Pastor Derek Berry "You Can Be Close and Still Lost" - Easter Sunday (4/5/2026)

Two men walked away from Jerusalem after Jesus' crucifixion, discouraged and confused despite hearing reports of His resurrection. When Jesus joined them on their journey to Emmaus, they didn't recognize Him. This story reveals a sobering truth: you can be physically close to Jesus yet spiritually distant. These men knew all the facts about Christ's life, death, and resurrection, but they missed the truth of what it meant. They were drifting away from God while still talking about Him. The turning point came when Jesus broke bread with them and their eyes were opened to recognize Him. Real salvation is not gradual improvement but a moment of realization when God opens our spiritual eyes.

Transcript

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You made me see. Amen. Praise the Lord. Good worship. Good singing. And I am thankful for it. Today I want to look together in the Word in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 24. And I want to look together at a thaw. And we're going to be introduced to two men that were traveling. And did they not realize that Jesus was right there with them? And we're going to look at a thought that you can be close and still be lost. You can be close and still be lost. Because in Luke 24, as we'll read the verses in a moment, we're going to see that these men did not even realize that Jesus was right next to them. They were having conversations and had no idea that Jesus was walking and talking with them. And you'll find your place. I'll read some verses here in a moment, but I do want to ask you a question. Have you ever been driving somewhere? Maybe it's a place that you've driven many times before, and you drove, and all of a sudden now you've missed your turn. You missed your exit. You were driving and you missed where you were supposed to turn off. And you might say, Man, how could you do that? You knew where you were going. You knew you were going from point A to point B, but yet you missed the turn that you were supposed to take. You knew where you were going. Maybe it was because, in my case, I wasn't paying attention. I could have been talking more than likely. Y'all know me, talking to somebody and distracted, of course, thinking about some things ahead, or maybe I was just going through the motions that I usually do. And it felt so routine in life that I didn't pay attention enough to know that I was supposed to hang a left up there. But here's the interesting spot. I was still driving. My car was still going. I was just not going in the right direction. My vehicle didn't leave the roadway. I was still maintaining my lane. I was still going forward. I wasn't thinking, so therefore I didn't turn. And here's the truth I want to give you. You can go a long way in the wrong direction before you realize that you're going the wrong way. And we're going to see today in Scripture that same very thing take place. That's what happens in Luke chapter number 24, where we'll read in a moment. These two men were walking. And they were walking the wrong way. They were talking, conversating one with another, and they were journeying somewhere they thought they wanted to go. They were processing everything that had just taken place, but they were headed in the wrong direction. The scripture is going to show you and I that they were close to Jesus and didn't know it. The story is going to show us that they were close to the truth, but they didn't realize it. The story's going to show us that Jesus himself was talking with them and they had no idea. They were missing it the entire time. If you found your place in Scripture, I want to look in verse 13 together. And these men, the scriptures will eventually tell us, they were discouraged and saddened. They were down and upset that things happened the way that they did. And because of that, they decided, let's leave. Let's get out of town. Let's go. And in verse number 13, it says, Two of them were traveling, seven miles. It's a long walk. They were heading away from Jerusalem, is what my scripture shows me. Verse 14 says, they talked together of all the things which had happened. They were in deep discussion. I'm sure they were in depth talking about why they would crucify Jesus. I'm sure they were talking about the exact ways in which they did crucify him. Maybe wondering why they had to put a crown of thorns on his head and mock him. Maybe they were talking about how they made fun of him and mocked him and spit upon him. Maybe they were talking about the fact that he was all finished and they put him in a conversating in depth about everything that had taken place over the last few days. And because of their conversation, they were leaving where they should have been staying. In our scripture, we'll read the rest of this in a moment, but fast forward to verse 33. So they, the two men, rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. And they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Now there's a gap that I missed, and they're on purpose, because I want to show you some truth that Scripture showed me. These men were walking with Jesus. They were close to him physically, but yet they were still lost. And you might ask yourself, how could that be? Seems to me like you would know if you saw me out and about. Some people see me out and about, and sometimes they have to, is that really Pastor Derrick? Because when you're used to seeing me here, and then you see me out and about, you wonder if that's really me. And I say, Yeah, that's me. I might be in shorts, okay, showing my legs off. I might be in a hat every once in a while. If I'm having a bad hair day, I'll throw a hat on. And I'll really throw you off then. Because I've had somebody walk past me. Is that you? Yes, that's me. That's me. Listen to me. You would like to think if you saw