Walking With Jesus | Dylan Long

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:07] Speaker B: If you have your Bibles, you can turn to Luke, chapter 24. I just got back from Brazil a few days ago. It was a really special trip. It was one of those trips where I went so excited, and I came kind of crawling back because it was such a busy trip. On my first day, I get there and my driver's like, do you think that this windshield's bulletproof? I'm like, should I be asking that question right now? Because I didn't even have the thought. Brazilian worship is crazy, too. Like, I feel like I felt like I had never experienced anything like that. I walk in the first day and there's fire shooting out of the stage, and I'm like, where am I? And then people are getting thrown up during worship, too. Like, throwing up in the air. Some of the leaders, I won't say who it was Chris Overstreet, but he was texting me, saying, I'll pay you this much to get thrown up in the air. Because they were offering, like, do you want to get thrown up? I'm like, no. And then Chris like, I'll pay you this much if you let them throw you up. I was like, I can't be bought. That was a special trip. But the whole time I was on the trip, in the last few weeks, and even hearing Pastor Deborah's word last week, I've been meditating since Easter, and honestly, meditating on a few of the questions the last few years around. How intriguing it is to me, the few days where Jesus interacts with people after his resurrection, right before the Ascension, that picture before he goes to be with the Father, yet he's resurrected. It's so intriguing to me, multiple of his interactions, because he's showing up to people that knew him quite well, yet they have no idea that it's him. So it begs a lot of different questions. Did he look different? Was his form different? One says he constrained his eyes. The other one says that they couldn't recognize him. Yet we know he's in a physical body. He's not showing up as a spirit or an angel or in a different form. He actually proves them. He's in a spiritual body multiple times by almost every time he shows up, he eats in front of them. To be like, this is the same me that you knew. I'm literally going to eat food because I'm still the one who's incarnate in the flesh. And still to this day, he has that body. But one of the most profound ones to me, I think, is that when Peter is on the boat. And this is such a unique experience to me because Peter gets called by the one he loves, yet he doesn't know it's him. And then Suddenly in John 21, they throw the net on the other side, and suddenly there's a huge catch of fish. That's why no one can ever tell me that physical obedience doesn't bring something spiritual. The amount of pride that we have. Sometimes, like, I'm not doing that just because you invited me. I'm like, okay, enjoy. Never catching what was possible. Are you with me? Your net's on the side. When you obey, suddenly abundance and the opening of the eyes to Jesus was calling you. Are you with me? How does that apply? Sometimes in church, Tracy will stand up and say, raise your hands, do this, come forward. Like, I don't have to do that. [00:02:57] Speaker A: Cool. [00:02:59] Speaker B: Imagine if Peter was like, I'm not moving my net. Okay, maybe that was too quick for a Sunday morning that was free. So he shows up and. [00:03:07] Speaker A: And this is the wild part to me. It's like, I think if you try [00:03:10] Speaker B: to get inside Peter's mind, like, think about what's just happened. So he denies Jesus three times. Then Jesus resurrects. The ladies come and tell him. He runs to the tomb and finds Jesus resurrected. He's not there. He's not in the tomb. He's nowhere to be found. I think sometimes we give Peter a [00:03:32] Speaker A: hard time, but if anything, to me, [00:03:34] Speaker B: I would say in some ways, him finding Jesus resurrected was probably almost harder, [00:03:42] Speaker A: potentially. [00:03:42] Speaker B: Here's why. If he doesn't resurrect like, I denied him, it's fine. [00:03:45] Speaker A: But you denied the one who died [00:03:47] Speaker B: and rose again for you. Are you with me? It's like, now he's out of the [00:03:53] Speaker A: tomb and I still denied him. I turned my back on the one [00:03:57] Speaker B: who died and resurrected to save me. [00:04:00] Speaker A: So if you think about the shame [00:04:01] Speaker B: that Peter would be possessing as he's going back to catching fish, the regret that he has in that moment, he's probably afraid to encounter the one who's resurrected. [00:04:12] Speaker A: Because one of the accounts actually says [00:04:14] Speaker B: that the last time Peter denies Jesus, they lock eyes across the room. I don't. That he says, I don't know the man, and looks around and Jesus is looking at him, denying him [00:04:33] Speaker A: the shame [00:04:34] Speaker B: and regret and condemnation. I don't know if you've ever been there, some shame and regret, like, hey, I've messed up. I've made some mistakes. And Jesus is watching the whole time. We're like, I don't really know what to do. And then he swims to the shoreline. Fast forward a few days, he gets there. And what's crazy to me is in this moment, there's a huge parallel, because what was the first time we. The last time Peter denied Jesus, where