Sent Again: When Jesus Opens Your Eyes and Reignites Your Mission (Luke 24:13-35)

[applause]

Well, happy post Thanksgiving. You made

it. It's always um one of the the most

odd Sundays of the year, I think, for

for all of us. Um

Thanksgiving is so odd. I I It's such a

I I love it. It's probably my favorite

holiday when it goes well and then it's

like the easiest one to feel derailed

and just kind of like, oh, what was

that? like I don't know. I I had a mix

of emotions. I don't know what yours was

like. Um but I I also am just kind of

aware of all the just different

underlying dynamics. Um you know, just

just from broken families for those that

have to like pop around the different

ones cuz like mom and dad can't be in

the same room or the uncle that can't

come or or the uncle that's not invited

or the whatever is going on. It's just

it's just wild what happens at

Thanksgiving. I I don't know if it's I

mean Christmas is similar, but

Thanksgiving is definitely got a lot of

dynamics um lingering. And then you know

it's I don't know if you've got little

kids or if you don't or if you're kind

of like depending on where you're

hosting or being hosted by just who's

going to lead the time of Thanksgiving

and gratefulness and uh we were outside

in San Jose which is um freezing. It's

it's like this like fauxpaw of

California where you pretend because

there's palm trees everywhere that it's

not freezing outside. So, we just spent

Thanksgiving pretending like we weren't

literally in Norway for Thanksgiving.

No, with the other side of my family.

I'm just kidding. But we had a [snorts]

we had a very nice time. Uh, and then my

the main reason why my my wife likes to

go up to the Bay Area where we have some

family is because they have real

Christmas trees that you can cut down in

very kind of like Instagram worthy like

authentic looking hills that are just

like 5 minutes away from town so that

you don't actually have to go out into

the country to get them. But the

pictures look like that. So, our

pictures are going to be fantastic when

you see them. However, one of my sons

almost severed the finger off the other

son when they got in a fight over who

was going to finish cutting the

Christmas tree with the sharpened blades

that they were handing 14-year-olds. As

if that was a good idea.

So a after I tried to mutedly give a

raid of

vitriolic

fatherly correction to my one son while

trying not to show the side of the

family that we're trying to be good

witnesses to that we're a perfect family

that loves Jesus while my son's almost

help me lose my salvation. Um anyway

that was a summary. Then we had a then

we had a 5-h hour drive that took eight

hours and uh here we are today. Happy

Thanksgiving.

[cheering and applause]

So, just warning you that means when I'm

delirious, you get either really good

stuff or really weird stuff, maybe a mix

of both. We're going to be starting

though talking about Advent today. This

is the first Sunday of Advent. How many

of you celebrate that? And that was like

a good experience growing up. Your kind

of lurggical background. Yeah, good

handful. I I feel like we have just a

beautiful mix of people. Um, Advent, we

have a wreath right here. there are

candles on it. Um, so I think when you

when you get some of these more

lurggical things from the Christian

calendar, some people this is like this

represents just religion and they were

forced to do things and doesn't mean

much. To a lot of other people it was

like ah just if you grew up evangelical

or some other stream that didn't really

do much of that. Uh you're just kind of

like, oh yeah, it's fine. It's cool. And

uh you know I heard a song once, you

know, at a service and and that was kind

of more holy than our than our vibe, but

that's great. Others of you are just

kind of um maybe curious. Others may be

like me are that have done some research

realize like we're kind of missing out

on the intended impact of the Christian

calendar. I just want to take a moment

and remind you in the chaos of the

modern world. We have a calendar. The

earth was created

in a rhythm. I don't believe it was

seven literal 24-hour days. Why do I not

believe that? Because Genesis is poetic.

It doesn't mean that there aren't

literal things. It just means the author

wasn't trying to describe 24-hour days.

But the point is is this is is that we

have a rhythm in the chaos. God brings

order into chaos. And so our year today

marks the beginning of Advent, which is

a season for many of us. It comes with a

lot of mixed emotions, but it's it's

become something that you and I, we mean

to engage with it. We want we like the

idea the coming of Christmas, but we we

rarely actually get into it. But it was

created, advent was precisely because of

that tension. It emerged uh early in the

centuries of the church as a practice of

countercultural

countercultural practice of a way to

help Christians slow down and to prepare

and make room for Christ, the coming of

the savior. It wasn't invented because

people had extra bandwidth because even

back in the day, you know, things were

maybe less chaotic than the modern

world, but it took them like four days

to make bread. So, I don't want to hear

about like the time that you have and

don't have versus them. It was created

because people needed a rhythm that

would pull them out of distraction,

consumerism, and hurry. Some of you take

four days to make your sourdough, and

that's cute, too. I don't want to like

minimize. I I just I just realize as I

say that, some of you make bread that

long, too. Good for you.

