Fresh Start

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You're listening to a podcast or from Victory explore the

canon of books that form the New and Old Testaments

in week five of our series word View.

Now let's open our Bible to look chapter twenty four technical,

because really the question that we need to answer is

what is the significance of this to me today? Why

is this important to you? Luke. Chapter twenty four, we're

going to read a story that would show us the

significance of the canon of scripture. And in verse thirteen

we're not going to start. In verse one and verse thirteen,

we're introduced to two travelers, one whose name was not

even mentioned. Look, twenty four is about the resurrection of Christ,

and they know that Jesus said, when after I rise

from the dead, the Holy Spirit will be poured out

in the city of Jerusalem. But in verse thirteen we're

going to read later these two travelers are not going

to Jerusalem. They are actually they are walking away from Jerusalem.

This is where God promised to pour out the spirit,

but they are walking away from it because they are

so discouraged. Some Christians. That's what they do when they

are down. Their initial response is not to show up

in church to isolate, and they're walking. But you know,

God chased them down. Jesus chase them down. Amazing. You

know your two year old, Nah and Hyperno, especially when

we go to the malls. Every time we go out,

it's like me going for a workoutym exercise. I'm running

after my son two years old. Sometimes he would run

going to the escalator. Sometimes he would go to a

crowd of people. Sometimes he would try to run going

out of the mall. So I have because I I

don't want to lose my son. The same way here,

Jesus was chasing them. Not because Jesus was afraid to

lose followers. He did not come here to build a

fan base. He was chasing these men out of love

and compassion. The Bible says, for God, who loved the world,

that he gave his one and only son, It's out

of love. Jesus came and lived among us and died

on the cross and rose again from the dead, so

that you and I can be found, because he doesn't

want to lose you. It's chasing us. Even at times

we are rebellious. He's chasing us now. In verse thirteen,

I'd like us to read verse thirteen. That very day,

two of them were going to a village named Emmaeus,

about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with

each other about all these things that had happened. While

they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drawn near

and went with them, but their eyes were kept from

recognizing him. Jesus was there, standing face to face, but

the Bible says they were kept from recognizing him. Now

I which reminded me of what happened to me and

my wife last December. A wife a gammet every week

last December where we went to pangasin atapast dinner. Does

the girl does pa all smile excited, feeling a parent

instant to unionto your wife. Cora smiled in chaperro galat excited,

galaty confuse. Diniama recognized does have been the girl? Big awkward.

Later on I learned they were childhood friends. She was

standing there and they're talking for around ten minutes. My

wife cannot recognize her. And if I remember right, uh,

they will have a mini reunion after a few days.

So Sabino girl, you have to remember, did you Pakalistia?

My wife tried to look in Facebook. The problem is

she can't remember her name. Wow, even after spending several

years together, she still can't recognize. That's what happened to

these people Last Wednesday. I lost my wallet. I was

working at the fourth and I was preoccupied with a

lot of things. And then when it when it's three

or four o'clock, I need to take a taxi going

here because there's going to be a dinner here for

real life foundation for our scholars. So I was in

a hurry. I was preoccupied. I forgot that. I put

my wallet in front pocket Nikola and basaki and wallet go,

and then I stopped. I know all of this because

in that area there's a building also building a feeling,

and I see the CCTV, so with my Bastos Pino CCTV,

so I saw what happened when I dropped it. I

just stepped one one step. My wallet was there and

I was trying to book a taxi and then I

walked away. It was there, tikunakita h sabin wife, man

make suck it. But anyway I dropped it. I didn't

realize it was there. The Bible says Jesus was there,

but they were kept from recognized. Now, I'm saying all

these things because I want to ask you this question.

What is stopping you from recognizing Jesus? Is there anything

that's keeping you from recognizing him or his work in

your life? For them, it was their wrong standard, their

idea of a messiah. They were expecting a conquering king

who will liberate them from the Roman captivity. They were

under Roman rule and it was hard for them. And

there was a promise that there is a savior, a

messiah who would come and they will be delivered, who

will restore their glory days as a nation. And they

were waiting for a conquering thing, and what came was

a suffering servant. They were kept from recognizing Jesus because

of their standard, wrong standard. They were expecting a crown.

