There
was no Sunday School at our church last week so here is
a lesson from my archive. Hope you like
it. Bro
Barry
Heart
Burn
(Luke
24:13-35)
Vs.
32, “Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and
while he opened to us the scriptures?”
I
have a sermon for you today that I hope will give you “heart burn”. This message is based on a passage of
scripture often called “The Road to Emmaus”, a journey of about 7 miles (on
foot) from Jerusalem.
So, to start, let’s talk about walking.
It is sweet to walk with one you love.
Angie and I have been walking together for 33 years now, and the last 10
years, though the hardest, have been the best.
I’m reminded of the poem by Robert Burns, “John Anderson, My Jo”. In this
poem, a beloved wife is speaking to her husband. She speaks of all the hills they have climbed
together and now, as they near the end of the journey, she says they soon will
rest together at the bottom of the last hill.
You can almost feel the sweetness of the long walk they have taken
together over the years.
This
reminds me so of my walk with Angie and how sweet it has been, but let me tell
you of something even sweeter, even better.
The sweetest walk of all is the walk with Jesus. This sermon is the story of two men who
walked with Him after His resurrection from the grave. These men were walking toward their home in
Emmaus and were saddened by the death of Jesus on the cross. Then, suddenly, He was walking by their side,
full of life, and they did not recognize Him.
Jesus
ask them why they were so sad and they told Him of their grief and their
disappointment that this was not the One who would have redeemed Israel. So Jesus, in a marvelous way, open up the Scriptures and explained how the promised Messiah
would come and suffer and be crucified for the
world.
The
amazed men, still not recognizing Him, came to their home and in true eastern
fashion, invited this stranger to come in and spend the night with them. Jesus accepted the invitation and they soon
sat down to supper. He asked the
blessing, and as He prayed, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. But when they looked up, He was gone. Then they said to one another, “Did not our
hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened
to us the scriptures?” Now that is
“Heart Burn”.
1. The Sadness
These
two men loved Jesus and of course, they were sad because He had been
crucified. Sadness is a common lot to
all of us. If you have not had a great
sorrow in your life, you can be sure it will come in time. Sadness is common to the Bible from Genesis
to Revelation.
Bible
Examples:
1. Adam and Eve, the sorrow of sin and the
death of their son Abel by his brother.
2. Jacob’s favorite son Joseph. “I’ll go down to my grave in
sorrow”.
3. David’s favorite son, Absalom. “Oh my son Absalom, my son
Absalom! Would to God I had died
for you, O Absalom, my son, my son”.
4. Jesus and Lazarus. “Jesus
wept”.
And
the older we get, the more sadness comes to our lives. I was speaking to a man, not much older than
myself, and he was telling me that he had outlived all the people he had
originally intended to be pallbearers in his funeral. Why is this?
Dr.
Havner, author of the book, “Through the Valley of
the Shadow”, tells of preaching to several hundred black preachers in
Virginia. He said that these preachers sang as only
they can sing the song,
Farther along, we’ll know all
about it.
Farther along, we’ll
understand why.
Cheer up my brother, live in
the Son Shine.
We’ll understand it, all by
and by.
Dr.
Havner said that as they sang, all he could do was to
tap his foot and cry.
I
had the opportunity to hear another great black preacher, Dr. E. V. Hill, preach
an awesome sermon the day after he had buried his wife of 32 years. It was titled, “Sadness but with Hope”. When sorrows come, and they will come, we are
not to be bitter but let those sorrows draw us closer to God. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy
comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
These two men on the road to Emmaus were sad but joy was walking right
beside them. Joy was coming. Joy was on the
way.
2. The Stranger
Jesus
joined these men as they walked along, but they did not recognize Him. It is so sad today that Jesus is a stranger
to so many people. People go their way,
buying and selling, eating and drinking, having a good time, but they never give
Jesus a thought, never realizing their need for Him. Is He a stranger to you? Before this morning, when was the last time
you thought about Jesus? Have we
forgotten where we were and who we were before we met
Him?
Who
were these two men walking with this Stranger?
