Opening Our Eyes to Christ's Presence and Hope

But today we enter the story of these two individuals when they're actively walking away from Jesus, both physically and spiritually. And I pray that we learn something really crucial about the transformative power of Jesus Christ in Luke 24. [00:36:31] (19 seconds)

You see, the scriptures alone, I love that you memorize Matthew. I love it. But if that's your entire faith, you're missing something. Like, I understand that the gospel is so important. Jesus lived a real life, but you know who else believes that? Any historian worth their weight. [00:44:22] (29 seconds)

I know that you've experienced something in your life, but unless that experience is paired with the truth that's in the gospel and the scriptures, it means nothing. Our certainty comes because of the scriptures, the gospel, and our experience together. And nobody can refute that. [00:44:52] (26 seconds)

He sits them down with their knowledge of Jesus, with their understanding of the gospel, and he gave them a personal experience with himself. And what happens after the personal experience pairs with the gospel and the scriptures is great. They urged him to stay. Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over. What happened the moment those three things clicked? They invited him in. Praise God. [00:54:53] (41 seconds)

But if you pluck any one of those things out and put it on a stand by itself, it's powerless. Powerless. If you know all the scriptures, and that's all you have, you're a Pharisee. Listen, I could go out of this building and have a lot of different experiences that nobody can take away. But unless they're founded in scripture, it's powerless. [00:56:58] (31 seconds)

I can know Jesus resurrected himself from the dead. But James in chapter 2 says, even the demons know, and they shudder at his name. What's it going to take for your eyes to be open? See, our eyes are open. And we can live with a sincere certainty when we have the scriptures, the gospel, and an experience that's opened our eyes. [00:57:29] (41 seconds)

They got up and they returned to Jerusalem. See, the excuse of the sun going down, the negligence to what had just happened in Jerusalem, that all goes away when your life is transformed and changed by Jesus Christ. You see, they're not only just impacted by Jesus' presence. They're completely renewed by it. [00:58:35] (40 seconds)

Because the second their eyes were opened, they turned from the direction in which they were going and they went towards Jesus. So when our eyes are opened and we're changed and transformed, it should inspire in us a curiosity to follow after him. What is it going to take for your eyes to be opened? [00:59:23] (32 seconds)

But the reality that's true for us this morning is the same reality that was true for them that morning. The sun hasn't went down. And if you're in this room right now, Jesus hadn't came back, well, at least the last time I checked. And the sun hasn't went down on you. [01:00:55] (24 seconds)

``I don't care what you've done. I don't care how unworthy you think you are. The sun hasn't went down on you. And there's a God that wants to turn your direction to the sun before it goes down. So what's it going to take for your eyes to be opened to him before the sun goes down? [01:01:20] (45 seconds)