What they saw was across. They were expecting glory, but

what came was suffering. They were expecting Jesus to meet

their standard rather than allowing the Scripture to be their standard.

We are going to be hindered from seeing and experiencing

Jesus if we don't allow the Scripture to become the

standard for life, for faith and doctrine. That's what happening

to some people. They want God to fit to their

standard rather than them aligning to God's standard. In Verse seventeen,

and he said to them, what is this conversation that

you're holding with each other as you walk? So see

Jesus the gla occupied with dirt, frustrations and disappointments, and

joined them tapus Naihalus's happened Saba, saying you, Alipina, goes

happen you? And verse eighteen. Then one of them named Cleopus,

I'll just call him Cleo. Cleo answered him, are you

the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the

things that happened there in these days? And he said

to them what things Jesus was playing with them? And

they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man

who was a prophet mighty indeed and word before God

and all the people, and how were chief priests and

rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and

crucified him. But we had the hope that he was

the one to read the Israel. You know, Cleo was

trying to explain Jesus to Jesus. How funny is that

nearly lets you and you see Jesus, nima bilem nando

see Jesus and see Jesus. Can you imagine that happening?

You know, I saw this Facebook post by a student

one time and he said, my teacher is so dumb.

He thought the son was a star. This has been

a comment. That's because it is. And he said, no,

it's not. A son is a son, A star is

a star. Saying that the son is a star is

the same as saying a tomato is a fruit. That's

right in his mind. I don't teacher in the Columban

and again, teacher Malitina turunya, a son is a start.

Some of you are searching in Google right now, son

is a star feeling yahnah, don't teacherko ula alam. But

you know what, sometimes we do that when we read

the Bible and if there's something that we don't agree with,

we decide we are wiser than God. Some people think

that their words and the words of other people are

more reliable than the word of God. They think they

know better than him. And when they look at the

scripture they question a lot of things and say, grab

we think we know better than him. Sometimes and then

verse twenty five to twenty seven, and he said to them,

so Jesus Abatamana, let's cut the chase. He said to them,

of foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all

that the prophets have spoken, after all the teachings three years.

Can you imagine Jesus preaching to them three years? How

many of you hear you want Jesus to preacher every

Sunday instead of me. Don't raise your hands, I'll ban

you here. Can you imagine three years your best preacher,

best teacher, victory group leader chan La Tutuu for three

years explaining the scripture. But even after three years of

teaching them, after all the miracles, Jesus said, you're slow

of heart to believe. And the pupunk Costunian goingko anda

be InKo bay manuala. Your hard to please. You know,

sometimes the older we get, the harder we are to

please the master Janti the disciple coming on student first

or second? Your college mouldable. No, sometimes diavara, Oh, he'll

take note. But but Jesus said, your slow of heart

to believe. I like this quote from Thomas Aquinas. To

one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one

without faith, no explanation is possible. Jesus pointed out the issue.

The issue is not because the Bible is not clear

or profound or wise. It's not because the Bible is

not It's not wise. The real the real issue here

is the heart of the person. It's not intellectual issue.

It's a heart issue, the refusal, the refusal to submit

to God and the refusal to believe in him, which

confirms what the Bible says about the real condition of

man's heart, a sinful heart. And God is showing us

the cure in his word. And here's what he said

in verse twenty seven, and beginning with Moses, in all

the prophets, he interpreted to them, in all the scripture,

the things concerning himself for thousands of years. Jesus said,

the purpose of the Bible is not to give you

good principles you can apply in your marriage and business.

And I hope you're learning a lot from the Bible.

But the Bible is not a book of facts and information.

