BURNING HEARTS: Igniting the Fire Inside
Today, April 12, 2015: “The Road”
Birmingham: ember about to go out, breathed on by the Spirit… Clark
Taylor “It's your town”... re-ignited heart…
Today the
embers in your heart may be smoldering…
had great dreams, now seem dashed… had wonderful promise, no
fulfillment… marriage may be crumbling… addiction may be raging… relationships
are on the rocks… you may wonder if it will get any better…
I want the
Lord to set your heart afire…
Hebrews
12:29 (NKJV) For our God is a consuming fire.
Moses…
from bush to mountain to him…
Two
disciples of Jesus were losing their fire after the Crucifixion…
TEXT Luke
24:13–35 (NKJV) Now behold, two of them
were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles
from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things
which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned,
that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes
were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation (Weust: animated, heated conversation) is this
that you have with one another as you walk and are sad (long faced)?” 18 Then the one
whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in
Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these
days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a
Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20
and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to
death, and crucified Him. 21 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 happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who
arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find
His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said
He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the
tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 Then He said
to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe
in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to
have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the
Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Ever
wonder what Jesus taught them? Warren Wiersbe talks about it in his Bible Exposition Commentary:
That was some Bible
conference, and I wish I could have been there! Imagine the greatest Teacher
explaining the greatest themes from the greatest Book and bringing the greatest
blessings to men's lives: eyes open to see Him, hearts open to receive the
Word, and lips open to tell others what Jesus said to them!
Perhaps Jesus started at
Genesis
3:15, the first promise of the Redeemer, and traced that promise
through the Scriptures. He may have lingered at Genesis 22, which tells
of Abraham placing his only beloved son on the altar. Surely He touched on
Passover, the levitical sacrifices, the tabernacle ceremonies, the Day of
Atonement, the serpent in the wilderness, the Suffering Servant in Isaiah
53, and the prophetic messages of Psalms 22 and 69. The key to
understanding the Bible is to see Jesus Christ on every page. He did not teach
them only doctrine or prophecy; He taught "the things concerning Himself' (Luke
24:27).
28 Then they
drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would
have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is
far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came
to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and
they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to
one another, “Did
not our heart burn within us while
He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33
So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven
and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord
is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about
the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the
breaking of bread.
Who were these disciples?
Jews
gathered in Jerusalem for Passover; Followers of Christ; Not of the ‘eleven’
The Road of Life
What were they feeling on “The Road”?
1. Disappointment
2. Discouragement
3. Disbelief
What happened?
Jesus showed up in the midst of their life and met them…
1. He encouraged them… there is an answer; there
is a plan; just believe…
2. He revealed himself to them through the
Word... Jesus in every page, every word…
3. He became intimate with them… the Word
brought them into relationship…
Two necessary absolutes to success in the
Christian Life:
1.
Relationship with Jesus,
not a book
Rhema words
John
6:63 The Words that
I speak to you are spirit, and they
are life…
Romans
10:17 Faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God…
Ephesians
6:17 Take the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God…
Meal, not a Menu
Their hearts burned! kaio (καίω, 2545), “to set fire
to, to light”;
Through
a man…
Through
a message…
Through
meditation…
2. Meditation
1. Read
2. Memorize
3. Personalize
4. Obey
The resurrected Jesus wants to meet you on your
road!
1. Two blind men
2. Bartimeus
“When
Jesus Comes”
1
One sat alone beside the highway begging,
His eyes were blind, the light he could not see;
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows,
Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee.
His eyes were blind, the light he could not see;
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows,
Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee.
Chorus
When Jesus comes the tempter’s pow’r is broken;
When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away.
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.
When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away.
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.
2
From home and friends the evil spirits drove
him,
Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon pow’rs possessed him,
Then Jesus came and set the captive free
Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon pow’rs possessed him,
Then Jesus came and set the captive free
3
“Unclean! unclean!” the leper cried in torment,
The deaf, the dumb, in helplessness stood near;
The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim,
Then Jesus came and cast out every fear.
The deaf, the dumb, in helplessness stood near;
The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim,
Then Jesus came and cast out every fear.
4
Their hearts were sad as in the tomb they laid
him,
For death had come and taken him away;
Their night was dark and bitter tears were falling,
Then Jesus came and night was turned to day.
For death had come and taken him away;
Their night was dark and bitter tears were falling,
Then Jesus came and night was turned to day.
5
So men today have found the Savior able,
They could not conquer passion, lust and sin;
Their broken hearts had left them sad and lonely,
Then Jesus came and dwelt, Himself, within.
They could not conquer passion, lust and sin;
Their broken hearts had left them sad and lonely,
Then Jesus came and dwelt, Himself, within.
“Even so,
Lord Jesus, come!”
40 days
tested in the wilderness
40 days in
resurrection power
Fulness to
Power to Resurrection to Glory
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