See For Yourself...
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Luke 24:33-43
Context
Context
Catching fire! Don’t you want that? Our current series is looking at the life of Jesus between the resurrection and Pentecost. Pentecost is of course the moment when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon man, and when He came… some amazing things took place.
During this time, Jesus is preparing His disciples for that very moment. He has to make sure that they are in a place to where they can receive the Holy Spirit. He has to make sure that they have absolutely no doubt whatsoever in their hearts. They must truly and totally believe that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.
A few weeks ago, we looked at two men who were on the road to Emmaus when Jesus came to them. He walked with them and talked with them, and revealed Himself to them in multiple ways. Once the big reveal takes place, these two men decide that they have to go 7 miles back to Jerusalem to tell the others what they have seen… Jesus is alive! We have seen it for ourselves!
That is our title for today, “See For Yourself...”
Have you ever had to tell someone that? You share a story with them that is somewhat unbelievable, and it doesn’t quiet seem like they bought it… so you say, “Fine, go see for yourself.”
That’s where we are going to pick up today:
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”
37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”
42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
Let’s Pray!
Content
Content
The Confusion
The Confusion
***Give brief explanation of the text and work into the question:
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Jesus finally just comes right out and asks them, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you still doubting what you know to be true?”
Jesus has proved Himself to be the Messiah over and over:
There was the miraculous birth.
There was His supernatural knowledge *(flesh each one out a little bit)*
Knowledge of what others were thinking
Knowledge of the Word of God
Knowledge of the Future
Knowledge of revelation… future prophecy
Knowledge of His own death and resurrection.
Jesus had even proved that He was resurrected:
He told them He would be
31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.
33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
He appeared to the women at the tomb, who had already come and told them that He was alive.
He appeared to these two men on the road to Emmaus, who also came back to tell them He was alive.
He came Himself. He is standing there in front of them… talking to them.
He showed them the scars in His hands and feet.
He even eats some fish and honey, not sure why you would ever put those two things together, but nonetheless, He does.
He has literally done everything in His power to bring them to the point of belief, and yet they are still struggling.
With all of that proof, it says that they are still having a hard time to believe that He is really there… that He has truly come back from the dead.
37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Jesus is literally saying to them, “I have done everything I can possible do to make Myself to know to you. Why are are you still so confused? Why are you struggling so much to believe?
41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”
That verse got me. It really opens up to us the issue that they are having. Their mind is saying one thing, but their heart is saying something else.
It reminds of this verse:
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Notice again what He says:
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
How many of us can relate to exactly where they are? Have you ever been in a situation to where your mind says one thing, but you heart says something else? This right here is proof that this can happen… that this does happen.
In our mind, we say, “Lord, I believe. I have read the Scriptures concerning You; I have seen that You have done this before; I know in my mind that You are more than capable of handling this situation, and so much more… Lord, I believe.”
But then our heart says something else. In our heart, we are still struggling. Our mind says, “Yes, I know You can do this God.” But our hearts have this worldly “BUT” that we just can’t seem to shake:
“But what if He isn’t there?”
“But what if He really doesn’t care?”
“But what if He really didn’t rise from the dead?”
“But…”
So there we are in that moment, crying out to God, just like that dad did who had a child who was possessed with a demon, “Lord, I believe… Help my unbelief.”
This is exactly where the disciples are.
What are we to do in these situations? Well… Jesus tells them what to do:
The Challenge
The Challenge
39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
Come and See For Yourself!!!
Jesus tells them that the only way their hearts and minds are going to get on the same page… the only way this doubt in their hearts is going to be cast out… is if they come and see for themselves.
“Behold My hands and My feet,” He said. Come… see for yourselves that it is I.
“Handle Me and see.” Come and investigate. Come and prove to yourselves that it is indeed Me.
This is the answer to the doubts in our hearts. We are to come and see for ourselves. This is a challenge. It is a challenge to each one of us who struggle with doubts.
Jesus is challenging us to come and investigate and prove to ourselves that He is indeed alive.
How do we do this? Jesus is not standing in front of us as He did with them. We can’t do what they did… Oh but we can!!!
Read the Word of God
I am not going to get too deep into this right now, for it is what I am speaking on at revival tonight, but Jesus is the Word of God.
The Word of God is living and active and it will speak truth into your heart. It will provide a peace that goes beyond understanding. It will reveal things to you about Jesus, and about yourself.
The Word of God points us to Jesus and builds our faith:
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Pray specifically
I cannot tell you how many times God has proven Himself to me through prayer. There have been moments in my life where I have had to pray very specifically about things, because I needed the hand of God to move in my situation, and He came through. He answered those prayers… not always in the way I had asked for, but in a way that made it very clear He was the One who brought it to pass. You spend some time with God in prayer and see if He does not reveal Himself to you.
Hannah was barren but prayed for a child and God answered.
Elijah prayed for fire from heaven and God sent it down.
Hezekiah prayed for life and God granted him 15 more years.
When Joshua prayed, the sun and moon stood still so that Israel could finish the battle they were in.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Behold His Hands and His feet.
We don’t have Jesus… on the contrary!
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
Rom 12 as well as 1 Cor 12 both explain how the church is the body of Christ.
Spend time examining the body, and what you should find is that the body of Christ is different. You should find that the hands and feet of Christ are unique from the world. They don’t get upset and angry over trivial things. Even though the world is falling down around them, they still have smiles on their faces. They always give the credit for everything good in their lives to God instead of taking the credit themselves. They’re different.
This is not only a challenge to those who are struggling in their faith, but also to those who say their faith is strong. We are the body! We are the hands and feet of Christ. As we live out the will of God in our lives, we are revealing Christ to those who are searching for Him. He reveals Himself to them through us. Are you living your lives in a way that others see Christ in you?
Jesus says, “See For Yourselves” that it is I.
When Phillip went to tell his brother Nathanael that the Messiah had come, Nathanael scoffed and said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Phillip replied to him saying, “Come and see.” Come and see for yourself.
When the women came back from the tomb, they told the disciples what had happened. Most of them sat there in unbelief, but there were two of them… Peter and John… who got up and ran to the tomb to see for themselves.
When Jesus first appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not in the room. When the other disciples told him that Jesus had come and appeared to them, what did he say?
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Commitment
Commitment