But we're meant to come out of our

consumerism into a longing and a hope

and a presence.

It's the church saying at Advent, before

you rush to Christmas, pause,

pay attention, wait, and look for the

person of Jesus. And and it's not

random.

It sits inside a much larger story.

And this Christian calendar, I I want

you to just realize that we're we're

part of something. I want to give you a

glimpse of the Christian year. I think

I've got a slide for that behind me. The

calendar that we're meant to enter into

is meant to give us a rhythm, a sacred

rhythm designed across the centuries to

walk you and I through the life of Jesus

and the story of redemption every single

year.

And most of us miss it.

Your life, the rhythms that we set, the

practice of the way of Jesus is is all

about living out the realm of

redemption, not in theory, but in lived

experience. So you see some of these

things I just want to highlight. Advent,

Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week,

Easter, Pentecost, and then I like

ordinary time.

That's just like the rest of the year.

All these things are meant to teach us

to wait and to hope, to draw near, how

Jesus is revealed to the world, to

repent, to reflect, to to enter into

resurrection and the mission of the

spirit. All these things are meant to

show a different people that connect in

different ways, in different seasons,

but we're all invited. And what I want

us to to take stock on here, um, I I

read a book a while ago, maybe that was

another Suzanne Shaw recommendation. Um,

but in that book by AJ Sher,

he he pointed out, he was kind of going

through different personality types and

how different personalities what we we

tend to lean into certain times of the

year. Like, so my type, I like to

celebrate and feast. That's not hard for

me. It was a It was a news. It was news

for me to find out that not everyone

likes to do that. Like some of you

freaks don't like to celebrate. I don't

know what's wrong with you.

You just like self- torment and torture

and you like to be introspective and you

know and dark and mysterious. I'm just

kidding. Um and then and then there's

those of us that like to celebrate that

don't like to slow down to reflect to to

fast ever

from anything. I don't just mean food,

definitely including food, but just like

fast from anything fun

to lean into discomfort, pain, physical

pain, emotional pain.

And so what does this mean? The body,

you you have strength, you have

weaknesses. You are not meant to just

lean into the times of the year that you

enjoy.

The times of the year that stretch you

the most are significant. And so I just

want to encourage you just for a moment.

Those of you that are more like the

reflective types, you need the joy of

Easter,

the celebr that like to celebrate like

myself, we need the restraint of Lent.

Those relational types, you need you

need the introspection that happens here

at Advent. and the actionoriented those

type A personalities you need the quiet

of ordinary time

and to reset your life not around action

but around rest. So we all naturally

gravitate toward the seasons that match

your temperament and we we instinctively

resist the ones that would mature us

mature us if we let it.

And so what I would like us to to the

call of Advent

is that this isn't just about matching

our personality types with different

types of the year. It's designed to let

Christ's life be formed in me and in

you. So we want to say in a season that

says in the rush, I want to learn to

wait. In a season that that's all about

noise, how about I lean into listening?

There's there's pressures. So let hope

come arise in the darkness and you look

for the light in the midst of the

darkness and that's what Christmas is

coming. Advent is coming. Light in the

darkness is coming. Advent isn't about

waiting for Christ to come into the

world alone though. It's about allowing

Christ to come deeply into you and into

me. And so in the midst of all your

desires, your distractions, ambitions,

and fears in everyday life, what we're

wanting to do in Advent is to allow it

to be the doorway that we actually long

for into a life of purpose and life and

hope into eternity. It prepares your

hearts for a mission that calls you into

God's rest,

and it shares it as a blessing to

others. So,

what we're doing today is all about this

missional series that we've been going

through this fall. I want us to to tap

into a concept of mission where we're

just calling it being sent again, being

sent aresh when Jesus opens our eyes and

reignites our mission. So, we have this

tension, this human tension. And so what

I want to lean into in the missional

heart today as scent ones is that we

want we often want clarity

from God.

When I don't understand God, I have I

have a really hard time following him.

The the the way of Jesus is so

fascinating because the most intimate

followers of his, they weren't given

clarity when they were invited to follow

him. In fact, the only thing we're clear

on is that they had no clarity.

follow me and I'm not going to give you

any details.

Now, if you like details, I don't even

like details. So, there's a part of me

that's like, "Oh, that's spontaneous.

Let's go."

But even for the spontaneous, it's kind

of like, whoa, where are we going?

Because I want to make sure I don't have

something better to do.

