It's good to see everybody this
evening. I talked with Doug and Judy West.
They're faring well with Rupert and the flooding. Doug, when
the hurricane was going through, they had water running under
their house, but they're doing well. I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the Gospel according to Luke
chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. I'm going to
read verse 28 and 29. Luke 24, verse 28 and 29, and
then I'm going to go over a few other verses. The Scripture says, And they
drew nigh unto the village, whether they went. And he made as though
he would have gone further, 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. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You this
evening for the blessed privilege to be able to read Your Word. And Lord, thank You for a heart
that would want to read it. Thank You for the blessing of
understanding taught by the Spirit of God. Help us tonight. to hear with our heart and understand,
Lord, according to Your good pleasure. Forgive us where we
failed You, for Christ's sake. Amen. It's the third day since the
crucifixion. I'll be in Luke 24. That's what
verse 21 says. Third day. And the Scripture says, according
to verse 1, it says, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James
with other women, had gone to the tomb to anoint the body of
the Lord Jesus Christ with spices. That's verse 1, verse 10. And
then they got there and they found out that He wasn't there.
He had risen. And the Scripture says that the
women returned from the sepulcher and according to verse 11, they
told some of the disciples. It just seemed like it was just
idle tales to them. They didn't believe them. They
told them that the tomb is not empty. Well, with all of these
things happening, the Lord has risen, and the women have visited,
Peter has run to see, and he's not there. And the Scripture
says in verse 13 to 16, And behold, two of them went that same day
to a village called Emmaus. which was from Jerusalem, about
three score furlongs, and they talked together of all these
things which had happened. And it came to pass that while
they communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near and went
with them. But their eyes were holding that
they should not know Him. Now, two men, of the group. Behold, the Scripture says two
of them, one of them, Cleopas is mentioned, the others not
mentioned who he was. Speculation, it was Peter, speculation,
the Scripture didn't say. But the Scripture says that there
was two of them and they were going from Jerusalem, they were
going to Emmaus, which was about six and a half miles. They were
on the road and while they were talking about what had happened
over the last few days, they reasoned about the things that
transpired and the Lord Jesus drew near and He started walking
with them. They didn't know Him. Scripture says their eyes were
holding, they were held fast and they didn't recognize him. Scripture says in Mark 16, 12,
after that, he appeared in another form unto two of them as they
walked and went into the country. Now, I read on that word there,
another form, It doesn't mean that his facial
characteristics were different, it's just that he had taken on
a different manner about him. That's about as far as I can
bring. He appeared in a manner in which
they didn't recognize him. Now that's an amazing thought. They had just seen him just a
few days before. And he was scourged, and the
Scripture says that his visage was marred more than any man. He was beaten beyond recognition. And the thing was, they didn't
expect to see him. He told them that he was going
to rise again, but the Scripture reveals that Mary, after he had
risen, He was talking to her. And she was looking at him. And
she thought he was a gardener. And she said, if you know where
they've laid the body, if you'll tell me, I'll go get it. They've
taken my Lord. And he said, Mary? And when he said Mary, she recognized
him. My Lord. And so these two men
were walking, the Lord is walking beside them, and they don't know
who He is. Their eyes were held. You know,
but how often... Now these men were walking and
talking about the things that had happened that day. That's
what they were doing. But I thought to myself, how
often do we forget the promise of the Lord? where two or three
are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of you." I
thought about that and I thought, you know, how often we find ourselves,
brethren, talking concerning the Lord and we forget about
His presence. Listen to this in Malachi. Malachi
3.16, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. Isn't that the case? You get
two believers and they're talking to each other, two believers,
and you're going to find them, the conversation is going to
come around to the Lord. That's what they're going to
talk about. And it says, they that feared the Lord spake often
one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was
written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought
upon His name. The omnipresent Sovereign who
orders all things, who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will. Who orders the steps of a good
man. He's the one that causes the
paths to cross. He initiates the conversation
and then pays attention. That's what it means. The Lord
hearkened. It means He pays attention and
heard it. Look that up. It's listens with
interest. to the conversation of His people.
The Lord initiates the conversation, pays attention to the conversation,
and listens with interest to the conversation. That's an amazing
thought to me. The Lord hearkened. Book of Remembrance,
written. And then while they were walking,
the Lord asked them about their communication. He asked him, he said, verse
17, what manner of communications are these that you have one to
another as you walk? And you're sad. He noticed they
were sad. They were down trodden. And when the Lord brought that
up, The Scripture says Cleopas, one of them, said unto him, Art
thou only a stranger in Jerusalem? Hast not known the things which
are come to pass there in these days? And then the Lord asked
him to draw it out. What things? And they said unto him concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty indeed in word
before God and all the people, and how the chief priest, our
rulers, delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been
he which should have redeemed Israel, and beside all this,
today is the third day since these things were done. Yea,
and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the sepulcher. When they found not his body,
they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were
with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so, as the
women had said, But him they saw not." What things? What things are you talking about? What do you mean? Well, Jesus
of Nazareth. You hadn't heard this. You don't
know anything about this. We hoped that He was the Messiah. He was one that was mighty in
deed and word. And women, they said, went to
the sepulcher, but it was empty. They said that some angels told
them that the Lord was alive. They said they talked to angels.
