From the Table to the Road

Let's invite George to come up and read Scripture for us.

Our reading this morning is from Luke's Gospel, verses 28 to 53.

!

And they said to each other,

Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road,

while he opened the Scriptures to us?

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem,

and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

saying, The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

Then they told what had happened on the road

and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

As they were talking about these things,

Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,

Peace to you.

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

And he said to them,

Why are you troubled?

And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

See my hands and my feet,

that it is I myself.

Touch me and see.

For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.

And when he had said this,

he showed them his hands and his feet.

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling,

he said to them,

Have you anything here to eat?

They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them,

These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,

that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said to them,

Thus it is written that the Christ shall suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things.

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.

But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Then he led them out as far as Bethany,

and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.

While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy

and were continually in the temple blessing God.

And may God bless to us this reading from his own precious and most holy word.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we give thanks for summer and for the great weather we've had,

and we pray for our kids and our teens as they enter their school break.

We ask more than anything else, Lord, that you would give them childlike faith,

faith appropriate to their age,

and that we as adults would learn from it,

that we would see what it looks like to believe.

And we pray that you would protect them as they travel, as we all do,

and bring them back to us at the end of the summer.

And Lord, we thank you for the people that have been part of this church family

that will now be leaving us.

I pray today for Axel, our dear friend.

And we give thanks for him and all he's meant to this community

and for his testimony of faith and for his love, his kindness,

his friendship, his faithfulness.

Lord, so we ask that you would bless him and keep him as he goes from us.

And we do pray, Lord, as in every person that leaves,

that if it be your will, you would bring them back to this church family at some point.

And for anybody else that may be leaving, I might not know about, Lord.

I do pray and lift these same prayers for them as well.

Now, Lord, I give you thanks for every single person here today.

And I ask that as we come to your word,

you would open our hearts, that you would meet us where we are,

and that the Holy Spirit would condescend and illuminate the Bible for us,

that we would be transformed, that our faith would be strengthened,

that maybe you would give us the gift of faith today for the very first time.

And so we pray for that.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

We have been working through the Road to Emmaus story for three weeks already.

This is our fourth week looking at the same passage.

And so far in the story, we've met two travelers that are walking on the way to the Road to Emmaus.

And then this stranger meets them on the highway.

And the reader, you as the reader, know that the stranger is Jesus.

But they don't know that because they're blind.

They can't see him.

And we're told in the story that he opens their eyes.

He changes their life by opening the Word to them.

So two different sections, both to the two travelers to Emmaus,

but also the 11 later on.

He goes through the Old Testament, the Torah, the five books of Moses,

and the prophets from Joshua forward, from the Psalms to the writings.

And he shows that how Jesus was already preached in the Old Testament

and how the cross was necessary, verse 26,

that the cross had always been preached,

even from the ancient areas from the time of the Old Testament.

He opens their eyes fully at the table.

They finally get to the road to Emmaus, I should say,

and he breaks the bread and their eyes are open and they can see him.

We've said every week that this story is paradigmatic

of the normal, completely ordinary Christian life

that God meets us, Jesus meets us on our roads, on our ordinary roads,

and he opens our eyes to see our minds by way of the Scriptures,

the Old and New Testament.

And then the point of the Christian life is that one day

he will bring you all the way to the table,

to the banquet feast, and you will sit down with Jesus

and you will see him face to face,

and you will break bread with him,

and that this is a paradigm.

He wants us, week one we said,

we don't know all the reasons,

but Jesus wants every single one of us to believe him

by hearing the word before we ever get to see him.

And so that means that we've all been called to live this life by faith

before one day when we can live by sight,

where we can actually see him and sit across from the table.

Now today, we start at the table,

and in verse 31,

he's there at the table with them,

and he breaks the bread,

and their eyes are open.

And then all of a sudden,

it says in verse 31 that he vanishes,

and that's where we pick up today.

Remember, when they were walking on the road,

in verse 21, we learn that they were depressed,

they were without hope.

It said that they had hoped he was going to be the Redeemer,

the Messiah of all of Israel.

They had hope, but they had lost that hope

because they thought their Messiah was dead.

And now, as they sit at the table,

and he broke bread for them,

that thought became something different,

and it became something more like this.

They had said,

they crucified him.

Full stop.

He's dead.