And that's the party culture in Los

Angeles. I will not RSVP because

something better may come up on December

13th before your party on the 14th. So,

I'm just kidding. Um, I'm not kidding at

all, but I am making fun of all of us

here in the city. Um, the big idea

today, when Jesus brings your heart back

to life, he brings your purpose back to

life. And in the midst of that, we want

to hear his word, see his presence, and

live on mission. Because when Jesus

opens your heart

through his word, yes, the scripture,

but his breath that reveals the

scripture, he opens our eyes to his

presence, that he's with us, and then he

sends us back out into a world with

renewed courage and mission. But we we

struggle with the lack of clarity.

Abraham, the original commission to go

in Genesis 12, he had no clarity.

And then we see in Luke 24, the passage

we'll look at today at the Emmas road,

this this disciple named Cleopus, he

didn't have clarity either. And neither

do we. We we want safety. We want

clarity. We want our faith to be ours

and to to own it, to be individualized,

to have a private faith that we can just

own and feel secure in and safe. But

unfortunately the the main thrust of

scripture, yes, meet with me in the

secret place and have a personal faith,

but the main purpose of your faith is so

that you can be a blessing to other

people. It has to be public. It has to

be sacrificial.

And it has it has to take you into the

face of disappointment, into the face of

pain, into the place of confusion, into

the place of unmet expectations, into

comparison, into all the discomfort that

the world offers. It forces you to go

into all of that with no security. The

mission of God

is the only mission that will be real

with where you're going.

The rest the rest of the human condition

is trying to offer you

some measure of safety and false

comfort. The gospel will not lie to you.

And I think we're in a moment culturally

where people are like done being lied to

on every level.

They're done with the news. They're done

with the medicine. Not I'm not saying a

negative thing about modern medicine.

That's just too many weird preachers out

there. But we're we're just done with

all the different messages and the false

this and the fake that. What is it

that's secure that I can stand on? What

is it that's eternal that I can put my

hope in? What is it that when when

things end poorly, I know that I've

lived towards something that's bigger

than myself? And the gospel comes and it

says, "I'm sending you into absolute

unsafety

and risk, but with purpose

and with the security that no one can

take anything from you. Even your own

life can't be taken from you." And

that's that is the only realm of true

freedom and true safety you will ever

have is when your life can't be taken

from you because it's already been laid

down for something worthwhile. So the

question is, is where is Jesus calling

you to turn around and to be sent again

with his gospel and his mission during

this Christmas Advent season?

And again, Genesis 12 before he tells

Abraham the where he tells him the who

you Abraham go. And he's saying that to

every single one of you.

He wants you to go out into the world to

be a blessing.

But the gospel never asks us to add

mission to our life. Like it'd be nice

if I could also, you know, follow Jesus

and just have a cool calling and

mission. It's the whole point. It's that

he's calling you to surrender your life

and follow him where he's already going

because he's on mission. The issue is

only are you going to follow him on the

way.

And now we're going to look at Luke 24.

You're going to see a couple things.

You're going to see him open the

scriptures and then open their eyes. And

then you're going to see a a a pattern.

You're going to see slow hearts into a

private faith and withdrawal that moves

to burning hearts, courage, joy, and

witness. So there's this pattern of

encountering Jesus, interpreting

scripture through Jesus, and then being

sent by Jesus. And then the whole Bible

you have to understand is a sending

story. The whole reason why I go back to

Genesis is from Genesis to Revelation,

from the Gospels all the way back to the

beginning in Genesis. It's all about

being sent, receiving the blessing

that's being craved so that you can be a

blessing. And Jesus comes and he gives

you the same commissioning.

And what I want you to see is that

Abraham had to go. Moses had to go.

Isaiah says, "Send me." Peter Peter

doesn't get it until he understands that

he what it looks like to actually be a

fisher of men. And he goes back to go

fishing. And he eventually understands

the call, feed my sheep. He still has to

go. It hasn't changed from Abraham and

Moses to Peter. And and we still have

these witnesses. This in Luke 24 is

another disciple. Not Cleopus is never

going to be mentioned again. He's not

going to be pope like Peter. He's just a

disciple who's seen everything. He's

walking with Jesus and doesn't know it.

It's possible to walk with the risen

Christ and not even know it. And some of

us are still so numbed to the reality.

The presence of Jesus is right here with

us and you need to be reawakened aresh

again.

But it's possible for him to be right

there and you don't even know it. And

that's what the gospel says. If you're

numb today, I just want this scripture

to just awaken you. If you're just a

little bit asleep, just spiritually, I

just want this scripture to awaken you

aresh today. This is this is here for

you to know that it doesn't matter what

you've experienced. If you've been a

disciple that literally saw the fruit of

the resurrection in the early church or

whether you're living in 2025, the

gospel is taking you and it's it's

patient with your process.