were they? At a fire. When he swims to the shore and the Lord begins to make him breakfast and restores them, where are they? At a fire. So he takes him back to his deepest moment of shame, condemnation, and he's looking into the eyes which he denied at the fire. [00:05:23] Speaker A: That's to say, like, even in your [00:05:25] Speaker B: deepest moment, God can restore your greatest trauma. [00:05:28] Speaker A: He'll take you to your greatest moment [00:05:30] Speaker B: of shame and pain, and he will meet you right there and redeem it. But often we don't invite him into those areas. [00:05:37] Speaker A: And the issue with that is that when we aren't free from the pain and things we've walked through, we actually [00:05:43] Speaker B: inhibit the Lord from using it as our testimony. So his greatest moment of shame and [00:05:49] Speaker A: condemnation is the moment where the eyes that he denied look at him and [00:05:52] Speaker B: go, do you love me? [00:05:56] Speaker A: Imagine that. [00:05:57] Speaker B: Do you love me? You've just denied him. He goes, I love you. And from that moment, the Lord uses Peter to build the church, which is helpful for all of us. Right? You've messed up. It's okay. Peter did, too. And we hear impartially because of what Peter did, which should be encouraging to us. But the passage I want to dive into, like I said, is Luke 24, which is similar in many ways because we actually start with the reading of what we've just read with Peter or spoken about with Peter. So in verse, verse 11. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the [00:06:35] Speaker A: tomb, and stooping down, he saw the [00:06:37] Speaker B: linen cloths lying by themselves. He departed, marveling to himself what had happened. Verse 13. Now, behold, two of the men were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which is seven miles from Jerusalem. [00:06:52] Speaker A: And they talked together of all these [00:06:54] Speaker B: things which had happened. [00:06:55] Speaker A: So it was when they conversed in [00:06:57] Speaker B: reason that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained that they did not see him. And then he goes on to say, [00:07:10] Speaker A: what kind of conversation are you talking about? And then one of them answered, whose? Cleopas answered and said, are you the [00:07:17] Speaker B: only stranger in Jerusalem that have not known the things which happened there in these days? [00:07:25] Speaker A: I love this verse here. [00:07:26] Speaker B: Like Jesus invites himself in and then asks a question. How many know? When Jesus asks A question. He knows the answer. It's normally for you or for me. And they have the audacity, like, bro, you haven't heard? He's like, no, I've heard. So they keep explaining to Jesus how Jesus did what he did. And they go, I love. He answers again in verse 19, what things? And they go. [00:07:51] Speaker A: So they said to him concerning Jesus [00:07:54] Speaker B: of Nazareth, who was a prophet in [00:07:56] Speaker A: deed and word, mighty indeed, and word [00:08:00] Speaker B: before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things has happened. Yes, the certain woman of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find this body. They came saying they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with [00:08:30] Speaker A: us went to the tomb and found [00:08:31] Speaker B: it, just as the woman had said. But him they did not see. And he said to them, o foolish ones and slow of heart, to believe in all the things the prophets have spoken ought not to. Christ had suffered these things and to enter into glory. And beginning at Moses and the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scripture the things concerning himself. Firstly, what I love about this is that Jesus reveals himself to them through the Scriptures. He could have revealed himself in many different ways. [00:09:04] Speaker A: I love watching the way Jesus reveals [00:09:06] Speaker B: himself to people because we should probably use the same idea. How does he reveal himself to Thomas? Through the touch of his suffering. So people are afraid of the church, that you shouldn't go after miracles or people encountering God. I'm like, Jesus didn't model that. He wasn't like, you aren't ready for healing yet. We need to let you in the [00:09:26] Speaker A: front door and then you can have [00:09:28] Speaker B: deliverance in a couple months. That's not the model Jesus model. And here again he opens up the Scriptures to them. And that's. And here's the other question is, what scriptures was he preaching? [00:09:39] Speaker A: So you're telling me he opened up [00:09:40] Speaker B: the Law and Moses and the prophets, but preached himself. Yet we struggle to read the Old Testament. Yet he preached the Gospel through the Old Testament. And a New Church idea is even calling it the Old Testament. That's very new to the church. Jesus never makes a differentiation. He calls it all Scripture. Everything is scripture, Old Testament. [00:10:05] Speaker A: Who does it preach? Who does Jonah really preach? [00:10:08] Speaker B: Is it about a whale in Nineveh? [00:10:11] Speaker A: Three days in a whale who does [00:10:12] Speaker B: that remind you of what About Israel [00:10:17] Speaker A: going through the Red