But now, as they see him,

they can say,

they crucified him,

and that is the very way he has redeemed Israel.

He has redeemed us.

And so their eyes are open.

They believe.

They see him.

They have sights, not only faith.

But then, sort of the surprise of the passage

is that he vanishes,

and the reader is left.

We're left sitting there thinking,

why did he vanish?

In other words,

the whole Bible has been culminating to this moment.

If the whole Bible has been teaching

that the Messiah must die

and must rise from the dead,

then finally, this moment where the curtain's pulled back

and they can see the resurrected Lord,

and he's sitting there in front of them,

you think,

surely this is the moment

where the Lord is going to inaugurate

everything that was promised in the Old Testament,

and the Edenic Garden is going to fall down upon earth,

and these disciples are just going to get

to break bread with him forever,

and instead,

he's gone.

He vanishes in that moment.

Why does he do it?

And I think that the reason he does it

is because, again,

this is a paradigm of the normal Christian life.

This moment of him showing himself,

this is the great hope,

the beatific vision,

and the vision of God of every Christian,

but then he departs.

Why?

Because he's foreshadowing the fact

that he must ascend,

that the work was not yet finished.

He was going to be with the Father.

So you remember maybe in the garden,

Mary Magdalene,

when she finally saw him,

the text says that she clung to him

and gave him a big bear hug,

and he had to say,

don't cling to me.

In other words,

the work is not yet done.

And so here,

they finally see him like Mary Magdalene,

and then he just disappears.

And you're left thinking,

Lord, why didn't,

why can't you just stay?

Why can't you just inaugurate the new heavens

and the new earth right here in this moment?

And the reason is,

well, we don't know all the reasons.

But he disappears,

he vanishes in this moment

because he's telling us

that the work is not finished.

And so from the table,

from sight at the table,

he sends them back out onto the road.

And that also is the normal rhythm

of the Christian life,

that when you come to see him,

when you come and realize

that you are walking on his road,

that he's set before you,

he then, after giving you faith,

sends you out.

And he says one thing,

and this is the great identity marker

of the Christian life,

and it's found in our passage

in verse 48 in a single word,

and it's the most important word

of Christian identity

until he comes again,

and he says,

you will be my witnesses.

And so we don't know all the reasons

that the Lord in that moment

doesn't just inaugurate

the new heavens and the new earth,

but we do know that

until we get to the table,

the banquet feast at the end of our days,

he has in this moment

then commissioned them and said,

you will be my witnesses.

And that is fundamental identity

of a normal Christian.

And it was for the two travelers,

and then it became for the 11,

and then if you,

that's just the beginning,

the prologue to the book of Acts

that Luke also wrote,

where in Acts chapter 1 verse 8,

Acts 1:8

he says,

to the whole church,

you will be my witnesses

from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria

to the ends of the earth.

And so today we come,

and the Lord says at the end of this series,

you will be my witnesses.

Let me tell you three things

that this story teaches us

about what it means to be a witness

according to the Emmaus Road.

Number one,

we learn here that witnesses

are emboldened

to walk out into the dark.

Okay, so,

at the very beginning of the table,

sorry,

at the very end of the table,

I should say,

in chapter 24 verse 32,

when they realize

that this is Jesus,

they say to each other,

did not our hearts burn within us

while he talked to us on the road

and opened the Bible?

So when he opened the Bible

and showed them himself,

they realize

the Lord has lit a fire

in the bottom of our souls

as we realize

that he really is the Messiah,

he really is the Redeemer.

But then as he vanishes,

of course,

that's not just saying

that the fire was lit

as the word was opened on the road,

the fire is there in that moment,

and in that moment

it becomes an engine,

and that engine of fire

in their hearts

for the risen Christ

is the engine

that then sends them out.

And so in verse 33,

they leave.

Now this is striking.

Luke wants you to see

how striking this is.

They have just come

seven miles from Jerusalem

after he was raised from the dead.

It took them all day.

Luke goes out of his way

in verse 28 and 29

to say the day was drawing

to a close.

They were tired.

They urged Jesus

not to keep going.

They wanted him to come

and they pulled him in.

It says it's too dark.

The day's over.

You're exhausted.

We're all exhausted.

If you're a first century traveler,

one of the things

you never want to do

is to step out

on a road in the dark.

And you can read

all about that

throughout the ancient Near East

and documents we have

extra biblical literature

that talk about

how dangerous it is

to travel

in rural roads.

