place. But Jesus never said this represents my body. He said, This is my body. This is my blood. We think that this is just so far-fetched that because we understand everything else about the Christian life. But let me let me you couldn't describe your born-again experience if you tried. Your body is now the temple of the Spirit. Explain that one. Explain that you died and were raised again. Here's one. You are seated in heavenly places. How old are these pews, babe? These are 30-year-old pews. As far as I'm concerned, you're kind of sitting on those two. But Paul writes, you're seated in heavenly places. Here's one. Jesus Christ was crucified according to the book of Revelation before the foundation of the world. I can't figure that out. I know. Welcome, welcome. To the glory of the Christian life. So we handle the Eucharist here with absolute care. And the fear of the Lord. And here the Lord Jesus breaks the bread. Listen. And the Bible says, as he broke it and gave it to them, which is what happens every Sunday morning. That's why I pray this prayer. You who are the offerer and the offering, I am not administrating a sacrament here. That's why I don't say I baptize you anymore. I say be baptized. Because I realize I am assisting the Lord in every sacrament. He is not assisting me. Not only is he present, but he's the one officiating the sacrament. And so he gives it to them. Listen, their eyes were opened and they knew him. And then he vanished. That doesn't seem right. Now, here's the question: did he leave or did he just vanish? What does the Bible say? He vanished. Where'd he go? Into the bread. He's omnipresent. But what let me say it this way. He didn't leave the room. He was trying to teach them something. Once the bread is broken, it is now his body. All right. Now I'm going somewhere. After he vanishes, they said to one another, Did our hearts not burn within us while he talked with us on the road and while he opened the scriptures. In other words, nobody makes us feel like Jesus. We should have known. So they get up, they go back, this is awesome, to Jerusalem. And the saints were gathered together in verse 33. Now listen up, this is amazing. And what do they say in verse 34? Read it out loud. Come on, everybody. The Lord say it again. The Lord is risen indeed. What are they doing here? They're preaching the word. This is very important. So they gather and then they preach the word. And in verse 35, they told about the things that had happened to them on the road and how he was known in the breaking of bread. We call this the power of testimony. So they're preaching the word. They are saying the Lord is risen. That's the gospel. And now they share their experience. Now look what happens in verse 36. Verse 36. Now, as they said these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst. Be careful what you talk about. Or get good about who you talk about. He might just show up. In fact, he always shows up. So he shows up to them and reveals himself from the breaking of the bread. Now they gather and he shows them another way, another means by which he manifests himself. When we gather, when we preach his word, and when we speak of his mighty acts. Now when I started preaching, I'll never forget the Holy Spirit saying this to me. He said, well, let me say it another way. When I began preaching, the Holy Spirit began to lead me into a really beautiful simplicity. And the Lord Jesus, I really believe, said this to me. He said, Michael, in every gathering, if you will talk about me, I will hear you. When you say my name, I will turn your way, you will get my attention, I will head your way, and I will do what you could never do. It is that simple. Do you know why Jesus doesn't show up much in many gatherings? Because we think talking about him is boring. If you ignore him, don't expect him to show up. It's wonderful. I said it's wonderful. Verse 37, look, but they were terrified and frightened. And suppose they had seen a spirit, and he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do you why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold, listen up, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet, but while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, he said to them, Have you any food here? So fine, you're not going to believe this? Give me something to eat. It's really me. So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate in their presence. And that also speaks of the Eucharist. He is teaching us that when he comes, he wants us to feast with him and upon him. Jesus loves to show up and have a meal. He does this in the following chapter where he asked them, Children, do you have any fish? And he cooks breakfast for Peter and John. I'm going to close here and then we're going to pray for each other. I want you to look at the progression. That is recent that the Lord opened my