The Long Haul Home - The Road To Emmaus

Good morning everyone, Welcome back to Truckers Church. You know,

there's something about a cab of a truck at three

in the morning that makes a man think. When the

world's quiet and it's just you, the home of the

diesel engine, the white line stretching out into the darkness

like an endless ribbon, your mind starts to wander. Think

about where you've been, the loads you've hauled, and the

miles you still got left on the log boat. Sometimes

the heaviestlung we carry isn't in the trailer behind us,

it's the weight sitting right on our own chest. Today,

I want to talk to you about two men who

were out on the long only stretch of highway. They

weren't driving eighteen wheelers, but they were hauling a cargo

of grief. I was about to run them off the road.

We find them in Looke, chapter twenty four, when a

seven mile stressed between Jerusalem and a little town called

a mass They were dead heading, running empty, no joy left,

just move because they didn't know what else to do.

Their master, the one who thought was going to change

the world, had been crucified. The dispatch they expected had

been canceled, or so they thought. The Bible tells us

these two men walked, They were talking about everything that

had happened. Their heads were down, their spirits were dragging

like a loose mud flap, and they were stuck in

the could haves and should have? Have you ever been there?

Have you ever felt like you hit a spiritual way station?

And you've ever and you're overweight on sorrow. You look

at your life, your family, your job, and you feel

like you've taken a turn and ended up in a

dead end alley. In verse seventeen, Jesus that they didn't

recognize them yet, walks up aside them and asks, what

are you discussing together? As you walk along? They stopped

betting their tracks, their faces downcast. One of them, Cleopus,

basically said, are you the only guy on this road

who hasn't heard the news? Don't you know about Jesus

of Nazareth. They begin to recount the tragedy. They talk

about the cross, the tomb, the rumors of a resurrection,

and they just couldn't bring themselves to believe. They said

the most heartbreaking words in the whole passage. But we

had hoped that he was the one who was going

to redeem Israel. We had hoped. That's the sound of

a blown engine. Friends, that's the sound of a man

who has run out of fuel. In the middle of

the desert, they were looking at a in the rear

view mirror, staring at the wreckage of Friday, and they

couldn't see the glory of Sunday standing right next to him.

Now here's the beauty of our Lord. He doesn't wait

for us to get our act together before he joins

us on the road. He doesn't wait for us to

find the right exit. He steps right into our confusion.

Jesus listens to their sad story, and then he does

something incredible. He doesn't just give them a pad on

the back. He opens up the map the Bible says,

and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained

to them what was said, and all the scriptures concerning himself.

Can you imagine that the greatest Bible study in history

happening on a dusty road At sunset. Jesus starts walking

them through the Old Testament, showing them that every stop

on the journey the sacrifices, the prophecies of trials, was

leading to the cross. He was showing them. The breakdown

they thought they saw was actually the breakthrough God had

planned from the beginning. In our lives, we often get

frustrated because we can't see the big picture. We're looking

through the windshield, trying to make sense of the fog.

But Jesus is the master navigator. He knows every curve,

every steep grade, and every detour. He was teaching those disciples,

and he's teaching us today. You want to understand your life,

you've got to look at it through the lembs of

his word. The Bible isn't just a book of rules.

It's the ultimate GPS for the soul. As they approached him,

ayas Jesus acted as if he was going farther. He's

a gentleman. He won't force his way into your cab.

You have to invite him in. And they urged him

stay with us for it nearly evening, the day is

almost over. So he went in to stay with them.

And when they sat down on the table, something shifted.

The stranger took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it

and began to give it to them. And in that

moment the moment of breaking, their eyes were open. They

recognized him, and then just like that, he disappeared from

their sight. They looked at each other and said, we're

not We're not. Our hearts burning with and that's why

he talked with us on the road and opened the

scriptures to us, brought us up. Burning heart is what

happens when the Holy Spirit hits the ignition in your soul.