I mean,

how many of us

want to walk through

the rural roads

of the highlands

in the middle of the night?

Probably hardly any of us,

but in the first century,

boy,

that is something

you do not do.

And as soon as

they see him

and he vanishes,

they get back up

after just having arrived

and walk straight back

to Jerusalem

in the middle of the night

in the dark.

Why?

Why?

And the answer is

because they believe

the resurrection.

And what we learn here

is that

when you come to believe

in the resurrection,

it gives you

a ministry energy

that you didn't have before.

I can attest,

many of you can attest,

that ministry

makes you tired.

But when you believe

the resurrection,

there is a ministry energy,

a fire,

an engine

that gets lit

in your life

that sends you

back out on the road

even if that road

means walking

straight into the darkness.

And so there's

a great reversal

in this moment

where they are exhausted,

they're so tired,

and yet at the same time

when they see

he really has risen

from the dead,

it sends them

back out emboldened

as new witnesses.

I want to ask you

this morning,

has your life

been disrupted enough

by the resurrection?

Have you been emboldened

to go out

into the darkest places,

places that you

couldn't have imagined

you would be able to

because you believe

the resurrection?

Is the resurrection

a doctrine

merely,

a doctrine

that if you were asked

to check mark

your confessional beliefs

that you can just

file away and say,

check,

I do believe

the resurrection?

Yes,

we need that.

And is the resurrection

a historical reality,

a future reality

that has disrupted

your life

and changed you

and unsettled you

and sent you back out

on the road

as witnesses?

One of the cultural idols

that the sociologists,

the theologians,

the philosophers

talk about so much

in our time

and we've talked it

to death here,

I know,

but is the reality

that the modern person

is curated to be

an autonomous self.

Autonomous meaning

self-governed,

self-ruled,

self-defined.

And in the modern story,

we're told that

you are the author

of your own life,

you create your own path,

your own meaning,

your own purpose.

It's your truth,

it's your journey,

it's your terms,

you are in charge

of yourself.

self-control,

it's worth noting

that the resurrection

won't allow

for that narrative.

The resurrection

is the fact

in the middle of history

that says that

you can't just be

in charge of your own

life anymore,

you can't just decide

who you're going

to be anymore.

The resurrection

actually disrupts you

so much,

it disrupts all of history

so much,

that it's got to change us,

it's got to change the way

that we're living

our life today.

Last week,

we talked about

two great desires

that every human has

to reach the end

of the road

at the table

and the two great desires

are we were made

to see God,

to see the beauty

of God's face

and that happens

in the face of Jesus Christ

at the end of our road

and we were made

to do so

in healed,

resurrected,

uncorrupted bodies

in the land of the living

and what we're being asked

to do here

is to say

if that's true,

if one day

because of the resurrection

I will see the beauty

of the face of God

in the face of Jesus Christ

and I will do so

with an uncorrupted,

resurrected,

healed,

healed body

then just those

two simple facts,

the very things

you were made for

have got to change the way,

mean something

for the way

we're living life today.

The simple fact

that that is the end

of our road

has got to dictate

to some degree

how we're going to live life

on the journey,

on the way

that we've been sent

back out to

in the historical moment

we're in right now

and so that's why

in the book of Acts

we've said

every week,

I know,

but we've said

that in the book of Acts

Christianity was called

The Way,

six different times

we're told it's called

The Way.

We see here

because when you have

faith in Jesus

and you believe the resurrection

the next thing that happens

is you get sent back out

onto the road

to walk the way

until you see him

with sight

and we're simply being asked here

to say,

has the resurrection

disrupted my life enough?

I know that in this room

because I know

a number of you

in this room

that we all have

many of us have

even right now

roads to walk back

onto

when we walk out

the front doors

this morning

that are dark

that there are dark things

this week

for some of us

even decisions

that have to be made

conversations

that have to be had

the pain

that has to be endured

every single one of us

can talk about that

to some degree.