Jesus is willing to walk with them for

miles for just two people.

So don't tell me he's not going to be

patient with you and I.

Luke 24 verse 13. That very day two of

Luke 24:13

them were going to a village named Emmas

about 7 milesi from Jerusalem where the

resurrection had just happened and they

were talking with each other about all

these things that had happened all the

news. Big deal. And yet they have no

understanding.

While they were talking and discussing

together, Jesus himself drew near and

went with them. But their eyes were kept

from recognizing him. We'll talk about

that in a second. Who was keeping their

eyes from recognizing him? Verse 17, he

said to them, 'What is it this

conversation that you're holding with

each other as you walk? They they stood

still, looking sad. One of them named

Cleopus answered him, "Are you the only

visitor to Jerusalem who does not know

the things that have happened here in

these days?" Sarcasm strong right here.

Are you like living under a rock or do

you not know what's been going on these

last few days in Jerusalem with the

Savior or the prophet as he just calls

in in a couple verses? Verse 19, he says

to him, "What things?" And they said to

him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man

who was a prophet,

just a prophet, mighty indeed in word

before God and all the people. So

they're starting to doubt who he is and

how our chief priests and rulers

delivered him up to be condemned to

death and crucified him. But when we had

hoped that he was the one to redeem

Israel, we had hoped. So they're not

even accurately saying what just

happened. Their report fake news. Yes.

And besides all this, it is now the

third day since these things happened.

Moreover,

moreover, some some women of our company

amazed us. They were at the tomb early

in the morning, and when they did not

find his body, they came back saying

that they had even seen a vision of

angels. A vision of angels. They didn't

call it a vision. They said, "We saw

angels." Who said that he was alive?

Some of those who were with us also went

to the tomb and found it just as the

woman had said, but him they did not

see. That should be good news, by the

way, to them. And he said to them, "Oh,

foolish ones and slow of heart to

believe all the prophets have spoken.

Was it not all necessary that the Christ

should suffer these things and enter

into glory? And beginning with Moses and

all the prophets, he interpreted them in

all the scriptures, the things

concerning himself.

He listens to where they're at. He's

patient with them. He walks with them

and then he opens the scriptures to

them.

And so when it says that Jesus opens the

word and reveals the word to you, it's

that he's personally willing to walk

with you and unveil the scriptures that

you already know.

Final few verses, they drew near to the

village. They were where they were

going. He acted as if they were going

far farther, but they urged him strongly

saying, "Stay with us."

And and so he stayed with them. And at

the table, this is where hospitality

reveals the person of Jesus. While he's

breaking bread with them, he took the

bread and blessed it and broke it and

gave it to them. This is the moment

breaking of bread at a table where their

eyes are opened. Says, "And they

recognized him and he vanished from

their sight."

It's like all he was doing is waiting

for them to get it and to realize who he

was and then he's done and he moves on.

I just feel for some of us this morning

that the spirit of Jesus is just

lingering and and inviting you to break

bread with him so that he can reveal

himself aresh to you.

He can send you out and send you on your

way with fresh vision where your heart's

been heavy and weary. They knew all the

right things that hadn't connected with

their heart and their vision and their

mission.

They rose that same hour and returned to

Jerusalem. Why?

Because when their hearts are

reconnected with the risen Jesus, they

automatically reconnect with their

purpose and mission. And they cannot

stay on the outskirts of the center of

activity. They have to go back to the

city. They have to go back to where the

people are. They have to go back where

the church is on mission. And they they

have to ignite. This is the middle of

the night. This makes no sense. This is

uncomfortable. But they don't care. They

are immediately stirred with the

opposite spirit that left them hanging

their heads walking slowly seven miles

and they turn and go in the other

direction. They repented.

They turned. That's repentance.

They found the 11 in Jerusalem. Those

who were with them gathered together

saying, "The Lord is risen indeed and

has appeared to Simon." They told him

what had happened on the road and how it

was known to them in the breaking of the

bread. Emphasis again. It came in the

breaking of the bread.

That's like deeper than I think I can

possibly put words to.

There's this beautiful thing that the

author is doing here. It's it's uh the

theological terms called the kayastic

structure. I have a slide for that for

those of you that want to nerd out for a

second. But I just want to show you that

this story I have a slide for that for

those that want to nerd out. Meaning

it starts with the ABCDE EFG slide.

Boom. Good job. So I I just you don't

have to read through the whole thing. I

just want you to see the it starts with

a and ends with a apostrophe or

whatever. And then in the middle is this

hinge moment. But I want you to see this

entire account in the Gospel of Luke.