One was Cleopas, the other is not know. I like
that. Jesus had a ministry to the
nobodies, the nameless of the world, not to the rich, the great, the educated,
but to anyone who needed Him. He saved
me and I was a nobody, just out of love for a nine year
old boy, the son of a papermill
worker.
Look
at all the nameless people Jesus ministered too. In John 4, a nameless prostitute. In John
5, a man sick for 38 years.
In John 9, a blind man, no
name. In
Mark 4, a man brought by four
friends. The
thief on the cross. The little
people of the world are great in the sight of God. That is us folks! He is not a stranger to us who believe. He walks with us every day. He is our friend. Don’t let Him be a
stranger.
3. The
Supposition
(assumption)
When
Jesus asked them why they were sad, they said, “We trusted that this One who was
crucified would be the one to redeem Israel, but now He is dead three
days”.
The
OT taught the coming king and the suffering servant. They wanted the conquering king so they
didn’t recognize the suffering servant.
They saw the cross as the end, not the victorious beginning. A religion without a cross and blood is a
false religion. In Hebrews 9:22, the Bible says, “Without the shedding
of blood there is NO remission of sin”.
I
read a story of an old man dying in a nursing home and a priest was sent
for. The priest said, “ Confess your sins and be forgiven” to which the old man
asked to see the priest’s hands. “You
are an impostor” said the old man. “The
only one who can forgive my sins must have the print of nails in His
hands”.
Don’t
be a “supposer”, thinking anyone or anything else can
save you. It is Jesus and only
Jesus. There is salvation in no other,
Acts 4:12.
4. The Scripture
Jesus
went all the way back to Moses and explained the Scriptures to these men and
then they understood. Now hope returned
to their hearts. You don’t have to
understand all the Bible to be saved, only that you are a sinner and Jesus can save
you.
A
great European theologian came to America. He spoke at many churches and
universities. One day, in a question and
answer period, someone asked, “Doctor, with all your knowledge of theology and
the Bible, what is the greatest truth you have ever learned?” The great man’s eyes filled with tears and he
said, “I learned it at my mother’s knee, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the
Bible tells me so”. All the answers to
all the questions are in the Book, the Holy Bible, the
Scriptures.
5. The Supper
When
the men reached their home in Emmaus, they invited Jesus to stay the night and
He accepted. As they sat down to supper,
He took the bread, blessed it and gave thanks.
Something in the way He prayed made them know it was Jesus, but when they
looked up, He was gone.
Something
Jesus did or said made them recognize that He was Jesus. What is it that we do that makes others see
Jesus in us or not see Jesus in us? You
can see Jesus in the Bible, in the church service, in nature, but it is most
meaningful when someone can say, “I saw Jesus in You!” Something my
daddy used to say, “The only Bible most people will read is YOU!” If we all lived the kind of lives that we
should for Jesus, many others would be influenced into the Kingdom of God.
6. The
Story
Note
that after the supper came the “Heart Burn”.
When Jesus disappeared, these two men said to each other, “Did not our
hearts burn within us, while He walked with us by the way, and while He opened
to us the scriptures”. So they rushed
all the way back to Jerusalem and told the story. When you meet Jesus, your heart should burn
and you should want to tell someone about it.
When
was the last time your heart burned because you realized just what Jesus had
done for you? Because of something you
read in the Scripture? Because of a time of prayer, fellowship alone with
Jesus? Well, like the old Wolfe
Brand Chili commercial says, “Well partner, that’s been too
long!”
Invitation:
Does your "Heart Burn"? Here's a solution.....
You
can't be filled with the Holy Spirit unless you are first born again by the
Spirit. If you don't know where you stand before almighty God, confess your
sins and ask Jesus to forgive you and be your Savior and Lord. You can pray
something like this:
Dear God, I am a sinner. I believe that
you sent Jesus to die for me and take away my sin. I believe that He died on
the cross and rose again to cover my sin and give me eternal life. I accept
Jesus as my Savior right now. Thank you for sending Jesus and forgiving my sin.
In
Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Then call our Pastor, find out what to do next!
Church (512)756-7113
Bro. Mickey (512)756-2074