me, you would know who I was. So how in the world could these two men, wandering and walking, conversating, talking in depth about everything that had just taken place, how could they miss their Lord and their Savior, Jesus Christ, who was right there with them? Interesting thoughts. Let me give you what I've come up with today. Here's the first thing I'll give you. I'll find in these first few verses. Here it is. You can be around Jesus and still walk away. You can be around Jesus and still walk away. So verse 13, they started walking. Verse 14, the scripture clearly shows you and I that they were talking about everything that had taken place. Verse 15 says this. And so it was while they conversed, they were talking and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. So now two guys, there's now three walking. Jesus drew near to them, is walking with them. Verse 16, but their eyes were restrained, so they did not know him. They had no idea that Jesus Christ, the resurrected Savior, who had just died on the cross a few days ago and rose on the third day, was now walking with them. And notice this, verse number 17, and he, talking about Jesus, said to them, simple question, what kind of conversation is it that you are having one with another? They're basically Jesus shows up and said, What y'all talking about? What is it you guys are talking about? Could you please let me know? And look, look what he says here in the rest of verse 17. He says, You are walking and are sad. Jesus just rose from the grave. And he's now looking at these guys. What are y'all talking about? And why are you walking around sad? That is so interesting to me because they should have done what we did. This morning I said it's it's resurrection Sunday, and everybody clapped and cheered because we know that he is alive. What's interesting to me is that these guys were walking, but yet had no idea that Jesus Christ had just rose from the grave and was walking with them. Let me let me show you why I believe that you can walk around Jesus and still walk away from Jesus. Here it is. The direction reveals the condition of the heart. The direction that they were walking clearly shows you and I the direction of their heart. Jesus showed us what's in here eventually will come out, and that's what happened with these guys. They were leaving Jerusalem. Where they should have been staying, they were leaving. Now think about what had just taken place that they witnessed. They just saw and were at a spot where Jesus was crucified. And because of that, they were saddened. They were just in an area where the tomb was empty. We know that when you read these verses, that the woman said it was he was not there. Now they're upset. The truth is unfolding in Jerusalem, and these guys decided it was time to walk away rather than stick around where they were at. What I like is they were walking. The scripture doesn't say they were running. Now, what would running indicate? Scared? Do you run when you get scared? I'd like to see you run. Somebody better scare a pile. I want to sleep. No, I'm just kidding. Listen, some if you're scared, you might take off running. Fearful of your life. My kids, if they see a spider, they run. My oldest child is, she ain't scared of nothing but a bug, I'll just be honest with you. It wasn't, Daddy, Daddy, there's a weird bug in my room. And I was like, Yeah, you know, Montgomery's in here. She said, it's got like a hundred legs on it and weird-looking eyes. I said, Your brother's in there. Don't worry about it. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. What does Daddy do? Daddy comes to the rescue. Of course, I'm her hero today. I want to go up there and kill this little bug. She ran downstairs to get away from. Listen to me. When you're frightened, when you're nervous, when you're scared, you may run. These guys were not running. They wasn't scared. They were walking. They were drifting away. See, what I've learned is that conversation about Jesus is not the same as being committed to Jesus. Listen, I grew up in church. I've been in church my whole life. And I can have a conversation about Jesus and not be committed to Jesus all at the same time. I can talk that he came and he died. I can talk about how he rose again. I can talk about the parables that we read about in the gospels. I can tell you all kinds of things that I've learned about and read about, but there's a difference between conversating about a Savior and committed to that same Savior. These guys were talking about everything that had happened. They were talking about the death. They were talking about the burial. They were talking about the empty tomb. They conversated about this Jesus, but yet he's standing right next to them and they did not even know he was there. Now I know on a Sunday morning, if I said, hey, if Jesus was next to you, would you know it? Of course, everybody in the house is going to say, yes, we would know that Jesus is next to us. But listen, these two guys knew the truth, knew the story, knew it all, and still continued to walk, but yet did not recognize him. Talking about Jesus is not the same as following Jesus. Talking about Jesus is not the same as following Jesus. What I've noticed in this conversation that they were having and how they were walking away is that a drift is often quiet and not obvious. These guys were drifting away very quietly. It's almost as if they were just disappearing into the sunset. It was a drift. It wasn't as if they made some grand announcement. They didn't call everybody together and say, guys, I don't appreciate Jesus dying. I don't appreciate this, and I'm getting out of town, I'm heading to Emmaus, I'll see y'all some other time. They didn't send an email out, tell all their buddies they're out of here. They didn't post a big thing on the social media, say, guys, we're done. We're leaving Jerusalem. We're