The resurrection

does not remove

the darkness of the road

today

but instead

it removes the power

of the dark roads

we're walking down

to be the last word

and so you got to say

as you walk out

the doors today

that if the darkness

I'm walking through

right now

if the road

that I'm going down

right now

if there is a resurrection

at the end of my life

at the end of all of history

then that has to matter

so much

for the way

I'm facing the road

facing the darkness

the darkness

is not the last word

the resurrection

when you encounter Jesus

and you say

he really has risen

from the dead

it has to send you

back out

into your life

ready to face things

in a way that's different

that's new

it's got to disrupt us

it's got to change us

secondly

not only

does encountering

the resurrected Jesus

make us into witnesses

who are emboldened

to enter into the darkness

the second thing

we learn here

is very simple

and it's just this

that we are witnesses

if you're a Christian

today

you are a witness

and if you are

a Christian

and a witness

you have been sent

by Jesus

now

Charles Scobie

is a commentator

on the gospel of Luke

and he talks about this

he says that

this is the

culmination point

of the entire

journey motif

throughout the whole bible

so you can think of

Abraham

being called

from Babylon

Chaldea

to go to the promised land

this journey

and then Israel

being called

out of Egypt

on the exodus

wanderings

through the wilderness

to the promised land

a journey

or the psalms of ascent

these journey

these pilgrimages

that people have to take

every year

and then when you get

to Luke's gospel

Jesus

the whole frame

of Luke's gospel

is that the disciples

have been invited

to journey with Jesus

from outside Jerusalem

to Jerusalem

to the cross

and in that moment

then to be sent

back out again

and so

Charles Scobie

points this out

he says that

the whole bible

is framed

like all of history

and that's that

all of life

has been a journey

going to the middle

of history

where Jesus

is there on the cross

and then when he rises

again

humanity has been

sent out

from that moment

from Jerusalem

so here's another reason

they go back to Jerusalem

they see him

they get up

they go right back

to Jerusalem

where they've been

because it all

begins in Jerusalem

and when you get

to Acts chapter 1

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Jesus gives this

thesis statement

for what it means

to be a witness

he says

you will be my witnesses

from where

from Jerusalem

then to Judea

then to Samaria

then to the ends

of the earth

and so we learn here

that we

the apostles

in this moment

start in Jerusalem

and in verse 48

he declares

and says to the eleven

and says to the two

and says to Simon Peter

you will be my witnesses

and then from there

we are sent back out

into all the parts

of the world

let me show you this

in just a couple ways

in verse 48

he says

you will be my witness

you are witnesses

he had appeared

to the two

and then we read

that he had appeared

to Simon Peter here

and we don't know

anything about that

it's just mentioned

there was another

appearance to Simon Peter

and then he says

this is your fundamental

identity

you are now witnesses

what is that

a witness

is a person

who bears testimony

to the truth

it's a courtroom term

and so he commissions

the apostles

in this first moment

and then to us

and says

fundamental identity

is now you are

to bear witness

like a person

in court

testifying to the truth

out anywhere

that God has sent you

now we know

that the apostles

the travelers

Simon Peter

Mary Magdalene

and so many others

they did this

in Jerusalem

you can follow

the book of Acts

and say

they started in Jerusalem

then they went

to Judea

then they went

to Samaria

and then they started

to go to the ends

of the earth

you know

Paul got to

we guess

maybe Spain

but nobody ever

as far as we know

in the book of Acts

nobody ever got

to Edinburgh

and nobody ever

got to Scotland

and that means

in verse 48

when he says

you are witnesses

of these things

we're being told

that there is

this apostolic office

that Jesus creates

and that apostolic office

has a qualification

you must have seen

the risen Jesus

in person

but you could say

as people have said

well doesn't that mean

they are the witnesses

we're not

but when you get

to the book of Acts

what you do

is you see the apostles

preaching

and they preach

the gospel

in Philippi

and Colossae

and all sorts of places

Colossae

and they say

they say

