Hiding in Fear

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Somebody asked me this week, uh, what are you preaching?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I shouldn't say somebody.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I had several somebodies ask me, what is coming up this week?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And I said, I'm going to preach the same sermon as last week and see how many people notice.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And you think I'm joking?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I am, just a little bit.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But it's

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's kind of the same message because sometimes when we sing a song, some of us want to sing only the first and last verses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You know people like that?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And sometimes it's verse two and three that really have a powerful message for us.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And so today is one of those two and three verses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Uh we sing it sometimes but seldom.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And when I say sometimes but seldom, it's because

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You look at our scripture reading today.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Did you hear our scripture reading?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We are very common, I am very familiar with that scripture reading.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It is a a a common one for us as Seventh-day Adventists.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We have have read this and read this and read this.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But we always read it in a different context than what I'm sharing today.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Our scripture reading came there from John 20.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You heard it.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Verse 19 says, In the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, disciples were assembled, for what reason?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Where are we going with this sermon?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: As Seventh-day Adventists, we use this sermon in our evangelistic meetings.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: In the night after we have preached the rousing sermon on the Sabbath, the next night we preach a sermon on

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You're not very familiar with how we do evangelism in the Adventist Church?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's been a long time since you've heard the series.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The next night we preach a sermon on

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Sunday, the first day text, and the first day text, and this is one of the first day texts, and so it says there

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Verse 20, it says, on the first day of the week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And so we read this, and sometimes we say to ourselves, I've got it.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I understand it.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This text is also recorded in Luke chapter twenty-four.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Last week we were looking at Luke chapter twenty four, so I want you to turn in your Bibles back to Luke chapter twenty four.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And before we begin reading Luke chapter twenty four, I have a series of questions that I would like to ask you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: On a scale of one to ten, I want you to take a moment and think about these things.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: that I'm saying, how much anxiety would you feel if something like this happened to you?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 is no anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: 10 would be very high anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: If there was a death, your closest friend suddenly died, how would you feel?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: High anxiety, low anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Okay, secondly, security.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: One day your boss says to you, you're fired

Pastor Dale Tunnell: If it happens to you on Monday, how do you feel?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Especially those of you that are retired.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Yeah, uh huh.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Okay, we got high anxiety there.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Your hope is shattered

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The dreams you had for the future, they are gone, seem to evaporate right out from under you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: How do you feel?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Low anxiety or high anxiety?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You head home today, and when you get to your house, there is a police tape all around it, and they tell you you have to find alternative housing this evening.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And maybe for the rest of the week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: There has been a crime committed here

Pastor Dale Tunnell: High anxiety or low anxiety if you do not have a place to sleep tonight?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Your reputation

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You've risked everything for a cause, and the cause you believe in has turned sour.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: High anxiety, no anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Okay, I'm hearing lots of high.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Come on.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: No fives, no sixes, no sevens, no low.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Um friend.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Well how yeah, friends.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The old gang breaks up, including your friends.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Those people that you get together with on a regular basis.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Suddenly they decide not to be together anymore.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You know, the winner

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Members leave.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: High anxiety, low anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Suicide.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: One of your best friends hangs himself

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Low anxiety, high anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Betrayal.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You feel let down by the one person in the world that you thought you could trust.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: High anxiety, low anxiety.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Let's change the dynamics a little bit

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Another series of questions, but let's look at it not from just the the the worldly perspective, but let's look at them from a spiritual perspective

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Okay, I put these one up, these up here.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What is the thing that would trigger a spiritual crisis in your experience?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Something that would cause you to have a real spiritual crisis.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Would it be financial panic?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: If suddenly your your assets were frozen, you couldn't get access to your bank account?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: How would you feel about your relationship with God?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Your anger with God over a personal tragedy, would that cause a spiritual crisis in your life?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Disappointment over a relationship.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: A personal relationship that you have with someone.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It is not going well and it gets worse.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: How does it ex how does it have ramifications upon your spiritual life?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Domestic problems.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Hassles.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Does that have ramifications on your spiritual life

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Questions of doubt about your faith.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Somebody begins asking questions and things that you have not thought about, and your faith is seriously challenged.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: How does that

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Affect your spiritual life.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Disillusionment with your church

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You find out some of the details about your church that you didn't know, something that you thought uh they felt you felt like they were keeping it a secret from you, and and you were disillusioned with what was happening in your church

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Or the last one there, a lack of direction from God.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You felt like God had gone silent in your life