getting out of town. No, what'd they do? They just quietly begin to walk away. Let me tell you something. The drift oftentimes is what gets you and I the most. Can I be honest with you for just a moment? I know that you guys appreciate it when I'm honest. There's times in my life and I can look back over where I am today and over the last many years of my life, and I can show you some seasons in my life where I was drifting just a little bit. Now you might say, Preacher, this is Sunday morning. It's Easter Sunday. Why would you say such a thing? Because it's true. There's seasons in my life. Let me tell you, I didn't walk away from God in my mind. I began to get busy with life. I began to get busy with responsibilities. I began to get busy with doing, I was still doing good things for people to try to help them. But I had to look in the mirror one day. I was still showing up. I was still encouraging people. I was still trying to help. But if I'm honest with you, I wasn't running away from God. I was just slowly drifting from Him. And I mean spiritually. There was a time in my life where I had to stop. I was doing everything I could for everybody else, showing up, doing all I could do. And I had to look in the mirror one day and say, I am helping, I'm doing, I'm saying all the right things, but spiritually, I am drifting away because I have not painted out some time in my day for me and Jesus to have a conversation. It was as if I was drifting, but over here I was saying, I'm not drifting. And finally, Jesus showed up and got a hold of me. And I'm telling you, there's times in my life where I have to remember that. See, the book of Hebrews is an interesting book, and it says in chapter number two, verse one, therefore we should give more the heed, more earnest heed. And basically what he's saying is just pay more attention. And he goes on to say why in Hebrews 2. He says, lest we drift. You and I live in a generation where everything wants to pull at our attention. And listen, I'm telling you that, and I've got A, D, D, and a bunch of other letters in there, okay? I get distracted when a drop of a hat. I can chase an armadilla down and forget where I was just at, then I'll finally make my way back. That's just the way God made me. I get it. I am, I my, I don't, my focus is tough to keep, and I'll drift away. Let me tell you something. I know that, and I have to be extra conscious because of that. I don't want that to happen to me spiritually, and I don't want it to happen to you. These guys knew all the words. They were conversating about this Jesus, but yet they were slowly drifting, slowly, quietly, gradually. And here's the scary part. They did not even realize how far they had gotten. The Bible says they would work seven miles to the next town. Now, I don't know if they were one mile away or six point eight miles away. I have no idea. But they were getting away further and further, slowly and gradually. And it may be they didn't realize it, but I'm telling you, when Jesus showed up, it scares me. It's the dangerous spot that they were at. Listen to me. And that's exactly what happens in our lives if we're not careful, what happened to him. These two men, they were not running, they were walking, they were drifting. They were sad, they were discouraged, they were upset that things didn't happen the way that they thought that they should. And they begin to slowly drift away. The same thing happens to us. Some people don't reject Jesus loudly. I don't know any follower of Christ that made a rejection of him. I'm done. But yet they can slowly drift. They drift quietly. Maybe in time we still attend. Maybe we still believe in God, still have all the right words to say, but spiritually, we're drifting away. You can be in church and still be lost. Because it goes down to the relationship that you have with Jesus. Let me give you this before I move to my next thought. Being around Jesus doesn't mean you belong to Jesus. Being around him doesn't mean that you belong. Let's look at verse number 18 and see some more truth here. You can know the facts and still miss the truth here. Verse number 18. Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And listen to that, these two guys are talking. Jesus is there, and they responded to Jesus, the Savior. Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which had happened the last days, meaning the death, the burial, the resurrection here? He said to them, What things? Jesus responded back, What things are you speaking about? So they said to him, The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty indeed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and be crucify him. Verse 21, look where their mind was. We were hoping that he, talking about Jesus, was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things had happened. Yes, a certain woman of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they didn't find his body, talking about Jesus, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And they're telling this to Jesus, verse 24. And a certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see. Then he said to them, Jesus responded and said back to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe, in all that the prophet has spoken. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? In verse 27, and beginning in Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all scriptures the things concerning himself. These men knew the facts and missed the truth. What I found is that they have the correct information. When Jesus showed up and began to talk to them, they responded back, Oh you stranger, where you been? What do you mean? And he goes in depth and explains some factual information. Verse number 19, the facts were that Jesus was alive. Verse number 19 explicitly shows you and I that the fact that Jesus was alive, they understood that, they knew that, they said to Jesus, Jesus was alive. Then you go to verse number 20 in our text and it says that he died. So they understood that Jesus was alive, and they understood that Jesus died. And then you get on a little bit lower. I read in verse number 23, I believe in verse number 24, it talks about the tomb being empty. So as these men were walking and conversating, and Jesus says, What are you talking about? They explain it, and then they give him some factual information that they know that he was alive, they know that he died, and they know that the tomb was empty. You mean to tell me I can know the facts and still miss the truth? Well, these guys did. These guys knew the facts. Listen, I've got to know that Jesus was alive and died and rose again. These guys knew those factual informations. They knew that Jesus lived. They knew that Jesus died and they knew that the tomb was empty. And then you and I can read in verse number 21 when it says, we were hoping. They had the wrong interpretation. It says that they were hoping that Jesus would indeed redeem Israel. They misunderstood what everything was about. In their brain, I think they were thinking that things would have happened a little different than they currently did. And therefore it discouraged them. It calls them to doubt everything, it calls them to get upset and to leave and to walk away. And that's why Jesus approached them and said, Why are you guys sad? We know that they were. They had misunderstood. They thought that Jesus was going to instantly redeem everything in a moment, and that's not what he chose to do. They missed the purpose of the cross, and because of that, Jesus took time. And what does verse number 27 say? He began in Moses and expound on the scriptures to them. What I like about, listen, there's a lot of awesome sermons recorded in Scripture. Man, I can go to Matthew 5, 6 and read about the Sermon on the Mount. I can see one of the greatest sermons that Jesus ever preached. I mean, I can read in Acts some sermons that the apostles preached, and man, it just gives me chills thinking about it. But what I would love to do is look in verse number 27. I wish that there was a recording of what Jesus preached unto them. It's not recorded. It's not recorded what Jesus preached unto them, but my scripture says to me in verse number 27, he went back to Moses and began to expound on the scriptures. What I know is that the entire Old Testament points to Jesus, and the entire New Testament points to Jesus, the entire canon of scriptures point to Jesus. I know that. And I'm telling you, he opened the word of God and began to preach unto them all the things that they needed to know. He expounded on scripture. You might say, why? Because they didn't understand it. They didn't get it. And that's okay. There's some things in my life that I don't always get the first time. But they began to get it, we'll find towards the end of our story. But what I've loved and I see is that in their brain, they thought the cross was defeat. But what Jesus showed them in verse number 27, it was payment. So they were just And they were sad, and they thought that because of the cross it was defeat. And Jesus said, no, no, no, it wasn't defeat. That was the payment. They thought the resurrection, it confused them. And what he was showing them was, no, that was confirmation, knowing that the grave can't hold me. It was confirmation knowing that, man, I can, I'm bigger than death. The grave and death can't hold me. And I just showed the whole world that I'm bigger than all of that. They were confused by it. They were not understanding it. So Jesus cleared the air in verse number 27. One of my favorite verses that Paul wrote in Romans chapter number 10, verse number 9, it says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe right here in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That's exactly what Jesus just preached them in the scriptures. You've got to know it, you've got to believe it, you've got to confess it. I begin to think about this thought. You can know the facts and still miss the truth. I was reading in scripture and I was over there in the Gospel of John. John chapter number three to be exact. And you can read about a man named Nicodemus. And what's interesting to me about Nicodemus is when you open up John chapter 3 and begin to read in verse number one, you can make note and look at it later. The Bible says very clearly and eloquently that Nicodemus was a Pharisee. It says in the first verse that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. What that means is that he understood Old Testament law. It means that he understood the religious rituals of that day. It means that he understood all that they had to know and do religiously. But yet the conversation with Jesus and Nicodemus went a little bit deeper because Jesus tells Nicodemus, essentially in some roundabout way, I'm paraphrasing, it doesn't matter everything you know if you don't believe. So how is the world that Nicodemus, a man that can know all these facts, know the Old Testament law, be called a ruler of all of that, and still be lost? What did Jesus respond to him? Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born again. Now we know that Nicodemus was religious. Oh, we know that Nicodemus was respected. Oh, we know that Nicodemus was a leader. We know that Nicodemus had the Old Testament law down paths. But what we also know is that Nicodemus didn't know Jesus. We know that if he were to die, he would have gone to hell. So Jesus said to him so clearly in verse number three of John chapter three, in red in my scripture, it says, You must be born again. And Nicodemus was trying to figure that one out and said, Jesus, how is it that I can go back in my mama and be born again? And Jesus, I'm sure, laughed for a second and then got himself together and said, It's a spiritual conversation that we're talking about. In a roundabout way, Jesus is telling Nicodemus, you can know all the Old Testament scriptures. He's saying, you can know everything you can know about God. You can even understand the truth. But if you aren't born again, you will not go to heaven. That's what Jesus is saying. He's saying to him, everything you know isn't enough. That's something. Everything you know isn't enough. You can know the facts and still miss the truth. That's what this story shows you and me. You can know all the facts and miss the truth. What did Nicodemus have to figure out? Nicodemus had all the information. But you know what he didn't have? Transformation. He had all the information that could have been had at that moment, but he did not have transformation. And that's essentially what these guys didn't have as well. They knew some stuff, but they had not been transformed. You can know the truth and still not know Jesus. And here's the danger. You and I can know the Easter story, I can know everything that happened and tell anybody about it. You can even agree with it and you can still be lost. That's what the scripture shows me. And I and I'll paint it to you like this. The Bible teaches us so clearly and eloquently the truth is that you and I are all sinners. That's the way it is. You and I are all sinners, and sin separates us from God. And guess what? You and I can't fix ourselves. I've tried before, and every time I try, I mess up. We're all sinners. Sin separates us from God. You and I can't fix ourselves. Jesus came and lived a perfect life, died on the cross in you and I spots, rose again to prove that his payment was accepted. And that's essentially what Jesus told them in verse 27. That's what Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter number 3. And that's what this story is trying to show you and I right here. These guys could have tried, but it wouldn't have got them. Now you make some application to your life just for a second. You can know the stories. You can know the Easter story. You can know the stories of Scripture. You can even agree with them and you can still be lost. How do you figure? You can know the facts and still miss the truth. You don't get saved by knowing the facts. You get saved by trusting the Savior. That's what my scripture shows me. Let me give you this before I go to my last thought. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus. Those men knew about Jesus, but they didn't know Jesus. If they would have known Jesus, they would have recognized him as soon as you showed up. They knew about him, though. They were able to conversate about him, but they didn't know him. Let's go to the third thought. Verse number 30. Verse number 30 shows you, or really verse number 28. We're going to see how their eyes, your eyes must be open. Verse 28. Then they drew near to the village where they were do where they were going. And he indicated that he would have gone a little further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is towards evening and the day is far spent. And he went and stayed with them. Verse 30. Now it came to pass as he had set at the table with them. Jesus is now with those two men, and he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Imagine the conversation that had been taking place, and now they get to the table and broke bread and blessed the bread. Verse number 31, here it is. Then their eyes were opened, that they knew him, and he vanished from their sights. Now what was going on? What kind of bread did they eat? Right? No. It was just in that moment that they realized it. They sat down, they were hungry, they were tired, they were trying to process everything. And then in that moment when they began to bless the bread and break it, they were now realized that they had been with Jesus the entire time. Verse 32, and they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road? They began to realize that that was with Jesus the entire time. While he opened the scriptures to us. So they rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven of those who were them gathered together, saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. Now imagine what was going on in their mind. Their eyes were now immediately opened. See, what I've realized in Scripture, not just in this text, but in Scripture altogether, is that salvation is a moment of realization. Meaning I don't gradually improve to get saved. Because there ain't nothing I can do to save me. There's nothing that I can do to make myself any better, to be accepted for Jesus. No, it is a He did the finished word. I just have to accept it. He took my place, and because of that, I can get saved. Listen to me, salvation is a moment, it's not a gradual improvement. And you and I get to see that clearly in this text. See, Jesus made it personal. He walked with them. Listen, my Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's big enough to create everything and yet small enough to live in our heart. And his Holy Spirit is in our presence. He was with them in that moment. He was with them when they broke bread. They didn't realize it until this very moment. And what I love and I see that comes to life right before me is in verse 31 is that real salvation always changes our directions. When I get saved, something happens. I want to turn from my sin and turn unto Him. I don't want to continue to sin and do what I once did. There is something that dramatically changes within us. Now I get it, at eight years old I was saved. And you ought to think, well, preacher, at eight years old, what sin did you turn from? At that moment, I do not remember. But as I grew in my teenage years and I began to read scripture and study and try to get discipled and learn, there was a point in time in my life as a teenager or young 20s where I said, I've got to get serious about the salvation