But, he said, even some of our group went over, but they didn't
see the Lord. He wasn't there. And then the
Lord, in mercy and kindness, revealed to them the weakness
of their faith. Listen to this, verse 25 to 27.
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart, to believe
all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself." Now, I've read that passage of
Scripture many, many times. I know you have too. And when
He said, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken, you know, Many times in Scriptures we find
the word fools or foolish or something. It's always a derogatory
term. Speaking of the wicked, the foolish,
the fools, this word does not mean that. What it means, instead of a word
of wickedness, this word foolish, oh fools and slow of heart, it
actually means one of weakness and dullness. He said you're
weak and slow to apprehend or believe all that the prophets
have spoken. Then he asked Him, he said, ought
not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His
glory? Do you not see that it was necessary
for the Messiah to suffer all the things prophesied concerning
Him as the Lamb of God, that He might enter into His glory? into heaven itself, into the
heavenly, holy of holies, into the very presence of God, into
the very throne room of God, into paradise, into ought not
Christ to have suffered. All the things that were prophesied
was going to happen to Him. And to enter into His glory,
the glory, of the Redeemer, the glory of the One who has eternally
stood, the surety to enter into His glory. Father, I will that
those that You have given me be with me where I am, that they
may behold my glory as the Lamb, as the Redeemer, as the Husband
of the Bride, the Savior of the sheep, Call His name Jesus, He'll
save His people, entering into His glory, having by His own
blood put away the guilt of His bride, His church, by the sacrifice
of Himself. And then the Scripture says,
and beginning at Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
went through all of them. The Scripture says He expounded
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. He began to tell them. You remember
in the Scriptures when Adam and Eve were found naked and they
were covered by the skin of God. Do you remember that? He said,
that skin set forth me. That animal that was slain was
a picture of me, he told them. He said, when Abel, Cain and
Abel, Remember Cain brought forth the fruit of the ground, brought
his grains and his vegetables and stuff like that? Now what
did Abel bring? Abel's sacrifice, the one from
the firstlings of the flock, the one that the Lord had respect
to. He said that sacrifice that God
had respect to of Abel's, he said, that pictured me. That
was me. He said, Noah's ark. When God
sent the flood, that ark that Noah and his wife and three boys
and their wives and those animals got into, he said, that ark was
a picture of me. When Abraham took Isaac up on
the Mount Moriah, and Isaac said, Father, here's the fire and here's
the wood, Where's the lamb?" He said, my son, God will provide
Himself a lamb. And he said, you remember, you
read where Abraham took Isaac and put him on the altar, raised
the knife, and he was stopped, God stopped him. He said, now
I know, you've not withheld your son. And he turned and there
was a ram caught in the thicket. He said, you release that boy
right there. I'm going to show you a beautiful picture of the
substitute. He took Isaac off that, took
that ram, put that ram up there. He said, that ram right there,
he said, that's me. That was me. He said, you remember
when the Red Sea was divided and Israel was between the Red
Sea and the desert, and here comes the Egyptians, And he said,
a strong wind came and blew all night and divided the Red Sea. And they walked across, Israel
walked across safely. He said, that divided sea, that
parted sea, that was a picture of me. My broken body, riven,
opened that safe passage. I'm the way. He said, that Red
Sea was me. He said, that smitten rock, when
the children of Israel cried, and they said, we don't have
anything to drink. And Moses was told by God, he
said, you strike the rock, the water. He said, that rock was
me, stricken, and the water of life that flowed out, the fountain
of God's grace. And he said, that was me. And
when the snakes were biting the people, And God told Moses, He
said, take a piece of brass and make a brazen serpent, lift it
up, and whosoever looks, you'll live. He said, that brazen serpent,
He said, that was Me. As Moses lifted up the serpent,
even so must the Son of Man. He said, those cities of refuge,
three on one side of the Jordan River and three on the other
side of the Jordan River, where the man that had killed someone
unawares, accidentally, He could run to the city of refuge and
the case was heard. He said, those cities of refuge,
that's me. Rahab's scarlet thread. He said,
that scarlet thread, that's the promise. of God's covenant grace
to His people, and that scarlet thread hanging in that window
of Scarlet's house. And when the nation came in,
they saw that scarlet thread, and they said, there's the promise
given. No harm going to come to this house. We've given you
our word. There's God's covenant, God's
mercy. He said, I'm that scarlet ribbon. And the Scripture says that after
He had expounded unto them and all of His Well, the Scriptures,
verse 28-29, they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went,
and he made as though he would have gone further. 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. He made as though that he would
have gone Now, you know, Scripture bears out that that was not the only time that the
Lord had made the appearance as though that He would have
gone on. You remember when the disciples
were out in the boat, and the Scripture says the waves were