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What would that do to your relationship experience with God?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Now, I went through these two different things because I wanted us to kind of feel a little bit about what it was like for the disciples.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: In Luke chapter 24, their whole world had come crashing down.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They they they had experienced something that was was terrible.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What had happened had had

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were afraid.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were confused.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Open your Bible there to Luke 24.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Come down to verse 36.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Let's read some of the verses here.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Ah, let's start back.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I said 36.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Let's go back up to uh 30.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: On the screen it says 33.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Okay, let's try 32.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Yeah, just so you understand what was where where we're headed there, it says, 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?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I had you go back that far because I wanted you to see this is from last week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This is the overlap from last week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Did not our hearts burn within us

Pastor Dale Tunnell: So they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven, and those who were with them

Pastor Dale Tunnell: gathered together, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And they told about the thing that had happened on the road, and how he was known to them, in the breaking of bread.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Can you imagine how exciting this was for them?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It tells us in John, we looked at John 20, verse 19, that they were gathered together for what reason?

John 20:19

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Fear.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It was on the first day of the week after the sun had gone down

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Because the sun had gone down when Jesus was walking on the road with Cleopus.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Cleopas and his friend had now come back to Jerusalem that very night.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It tells us that they came there and they found the disciples there, and they said now at verse thirty-six, now as they said these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, Peace to you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And he said to them, Why are you troubled?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The disciples were gathered there that night because they were afraid.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were scared to death.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were afraid that the Jews were going to come knocking on their door.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And they're wanting to do the same thing to them that they had done previously to Jesus.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were startled when Jesus began to speak.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It says they were startled and they were afraid

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It says they thought they saw a ghost.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It was fear that was clouding their vision.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It was fear that was distorting their reality.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The fear that they had was causing them to act in a way that you and I look at them and we say, that's not normal.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They had spent time with Jesus in the past.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus had told them that he was going to be crucified.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus had told them that he was going to be resurrected from the dead.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The women had gone to the tomb early in the morning.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They came back and told Peter and John, The tomb is empty.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They came back and told them, we saw angels there.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The tomb was empty, and angels told us, He's not here.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He's risen from the dead.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Now, if somebody had told you something like that, the likelihood of you believing it is.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Yeah, I know, Slim.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Why is the likelihood of you believing it's slim?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You haven't experienced that kind of thing in your life before.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And because we haven't experienced those things in our life before, we say, yeah, I don't know

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Peter and John go to the tomb.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They see the tomb for themselves.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They see that it is empty.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But they are still afraid.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The rumor has gotten to them.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The disciples have stolen the body of Jesus

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They're afraid of what is going to happen because the rumor is out there.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And they are hiding until Jesus comes.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And says to them, Peace be unto you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I tell you, fear can make us forget some things, can't it?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: In our time today, are we ever afraid?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are you ever afraid when you turn on the TV and you see the the

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Natural disasters that are taking place.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And you think to yourself, boy, I sure am glad I live in Arizona.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: No earthquakes, not much fires

Pastor Dale Tunnell: No tornadoes, no hurricanes.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We don't have to deal with those kind of things.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Heard somebody this week say, yeah, but the natural disaster that we have is we've got heat.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Yeah.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We turn on the TV and we see the moral decline that is happening in our world.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we ever get afraid do our hearts begin to to pound a little faster when we see that that moral decay?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We turn on

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And we begin to get afraid about things because we realize that the government's not going to change our Social Security fast enough to keep up with what is taking place.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: our hearts began to cause us to be afraid.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What do you think Jesus' words would be to us today if he were to show up in church

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You think he would say those words?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Shalom.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Peace be unto you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: When he says those words, what's he talking about?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I mean when we when we think about peace

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we talking about the absence of war?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I mean, is that what we're looking forward to?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The the the peace that we want is no more war in this world?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's the peace that we are longing for, mom and dad to stop fighting, or the peace that we're longing for, our grandchildren to stop fighting.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Or the peace that we're longing for, us to stop fighting with our grandchildren.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Or the peace that we're hoping for is that our co workers could just get along, or the team that we've been assigned to, if they could just get along, that would give us peace.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I don't think that's the kind of peace Jesus is talking about when he says, peace be unto you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He's talking about the peace of Jesus.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He's talking about you can have that peace when Jesus is present in your life, regardless if there is a war going on.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we practice that kind of peace?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we meditate about that?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we think about it?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You know, sometimes we we criticize those people in the Eastern religions because they sit cross-legged, they hold their f hands funny, and they go, um