It wasn't a heartburn from a greasy truck stop burger.

It was the fire of the living God. They realized

that one, the one they thought was dead, was the

very one providing the mule. They realized that the journey

wasn't over, it was just beginning. What they do next,

They didn't wait for morning, They didn't wait for the

mandatory respirit to end. The Bible says they got up

at that very hour and hawt hail back to Jerusalem.

They pulled a spiritual u turn. They had just walked

seven miles away from the city in despair. Now they

were running seven miles back in total triumph. They found

the other disciples that shouted, it's true, the Lord has risen.

They went from being exhausted to being an evangelist. And

you truly encountered the risen Christ you can't just sit still.

You've got a message to deliver, and it's the most

important freight you'll ever care. Maybe you're reading this today

or listening to this today, and maybe you feel like

you're on that road to him as maybe you're hauling

a load of sin, regret, or loneliness. Maybe your long

book is full of mistakes you wish you could erase.

I'm here to tell you the navigator is standing right

outside your door. The gospel, the good news is this.

We were all out of service, separated from God by

our sins. We were headed down for a dead end

called eternal death. But God, in his infinite love, sent

his son Jesus Christ to take the ultimate long haul.

He carried the weight of our sins to the cross.

He took the penalty we deserved. He went into the grave,

but on the third day he kicked the end gate

open and walked out alive. He didn't just do it

so we could have a better life. He did it

so we could have his life. He offers a full

pardon for every wrong turn you've ever made. He offers

a seat in his kingdom and a place at his table. Oh, yet,

to just pull over admit you can't drive this life

on your own, and ask him to take the wheel.

As we close the day, I want to give you

a pre trip inspection for your soul. Number one. Check

your passenger seat. Who's ride with you? Are you trying

to navigate the storms of life as stresses a family

and the temptations of the road by yourself. Invite Jesus

into your cab and talk to him while you drive.

Let him be your constant companion. Number two, consult the map.

Don't let your Bible gut of dust on the dashboard.

Open it up. Let the word of God burn in

your heart. It's the only thing that will give you

clarity when the road is dark. Number three, deliver the goods.

If you know Jesus, you have the greatest load in

the world, the message of hope. Don't keep it too yourself.

When you're at the docks, or when you're grabbing a coffee,

or when you're talking to someone on c be telling

them about the navigator who changed your life. Friends of

the road may be long, the hills may be steep,

but we aren't driving alone. There is Lord is with us.

You've seen the road ahead, they promise us promises to

get us safely to the home terminals. Keep your eyes

on the prize, keep your face in the father, and

let's finish this very strong. Amen.

Mm hmmm. I've been rolling down on this highway from

near three weeks from more apart from my wife and family.

But I Lord, I'm rolling for to love and protect

and never forget the good Lord gave it all. I

don't take for granted that grace he's haying it. I'm

still answering the call. But he wasn't always answering. I

needed saving. Every day miles roll since way, Grace is

riding shot John. I was the lost. I was glad,

so hard to find from mercy tracking me down in time.

Now I'm standing in for Yeah, I believe in the blood. Yeah,

I believed in the blood. Now the only way I'm

holding rides on the back of the street. Still can't

see why he died from me old the hot so beauty.

Now I'm looking. That's help my brother passing on down

the line, and when my savior comes from me will

rolling on streets. It's shining cause I remain. I know

where I came from and the man I was running

from by I'm from sin his way, Jun race his

ride and shot June. I was lost. I was blind,

so hard.

To fine.

A birsty track me down in time. Now I'm standing

in the burn. Yeah, I believed in the love. I

believed in the burn. I was down to my last

dollar in a prayer I couldn't say. Then I felt

and pulled me from the dark and dine being the

same myst long since. Wait, but Grace is riding and

shot sh I was lost. I was glad and so

hard to f line. But now I believed that life

and I'm colding eyes love. Yeah, I believe in blood.

Now I'm moving home for good, and I believe in

the blood.