Crossings, Pt. 3: From Misery to Meaning

Sunday, April 19, 2009

We all have faced some very confusing times in our lives; times when we did not, or could not seem to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  Like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, we walk on in confusion and despair.  And then, the puzzle begins to come together.  Can you remember when that happened to you?

If someone where to ask you today, “What is the meaning and purpose of life,” what would your answer be?

Most people have a weak, poor, even “miserable” answers to the question.  I think that’s because so few people ever really feel satisfied about their life purpose, much less have a handle on what it is!  Do you?

I want you to travel with me today, and join Jesus and two of his disciples, as they walk the Emmaus Road a few days after Easter and watch them make a crossing from confusion, hopelessness, from Misery to Meaning, as Jesus puts the puzzle together.

First, try to put yourself in their place for a moment.  Things had turned out for the worse, not the better, in their Jesus Venture as His disciples.  Listen to them: “We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”

Have you ever thought you had the meaning and purpose for something happening in your life, family, business, ministry, and then it seemed to fall apart? Some of you have faced that in the loss of a marriage, a job, even a loved one suddenly getting sick and dying. Are you trying to get some rhyme or reason from it?

I believe what happened to these Emmaus disciples can happen to all of us, because the living Christ has the key to crossing this bridge.

Let’s look at what happens in Luke 24:13-35 and believe it can happen to you.  First you will see that…..

THEIR EYES WERE OPENED
In verses 24:13-17 - “And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?’ And they stood still, looking sad.”

Here they were, lamenting the fact that Jesus was crucified, thinking He was dead and buried, and they don’t even recognize Him when He comes to walk with them in their sorrow.

The same think happened to Mary in John 20:14, “she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know it was Jesus.”

Can I suggest something to you? Sometimes our grief, burdens, problems, disappointments, our MISERY, get so heavy and so overpowering, that we “can’t see the forest for the trees”

Jesus doesn’t disappear when we are going through troubles.  He is always with us, always guiding us, always in those who love and serve Him.  Jesus is a “Gentleman”… and He keeps His promise never to leave us or forsake us.

The choruses say it well,  “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord” and “Open My Eyes, Lord, I Want to See Jesus.”   Want to cross from misery to meaning?  Recognize Jesus in everything that comes your way.

Laura Snow says it so well from the heart of God to the confused Christian: “My child, I have a message for you today; let Me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds that may arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to travel. It is short, only five words, but let them sink into your inmost soul; use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head; “This thing is from Me.”

Listen, they made the crossing in Vs. 31, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him;” That’s when misery turns to meaning, and pieces come together.

THEIR HEARTS WERE OPENED
Luke 24:18-26 - “One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?’ And He said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to Him, ‘The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened….Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.’ And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ‘Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?’”

Can you picture what happens?  Their hearts are heavy as the relate the sad events of the past week, but in the heaviness of heart, they fail to grasp what is happening as they walk with Him

I have seen this happen so many times with faithful Christ-followers. It has been so long since their hearts were touched by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, that they wander on “Emmaus Road” with all hope gone and their faith faltering.

Have you ever spoken with someone about the things of God and just sensed that their heart was completely closed?  In this case Jesus said they were “slow of heart to believe.”  Well either way, when our hearts are slow, closed, hardened by the raw facts of life, we end up in misery, despair and negative.

Bible Knowledge Commentators says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This explains why Jesus opened the Word to these two men as the three of them walked to Emmaus. Their real problem was not in their heads but in their hearts. They could have discussed the subject for days and never arrived at a satisfactory answer. What they needed was a fresh understanding of the Word of God, and Jesus gave that understanding to them. He opened the Scriptures and then opened their eyes, and they realized that Jesus was not only alive but right there with them!”

Watch them make the crossing from misery to meaning in Vs. 32 - “They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’”

Something happens when our hearts are opened to receive what the Lord has for us.  Are you letting Him speak to your heart today as I am sharing this “post-Easter” story with you?

Maybe you are on the “Emmaus Road” today. Well, we could preach to you all day, try to reason with you logically, and never get to your heart.  That’s the heart of the matter… YOUR HEART.

Make the crossing with these men today.  Remember, until your heart opens, your can’t even receive the Word God has for you.

Watch these men cross from misery to meaning, as their EYES are opened; then their HEARTS are opened, and then….

THEIR MINDS WERE OPENED
In verses 24:27-30 - “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.’ So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.”

I love that expression, He began giving them bread, and it was not just natural bread, but “bread from heaven,” the Word of the Living God.  Jesus said, “I am the bread, the living Word.”

Have you ever had the experience of going through a time of misery, disappointment, sickness, even depression, and then you hear a “Word from the Lord?”  Maybe a Scripture that speaks to you; maybe a sermon you hear; maybe a prophetic word of exhortation, edification, comfort that is just what you needed?

Paul encouraged us in Romans 12:2 (NLT)  “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NASB) “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

That’s why we try to encourage you to get into the Bible for yourself.  Make it a daily priority to “Study to show yourself approved by God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Get involved in a Small Group Bible study where you can grow together with other believers.  Start a Community Group in your home, where family and friends can come in and study the Word with you.

Listen to me, I have found no faster way to cross from misery, confusion, discouragement to meaning and clear purpose then when I get understanding from God’s Word, what His perfect and pleasing will is in a certain situation I am facing.

It happened to Nehemiah and the Jews returning from Babylon after 70 years of captivity. They were trying to rebuild the walls and the Temple, and needed some encouragement.  Then Ezra finds the Word of God in the rubble of the old Temple, reads it to the people so they could understand it.

Neh. 8:10 tells us that when their minds understood God’s Word, the “joy of the Lord was their strength.”

Listen, let God’s Word renew your MIND, and with these “Emmaus” disciples, your can make the crossing from Misery to Meaning. The pieces of your puzzle will come together!

THEIR LIPS WERE OPENED
In verses 24:33-35- “And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’ They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.”

You want a fast crossing from misery to meaning?  Start telling someone about your experiences with Jesus.  Get your mind off yourself and on the needs of others, and do what the old Don Francisco song says,  “I gotta tell somebody, gotta tell somebody, gotta tell somebody, today!”

As they told the other disciples that they had met the living Jesus on Emmaus Road, the Bible says, Vs. 36, “While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’” Jesus shows up when we witness!

Bible Knowledge Commentary challenges us today, “The best evidence that we have understood the Bible and met the living Christ is that we have something exciting to share with others. The two men immediately left Emmaus and returned to Jerusalem to tell the believers that they had met Jesus. But when they arrived, the apostles and the others told them that Jesus was alive and had appeared to Peter! What a difference it would make in our church services if everybody who gathered came to tell about meeting the living Christ!”

Easter never ends.  The message of the Resurrected Christ is the center of our faith. Tell it wherever you go today, and everyday.

When the discouragement, despair, even depression sets and you can’t seem to get through the misery of the moment, CROSS OVER TO MEANING, and find the true purpose in what God is doing in your life.  He can bring “meaning” to your life today?

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