Theme: Lord stay with us
Text: Acts 2:36-41; 1 Pet. 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
All that is happening in the world today is pointing to the end of this present age when Jesus Christ will return. Our generation has received so many revelations about Christ that it is almost impossible not to recognise Him as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Yet our behaviour is similar to that of His disciples on the Road to Emmaus. The two disciples, one named Cleopas, had heard about the resurrection of Christ but did not believe the good news. Instead they were filled with fear and wanted nothing more than return to their old way of life. The second disciples name is not given since it could be the name of anyone of His disciples. It could be my name and it could be your name. As His disciples many of us today are facing problems that fill us with fear, diverting our focus from Christ and driving us back to our old ways. However, Jesus knows what we are going through and will not give up on us. This is the time for us to realise that the day is far spent and that night is coming and that Christ wants us to know the truth before it is too late. Today is the time to listen carefully to His Words so that we can also say “Lord stay with us”.
The fear of the Lord means to relate to God with reverence. Fear also means to be afraid. Fear focuses on self and leads to despair and hopelessness. How can we recognise Christ when our focus is on ourselves and our abilities? A misplaced focus on self leads to loss of fellowship with other believers who are still focused on Christ. Once separated from fellow believers we lose our source of encouragement. Can you expect an unbeliever to encourage you in the ways of the Lord? A misplaced focus leads to reliance on the flesh rather than on the Spirit. The flesh is a mindset that believes and acts on what is contrary to the Word of God.
The two disciples returning to Emmaus missed the significance of Jesus’ resurrection because their focus was misdirected. Their focus was on their disappointments and problems – on themselves instead of Christ. In fact their situation was summed up in the words “we had hoped”. They had their own expectations and did not really understand the teachings and expectations of Christ. In fact they even failed to recognise Christ in spite of His physical closeness to them, walking right beside them. When we also focus on our own expectations, difficulties and problems we often fail to see Jesus next to us. Just like those two disciples who ended up walking away in the wrong direction - away from the fellowship of believers in Jerusalem – so we also end up walking in the wrong direction. Our disappointments and shattered hopes have a way of blinding us and keeping us from understanding the Scriptures. Rather we begin to doubt the Scriptures. All of us have gone through times of disappointments and problems and some of us may be going through them at this time. There have been times when we have prayed and prayed and received no help. There have been times when we have prayed and the problems have only worsened, when we have prayed for healing and gotten worse, when we have prayed for financial solutions and got deeper into debt. There have been times when we have lost all hope. This however does not mean that God has left us. It is rather an indication that we have lost our focus, our vision, our understanding, our faith, and our hope. In such situations we should believe God. We should believe that He will never leave or forsake us and that understanding and acting on His Words will lead us to the solution of the problems. God will never abandon His children but He will not go where He is not welcomed. If we want to keep pushing God out of our life, if we continue to ignore and disobey His Word, if we continue to live without Him, then what gives us the right to expect him to “be there” for us? But thank God that He is always present where He is welcome. No matter what we are going through, the good news is that Christ will meet our needs just as He met the needs of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Instead of being preoccupied with our problems we should look up to Christ to experience His power and help.
Fear is the result of focusing on self whereas faith is the result of focusing on Jesus Christ and believing that He is lord. We can only focus on the Lord when we know for certain that God has made our crucified Jesus both Lord and Christ. Faith believes and obeys the Lord. A believer is to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The evidence of our forgiveness is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The life of faith is God’s promise to every believer “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself”. (Act 2:39)
The Holy Communion is a sacrament that when observed properly keeps our focus on Christ. It is a reminder that everything we have as Christians is centred on our Lord’s suffering and death. Christ wants us to remember how He died as through it we become participants in the spiritual realities of His victory over sin and death. In the case of Cleopas and the other disciple it was not until Jesus broke the bread that their eyes were finally opened and they recognized Him. The words “Do this in remembrance of me” must have come alive to them as the breaking of bread is a very intimate act and this time they could even see His nail pierced hands. The Eucharist helps us to focus on Jesus instead of ourselves. It reminds us of His constant love and His presence. God wants our eyes to be opened - the eyes of our mind and the eyes of our heart to understand this. David must have had a revelation of the Communion when he wrote in the 23rd psalm “God has prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies”. This must be here on earth because we will have no enemies in heaven. God meets us at this table and as we share in His body and blood He anoints our head with oil. The Scriptures declare that it is the anointing that removes burdens and breaks yokes. As we partake of the Holy Communion He directs His favour upon us and the result is an overflow of blessings that others can also benefit from. And afterwards goodness and mercy will follow us everywhere. When Jesus broke bread in the presence of the two disciples the anointing removed their blindness so they could recognised Jesus. Suddenly they understood what had happened. They understood that Jesus had not come to rescue Israel from their enemies but to redeem the world from slavery to sin. They now understood that Jesus’ death and resurrection offered the greatest possible hope for the world. The times we are afflicted with problems and have lost hope is the time to keep our focus on Christ. It is the time to turn to the Scriptures and to other believers for help. Christ always knows the solution and wants to share it with His children.
Christ is the best thing that has happened to us so seeking His presence should be our most important duty. It becomes very easy when we know that “we were not ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ”. (1 Pet. 1:18-19) Christ has redeemed us to live a new blessed life. This life is made possible by our belief in the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ. Our old nature died with Him so that we could rise in glory with Him. This new life desires the Lord’s presence where one can receive and share revelations about the Messiah and what He had accomplished in our lives. Christ has blessed us with a new life that enables us to call God “Father”. He has made us children of God. As children of God we are to seek His presence to be able to love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
The presence of God brings peace, insight and encouragement in every situation and leads to a changed life. His presence makes us determined to forsake our sins, our faults, and our failures. We cannot remember the suffering and death of Christ for sin and continue to sin. We should not allow circumstances to over shadow the truth of Christ’s suffering and death. When we do it becomes easy to misdirect our focus and become depressed, doubt God and give up. God, however, will never give up on us and will fulfil His promise never to leave or forsake us.
In many homes you will find a picture with footsteps in the sand and with the following words. “One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes form his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. “Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.” The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.” Jesus can take what seems like the most hopeless situation and turn it around. If our life is moving in the wrong direction we can trust Jesus to turn things around. If we will only allow Him, He will put us on the same road again only this time with a different destination, a different conversation, different observations, and different realizations. Let us ask the Lord to stay with us so that our lives can glorify the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!