eyes to this. I stopped, like, I was 70% there, and I stopped shy. They go from having a dull heart and blind eyes to the Lord showing up. So here we have, if you're taking notes, the present Christ. The present Christ then begins to ask them questions and eventually begins to use the scripture. So he himself takes his word that speaks of him and teaches them him. The present Lord takes his word that speaks of him and teaches them him. Doesn't teach them stuff. Again, I'm going to say it so it just lands because I know it's a lot. The present Lord. What is needed for the blindness to leave and have a fiery heart? Him. We need him. When we gather, how are we guaranteed his presence? If two or three gather in my name. So he's here. We need the present Lord. And what does he do? He takes the scriptures, his word, opens them as the divine book opener from Daniel, that he's the only one worthy, right? He is the one who opens the book. Same with the book of Revelation. So he takes his word that is about him and shows himself in his word. So he teaches himself to us. Let me say it another way. He himself teaches himself in the scriptures to us. Then our hearts start burning. Now they could not figure out what was happening, and that's the beauty of phenomenon and beauty. That's that whole thing. Oh my gosh, I couldn't explain it. That's what they're saying. Our hearts were burning. We should have known it was Jesus. He did that on the mountaintop. He did that at Galilee. He did that when he walked us through Betsah, whatever. Through Capernaum. This is him, only he can do this. You understand? So the heart starts burning, but they still can't see him. And so then he walks them toward the loaf. They constrain him. He breaks the bread. Their eyes open. And they recognize him. And the Bible says they knew him. See, clear eyes actually give us a knowledge of God. So a burning heart opens the eyes, and when I behold him, I know him. I don't think you realize how important your Bible is. Because the message of Jesus is scripturally mediated. The eyes are open through scriptural mediation. You are not reading a mere book. You're reading a living book of experience. All right. But that's where I stopped. And then I began to think hold on. They went back to Jerusalem and gathered. He didn't just And didn't John the Beloved talk about we heard him, we saw him, we handled him. Isn't it interesting? Think of this. Is it not interesting to you? Or interesting is a weak word. Is it not incredible to us? That when Thomas touches the wounds, when he touches them, one-on-one interaction. I mean, what could be more sensitive? What a loving Lord to say, you can put your hand in my wounds. When you talk about intimacy with God, I mean, what an invitation. He said, put your finger here. And when Thomas touches the wounds, he doesn't just say Jesus is Lord. He says, my Lord and my God. It's a personal confession of faith. A personal confession of faith. True evangelism took place in Thomas by touching his wounds. Not as miracles. He didn't say, Thomas, remember when I walked on water? He said, touch the wounds of my passion. And an instant declaration of faith. You know what I think? I think when our eyes open to this, we're going to see millions of people say what Thomas said. Millions. My Lord and my God. Now it is only by the Holy Spirit, listen. It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can look upon wounds and say, you must be the Lord. Because the world never offers a God with wounds. That's the mystery of the gospel. Part of the mystery of the gospel is how can he be declared as Lord and experienced as God by touching his wounds? God shouldn't be wounded. But ours is. Now, does the resurrection declare that he is the Lord? Of course, of course. But do you not find it interesting that the gospel writers they recount the scene of the crucifixion when the Roman soldier says, surely, he is the Son of God. He proved to be the Son of God by the way he died. Wow. I said, wow. Wow. What a scene that must have been. To stand at the foot of the cross, and this is where all of us are called. Literally, we should do what John and the Marys and Joseph all did. We should do this on a daily basis. You know, the when the water and the blood came out. This is also a picture of the Spirit being handed over. What is this to say? It's to say this, that we should all come to the foot of the cross like them. Don't miss what I'm about to say. On a daily basis, regardless of the price. Stand there with the crowds who hate him, stand there with the crowds who ridicule you. Just stand there at the foot of the cross like a faithful, bridal, hungry disciple, and just stand there. And let the Holy Spirit teach you. And look beyond the Lord, just past him to the black sky, where all of creation began to mourn him. Because man would not. And you'd have access to the