Sea? [00:10:18] Speaker B: Is that about how to split a Red Sea? Or is it about when you go through the water, you'll be free from your captives? [00:10:26] Speaker A: What about a bronze serpent being hung on a tree? [00:10:28] Speaker B: That's cursed and bitten people. Is it about how to catch snakes and hang them on trees? [00:10:33] Speaker A: Right, see, but we struggle with the [00:10:35] Speaker B: Old Testament because we don't invite the God of the Old Testament into it. [00:10:40] Speaker A: The Old Testament preaches the same person [00:10:42] Speaker B: as the New Testament. It all preaches. [00:10:45] Speaker A: Jesus had no problem going, Let me explain out of Exodus I how I'm [00:10:49] Speaker B: your Lord and Savior. [00:10:52] Speaker A: That's what the all the scriptures for and all the scripture. [00:10:55] Speaker B: I don't know. This could be too much for Sunday morning. But. But all the scripture, everything for it [00:11:01] Speaker A: to be scripture has to be veiled [00:11:03] Speaker B: to the natural mind. Maybe we'll do a series on that at some point. But the natural mind looks at Scripture and it's veiled. [00:11:13] Speaker A: The Holy Spirit has to unlock it to you. [00:11:15] Speaker B: That's why it's Logos. It's alive and living. [00:11:18] Speaker A: So without him, it's words on a page. [00:11:21] Speaker B: When he is invited in, it becomes alive and it becomes unlocked. [00:11:25] Speaker A: That's why in verse 45, that's why [00:11:27] Speaker B: you hear me pray it every time. [00:11:29] Speaker A: Because who am I to not pray? It says, and he opened the understanding. They might comprehend the Scriptures. Without him opening my understanding, I cannot comprehend the Scriptures. [00:11:41] Speaker B: Okay. I thought that was more powerful than it went over, but that's okay. [00:11:44] Speaker A: So we're like, my Bible study is so dry. Yeah. Because you need to invite him into it. I would encourage you not even to really go to this until you feel him. [00:11:55] Speaker B: He has to open this to me. [00:11:58] Speaker A: So even this requires dependency and awareness of him. [00:12:03] Speaker B: It's quiet in here. That's okay. [00:12:06] Speaker A: This is what I love too. When does Jesus invite himself into this conversation? It's good to learn. Because what's the whole. [00:12:14] Speaker B: Why does he constrain their eyes? That's a good question. [00:12:17] Speaker A: Maybe because he's teaching you and I that one day he won't be there [00:12:20] Speaker B: in the flesh, but there's still a way that he engages with humanity. That's an idea. [00:12:27] Speaker A: So why is he doing this? Why does he constrain their eyes? So he shows up. When is it random? Because they aren't looking for him. When does he show up? When they're talking about him. [00:12:39] Speaker B: Like, I don't have to be in community. I'm like, who are you going to talk to? [00:12:41] Speaker A: Jesus about, [00:12:44] Speaker B: okay, so they're talking. People like, you don't, don't judge me. Like, I don't have to talk about it. I'm like, bro, your words judge you. It's quiet. People are like, you can't judge me. [00:12:58] Speaker A: I'm like, if I walk up to an apple tree and it's not producing [00:13:00] Speaker B: apples, the fruit judged the tree [00:13:04] Speaker A: out of the abundance, whether we like it or not. [00:13:06] Speaker B: Your words show your heart. [00:13:09] Speaker A: Like out of the abundance of the [00:13:11] Speaker B: heart, the mouth speaks. [00:13:14] Speaker A: So the burning heart will speak about what it's burning for. [00:13:19] Speaker B: Okay, so Jesus shows up, inserts himself in during conversation about himself, then he shows up. [00:13:29] Speaker A: This is beautiful too, because we have to all recognize that our hearts are [00:13:32] Speaker B: slightly dull and blinded because we need dependency. He has to show up. I'm not unaware of my need for God. I need him to show up. I need him to be aware. [00:13:44] Speaker A: We see in part now, but one day we'll see him so clearly. [00:13:47] Speaker B: But right now we're still on this journey. [00:13:49] Speaker A: So they're walking to this final destination and suddenly on their journey he shows up. And then what begins to happen [00:13:58] Speaker B: when he shows up? [00:14:00] Speaker A: So firstly he asks them a question. [00:14:01] Speaker B: So he asked them the question. [00:14:03] Speaker A: Then later on, where does he first take them is to the scriptures. [00:14:08] Speaker B: See what's fascinating to me about this whole passage though, like reading it, because I was reflecting on this recently that I feel like when you read the story, they were on this destination, they were on this journey. [00:14:20] Speaker A: And Emmaus, which I actually think is [00:14:22] Speaker B: really cool, the word Emmaus means a bubbling up of a hot spring. [00:14:26] Speaker A: So they were going to like the [00:14:27] Speaker B: spa like town, which I think has multiple applications throughout Scriptures. I think number one, it's John 4, like when he's there with you, you become a spring of living water. [00:14:37] Speaker A: But secondly, it's this place where they're going for relaxation, to maybe work through [00:14:41] Speaker B: the pain of Jesus's loss. Does that make