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You know what they're doing when they do that?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They're wanting peace.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They're wanting tranquility in their life.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Maybe we need to practice the presence of Jesus a little bit more in our life.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We need to spend a little bit more time meditating about Jesus and what he would say to us.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Maybe tomorrow morning when you get up and you're getting ready to go out on your day, you're filled with anxiety about the things that are going on in your life.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Take a little bit of time and listen to Jesus say to you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Peace be still.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Let him speak peace into your life

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Ask him to be present with you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And even though the storms are raging, even though there's a battle there, even though you're hiding because you're afraid of the Jews.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: His peace can be with you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It can be present with you, and you can have peace regardless of what the storm is.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Luke chapter twenty-four

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Come down to verse 38.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It says, and he said to them, Why are you troubled?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Friends, they had seen him, but some of them, even though they had seen him and heard his voice, were still doubting.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Why were they doubting?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Too good to be true.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They had never experienced this kind of thing before.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They couldn't comprehend, they couldn't understand.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Says

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He says, Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your heart?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Behold my hands and my feet, and it is I myself, handle me and see, for I have a sp for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as I have.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: When he said these things, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But while they still did not believe

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do you see that part?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Some of them still did not believe.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: For joy and marveled, he said to them, Have you any food here?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I'm going to tell you, friends, even when you're doubting, even when you question God, God is willing to give you proof.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Faith is not blind.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: God gives evidence for our faith

Pastor Dale Tunnell: God had already given evidence for these disciples' faith.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They had heard the report about the empty tomb.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: A couple of them had seen the grave clothes folded up

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They had heard the testimony of others.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I have seen the Lord.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But still they did not believe.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Still, they had were slow of understanding.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh, if if if Dale had come into that room, he might have said, I need new disciples.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's time just to start over.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Right?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I mean, they were not believing the testimony.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were not believing the words of the prophet they had spent time with.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were not believing their Lord and Savior that had told them what was going to happen.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He doesn't even chastise them here.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He gives them further evidence to build up their faith.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Faith is not blind.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: God gives us evidence.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This resurrection is not just a spiritual idea.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It was a historical reality.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: As Adventists, we need to understand this both with our mind and in our heart.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We need to have this experience it.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It has been confirmed by scripture.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's been confirmed by prophecy.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It needs to be confirmed by our testimonies, by the experience that we have with our risen Lord and Savior.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh, when doubts come, and believe me, they will come many times.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: God invites us to examine the evidence.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Now, it's not enough evidence to take away all doubt.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You can still doubt if you choose to, but their evidence is there that you can believe in a creator God.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The evidence is there that the Bible is true.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The evidence is there that you can believe prophecy.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It doesn't take away all doubt.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But there's enough evidence for you to put your trust in that.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He gives him a purpose.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Look at Luke twenty four.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Come down to verse 44.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It says, And he said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: That all things must be fulfilled that were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me, and he opened their understanding that they might comprehend

Pastor Dale Tunnell: the scriptures.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Then he said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sin would be preached in the name to all nations.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Beginning at Jerusalem, and you are my witnesses of these things.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Behold, I send the promise of my father upon you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with the power from on high

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He gave them a purpose.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He reminded them of what he had told them.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Not only did he remind them of what he had told them, but then he goes through a Bible study with them.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Now I would have been very tempted had I been Jesus to get to that point in time of reminding them what I had said and then I would have turned to Cleopas and I said, Cleopas, would you mind sharing the Bible study?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: that you just heard a few hours earlier?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Wouldn't that have been a good idea?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Fantastic teaching moment for Cleopas, right?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I wonder how how much Cleopas would have remembered

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I wonder how much you remember.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do you remember some of the Bible text from last week?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I told you about the Bible study that Jesus gave to Cleopas on the road.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I wrote some of them down that I didn't do last week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I mean, I last week I went to Jesus probably told them about Genesis 3.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: 15, but he may not have gone to Deuteronomy chapter 18

Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Now, some of you are going to say, why are you doing this again to us?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We heard this sermon last week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Yes, you did.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But I'm throwing a little a few new things in here.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And I know that not all of you were listening completely last week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You weren't writing things down, you weren't taking notes, you weren't uh, I didn't have it on the screen.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I was saying it a second time because these things are important.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Sometimes we need to review these things.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This thing about the resurrection, this is an important doctrine for us as Christians.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This is an important doctrine for us as Seventh-day Adventists.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We need to be able to share what we believe, what we what we know.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I'm sharing this again because

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh man, for the last two weeks, three weeks, our live streaming hasn't been working.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And so maybe there's somebody that's watching to I pray it's working today.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But maybe there's somebody watching today that missed last week and the week before that needs to hear these things.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And I'm sharing it with you again because Jesus did it twice.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Why can't I?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Deuteronomy chapter 18.

Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are you there yet?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Come down to verse 15.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It says, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Him you shall hear according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: In the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire any more, lest I die

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And the Lord said to me, What they have spoken is good, and I will raise up for them a prophet like you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: from among their brethren, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And it shall be that whoever will not hear my words, which he speaks in my name, I will require it of him.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I think this is one of the Bible texts that Jesus shared with the disciples at this time about the prophet that was supposed to come, similar to the prophet Moses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This is one of those prophecies that was talking about Jesus coming as a prophet.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We talked about him coming as a prophet last week.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You remember that?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We don't emphasize that part too much about Jesus.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus was a prophet.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Psalm 2, verses 1, 2, and 7.

Psalms 2:1

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You can read that there.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Write it down.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The Lord declared, Today you are my son.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Talking about the Messiah was going to come, and the Lord God was going to declare him, give him the title, You Are My Son.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The sonship of God.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Psalm 16, verses 8 through 11.

Psalms 16:8–11

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We read that last week where it talked about, my soul shall not see corruption.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: talking about he was going to be laid in the tomb, but his body was not going to decay.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: A reference to the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Psalm 110, verse 1, which is quoted in the New Testament, when the Lord said to my Lord,

Psalms 110:1

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh, one that we have to read though.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I know we read it last week, but I have to to have you see the words today.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Isaiah 53.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Yeah, I know this is one that we turn to often, but it's powerful.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's powerful.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Isaiah chapter 53, verses 7 and 8.

Isaiah 53:7

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It says, He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his sheep

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He was taken from prison from judgment.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And who will declare his generation?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: For he was cut off from the land of the living.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: For the transgression of my people he was stricken.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Come down to verse 12.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Reminds us of the Messiah, how he was dying for him for us.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He was not dying for himself

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I left out Daniel chapter 9.

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I'm sure that was part of what Jesus shared with the disciples that night.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Even as he was going through this Bible study with them, a second time for some of them that were sitting there, I hope they remembered everything that he said.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Because those things are important.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It gives us a purpose.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: A purpose, one of the purposes for us as a church, is to know the Word of God, to study the Word of God, to understand the Word of God.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Friends, we used to be known as the people of the book.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Because it was quoted so often from our pulpits, because our membership knew the Bible.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But today, are we still people of the book?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we understand God's word?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we reading it?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we taking it into our heart?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we making it part of us?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Can we give a Bible study?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: In that text there in Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You can go back there.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Second purpose was that he gave to them was to proclaim repentance and forgiveness.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Verse 47.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What is it they were supposed to be proclaiming?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Repentance.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Forgiveness.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: They were supposed to be be sharing this information.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This information, this this information about who God is.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What God has done, that the Messiah came to this earth, that the Messiah has died, that the Messiah is resurrected from the dead, this should cause repentance.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This information is not just supposed to be knowledge that we have.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: This is supposed to be transformational for us.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We're supposed to be like the people there in Acts 2.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What should we do?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And Peter cries out and says, repent.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And be baptized.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Repent and have a confession.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Ask for forgiveness.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's not just information, it's transformational.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh, another purpose.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He told them there.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He says, and you will be my witnesses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Of these things.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He told them, you have have seen it

Pastor Dale Tunnell: John writes about it in John 1.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He was proclaiming what he had seen.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He was proclaiming what he had experienced.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do you have a testimony to share?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: What did God do for you in the last week?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do you have something that you can share with your friend?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Something you can share with your coworkers, something you can share with your family so they understand that this Jesus that you believe in has transformed your life?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Has made a difference in your life?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We're supposed to be his witnesses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He is expecting us to share what we have seen, what we have heard, what we have experienced.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh, for us as Seventh-day Adventists, this is this is what do I say?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Important.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We need to have a good understanding of this.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We have a we have a message to