He said, the purpose of the Old Testament to the

New Testament. For thousands of years, God used the scripture

for just one purpose, and that is to show us

the person and work of Christ, to show us who

God is and what Christ has done to deliver us

from our sinful state, showing us the cure to our

greatest problem, which is sin, which keeps us away from

God and detached from the source of life, which is Him.

All these years, the Bible is not primarily a book

about science, or history or philosophy. The Bible is primarily

about Jesus, the person in work of Christ. In last

verse and verse forty five, then He opened our minds

to understand the scripture and said to them, thus it

is written that the Christ should suffer and on the

third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for

the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name

to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of

these things. And Jesus said, God opened our minds so

they will understand the scripture. And this is what the

scripture is all about. It's a message of redemption. The

Bible is not a book of rules. Bible, well, no,

it's not a book of rules. It's God's message reaching

out to you and telling you I want you back,

and I already made the way, I already paid the

price so that your sins can be forgiven. You know,

every time I use ATM the machine to withdraw money,

sometimes I would enter the wrong number or transaction. But

it's a good thing. There is a bottom there and

cancel bottom so that you can start all over again.

So whether you made the wrong entry, amount or transaction,

it's okay because there's a bottom you can press that

will give you a chance to do it all over again.

How many of you here you wish that there is

a canceled boton you can press so that you can

have a fresh start, maybe in your marriage, maybe in

your life. No matter what we do, there's nothing we

can do to go back ten years from now, ten

years earlier to reduce some of the wrong things we've done.

There's no way we can redo the wrong things we've done.

But the good news is there is a reset butt

and God is offering to us, and that is called forgiveness,

so that you and I can have a fresh start.

Whatever you've done in the past, God is offering us

forgiveness so we can be cleansed from guilt and shame,

so we can start all over again and have a

new life. If you are here for the first time

and you have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus,

this is the good news of the Scripture. And I

believe you are not here by accident, but this is

God pleading with you. This is God pursuing you and

giving you the opportunity to start all over again. If

you are a Christian, if you already surrendered your life

to Jesus. The Bible says, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation. The old is gone and

the new aus come. You are given a new nature.

You're like a new born baby, and starting today now

that you're a Christian, the rest of your life is

the unfolding of that new nature. That's why if you're

a Christian, you have all the reason to be excited

about your life. You have all the reason to wake

up in the morning and look to the future with

faith and with hope because God has given you a

fresh start. I was talking to my wife earlier, and

we're watching our eight year old daughter. She was lying

down there in our sofa, so boring, so boring, because

she's waiting for church, better having a wife call. We're

looking at her, we're smiling, and we're talking about some grabby, Wow,

what happened the past eight years? She looked differently, I mean,

the character, everything about her. And then fast forward now

grab what will happen? But guigh school, Missia, and we're

thinking about all these things. She's bored this morning? Are

you boring them?

Boy?

Coming? I'm an excited coming. Grab you. You're just starting

with your life. I'm imagining what kind of person you

will become, what you're going to do, the moments we're

going to spend together as a family. We're looking at

her and we're excited for her future. But all she's

seeing at that moment was that it's boring. One ar

before church. I want to encourage you. If you're a Christian,

you're given a new life, you're given a new nature,

and now that you're in christ every day is an

unfolding of that nature, of that new life. God is

not yet done with you. God is just about to start.

There is a life in front of you that is exciting.

The Bible says no eye has seen, and no ear

has heard, and no mind can conceive what God does

in store for those who love him. You have no

idea what kind of life God has prepared for you.

Last thing I want to say before we end, Jesus said,

you are witnesses of these things, and if you're a Christian,

we have an obligation. This is not something we are

supposed to enjoy only to ourselves. We have an obligation

to bring this good news to other people. The reason

you have a family, and I'm assuming every one of

us we are part of a family. Man. The reason

we have a family, the reason you are in that

family is because God wants you to be his witness.

So my prayer this year is that not only that

you will know Jesus better and encounter him in a

greater way, but that you will be an effective witness

and through you, more people will come to know Jesus

this year because you are his witness.

You just heard a podcast from Victory. For more messages

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God bless you all.