The Focus of the Gospel
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Dismiss children
Enjoyed the slow day yesterday and the snow.
Thank you for the opportunity to get away last weekend to marry Juan and Wendy.
Story of wedding.
Then to San Antonio for conference…love traveling..gratful for you and the amazing team that made things happen here.
Always miss my family at home and here at church.
Let’s look at Luke 24 today.
We are going to be talking about the focus of the gospel today. As human beings we have a limited amount of things we can focus on at one time. Multi tasking is a wordd tossed around but its not w real thing. It’s the ability of a person to shift their focus quickly rather than two things at once.
We have a limited ability to focus...
Let me demonstrate. Take 50 seconds and watch this video.
Inattentional blindness video
How many of you missed at least one of those things that changed?
Why? Because you were focused on something else. If you got the correct number of passes and missed everything else, that’s great! If you are like me you noticed one or two of the changes and missed the count.
What does this have to do with the gospel and your relationship with Jesus?
Follow along with me
Luke 24:13-24
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
PRAY
I. A Focus on us leads to discouragement
I. A Focus on us leads to discouragement
Exegete:
Luke wrote his gospel to a gentile Theopholis. Established Jesus as the Son of Man.
Here in this passage we encounter two disciples: Celopus and another who we do not know the name of. It could have been his wife, some infer that from the argument (ha ha).
They are walking out of Jerusalem on the Rod to Emmaus which is about 7 miles west of Jerusalem. This is taking place on Resurrection Day. It was this morning that the ladies had discovered the empty tomb and reported it back.
It seems as though they are having an argument about the events that had taken place.
One can only assume that it was about the passion of Christ and His resurrection.
Even during that day people questioned the validity of the resurrection. Some believed the grave had been robbed. This is obviously a key point to the Christian faith then and even now.
Paul wrote
1 cor 15:14
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Without the resurrection of Christ we are no different than any other faith worshipping dead mens bones.
However with the resurrection of Christ we serve a true and living God that brings life changing impact to all who believe.
In the middle of these two disciples discussion, Jesus shows up.
The scriptures reveal they were discouraged and Jesus comes and asks questions.
Now why where they discouraged? Their focus was on themselves. Their focus was only on them and their circumstances. Their focus was being filtered their the lens of humanity.
Just like you filter what you see in the mirror when you look at it.
Illustrate: I have this mirror with me. Or maybe even better is my cell phone camera. Set up for the selfie. What do you see when you look into that lens or the mirror?
Your first thoughts? “Look at that zit, look at those crows feet, check out those baggy eyes. Look at how much weight I’ve gained since high school.”
Am i right or I am the only negative one here?
As mankind that is our bend. That is where we go first. We don’t see what’s beneath all of that. We don’t see the boy or girl that is growing into adulthood and maturing with a zit. We don’t see the years of love and laughter behind those crows feet. We don’t see the joy, conversation, and happy memories behind those extra pounds.
When we look in this mirror or in the lens of that cell phone we don’t see the great things in our lives…we see the misery of thee moment.
That’s what happens in our lives when we focus on ourselves and the situation around us. We only see the negative. We don’t see the good that is in it OR the great that can come from it.
Application: That’s why, like these disciples, when we get to that place of discouragement we need to turn to Jesus and the Bible to bring our lives into focus. We have our faith in His Word to know all things work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. We know his ways are higher than our ways. We know he has good thoughts towards us.
Doing this requires you to come out of your head and reach for your Bible, go into your prayer closet, pick up your phone to call a friend, and allow someone else to speak into your life pointing you to Jesus.
Because
II. A Focus on Jesus leads to Encouragement
II. A Focus on Jesus leads to Encouragement
Exegete:
Luke 24:25-32
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Jesus now hearing their discussion rebukes them directly. He is asking them if they understand the Word of God.
Notice what Jesus didn’t do.
He didn’t insult. He didn’t tell them what they were doing wrong. He didn’t tell them to suck it up buttercup or to reach down within them and grab happiness to be seen in their lives.
He pointed them to the Word of God. I mean if there ever was a moment when Jesus could have said “You idiots…look at me..I am proof of the resurrection…worship me.”
He did not forcefully change their focus. He pointed them to the scriptures that they seem to be familiar with and ultimately to the one the scriptures were pointing to.
He didn’t pull punches though. “How foolish are you!”
Illustrate: He is living out
Prov 27:6
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
He is wounding them as a friend so that he may point them to the one who heals all wounds.