sense? [00:14:45] Speaker A: So they're on this journey. Suddenly Jesus shows up on the journey. Now I was, I was thinking through this because we all on a journey [00:14:51] Speaker B: somewhere, you're all going somewhere. We all have an end destination in mind. [00:14:58] Speaker A: We all have somewhere we trying to go. And I think, we think that that thing is going to be the source [00:15:02] Speaker B: of our peace or healing or contentment [00:15:05] Speaker A: because they are on their way to Emmaus for healing, contentment for resource. But when they get there, they realize that they are more fixated on the [00:15:14] Speaker B: one who is with them on the road than the destination. [00:15:18] Speaker A: And I think my Worry for us as a community is oftentimes we are way too fixated on a destination. And what we have to do is for me to get through today, I have to dangle a carrot in front of me to give me motivation today. [00:15:33] Speaker B: What do I mean by that? [00:15:34] Speaker A: Sometimes it's your calling, it's your future, it's a spouse, it's money, it's car. Something has to motivate me to do something. [00:15:42] Speaker B: I remember for me, I went to [00:15:44] Speaker A: Bible school years ago and I loved it because every day I was told how amazing I was and how I [00:15:47] Speaker B: was going to change the world. Two years, like, I'm incredible. One day I will change the world and then. [00:15:55] Speaker A: And you're going to preach the gospel, travel the world. [00:15:57] Speaker B: And I'm like, some of it was right. [00:15:58] Speaker A: Amen. Thank you, Lord. And I remember when I was 23 years old, I got the opportunity to preach in a stadium in Australia to like 20,000 people. I'm so excited. [00:16:08] Speaker B: I had 15 minutes in an afternoon session if we honest and most people were taking a nap, but I still had it. [00:16:13] Speaker A: And I remember being so excited because I'm like, I've made it. I'm finally there. Like, I've dreamt of this for so long. The prophetic words, the dreams, the desire of my heart. I'm seeking God for months leading up to this 15 minutes, and I get on stage and I preach my heart out. And I think I do pretty good because I'm pretty unself aware at the time. So I'm like, this is perfect. I'm amazing. I get off stage and it feels really good. You know that idols still feel really good. So I get off stage and I'm like, man, that was amazing. People are like, hey, bro. I'm like, yeah, I was the guy on stage. [00:16:47] Speaker B: Like, that was me. You're probably wrecking. [00:16:49] Speaker A: You want a picture? [00:16:49] Speaker B: They're like, no. I'm like, okay, I'm joking. That didn't happen. But I some I'm exaggerating, but I [00:16:57] Speaker A: do get back to my hotel room [00:16:58] Speaker B: that night, and I feel like I'm resharing every everything. It's like, bro, you shared the same thing 30 times. That's not for us. That's for you. So I'm like, resharing, feel followers are coming through. I'm like, I've made it. I grew by 300 followers today. [00:17:14] Speaker A: I'm famous. [00:17:16] Speaker B: I. I almost have a thousand followers. I need to request a verification badge. [00:17:20] Speaker A: It's time. [00:17:22] Speaker B: Because there's going to be Fake accounts by tomorrow for sure. And I remember lying on my bed because adrenaline's pumping. I'm looking out over the harbor of Melbourne. I'm like, man, I'm eating out of the snack basket. I'm still refreshing because I'm like, oh, three more followers. How's the verification going? Let me check. So I'm like, refreshing, and slowly everyone's going to bed. And the thing with preaching at night is you stay up late than everyone else because your adrenaline pumps for hours. So there I am in bed, refreshing. I'm like, more followers. Yep. [00:17:51] Speaker A: A request. [00:17:52] Speaker B: Wow, let me see what that looks like. And eventually I'm like, lying there. You know those moments where you just feel like God's looking at you and I'm like, I'm pretty busy right now. Lord, thank you for last week, though, when you were helping prepare me for today. So I'm scrolling and I remember thinking to myself, like, nothing's really changed. The fear is still there that I had before. The anxiety, the discontentment. I remember God saying to me all those years ago, he said, dylan, this will never get bigger than you and me alone on your bedroom floor. Never. Not a calling, not a destination. I think sometimes we buy the lie that if we get to that end destination, it'll give us something. I would just say, make sure that God made you that promise. Make sure God promised you that that new job would heal your anxiety. Make sure God promised you that moving to Florida would give you peace. Make sure God promised you that once you reach that place, you'll suddenly be fine. [00:18:58] Speaker A: Or when you get to heaven, what's [00:19:00] Speaker B: going to satisfy you? You're like, oh, that house I had, [00:19:03] Speaker A: Lord, thank you for that house. It's like the only thing that will [00:19:06] Speaker B: satisfy you is him. So what makes you think it's different now? [00:19:14] Speaker A: See, we're so fixated on this destination. I want to go here. Really? [00:19:19] Speaker B: Cool. [00:19:19] Speaker A: The problem is when we