you are now witnesses

and those people

never saw

the resurrected Jesus

before he ascended

into heaven

and we realize

the only way

to fulfill

the great commission

the only way

to fulfill

the thesis statement

of the book of Acts

to take the gospel

the word of the resurrection

to the ends of the earth

is if it's also our job

it has to be our job

as well

and so

when you

when Jesus encounters

you on the road

and you believe him

and you say

the resurrection is real

an identity marker

has entered

into your life

and you can't get rid of it

it's who you are

you are his witness

you have been commissioned

to bear testimony

in the very place

that God has put you

in this moment

in your moment

in human history

and so

we're sent to

it wasn't just a calling

for the apostles

the Lord is risen indeed

what did they say

they come to the 11

and they

the 11 say

we heard already

from Simon Peter

this has happened

somehow along the way

Jesus had appeared

to Simon Peter

after he had vanished

or before

I don't know

with the two

and they get to the room

behind the locked door

and the 11 say

the Lord has risen indeed

that's what it means

to bear witness

that's a testimony

and so you can think about

the woman at the well

she was

her life was changed

by Jesus

and she went into the village

and she just said

let me tell you

about a man

who knew everything

I ever did

and then

these folks see him

and they come

to others

and they just say

he really did rise

from the dead

and that means

that this commission

is not for

the elite

this is for ordinary people

this is for every one of us

to go out

into the city

into whoever God

has put you

in front of

in your life

and just to say

something simple

like the Lord

has risen from the dead

and here are the reasons

that I actually believe that

and so I want to ask you

a question this morning

have you ever

have you ever

told anybody

that you know

if you're a believer

in this room

have you ever

told anybody else

that you know

the Lord

has risen from the dead

and

because that's

the very invitation

of fundamental

Christian identity

is to go out

into the world

and be a witness

and you can ask

yourself today

have I been emboldened

by the reality

of the resurrection

that I'm willing

to go into dark roads

and for some of us

today I would imagine

that maybe

maybe

the darkest road

you can possibly

think about

the darkest event

maybe

would be

to actually

turn to somebody

in your life

that you know

and love

and say

the Lord

did actually

rise from the dead

and

boy

we have to do that

with wisdom

we've got to think

about that carefully

I know

but

we are being

called here

and commanded

to go out

into the world

and to say

to somebody else

the Lord

has risen indeed

and that is

what it means

to be a witness

thirdly

and lastly

witnesses

are emboldened

to go back out

into the darkness

we see this

from the table

to the road

and then

we are called

witnesses

we're sent

he tells us

in verse 48

and then lastly

witnesses never

graduate from the basics

now

how do we become

these people

how do we become

these people

how do we become

faithful witnesses

emboldened witnesses

and at the very end

of this story

down from verse

49 to 53

we learn a few things

and let me just give you

four things

as we wrap up

and I'll just

give them

very briefly

about what it means

to cultivate

your life

as a witness

and they're the basics

really

they're just the basics

and they all show up

right here

in this passage

so down in verse 50

to 53

after he blesses

them in Bethany

in verse 52

the way they respond

to him

in the earliest moment

of being his witnesses

we learn in verse 52

is they worshipped him

and returned to Jerusalem

with great joy

and they were continually

in the temple

blessing God

the very first thing

they do

to cultivate

the beginning

of their lives

as his witnesses

is they go to church

they just go and worship

and it says

week by week

they continually

went back to the temple

in those early moments

they were trying to figure out

where to worship

and so we see

worship move

from this moment

from the temple

to the house church

then to constructed churches

a few centuries

a century later

but they just went to church

and one of the most

important things

I think we can see

is that

it will be very difficult

to cultivate fire

in our hearts

as resurrection witnesses

if we don't have

the sense

that as Christians

we never graduate

from the basics

that

the word and the table

Sunday by Sunday