He doesn’t tell them to think only positive thoughts and ignore what is around them. He addresses their situation head on through the lens of scripture.
When teenager Dustin was staring in the mirror and seeing the big red bump that was below his lip, that’s all he could see. That’s all he thought everyone else could see.
A true friend to that teenager though will say “Yes, there is a bump there. However it will go away. You will move on from this and learn from it.”
To get more real to life “Yes you have faults, yes your not perfect and you have sinned, yes you are going through a terrible time. Let’s reflect on what the Bible says about approaching these situations.”
That’s the types of conversations Christian friends should have with one another. Not “Chin up and just push through. Romans 8:28 man and everything will be fine”
Maybe you need to know that mourning is ok
Matt 5:4
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
You need to know it’s ok to cry, it’s ok to feel anger, it’s ok to be emotional. It’s ok to recognize you have sinned. It’s ok to be wrong. If you were always right you would be God. If your life was always perfect you would be in Heaven.
Friends are to be the ones that point others to Jesus with direct communication. And it MUST be given and received with love and understanding, not thin skin.
Thin skin comes from negative assumptions about the intention of the person that is saying or doing something to you.
It comes from pride and selfishness.
It comes from believing the person is against us rather than seeing them as a brother or sister in Christ and knowing their words and intentions are to edify us.
Can I be very forward with you this morning? Some of you and some that you know don’t have a personality that just radiates kindness and friendship. I’m told New England culture is known for being forward and direct. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a bad thing when you do have negative intentions behind your words. Also…and I can’t stress this enough.
Look up here ya’ll…hear my heart as a pastor and a friend, If someone says something to you and your offended but don’t approach them about…your demonstrating cowardice and sin.
Even worse if you go tell others how they offended you and not them OR that they said something about them and you don’t seek to help edify the people involved or bring a problem to resolution.
Pastor how is that sin?
Matthew 18:15
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Your conversations with others in these times should be just like preaching.
Warren Weirsbe said “"Preaching must be marked by three elements: conviction, warning, and appeal ("reprove, rebuke, exhort").
To quote an old rule of preachers, "He should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted."
If there is conviction but no remedy, we add to people’s burdens. And if we encourage those who ought to be rebuked, we are assisting them to sin. Biblical preaching must be balanced"
Apply: When you find yourself in a bad situation, go to a friend. If you know of another in a bad situation, be that friend.
III. A Focus on Others because of Jesus leads to fulfilment
III. A Focus on Others because of Jesus leads to fulfilment
Exegete:
Luke 24:33-35
33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
Jesus had revealed himself to them and they beleived.
They had undeerstood the scriptures and were ready to apply it to their ilves. Their focus was no longer on themselves or their situation. They were on Christ and His word..
They had went from discouragement to encouragement. They hadd went from hopless to full of hope. They had went from down and out to up and empowered.
Our vision at LBC is to reach 10% of our community by Loving God, Serving Others, and Making an impact. That is why we do all that we do.
We worship on Sunday mornings to accomplish this vision. We have Bible Studies to accomplish this vision. We have groups to accomplish this vision. We preach to accomplish this vision. We give money to accomplish this vision.
This Vision is the diriving force behind all that we do. Being apart of this community of bellievers, giving to the Lord through this ministry, shows your faith in God and the vision He has for us.
The ulitmate end state of this vision is the impact. The impact is life change.
The word of God changes lives. The Gospel impacts lives in such a drastic way that lives change.
Jesus came to these disciples at a time when they had nothing but discouragement and brought them hope, life, and purpose.
When Jesus came to you in your sin, he found you with nothing to bring to the table. When you were without Christ you were just like these disciples. You had no hope. You may have heard the Word but didn’t know the word.
When Jesus came to you and you trusted in Him as your Savior, he impacted your life and now you are living in the result of that impact.
These disciples were impacted and brought that same thing to others so that they could be impacted in the same way.
The result of knowing Jesus is to tell others about Jesus.
When you know how Jesus served you, you serve others.
When your focus shifts from you to them because of Him, your life transforms from walking aimlessly down the road to running with purpose..
Jesus comes to you in your sin and doesn’t bring judgement and condemnation, He brings grace and mercy. Should you choose to trust in Him as your Savior your life will be transformed.
Have you trusted in Jesus this morning? Are you focused on Him with your daily life?
Time of Response
Time of Response
If you are here today and haven’t put your faith in Christ, why not?
John 3:16 KJV 190016 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 19008 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Christians what have you been focused on?
PRAY
announcements
Tailgate night tonight