rocks that were exploding and breaking open in praise. And you would have access to the earth that was quaking. And you would see, of course, this is the Son of God whom creation bears homage to. My gosh. And I submit to you today, tonight. That God is calling our church into a clearer vision of his love. To take our time when we think of his holy passion. Take our time when we receive holy communion. Take our time in prayer to look at him and not just pass by these holy moments. In our hearts, on a daily basis, we should say what Thomas said. My Lord and my God. So tonight, tonight, I do believe that the Lord Jesus is offering divine simplicity. What is that? It's to love him and him alone and let him love the world through you. It's to lose love for the ways of the world, not the people, but to allow the love of God to just pierce you. To look at Jesus and Jesus alone. And to ask him to deliver you from the many thoughts, the many cares, the many worries, the cares of life that choke the growth. You know, if I could pray anything, wouldn't this be just the best prayer? That would heal everything else? So here's what I'd like you to do. I'd like everyone to stand. I don't know if Esther's here. Is Esther here tonight? Would you come up? Right now, just posture your heart. Posture your heart. My mind was busy yesterday. So I'll I'd be the first one here tonight. If you if you feel like the vision of your soul, I'd like the worship team to come up. The vision of your soul has been scattered. It's been spread thin. And that fire, that fire inside of you has grown dim. And the vision of Jesus is not as it's not as clear. What I mean by that, you think of him less, you worship him less. His word doesn't light you up inside like it used to. These are signs. You become more accustomed to not walking in the moisture of the Spirit, the blessed presence of the Lord. I believe our good Lord, our good Lord is going to light our hearts on fire tonight and show us who He is. And may the Lord Jesus give us access to His holy, his holy wounds. That we might, like Thomas, by His mercy, touch them and say, My Lord and my God. If you feel that fresh call tonight, I want to lovingly invite you to the altar. And I'm gonna ask Esther to pray in just a moment. I want to surrender better. That's why Esther is standing up here right now. I I'm preaching. And a tiny picture of Esther in the depths of my heart. I trusted that wind. The blessed voice of the Lord. And if you're feeling that today, just yield quicker than you did yesterday. Every day, yield a little more quickly than you did yesterday. Obey a little more quickly than yesterday. Esther, would you come? I want you to lift your hands to the Lord. And when Esther begins to pray, I believe. I believe that the holy presence of the Holy Spirit will begin to rest upon you. Until until you're more aware of Jesus than anyone. Hallelujah. Esther, would you pray?

SPEAKER_00 55:58

It says a humble and a contrite heart you will not deny. We kneel before you now, Lord, Jesus. We thank you, Lord, for your wounds, Lord. Jesus, we come empty, Lord. Lord, let us let us touch your wounds, Lord Jesus. Holy Spirit, we just say we need you, Lord, afres, Lord. Thank you, Lord. It says that blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Jesus, purify our hearts, Lord. Purified our motives, Lord Jesus. Lord, draw us to true simplicity, God. Like children, we come before you and we say, Lord, we're hungry for you. We are desperate for you, Jesus, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. Forgive us for Arias, Lord, that we have treated you as common, Lord Jesus. Lord, areas, Lord. Where we've lost hunger, Lord, we repent, Jesus. We ask that you would take us deeper, Lord. Lord, take us deeper, Jesus. Make us hungry for you, Lord. Make us more simple for you, Jesus, Lord. Lord Jesus, we just come with thankful hearts, Lord. We remember your kindness, Lord. We remember your goodness, Lord. And Jesus, we turn to you, God, and we ask, Lord. We ask, Lord, that you would make within us, God. Lord, make within us, Lord. Living waters, Lord. Truly satisfy the longings of our hearts, Lord. We repent before you tonight, God. We repent and we turn from our own ways, Lord, and we say we're tired. We're tired of trying to do it on our own, Lord. We're tired of trying striving, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. Forgive us for trying to be strong, Lord. Let us lean in you, Lord. Thank you that in our weakness we are made strong, Lord. Lord, truly bring us to the end of ourselves, Lord. That we find you, Jesus. Only you, Lord. Thank you for the simplicity of the gospel, the hope of the gospel. Spread it abroad in our hearts. Let the light of Christ shine richly in us, Lord Jesus. We pray this, Lord, in your holy name.

SPEAKER_01 58:40

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