Pastor Dale Tunnell: To proclaim.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Our message is founded on scripture, and we are supposed to declare it to every nation, kindred, tribe, and people.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Fear God and give Him glory.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Worship him who made the sea and the fountains of water.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we have a good understanding of this?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we have a good understanding of who is supposed to hear this?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Or are we just satisfied I heard it?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's good enough for me.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I'm saved.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I got a seat in church.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Or are we truly his witnesses to go to every nation, kindred, tongue?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: people.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Verse 49 there in Luke 24.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Verse 49 it says, Behold, I send the promise my Father upon you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with the power from on high.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus tells them they are to wait and the till they are clothed with the power of the Holy Ghost.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Spirit.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Friends, the mission that we have been given is impossible without the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Without the Holy Spirit, it could not be.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The early church could not do it until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The remnant church, God's church in the last days, cannot do it.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We cannot finish the work that has been given to us to finish until his church has the power of the Holy Spirit

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Our greatest need today is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we have an urgency?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: For the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we united in the mission and the purpose of what God has called us to?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Luke 24 here is not just a resurrection story.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I know, that's what you thought it was.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We're singing resurrection songs at the beginning, we're singing resurrection songs at the conclusion.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And you think it's just another resurrection story.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Friends, it is more than a resurrection story.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: So much more than a resurrection story.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus wants to meet our fears today

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He wants to say to us today, peace be unto you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Don't worry about the financial market.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Don't worry about the national na natural disasters that are taking place.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Don't worry about the economy.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Don't worry about the wars and rumors of war.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Peace be unto you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we listening?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus then offers us proof.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He gives us evidence for our faith.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He gives us a reason to believe.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He told us that the scriptures are true.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: The prophecies that we read in the scripture, they are true.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You can believe them with your whole heart.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You don't have to have the doubts

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He has given you enough evidence to believe.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we willing to base our life on that evidence?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: That includes, friends, Jesus is alive.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus is alive.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He then gives us a purpose.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You are my church.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You are my

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Witnesses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we willing to take that to the world?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I don't know.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We don't talk about politics and we don't talk about religion where I live

Pastor Dale Tunnell: With my family, when we get together, we don't talk about politics.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We don't talk about religion.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Gets you in trouble every time.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: On my sports team, you want me to talk about religion there?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I that wouldn't be wise.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We just play the game.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: That's what we're focused on

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do you hear what we're saying?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I mean it's almost as if oh, how do I say this nicely?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's almost as if we have fear in our life that something terrible is

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Is going to happen if we remind the people around us that Jesus is alive and that he wants to make a difference in our lives.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's almost as if we're living in the shadow of the cross

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It's almost as if we're hiding behind the locked doors because we have fear.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Well, the disciples had fear of the Jews.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We have fear of

Pastor Dale Tunnell: A different kind.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus has given us a purpose as his followers

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And you will receive power, and you will be my witnesses.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Oh.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: friends, we need to be praying for that power.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We need to be praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: We need to be praying for holy boldness.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: So that we have the power that we need to share the good news of a resurrected Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Today, do you want to receive the peace from Jesus as he says to you, Shalom?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Today, will you stand on the proof of God's Word

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And believe what it says regarding the the prophecies, believe what it says about the Messiah, believe what it says about the the resurrected Lord, believe what it says about the the

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Jesus coming again, believe about what it says about, oh dare I say it, United States in Bible prophecy?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Do we stand on what God's Word says?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Are we willing to embrace our purpose as a church?

Pastor Dale Tunnell: To be a spirit-filled witness

Pastor Dale Tunnell: for Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: He's given us a purpose.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You are his witnesses

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Let us pray.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Our gracious Heavenly Father.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Thank you for this story here.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: is recorded in Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Thank you to for reminding us that the disciples were afraid, even though they knew you intimately, even though they had lived with you.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Thank you for reminding us what they were like, Lord.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: It gives us hope because you want continue to want to use them.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: And we know that if you can use them, Lord, there's hope for us.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: There's a possibility that you

Pastor Dale Tunnell: You can use us even when we are afraid, even when we have doubts, even when we don't feel the your peace in our life, even though we don't feel like we have the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Spirit, as we ought.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Lord, I pray that you would forgive us for our doubts.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Forgive us for our fears

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Lord, I pray that you would give us evidence that you are real, that you are abiding in our heart.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: As we trust you, as we believe in you, and as we walk with you, I ask, Lord, that you would fill us with the Holy Spirit

Pastor Dale Tunnell: That we might be able to be your witnesses now and throughout eternity.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: I pray this in the name of Jesus.

Pastor Dale Tunnell: Amen.