are the meat and potatoes

of the Christian life

and I say that

in the best possible sense

of meat and potatoes

I like meat and potatoes

I hope you do

in that metaphor

you never graduate from it

it's not your fillet

the Lord's Supper

is not your fillet steak

it is your tea and toast

you need it all the time

you need worship

you need the word

and the table

all the time

because

as you're walking

back out on the journey

as witnesses

Sunday by Sunday worship

is like

coming to that end

for refreshment

when you are

desperately tired

and

there's an invitation here

just to see what they do

they modeled it for us

as soon as they say

I am his witness

they went week by week

going to places

to bless him

and worship

and that means

that

if Sunday worship

has become

as the culture

tempts us so much

for it to be this way

has quietly become

optional

once life gets tired

and once life gets busy

there's so many good reasons

to not be

in worship

on a Sunday

a few

being sick

being away

but if

Sunday worship

with the gathered people

of God

has become an option

based on tiredness

and busyness

then we've missed

the calling

of what it means

to be a witness

that's coming

to the end

for refreshment

week by week

at the word

and the table

so we never

graduate from the basics

Sunday worship

as they did

week by week

is our

is our basic diet

we never

progress from it

the second thing

we see that they did

throughout this passage

is just the note

that these are

two travelers

walking from Emmaus

and two travelers

walking back

from Emmaus

to Jerusalem

Jesus came

alongside them

and he journeyed

with them

and then

at the very end

of this passage

there's some

assumptions

and that's from

verse 49 to 50

he said in verse 49

I'm sending the promise

of my father

upon you

but stay in the city

for now

until you're clothed

with the Holy Spirit

and then verse 50

he took them out

to Bethany

and he lifted his hands

and he blessed them

now there's a gap

between 49 and 50

and we don't learn

about what that gap

is until you flip

the page

flip a couple books

over to Acts chapter 1

Acts 1 · chapter mention

what's the gap

Jesus stuck with them

for 40 days

and he discipled them

through those 40 days

and he taught them

more about the Bible

and he walked with them

and then what did they do

as they left Jerusalem

for the first time

they decided

let's go two by two

let's go in groups

and so one of the things

you see is

how do you cultivate

a heart of witness

that's on fire

to tell somebody

about the resurrection

a commitment

to local worship

to weekly worship

and then secondly

we've got to walk

the road with people

with Christians

Jesus did that with us

he did that with them

for 40 days

and we see that

as the model

from this moment forward

all throughout

the New Testament

he left them

and he said

now be together

as you go

and you take

the work of witness

out into the city

and so this is exactly

what a local church

exists for

to gather us

every single week

for the inn

of refreshment

the meat and potatoes

the tea and toast

of the word

and the table

and then to create

a space

where you can walk

with somebody

closely

on the road

of witness

until you sit down

with Jesus

face to face

at the banquet feast

one day

this is exactly

what the local church

exists for

and the Old Testament

raises the language

of a pilgrim community

and the Israelites

were pilgrims

longing for the city

of God

in the Old Testament

and on the other side

of the cross

and resurrection

we are pilgrims

as well

walking along a journey

till we enter

the city of God

and so we've got

to do it together

does anybody here

know you

if you're a member

if you're a regular

attender of St. Columbus

or if you're visiting

today from another church

at your church

if you're a believer

does somebody know you

deeply

and can say that

this is the person

that I'm walking

this road with

that I'm in community

with

trying to do the work

of witness

with them

among others

does anybody here

have that kind of

relationship with you

you with them

it's what the local

church exists for

thirdly

we learn here

in verse 49

he tells us

third of four

things that we

need to cultivate

our life as witnesses

!

He says

you are witnesses

of these things

in 48 and then in 49

and behold

I'm sending the promise

of my father upon you

but stay in the city

until you're clothed

with power

now we don't

we could

we could do a sermon

on each of these four

we're not going to

but what is he talking

about here?