It's it's a mirror and the ending is not

what it's where you're supposed to land

on the climactic moment. It's in the

middle. And so the point is is that you

see the journey away from Jerusalem is

where the story the account starts. But

the return to Jerusalem on mission is

where it ends. So

So the hinge moment is that he's alive.

The truth is revealed, right?

But I want you to see the significance

of this structure. There's a movement.

There's encounter, scripture,

hospitality, revelation, and then

mission. It always takes them back to

mission. The significance of this

structure has a has four four keys I

want you to see. Blindness. Blindness is

not lack of information. These these

guys did not have a lack of information.

They had the scriptures. They were well

trained. They knew all the right people.

They were intimate disciples. So the the

lack of information is not where

blindness. Spiritual blindness comes

from.

You and I wrestle with spiritual

blindness because we have a lack of

interpretation, not information. What

does that mean to us today? Oh, we don't

have the right people teaching us the

scriptures. No, it means that I can live

out knowing the scriptures, having all

the right information, but I live in a

in a place where I don't inter I'm not

interpreting that correctly. That how

does that live? I know God is good. I

have the right information, but but I

don't know that he's good. That's what

that means.

We instantly feel that one because every

single one of us in this room know that

he's good. Does he feel good every day?

No. When he doesn't feel good,

I don't need more information. I I need

that interpretation to be real. And what

Jesus is showing us right here is that

he wants that for you more than you want

it for yourself.

Second, Jesus meets us at our lowest,

but he doesn't leave us there.

And this whole thing is just the the the

beauty of of of Jesus's godhood being

putting on flesh and walking with them

patiently for hours and hours. He wants

to meet you at your lowest point. He

refuses to leave you there.

Then this is the gospel. Everyone's

invited. Come as you are, however you

are, but he will not tolerate the life

that's ruining you.

He loves you too much to leave you where

you're at. If you want to come to him

for him to affirm everything about your

life, you are not coming to Jesus. You

are coming to your own Jesus, your own

God that you've made into your own

spirit, out of your own flesh. And I

don't and I'm not just talking about the

outsiders that don't go to church. I'm

talking about every single Christian.

There's something inside every single

one of us that we want to make God into

our own image. I want to come to him and

him to affirm all of my insecurities.

And I don't want to listen to him

shred up my false gospel and send me on

the way. But if you will, if you will

allow

the love of Jesus to come and meet you

as you are, he will never leave you as

you are. And he will heal you when you

allow him to let you enter into the pain

with him.

They're dealing with the absolute

deepest disappointment there is.

They are heading home

from being those that were full of life

and hope and expectation.

They are giving up because they don't

get it. And there's some of us today

that are still wrestling. And we go like

this

and we have our high moments and low

moments and everything in between. And I

just want to encourage you regardless of

where you're coming from today.

Jesus is so so intentional with the

ordinary life

pieces of time. When you look at the

calendar, this is kind of like the

ordinary time where Jesus meets with

them. And this is the privilege of

walking with Jesus is that he cares more

about the ordinary time in your life

than the high water marks at Christmas

and Easter

or the conference or the prayer time or

the vision that you had or whatever that

was. There was there were critical

moments that we need in our life. But

what matters is how you are going to be

in the time that takes you year after

year after year in the direction that

your life goes. And Jesus is saying he's

going to meet you at your lowest point.

He refuses to leave you there. And then

third, scripture is interpreted through

him to ignite the heart. So the point is

is that all of the scriptures can only

be understood through the light of

Jesus. What is this saying? This is

showing this deeply theological point

that you can't you can know the

scriptures backwards and forwards and

they they would these guys would have

memorized Isaiah before they had cut

down a Christmas tree at 14. They'd

already memorized the entire prophetic

book and plus some.

They knew the scriptures,

but they didn't know the scriptures.

You can only know the scriptures through

the person of Jesus.

And finally, true recognition leads to

turning around. How do you know when

you've had an encounter? Because you

cannot sit still. You have to make a

change. That works in everything. When

something clicks

on any motivator, at work, you know, in

in your in your health, in a

relationship, it doesn't stay the same.

You have to move into a new direction.

It's the same in your spiritual life. So

what did this mean that their eyes were

kept? And there's some of us that I

think even I've even seen deep and this

is my last theological thing. We're

going to start applying this thing. So

last nerd last nerdy moment. Are we

okay? Okay. This question their eyes

were kept. That kind of sounds like oh

God like kept them from something so

that they couldn't see Jesus. And there

are very smart, well-meaning, loving,

Jesusloving people that interpret that

as like God kept them from seeing. I

just want you to I just want you to know

that there's a lot of evidence and

research that that says that's not how

this works. There's a debate whether God

hides this Jesus or something else is

happening. There's the view that that

that God prevented this himself. But

here's here's what I want you to know.