dangle these [00:19:21] Speaker B: carrots in front of us, the problem [00:19:23] Speaker A: is very few people reach them. [00:19:26] Speaker B: Very few do. [00:19:27] Speaker A: So most people burn out before they ever get there because that's not a good motivation. You're going to wake up and grind [00:19:32] Speaker B: day after day to get something that you might never get. [00:19:37] Speaker A: Secondly, the few people that get them realize that it's never going to give [00:19:41] Speaker B: them what they expected anyway. That's why Hollywood isn't the happiest place on earth. [00:19:46] Speaker A: The hard thing about Hollywood is most [00:19:47] Speaker B: of them hit rock bottom. [00:19:48] Speaker A: Why? Because they realized none of the carrots gave them anything. Fame meant nothing. Money meant nothing, woman meant nothing. So they hit rock bottom because there's no more options. The problem is many of us have [00:20:01] Speaker B: options of carrots we can dangle to [00:20:04] Speaker A: one day obtain and one day find contentment. The problem is, God never promised they would find contentment. And we're so fixated on that destination. So we have to create idols in our heart in order to pursue something, we have to have motivation. See the Christian life or us as believers. It's impossible to not be dependent on something. Your soul will always find something to depend on. [00:20:31] Speaker B: I have a friend sitting in the front row. I won't say who, but recently he was like, I'm cutting out candy. [00:20:41] Speaker A: And I was like, okay, Tracy, you're cutting out candy. [00:20:47] Speaker B: Oh, sorry. I was trying not to say who, bro. I'm sorry. Just gaslighted on stage in church. It was a mistake, bro. [00:20:54] Speaker A: But Tracy comes over and he did cut out candy, but he didn't cut [00:20:59] Speaker B: out cake, that's for sure. [00:21:04] Speaker A: And my point more so is this. Like, sometimes he's so fixated, I'm cutting this out, bro. [00:21:08] Speaker B: What are you going to replace it with? [00:21:11] Speaker A: Like, the soul is going to depend on something. So, so often, like, we want to go into the depths of God. I'm like, okay, great. [00:21:20] Speaker B: Somebody prayed this. When one of my leaders, he said, I pray that he would go, that the road would get narrower and narrower over me. [00:21:28] Speaker A: I was like, [00:21:30] Speaker B: yo, yo, hey, that's good. But I didn't. I agree, God, but by faith, I agree. [00:21:37] Speaker A: Because the thing is, we go narrower and narrower into God, which is freedom. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Why does God whittle us down over time with a cross? [00:21:44] Speaker A: Why do we carry harshers? Why do we go through stuff, not just sit ourselves, but to get out of the way so he can set us free. But if we want to go into the depths of God, do you realize the lifestyle required to sustain that? Because people are like, I'm cutting out tv. The road's narrowing. I'm like, okay, but then you can't use eight hours of Instagram. [00:22:04] Speaker B: Tomorrow. [00:22:06] Speaker A: The soul is going to long for something to bring satisfaction and contentment to. Like, for me, I used to get so excited for all the trips I go on, and I still do. But I would seek God for weeks. Like, I'm going to Brazil. I'm going to Brazil. I'd get there and it's amazing. And then I'd come home and I wouldn't spend time with God for three or four days. Why? Because I'd used him for what I needed. Him. For I'm good because that was my destination. I thought this would find contentment. Then I have to go and wait three or four days to recover. Recover from intimacy. What? Recover to then be like, okay, God, I need you again. Why? For the next trip, the next carrot, the next thing. Like, what is it? Like, I needed something to dangle in front of me. And now I come back from trips hungry. Because I understand I'm not formed for that thing. I'm formed by that thing. I used to go home and thinking, like, what do people think now? I'm like, God, did you come and fill this? I come hungry for God today because I'm formed for this, not by this. And that's what begins to happen when you begin to lay down the idols in our life. [00:23:12] Speaker B: How do idols actually creep in? [00:23:14] Speaker A: Think about this. For the sake of time, I'm not going to go there. [00:23:17] Speaker B: Exodus 32. [00:23:19] Speaker A: Moses is up getting the Ten Commandments. Is it Aaron or Joshua? One of them is like, hey, boys, [00:23:24] Speaker B: they're taking too long. [00:23:26] Speaker A: I'm like, bro, he's getting the ten Commandments. [00:23:29] Speaker B: And you're like, this is too slow. [00:23:31] Speaker A: He's not really doing anything important. He's up on the hill. Let's do it ourselves. So, number one, this is good for us because what is? The three lusts that first, John warns us are lust of the flesh, lust [00:23:40] Speaker B: of the eyes, the pride of life. [00:23:42] Speaker A: The lust of the eyes is so prevalent in our generation. They saw that he delayed. They made an idol. The soul needs something to depend on. See, many of our motivation is because we saw someone else had something. Welcome to covetousness. That's an idol. I saw it, I won it. They did it. I want to do it. Daniel