If you’ve ever had heartburn, let me see your hand? Not pleasant, is it? The serious kind is “acid reflux.” It feels like you’re having a heart attack. But praise God, there is relief available through medication.
I want to speak to you today for a few moments about spiritual heartburn—when your heart burns within you because of the presence of Almighty God! Unlike physical heartburn which brings misery, spiritual heartburn brings unspeakable joy.
One time, when I was on vacation, I saw an older couple walking hand-in-hand down a country road. I concluded that they had probably been married for many years and thought to myself that that was about the sweetest thing I had ever seen. It sent out definite messages concerning their ever-growing love for one another.
But let me tell you something better. The sweetest walk of all is to walk with Jesus. Amen? Our hymn writers have spoken of it often in songs like, “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” and “In the Garden.”
The message today is the story of two men who walked with Jesus after His resurrection and experienced the kind of heartburn that I spoke of earlier. They were on their way home; their hearts were heavy, their spirits low, when all of a sudden Jesus was walking by their side, full of life---and they didn’t recognize Him!
In their wildest imagination they could not believe that the One they had seen die, could be alive again. The account is found in Luke 24:13-32.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.
20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
29 But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
There are many truths hidden within this thrilling account---truths that inspire, encourage, and challenge us in our relationship with the living Christ. Let me share a few with you.
1. Jesus Walks With Us in Our Times
of Distress.
Here we have two men, talking about Christ. Their hearts are heavy and filled with despair. And there is Jesus, just as He had told them He would be. It’s good for us to be reminded that we never walk alone.
A young lady was taking a ferry to New York one night when she noticed a man staring at her. He approached her and said, “Are you alone?” She answered, “No, as a matter of fact, I’m not.” A little later she was walking down a street in the city when she heard someone behind her. She quickened her step and so did the one behind her. When she got to a deserted section of the street, he caught up with her. She recognized him as the same man who was with her on the ferry. “I thought you said you weren’t alone?” he said. Her heart was racing, but with firm conviction she answered, “The Lord Jesus Christ and His guardian angels are with me!” The man was startled. He turned and left saying, “Lady, you keep too good company for me. God night.”
Aren’t you glad for His abiding presence? He brings peace to the confused and troubled soul.
Verse 16 reveals another rather disturbing truth.
2. Jesus Is a Stranger to Many Today
“But they were kept from recognizing him” (vs.16)
Our Lord joined these men as they walked along but they didn’t recognize Him. Why not?
- they weren’t looking for Him
- their eyes were downcast
- their eyes were too filled with tears
- they were facing the setting sun
It’s a sad thing that for many folks today, Jesus is a stranger. Most go their way, buying and selling, eating and drinking, having a good time, never giving the Lord a thought---never realizing their need of Him. One thing is certain: at the end of this life they will meet Him and He will either be their Savior or Judge!
Thank God Jesus is no stranger to a born-again believer, for we have met Him at the cross and life grows sweeter day by day as He walks and talks with us.
3. Jesus Has the Ability to Make Sense of
Things
The whole situation seemed to make no sense to these two men. Their hopes and dreams were shattered. They thought Jesus had come to redeem Israel---to set up His kingdom here on earth---to overthrow the Romans. Now He was dead and apparently someone had stolen His body. Everything they had believed in had come to a bitter end. Nothing made sense.
Have you ever had times in your life when things just didn’t seem to make sense? Sure you have. We all have.
The Jesus came and talked with them and the meaning of it all became clear and darkness became light. Heartache turned to heartburn. Only in Jesus does life really make sense!
Jesus went all the way back to Moses and explained the Scriptures and then everything became clear.
They were right to look for a Messiah who would establish His kingdom. But His kingdom would be different from what they thought it would be.
It would be a kingdom within them—a kingdom of the heart. They forgot about the prophecies in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 that spoke of a suffering Redeemer. Can you imagine having a Bible study with Jesus as the teacher? In a sense, as we study the Word of God, Jesus is there, teaching us through the Holy Spirit.
Personal testimony: confused about the purpose of my life; then a pastor opened the Bible to me and it all began to make sense. Life will never make sense apart from the Word of God.
There’s something in verse 28 that we dare not overlook.
4. Jesus is the Perfect Gentleman
“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.”
Our Lord wouldn’t force Himself upon these two. He waited until they invited Him into their home. You see, God has given to men the greatest and at the same time, the most perilous gift in the world---free will! We can use it to invite Christ to enter our lives or we can use it to allow Him to Pass on by.
Notice what it says in verse 29: But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
It doesn’t take much to get Jesus to stay. All we have to do is invite Him in. He’ll be more than happy to come and stay (Rev.3:20).