Blindness is not imposed by God.

Spiritual blindness is a self-inflicted

reality both for believers and

non-believers. It's self-inflicted. Why?

Notice the disciples already had a

pattern of unbelief before the

crucifixion, did they not? Um, if you've

never read the Gospels, the Gospels are

about these young teenage and young

20somes that um were a bunch of

blubbering idiots that were unqualified

and just kept making mistakes over and

over and over again and had a ton of

unbelief. That's the sum summation of

the disciples in all of the gospels. So

the point is is that this wasn't their

unbelief.

This was the continuation of their

unbelief, their blindness. Even the

women didn't immediately recognize

Jesus. They did first though.

So the resurrection body is mysterious

and is transformed of Jesus. Here in

this section, the men dismissed the

women's testimony as men do.

And Luke intentionally contrasts this

and mentions the dynamic of women over

and over and over again to a culture

that doesn't value women's testimony. He

doesn't care.

Which which is proof that this is true

because if this was a false gospel and

false narrative, they would never use

women as witnesses.

Then the blindness flows then from

unbelief, disappointment,

even their own nationalism. They thought

he was going to be their savior and a

different kind of savior. And then they

have these self-shaped expectations that

are all blinding them from seeing the

divine savior. So the conclusion is

their eyes were kept. That's their own

internal blindness until Jesus heals it

through his word and the table of

breaking bread. So that's what's going

on. And I here's what I want you to see.

We often believe in Jesus as we want him

to be, not as he reveals himself. They

they they needed an encounter.

Disappointment blinds us and it blinded

them. What is it in your life currently

that's blinding you from really truly

even the closeness with your savior? How

is disappointment today just keeping you

at arms length? I find that when I'm

dealing with any any sort of

disappointment, I just don't feel close

to God or anyone else. Disappointment

keeps you

it keeps you far. It keeps you it keeps

you distant. Um

disappointment like is

disappointment is not the same as

bitterness.

Disappointment isn't even unforgiveness.

Disappointment is what happens when you

live life.

Disappointment is usually something you

didn't have anything to do with.

And so it feels like I I believe

disappointment is some of the most

helpless

spiritual processes that any person goes

through.

And the emotional healing, the spiritual

healing that Jesus in the Luke's gospel

spends the most time with after the

resurrection

is not unforgiveness.

It's not betrayal.

It's disappointment.

He sits with those in disappointment.

I just ask you this morning, where does

your heart carry some disappointment?

Disappointment at we're in LA. the

career not working out to the fullness

of what you expected.

Some of you, the career worked out

exactly what you expected and it's

disappointing that it didn't feel like

you thought it would feel.

Disappointment in relationships or the

family doesn't look like how you thought

it would look. Disappointment from your

parents. Disappointment from your

children.

Disappointment to what you thought you

would be for somebody else.

I watched a high school football game on

Friday, the first one I think I've seen

in about 25 years.

Tom Brady's high school team didn't

throw one pass the whole game. That was

disappointing.

[laughter]

But the bigger the bigger issue for me

was was just sitting there and it's like

we could care less those watching the

game. It was kind of a light-hearted

thing with family. Um, but like to those

athletes that lost that game in the

fourth quarter because of one stupid 15

year old penalty, um, they're

disappointed for like forever. They're

going to be talking about that forever.

And I and it just it relives some trauma

from my own sports obsessions at that

age. And they're going to be dealing

with some disappointment. Whatever that

those are light and it's like hard to

feel bad for someone that's like, "Oh,

that's not as big a deal." Well, for

them right now, that's like a massive

ordeal.

And many of us, we mask our

disappointments because there's bigger

fish to fry. Disappointed that you can't

get the Christmas gifts for your kids

that you wanted to. But at least we're

not, you know, in the Philippines.

So, I'm just going to like numb that.

I'm not going to be present with the

fact that I feel like a failure as a

father.

Where's your disappointment?

He wants to meet you there.

We need to see

that that the resurrection is this

objective thing and it's also a personal

thing. He anchors this whole story, this

Emmas road story here in historical

reality. He's he's he's highlighting

women, this guy named Cleopus. It's

personal. There's witnesses. Everything

is grounded in verifiable people. It's

very objective. And he's trying to show

us that Jesus is alive, active, walking

with us today. This is documented

documented historical fact.

But he doesn't leave you there with just

facts. He wants you to know it's

personal. And many of us have kept have

have kept our eyes from seeing not

because God is is hiding. Our spiritual

blindness is because our expectations

are blinding us. We missed what Jesus is

doing because we're expecting him to do

things or we had we had disappointments

that are either known or unknown that

are just lingering under the surface.