he's talking about

the moment that

you flip over to

Acts chapter 1

Acts 1 · chapter mention

and you learn

that they are to

wait in Jerusalem

until the Holy Spirit

condescends

and so

just to say

one little thing

about it

he is telling us

he's telling them

that at the beginning

of the church age

Jesus did not

leave us alone

he clothed you

he sent the Holy Spirit

into your life

and today

if you're a believer

you can say

the Spirit of God

dwells with me

and in me

and as you leave

and walk

whatever dark road

you might be facing

this week

with the call

to witness

to the resurrection

to someone

in your life

the Spirit of God

is with you

and the Spirit of God

dwells with you

and goes from

this place

with you

the Spirit of God

is with us

now

in the community

gathered together

and it is

how do you know

one of the

clear signs

of the Holy Spirit

being present

in your life

is that you find

Jesus to be a treasure

and

today

I'd invite you

to

find the

flame

the light

the fire

reignited

in your soul

saying

Jesus is my treasure

he has

risen from the dead

and the Spirit

is with me

as I go out

into the city

today

the Holy Spirit

is with you

you have been

clothed

in power

from on high

and so that means

that when you go out

and you say

you know

the darkest thing

I can imagine

maybe

is saying

to somebody else

Jesus really

did rise from the dead

and here's the reasons

I think that

then

you've got to

then say

but

if the Holy Spirit

really is with me

and has clothed me

from on high

if the resurrection

is actually going

to happen

and it is

then that

that changes

my approach

it changes

my confidence

it changes

my courage

it changes

my ministry

power

my ministry

energy

and then the

fourth thing

the last thing

is

just

just a very

simple thing

that he's

telling them

again

to go out

and to do

the work

of witness

he's

he's

introducing us

in this moment

to the age

of the church

the age we live

in

until our faith

becomes sight

and

that just

simply means

that

we're being

asked here

at the very end

of Luke's gospel

to go and take a risk

a beautiful

bold

risky

life

that's not afraid

to spend ourselves

to talk to other people

about the cross

and the resurrection

it is

normative

in

our culture

along so many other

cultural norms

that are new

for the 21st century

and for the digital age

we live in

to prioritize

rest

and that is

so good

to prioritize

limitation

we just had

Kelly Capuk

speaking on that

and boy that was

such a help

and

at the same time

we must

also say

that

there is a sense

in the New Testament

that

our life

as it's lived

until Jesus

comes again

should be full

of tiredness

because we have

gone out

and spent

our ministry

energy

to witness

to the reality

of the resurrection

there is a sense

of both

that

do it with wisdom

seek rest

but the priority

of the Christian life

on the road

that we're walking

right now

is to be witnesses

to Jesus Christ

and that's

that's how he leaves us

at the end

of the gospel

let me finish

with this

at the very end

of the passage

there's a moment

where you can ask

the question

on the basis

of what power

could I possibly

become this person

so there's no hope

today at all

to feel guilt

about lack of witness

in our lives

not at all

because that's me

instead it's the call

to cultivation

and say

on what basis

on what basis

on what power

could we go

from here today

and see where Jesus

where the spirit

might be leading us

to share

the truth of the resurrection

with somebody

in our lives

and here it is

it's found in verse 50

he led them out

as far as Bethany

and lifting his hands

he blessed them

now this is the moment

we know from Acts 1

of the ascension

and he noticed

that he lifted his hands

it says

and he blessed them

so he gave them

what we now call

from the Latin translation

a benediction

a benediction

a good word

as he ascended

into heaven

so in a moment

I'll also give

a benediction

and one of the questions

to ask is

why do we do

benedictions

in churches

at the end of church

why do we give

a good word

to the people

and here's why

so a benediction

is not a prayer

a benediction

is a pronouncement

by Jesus Christ

of a change

in your status

that cannot be

taken away from you

and so when a minister

gets up

as I'm going to do

in a moment

and gives a benediction

at the end of the service

it's not a prayer

asking Lord

will you bless them

it's the minister

simply mimicking

only trying to remind

you

I don't have any

power to bless you

only simply trying

to remind you

ministerially

that Jesus Christ

who has ascended

into heaven

has pronounced

a benediction

over your life

and on what basis

was he able to do that

it's because

when he went

to the

they said

we had hoped

he would redeem Israel

but he went to the cross

and he died

but when they saw him

they could say

he went to the cross

and he did redeem

us

and that means

the reason

Jesus Christ

can stand here

in the middle of history

and lift his hands

over any Christian

in this room today

and bless you

is because the debt

has been settled

the cross

was the fullness

of the payment

of your sins

everything that you owed

you deserved

has been paid for by him

and so you can hear him

in the power

of his resurrection

you know

when he lifted his hands

you could have seen

his scars

he was a real human

he had risen from the dead

and that means

in this moment

he pronounced over you

a word for all time

a change of your status

that you were blessed

you were his

and that cannot be

taken away from you

on what power

can you go today

and become more and more

a witness

the very thing

you really are

and it's to know that

as we pronounce

the benediction today

that is true

not because I say it

not at all

but because

Jesus Christ

says it

over you

from the heavenly places

the debt has been settled

the victory has been won

you will rise from the dead

and that means

that that's got to

send you back out

into dark roads

with ministry power

with ministry boldness

with ministry courage

let's pray

Father we ask

that you would

commission us today

as your witnesses

Lord

we feel the weakness

that we have in that

we come today

to be re-strengthened

and emboldened

and given fresh eyes

and fresh faith

to go out

into our city

and to share

the gospel

with people

to talk to people

about Jesus

to say

the Lord has risen indeed

so Lord

teach us

teach us

the courage

the virtue

the strength

to walk down

roads that seem

so difficult

and dark sometimes

but with boldness

and courage

because

Lord you have risen

so I pray now

as we sing

that you would

clothe us with power

by the Holy Spirit

and we ask for that

in Jesus name

Amen

Amen