that I've accepted in Jesus. And I had to stop and turn from whatever it was and turn unto him. Because if I didn't make the decision to stop and turn, I would still be doing the continual thing. And honestly, I could have been walking and not seen him just like they did. See, salvation causes a change of directions. I know that in verse 31. They were in the middle of eating, Jesus with them, and they realized it. They saw him, and then what happened? He vanished. Now, did the Bible say they finished their meal and wiped their mouth and cleaned the dishes? Now that'd be nice. I tell it to my kids. Yeah, they cleaned the dishes and stuff. Yeah. But you know what the truth of the matter is? They stopped everything they were doing and took off. My Bible says they stopped everything they were doing. Verse 31 says their eyes were open. They knew him. He vanished from them. Verse 32, and they said one to the Did our heart not burn within us when he taught. Verse 31, so they rose up that very hour, that very moment, and returned. They said, We're getting back. There's no reason for us to stay here. Real salvation, there's always a change in direction. They turned back and went back to where they were supposed to be. What I love, man, I can look through scriptures and give you some great examples. But in 2 Corinthians, Paul says this in chapter 4, verse 6, for it is the God who command light to shine out of darkness. I begin to think about how that would make sense to me in darkness. How could light shine? And you understand that a room may not change, but yet when I have light, I can actually see. And I can tell you as a dad, one of the hardest things I've ever gone through at night was walking around and stepping on a lego, okay? Understand that? I'm talking, you ever want to lose your religion? Get up in the middle of the night and step on a lego. That lego is supposed to be put in the bin and put in the toy area. And let me tell you something. A few kids later, God gave me a little wisdom. When you get up in the middle of the night, you take a flashlight with you. You understand? So I don't want to turn every light on in the house, but I'll turn the flashlight on. And what changed? Did the Lego mysteriously get picked up and put in the bin? No, I just saw it. Was the stuff that was, I would have tripped over still there? Probably. But I saw it now. His light can reveal things right out of darkness. We see that come to life as they sat down and broke bread together. His light shined, and now they saw him who was there the whole time. And we'll make a little application. Some of us, we've been in church. Some of us have heard the story. Some of us can recite the Easter story and celebrate it, but you might be here today and your eyes have never been opened. I don't know your heart. I don't know your personal relationship with Jesus. Listen, you can be religious and still lost. You can say a little prayer and repeat after me and never have got saved. You just said it. Listen to me, the scripture is super clear. You can be religious and still lost. You can be a good person and still lost. I know some good people that don't know Jesus. The truth of the matter is, and I'll give you this quote before I move on to my conclusion, is salvation happens when your eyes are open and your heart responds. These guys, their eyes were opened and their heart responded. Let me recap it here, and then I'll close in prayer in a moment. These men had been walking with Jesus and didn't know it. They were talking with Jesus and listening to Jesus, walking beside Jesus and still missing Jesus every step. Up until verse 31, when their eyes were open. That's when everything changed. But here's the question that I want to give you. I want you to answer this as an individual question. What if your eyes have never been opened before? Oh, that could be you today. What if you're around church or around truth, around the story, and yet you've never really truly seen him? What if they've been closed? Are you still lost? Yes. Let me ask you another question. I'm not asking you if you know the Easter story. I bet you everybody in the house today, even my six-year-old, that's sitting right here in the front row, could tell me the Easter story. Here's the question that I want to ask you. Do you know him? I'm not asking you to know the story. I'm not asking you to recite the Easter thing. I want to know, do you know Jesus? That's the question that only you can answer. Because there's a difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. There's a difference between being close to Jesus and being changed. There's a difference. And here's the last line I'll give you, then I'll close in prayer. Don't leave this place still close and still loss. Don't leave this place close to him but still loss. Would you pray with me? God, I come to you this morning thankful for your word. Thankful for your mighty Holy Spirit who can speak right to our hearts. Lord, my prayer is for each and every person that's here, God, I want you to speak clearly to him. Lord, I don't by any means know each and every person individually here, but you do. And Lord, my prayer is that if there's somebody here that doesn't know you, God, I pray that you would bind the devil from this place, bind distraction from this place, and I pray that through your mighty Holy Spirit that you would reveal yourself unto them and draw them unto you. Lord, I can't save them, but you can. And Lord, there may be some people here today that could tell you the Easter story and know some truth about you, but have never accepted you. They may list out a few facts, but have never given their life to you and changed direction. God, I pray that the Holy Spirit would have the rule over this moment of invitation. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand as a time of invitation. This is a time of reflection.