And we want Jesus to fix our

circumstances. We want him to confirm

our preferences or our politics or

whatever it is that we think our career

or our our pet talents should go

towards. We want him to look at our

preset narratives of how we think our

life should go in this moment or down

the next 5 years or 10 years. We want to

produce constant inspiration for for

other people or ourselves in this town

somehow. And if I don't feel inspired

today, I want to die

just like give me another dopamine hit.

If I can just get one more inspirational

post to fill me up, maybe I can go and

do something beneficial today.

But I don't want to sit

in the scriptures

for 10 minutes.

I want to roll the dice and hope that

lifts me up.

That's me often times. Is that you? You

rolling the dice

or are you feeding on something that's

tangibly anchored in eternity?

Disappointment.

It's one of the strongest forms of

spiritual blindness.

We had hoped is what Cleopus said.

We had hoped Jesus looked like this. And

if we're real, we do the exact same

thing with him. I had hoped my Christian

life would have looked a little bit more

like that

for me. I I had hoped the church would

have looked like this or we would have

had a ministry that looked more like

this.

We had hoped. We have unmet expectations

everywhere. Where are your unmet

expectations that you're either very

aware or unaware that you're putting on

God? And then what happens when when we

have that disappointment that blinds us

and separates us and causes distance,

what happens is that we then we reject

the voices that he's actually sending

you.

I reject them all the time.

The disciples rejected the women's

voice,

the voice of the risen savior. They

dismissed it. They had the evidence.

They had the testimony. They had the

voice. They dismissed it because of

their disappointment.

And notice,

he doesn't judge them, he meets them.

He's the God of not just the second

chance. He's the God of the constant

chance because he is constantly pursuing

you.

And life has

a set period of time that we have no

idea when it when it'll be over for you

and I. But what I can assure you is that

he is pursuing you and pursuing you and

pursuing you. And he's pursuing you

through the voices of others. And there

are voices that you're rejecting because

you're either sexist or you or you just

are you just don't want to hear it.

And it's never going to be through a

perfect vessel. It's not possible.

Who's the imperfect vessel whose voice

you need to listen to that's carrying

the voice of God that you need?

Maybe it's it's an uncomfortable truth.

Maybe it's something that would have to

humble you. What are you overlooking?

And just notice that Jesus is never

never afraid to to come into the

ordinary.

We often we often are looking for the

fireworks and and he's just willing to

meet you in the faithfulness.

We crave the highs. We crave the

dopamine. We crave the inspiration.

He just craves to meet with you daily.

He craves to hear your struggles

and your victories, your little

breakthroughs,

those shared moments.

We assume that he's absent because you

can't feel him.

The gospel is showing you that in the

moments you can't feel him.

He's probably walking right beside you.

You've probably missed some voices that

are trying to get through to you.

And he's not going to leave you.

He wants to encounter you and he wants

to send you back out.

But where is your spiritual blindness

keeping you?

We frequently walk the wrong way because

we

we actually misdiagnose our deepest

need.

What did what did the disciples want

from Jesus? They wanted political

liberation.

Christians today want all kinds of

things from Jesus.

Some are great.

Some are half great. Some are false.

Some are dangerous.

But what is it that you're putting on

him that's not purely rooted in the

absolute redemption of your spirit?

It all starts with spiritual redemption.

And we misread our own needs and we put

them on we put them on the person of

Jesus constantly.

And and it's just these little things

that go into your prayer life or your

thought life. If only this thing

changed, everything would be better. You

you treat Jesus like like he's there to

fix your crisis moments. and you meet

with him or you ask someone to pray for

you only when there's a crisis

and he wants to walk with you in the

ordinary

and you you wait for for life to be

unbearable to invite people in and to

invite him in.

And then we ignore the deeper places of

pride, control, fear,

judgment, the places where sin grips us

and enslaves us. Jesus wants to meet

you,

free you of your blindness.

Notice how he heals them slowly,

patiently, and through just ordinary

means. He opens the scriptures, just

talks to them, opens the word of God. If

you are stuck, are you getting in the

word and letting it speak to you? Are

you sharing it with others and asking

questions and processing and wrestling

and getting angry and and showing the

emotional places where you need him to

meet you, but it doesn't feel like he's

there? He is never, not once, does he

condemn someone that is desperately

seeking for him. He spends more time he

spends more time enraged at those that

are too numb

and too asleep and too passive

to even contend and tell them how

they're feeling.

Where do you need to repent from your

passivity and approach the Lord with

some boldness of how you're feeling? And

that can start with just your own

disappointment, your own anger, your own

frustration with him.

He will never be offended. He is far too

secure in himself

to be offended at your little rant.