There’s another truth found in verse 30 and 31 that is very significant.
5. Jesus Will Reveal Himself to Those
Who Are Earnestly Seeking Truth
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.”
What was it that caused them to recognize Him as He returned thanks?
- tone of His voice?
- the way He prayed?
- nail scarred hands?
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “When other people look at us, or listen to us, do they see Jesus in us? Is He recognizable in our lives? The greatest compliment you can be given is for someone to say, “I see Jesus in you.”
Gordon Maxwell, a missionary to India, asked a Hindu scholar to teach him his language. He answered, “No, Sahib, I cannot teach you my language because you would make me a Christian.” Maxwell replied, “You don’t understand; I am simply asking you to teach me your language.”
Again, the Hindu responded, “No, Sahib, I cannot teach you. No man can be with you and not become a Christian.”
Verse 32 captures one of the greatest principles in the Bible:
6. If You Spend Much Time With Jesus
Your Heart Will Burn Within You
“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’”
The word burning means “to glow with warmth.” The warm glow within was due to the gradual return of understanding, joy, and hope.
Jeremiah 20:9: “His word is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones.”
Psalm 39:3: “My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned.”
John Wesley had his own Emmaus Road experience through the hearing of Scripture. Here’s how he described it:
‘I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter to nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins—even mine—and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
Spiritual heartburn burns away sin, unbelief, doubt, fear, and discouragement.
Verse 35 says, “Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.”
7. The Joy of Jesus Cannot be Contained
The Gospel is never truly ours until we have shared it. Notice that these two men left immediately. It was late in the evening by now, but these men couldn’t keep the good news to themselves.
A Sunday school teacher had just finished telling her 3rd grade class about how Jesus was crucified and placed in a tomb with a great stone sealing the opening. Then, wanting to share the excitement of the resurrection, she asked, “And what do you think were Jesus first words when He came bursting out of that tomb alive?” A hand shot up into the air from the rear of the classroom and a little girl leaped out of her chair and shouted out, “I know, I know!” “Good,” said the teacher. “Tell us what the first words of Jesus were. And extending her arms high into the air she said:
”TA-DA!”
May the Lord give us that kind of enthusiasm as we share the good news that He is alive.
God has given us the light of the gospel. As we let it shine, our part of the world will be lit.
A missionary in India met a medicine man who claimed that he could cure any disease in the world.
“Any disease?” asked the missionary. “Yes,” was the answer. “Well,” said the missionary, “I have a patient with a terrible disease, and no doctor has yet been able to cure her. Can you help?” “Yes,” he said. “Bring her to me.” “But her disease is sin,” said the missionary. “Oh, I can’t cure that. No one can do that,” replied the medicine man. And the missionary replied, “No, you’re wrong. There is One who is Himself the remedy for all sin, and His name is Jesus Christ.”
That’s the kind of Christianity I want.
- a Savior who can wash away all my sin
- One who will cause my heart to burn within me as I walk with Him on the pathway of life
- One I can recommend to everyone
- One who can sustain me when I come down to die and take me home to live with Him forever
Do you suffer from spiritual heartburn? Does your heart burn within you as you walk and talk with the Savior? Give your heart to Christ and let Him wash away your sin and give you a great purpose for living.
We’re all traveling on an Emmaus Road of some sort. Our journey is often filled with valleys. We nned to know that there is One who wants to walk beside us, no matter what.
How long has it been since you felt His warming in your soul? It’s so easy to become lukewarm in our walk with God. We need His fire burning internally.
Illus.: “Grace of God—900 Points. Enter.”
Remember the man who stood before St. Peter at the Gates of Heaven? He said, “Peter, I’m ready to go in and receive my inheritance.” Peter answered, “Fine, but it takes a thousands points. What have you done that is worth 1,000 points?” He answered, “Well, I attended church and Sunday school regularly.” “Fine,” says Peter, “you get 50 points for that. What else?” “Well, I taught a Sunday school class for many years.” “Good for you,” says Peter. You get an additional 25 points for that. What else?” “The man answers, “I gave 10% of my income to the Lord.” A tither, huh?” says Peter. For that you get another 25 points. You now have 100 points. You only need 900 more. What else?” By now the man was perspiring. Suddenly fearful that he was not going to be able to enter heaven at all, he started to wring his hands. Finally he says, “At this rate it’ll only be by the grace of God that I get in.” And Peter, with a big smile says, “Grace of God—900 points. Enter through the gates of joy!”
Prayer “O, Lord, give us hearts that burn within with the conviction that the Risen Christ can satisfy the deepest longing of our souls. Give us courage to act upon what we have received from your powerful hand—beginning this very moment. Amen.”