summing in front of me. So they take it into their own hands, and it actually slows down what God is doing. [00:24:18] Speaker B: Moses comes down, rebukes them, goes back up. Hustle slows you down. [00:24:23] Speaker A: Staying in God's lane is where you want to be content, where you are. I doubt these men got to the destination and said, I'm so glad we're here. Why? Because they realized who was with them on the road. If you don't find contentment on the road, you aren't going to find it at the destination. So what happens next? Like Jesus, what happens? As he's opening the scriptures, their hearts start to burn within him. They realize that something different is happening here. [00:24:55] Speaker B: I think for you and I, like, I know this is quite a lot for a Sunday morning. I'll be Honest. But we already here. [00:25:04] Speaker A: I've been thinking about this idea of [00:25:05] Speaker B: us really walking in true freedom, like, [00:25:09] Speaker A: as individuals and as a community. [00:25:11] Speaker B: And I've been on this for a long time. [00:25:12] Speaker A: Of course, Jesus died to set us [00:25:14] Speaker B: free from all sin, and it's true. But I think sometimes we don't really go deep into this thought. So here's my 2 cents on it. The early church had a concept of how the Holy Spirit forms you as believers. [00:25:29] Speaker A: And they said step one is when [00:25:30] Speaker B: God deals with your mortal sins, which is like when you first get saved. And God's like, hey, you got to stop robbing banks. And you're like, yeah, that's fair. And stop shooting people. You're like, okay, I'm done. And it's like, obvious stuff, hopefully. And you're like, okay, I'm done. [00:25:46] Speaker A: And then thinking about the Christian walkers, [00:25:48] Speaker B: that road's going to get narrower for the rest of your life. It'll never be comfortable without the Holy Spirit. And I'll never stop being formed. And when it says, deny yourself daily until you formed. No, deny yourself daily like I used to. Okay, I'll save that list to number one. Number two, when the Holy Spirit comes after sins of commission in our life, like, hey, that was a lie. And you're like, that's right. Hey, I'm sorry. That's growth. That's maturity. The next stage where the Holy Spirit starts to work in our lives is when he comes after the sins of omission, where he's like, hey, you haven't cared for widows and orphans in a while. And James 1:27 says, that's what pure religion is. Hey, I said in Mark 16 to preach the gospel. We haven't done that in a while. And now your heart's soft enough for him to form you into. Also what you aren't doing. Not just what I shouldn't do, but what should I do? And he begins to move there. The fourth stage, which they talked about in this journey is when God. God comes after your trust structures. That's a fun one. Where it might not be sin and it might be permissible to somebody else, but God goes, hey, that has your heart. That right there, that has you. That might not have them, but it has you. Hey, I trust them with that. I don't trust you with that yet. Your trust structures. And the thing with trust structures are, I think why it's so scary to us is that every idol you lay down, your soul will always find contentment somewhere. So for us to truly walk this out in holiness and humility. It's impossible without growing in the secret place and dependency on God. How else will you be sustained when [00:27:42] Speaker A: there's no other thing sustaining you? What will sustain you? So the idea to live there. I'm like, we all want to live there. But I'm like, how would you live there? Do you have the life to sustain God? Being your dependency, like, the walk Jesus calls you to will require complete dependency, like, more than ever. [00:28:02] Speaker B: Like the call to carry a cross. [00:28:04] Speaker A: If you aren't. [00:28:05] Speaker B: Okay, I'll say it. We'll explain it. [00:28:08] Speaker A: If somebody doesn't have a prayer life, [00:28:10] Speaker B: they aren't carrying a cross. [00:28:12] Speaker A: Come on, let me help you. Like, am I carrying a cross? Ask yourself, do you have a prayer life? Because Jesus is like, God, this is really hard. [00:28:24] Speaker B: I don't really want to do it. God's like, you're going to do it. He's allowed to say that to us. That doesn't mean you aren't in God's grace. That means you're now carrying a cross. We're there he goes, okay, God, give me a sec. God, help me, please, to carry a cross. I really need help. [00:28:42] Speaker A: And then he goes to the cross. [00:28:44] Speaker B: And we somehow think we can walk out this Christian life of carrying a cross daily without a prayer life. Okay, see, this is a gift to us. Why? [00:28:56] Speaker A: Because it weakens us. The freest person is that person that's dependent on God. No carrots, no Dag. No, I'm content now. See, I think we're so fixated on a destination because we've forgotten that he's with us right now. He's in this journey with us in this moment. [00:29:13] Speaker B: He wants to be with us, that [00:29:15] Speaker A: we don't have to dangle anything in front of us, but rather he longs [00:29:19] Speaker B: for himself just to come and be with us. [00:29:26] Speaker A: Can con. [00:29:27] Speaker B: Let me ask you this. [00:29:28] Speaker A: Can contentment be passive? When you got saved, did you just instantly come content? [00:29:36] Speaker B: The answer is no. See? So let's look at what Philippians 2 says. Are you guys okay? Philippians 4. Sorry, but I do love to. Philippians 4, verse 11. [00:29:57] Speaker A: This is what Paul says. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I've learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to abase. I know how to abound. Everywhere in all things I've learned to be full and to be hungry, both [00:30:10] Speaker B: to abound and to suffer need. [00:30:13] Speaker A: This is coming from the guy with whip marks on his back. [00:30:16] Speaker B: And he's in chains and he goes, [00:30:18] Speaker A: my Contentment is not connected to an external reality. This has to somehow sink so deep in this. Like, you know what I dream about? What would it look like for a community to live out and pursue their [00:30:33] Speaker B: dreams with no idols? [00:30:36] Speaker A: I think about it. You had a hundred percent work ethic, but it wasn't connected to covenants or [00:30:40] Speaker B: what other people had. But because you lived before an audience of one, [00:30:45] Speaker A: that's my. What would that even look like? Like, I'm not doing this for anyone else, for no one else, for. No. I'm doing it for him alone. Because that's what Paul, he's like, hey, I've learned. So he didn't receive contentment. You don't receive it one day through a circumstance. You don't get it at the destination. He goes, I learned what. When I had a lot, though. When I had nothing and I had a lot. Sometimes a lot is almost harder because you have more carrots that you could pursue. I'm discontent. I'm going to Bali for three days. And you wake up in Bali, you're like, the anxiety hasn't gone anywhere. Have you ever woken up in a bed in a new location? But it's the same you. And you get there. And he goes, I've learned to be content. I just wanted to ask, like, have we learned to be content? Like, of course God wants to give us, take care of us. Cool. But contentment isn't dependent on your external circumstances. How can the all in all not [00:31:55] Speaker B: be enough right now? [00:32:00] Speaker A: How can the all in all not be enough? You? Plus this will bring you containment. And he gets there like. And I'm reminded in Exodus 33 of Moses, he finally gets to the promised land of where he's been going for all this time. And he gets before it. And God goes, hey, you can go in. His promises are before him. Everything he's been dreaming of is before him. I wonder how many of us would have just rushed in, like, thanks, God, I'm done with you. I made it. I got everything I wanted. I appreciate you. Because sometimes God to us becomes a stage stepping stone on a journey versus the destination. Like, he's a stay on the staircase to our calling and our dreams and everything else. The problem is, when you get there, you'll be disposed of your need for him. So think about this in. [00:32:51] Speaker B: In. [00:32:52] Speaker A: In Luke 24, as we slowly come to an end. What happens when they finally get to their destination of where they were going? They set out for a destination. They set out for Emmaus, for this place they were going to. And what happens when they finally get there? Verse 28. Then they drew near to the village where they were going. And he indicated that he would have gone farther, but they constrained him, saying, abide with us, for it is towards evening and the day is far spent. And then 35 it says, he told [00:33:32] Speaker B: all things happened on the road and [00:33:33] Speaker A: how he had been known to them [00:33:35] Speaker B: in the breaking of bread. [00:33:40] Speaker A: I love this about Jesus. And sometimes we fail to recognize that Jesus still does this to us. Their hearts are burning. [00:33:51] Speaker B: And he goes, it was great walking with you guys. This is really special. I'm gonna go. [00:33:57] Speaker A: And they go, no, please stay. [00:33:58] Speaker B: He goes, okay, I'll stay. [00:34:02] Speaker A: He goes where he's wanted. So they speak. He's present. Their hearts burn. Then they tested. He tests them. Do you want more or are you content with our relationship? Do you want more or are you good with just a little heart burning? Are you good with once a week experience? [00:34:22] Speaker B: Me? [00:34:23] Speaker A: Oh, you go to every few days or a conference or every few moments, he tests them. He's like, I'm good. They go, no, stay good. Okay, say less. It's like the friend who's like, begging [00:34:33] Speaker B: to come, but, like, hinting you. Like, say, like, okay, I'll stay there. [00:34:36] Speaker A: That's how Jesus is. He longs for deeper intimacy with us, but he wants to be wanted. What happens next at that table? They break the bread. And that's when they see it him. So they go from a burning heart to an encounter with the Christ because somebody was able to say, hey, would you stay with us? They would have missed out on that. If somebody just go, hey, I want more of you. You know what I love about this too, is that Jesus, the moment they break the bread, he disappears. I would propose it's because he's preaching. Every time you break my body, I'm present. Every time you take communion, I'm there. That's me. I don't think it