You need to rant at the living savior.

Let him meet you.

All right, team. come up because if you

play I will stop. Here's the summary.

Three things to summarize this. I do

have one final slide. Three things to

summarize this to put this all together

for you.

Jesus is closer than you think. Some of

you today, I just want I just want you

as we as we close

to have your hearts awakened that he's

closer than you think than maybe you

even feel.

Even when you can't see him,

he walks. He walks with you on your

road. He sits in your disappointment. He

speaks into your confusion.

And today, I just I just want to invite

you just to pause and recognize his

presence just for a moment. He's closer

than you think. Secondly, your eyes

will be opened

when you let his word open your heart.

We have in the scriptures a timeless

anchor to put your life and to put your

soul into.

Would you let your eyes be opened aresh

by letting his word

speak truth into your being?

And thirdly, when you truly see Jesus,

you can't stay where you are. It's not

possible.

This morning I I want to invite us to

respond in a way that just allows the

missional heart of God that's been the

same for Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Peter,

Cleopus, the women at the tomb, you and

I to respond

with conviction.

And finally, I'm going to invite us to

stand. And as we stand, uh, I'd ask the

team just to put the practices for the

day up on the screen. There's four

simple practices that I want us to

respond with.

Just get in a posture of

of listening.

The first is we just invite you, Holy

Spirit. We're inviting our people.

Take a fresh look at the scriptures.

Open the scriptures to me again. Some of

us have just [music] lost heart because

our time in the word has been dry. I

just invite this church this over this

advent season. Get into the scriptures

aresh and let him speak. One gospel

chapter a day. Whatever it is, Jesus,

open [music] the scriptures and open my

eyes aresh. Make that your heart's cry.

Start today. Start today. Do it daily

until you encounter him. Secondly, a

practice of hospitality.

Do one thing to make space [music] for

Jesus and others. Invite someone to a

meal, a coffee, a simple conversation.

Doesn't matter what it is. Make space

for presence, for listening, for grace.

What Jesus did this at a table.

You don't have to put yourself together

before you invite people in. You [music]

may find that you can hear the

scriptures better when you stop denying

yourself to take part in the mission of

God and reach out and love somebody.

Love somebody without an agenda with the

only agenda being that I just want to be

Jesus made flesh to them.

Third, return to Jerusalem. You're

Jerusalem. What is that?

Luke 24. They had left their place of

calling [music] and purpose and mission.

You get to live in a significant city

where it's impossible not to be on

mission. But many of us can leave our

mission behind and we can be living here

without intention.

Some of us need to return to your

Jerusalem.

What does that mean? It's it's turning

on again

as a follower of Jesus that knows that

you're sent with purpose in the middle

of your process of pain and healing.

So just identify something today, a

person, a situation,

a place where you've been avoiding

or shrinking back. Maybe you've been

avoiding obedience [music] in some way.

I want to call you forth this morning.

Holy Spirit, I just call forth renewed

courage this morning on our people.

We recognize that we're called that. We

don't get to choose to be on mission. We

simply get to choose to take ourselves

out or to step forward and follow you.

And when we're following you, you go

before us. [music] You are with us. You

are covering us. You are loving us. You

are bringing us people. You are bringing

us voices that we need. You you the

promises are secure. We're setting our

life on something where where it can't

be stripped from us. [music] And we want

to be a blessing for the sake of the

world, not ourselves. Reorient us this

morning. Reorient our souls over this

Advent season. We refuse to be a people

that are just gripped by the consumer

individualistic

lie of the human condition.

reanchor us on a countercultural faith

of self-sacrifice

because of your son.

And finally, name the thing that you had

hoped for.

I had hoped for this, but I'm living

that. What is it that you'd hoped for

that your heart needs to be [music] real

with the father? Lord, here I here I am.

Holy Spirit, here we are. All kinds of

disappointments, all kinds of realms of

spiritual blindness, but that is not who

we are. In a single moment, we can be

reminded that we're the people that have

all of eternity,

standing behind us, singing over us,

completely encapsulated at what will the

people of God do? How will they respond

to this gospel? 2,000 years after the

resurrected Savior, the same mission,

the same commissioning, the same act of

renewing all [music] things to the

beauty of Jesus, bringing them back,

bringing about salvation, bringing about

wholeness and hope where our hearts feel

heavy. Lift them up. We refuse to stay

where we're at. We refuse [music] to

deny that we're there.

Thank you that you meet us along the

road and that you do not lead us there.

Thank you that you continue to pursue us

and you never tire of pursuing us.

We repent from these mindsets that hold

us back

from the fullness of [music] your

goodness and your grace. And we pray

this in Jesus name. Amen.