was unintentional. [00:35:18] Speaker B: That's the moment he went to the Father. [00:35:21] Speaker A: If we knew the power of communion, [00:35:23] Speaker B: we'd be taking way more communion. [00:35:25] Speaker A: He's so present. That is his body, that is his blood. And there's mystery, but he's there in those moments. He does the same thing with Moses. Hey, here's the promised land. Moses goes, [00:35:42] Speaker B: actually, I'd rather stay here unless you come. [00:35:46] Speaker A: He goes, okay, I'll come with you. He goes, no, I'm only going if [00:35:50] Speaker B: you come with us. [00:35:51] Speaker A: He goes, okay, I'll come with you. Wait. He wants to be wanted. He Wants people that pursue him, that ask him to stay, that want more than just a once in a while experience. People that cry out for God, stay with me, spend time. The testing is coming and it's always an invitation to do more of him. That's the beauty of it. But we don't understand that. We don't know how to treat testing or hardship. Meanwhile, it was always meant to be an invitation. And I'm praying that we would learn what Israel and Moses and Cleopatra, them on the road learned. What did they learn? I would rather be on the road with Jesus than anywhere else. I'd rather be in the desert with him, in the promised land without him. He is the one who satisfies. He is not just the end destination. He is the road. And it's time we get way more content. Now I want to finish with the story. I remember I used to sit when I first moved here. I used to sit with Pastor Roman Weekend and almost weekly and be like, what am I doing with my life? What am I going to do? What's my calling? What's my future? Is it traveling? Is it preaching? Is it crusades? What am I going to do with my life? Why? Because my soul needed an idol. I didn't know that then, I know that now. I mean, I need something to dangle. What am I going to do? And then recently I look back on my journey a few weeks ago I was like, those questions never got answered. [00:37:14] Speaker B: I still have no idea. [00:37:17] Speaker A: People like, what's your 10 year plan? [00:37:19] Speaker B: Carrying across daily? [00:37:22] Speaker A: That's about all I've got right now [00:37:24] Speaker B: that's genuine seeking God, maybe some dreams [00:37:26] Speaker A: and their big plan. No idea. So are those questions answered? No. Still don't have answers. But am I asking the question anymore? [00:37:38] Speaker B: No. [00:37:39] Speaker A: Does it consume me? [00:37:41] Speaker B: No. [00:37:42] Speaker A: What changed? I became more aware of him on the journey than any destination. So the questions don't consume me because I'm content now. I don't need a carrot to dangle. I don't need an idol to hold me over. And I think some of us live constantly disappointed because these things never do. And we're searching and restless and tired and God's just saying, hey, you don't have to do that anymore. Like, hey, I'm with you right now. And I sense even now there's hearts beginning to burn in the room for more. The questions, the searching for something. Maybe you have a burning heart, but never like paid the price for more. I sense God inviting people this morning. [00:38:21] Speaker B: Can we stand? [00:38:28] Speaker A: I'm going to invite the Ministry team [00:38:30] Speaker B: to come up front. [00:38:39] Speaker A: I just sense even as I've been preaching the word, he does what he always does, which he starts to set [00:38:43] Speaker B: hearts ablaze for him. [00:38:45] Speaker A: That's the. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. [00:38:47] Speaker B: Only he can do that. [00:38:50] Speaker A: And in those moments, a response is required. The burning heart is an invitation into more. The burning heart is an invitation into the breaking of the bread. It's an invitation to the touch. When God touches you, I just sense this morning people being invited in to lay down some of those idols or those things they've been dangling or those motivations, they were never going to satisfy you anyway. Even options. Can I tell you that if God heals you, sets you free, transforms you, he will get all the glory. That location won't. That job won't. He might use those things, but he will get the glory because he's the only one who can do it. So if that's you and it's speaking to you, I just want you to respond and come to the ministry team. Just respond. This morning, the one who met them on the road is longing to meet [00:39:47] Speaker B: you on your road. [00:39:49] Speaker A: The one who met them on the road is here today. You are on a road somewhere and God is longing. I love this picture because I think it's a prophetic picture also of heaven, that we wait for heaven to be with him, but we're on the road with him now. Emmaus is a picture of heaven. One day we will be with Jesus forever where he'll stay with us. But while we're on the road, the same one who is there is with us now. And I just say to people, God is inviting people into an awareness of him in the now, in the present. [00:40:21] Speaker B: Let's worship together. Thank you for joining King Movement Online. I pray and hope that that sermon impacted you deeply. I would love if you shared this with a few friends and family. And before you go, don't forget to subscribe. See you next week.