boisterous, and Scripture declares that the Lord was walking out
on the water. And the disciples saw him out
there. And they were afraid. They called, you know, they were
frightened. And he told them, he said, knowing
that they thought he was a ghost, he said, don't be afraid. Don't
be afraid, it's me. It's me. They called to him. He made as though that he would
have gone further you know, to wisely excite their emotions
to call to Him. But after He had made as though
that He would have gone further, the Scripture says, but they
constrained Him, saying, abide with us. Now, I saw something
today that I've never seen before. Never seen that. If you would have asked me, and
this is why it's so important, look it up, look it up. You may
think you know what the word means, but you may not. The Scripture says they constrained
Him. And it's an amazing word. Again, I invite you to look this
up. Check me out on this. It's a
word that means to compel by the use of force. It's used only one other time
in Scripture, and it was concerning Lydia. Remember Lydia? She was a seller of purple. She
was from Thyatira. And she heard Paul the Apostle
preach. And Scripture says the Lord opened
her heart. and she attended to the words
of Paul. And Scripture says concerning
Lydia, Acts 16, 15, and when she was baptized in her household,
she besought us saying, if you've judged me to be faithful to the
Lord, come into my house and abide there with me. And she
constrained us by the use of force is the word. It's a word to compel and to
hold. If somebody were to say, look,
constrain them over here. Keep them over here. Hold on
to them. Hold them. Don't let them get
away. You can understand what I'm talking about now. That's
the word. It's a word that means to compel
by the use of force. They constrained Him saying,
abide with us. But let me ask you this, who could by the use of force
hold the Lord or make the Lord do anything? Nobody. Nobody could do that. Nobody has the ability to do
that. He's the Lord. He's the God of
all power, omnipotent. He speaks and it is. He's God! He's God! And as he wrestled with Jacob,
God Almighty, the omnipotent God, who can't be made to do
anything that He's not pleased to do, said, let me go. God said to Jacob, let me go. And Jacob said, I won't unless
you bless me. I'm not going to let you go. Explain that to me. compelling him by the use of
force. They said, abide with us. We have but one answer to this. I know what the word means. It
means to compel by force. But his obedience to his Father's
will to seek and to save that which was lost, in obedience
to His Father, to save His people, the cry of mercy from His people
shall never be shunned. They compelled Him, and His submission to the Father was the reason that their cry
for mercy was heard. Just like Jacob, let me go, not
unless you bless me. You're the only one that can
bless me. I'm not going anywhere. David said, if He slays me, I'm
going to trust Him. They had no power over him any
more than Jacob had power over him. But the Scripture says they
compelled him. He who was the mighty God, or
is the mighty God, let me say that, was willingly, in submission
to his Father, willingly held by their plea for mercy. That's
a miracle of God's grace. That Syrophoenician woman cried
for mercy. Lord, have mercy, have mercy,
have mercy on me. My little girl is sick. The Lord made as though that
he wasn't going to hear her. He pretended, made as though
that he would have gone further. He made us though, acted as if
he would have. Oh blind Bartimaeus on the side
of the road, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord stood still. That's
what scripture says, doesn't it Neil? The Lord stood still. And it came to pass, as he said
it meet with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and break, and
gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and
they knew him. And he vanished out of their
sight. Something amazing took place
here. He's a guest. And he, in the place of the master
of the house, that was the place of the master of the house to
do this. But the scripture says he took bread. He's in their
house, but he took the bread. And he blessed it. And he break
it. And he gave to them. And their eyes were opened. And
they recognized him. They knew who he was. And the
Scripture said, he vanished out of their sight, ceased to be
seen of them. Did they see the prince in his
hands? Was it the manner in which he
broke the bread and gave it to them? Had they seen that before? Had they just seen that just
a few days, a few nights before when he ate bread with them at
the Last Supper, the Lord's Supper? Had they seen Him break bread,
five loaves and two fish and feed 5,000 men plus the women
and children? The Scripture says in verse 35,
they went back later and they told the others what things were
done in the way and how He was known to them in the breaking
of bread. That's how they knew Him. That's
when they recognized Him. Right there. The Scripture says,
this will be the last verse, 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? Oh, the miracle
of a heart inflamed with love and peace and joy for the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know, this is the same heart
Jeremiah talked of in Jeremiah 29. Then I said, I will not make
mention of him. He had been by so many. spoken against so much the gospel
that Jeremiah was preaching and everybody was rebuking him. I'm so sick and tired of this
sovereign God. And Jeremiah said, I said I will
not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name but his
word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones and
I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay. Let me ask you this, you that
know Him, could you not speak any more of Him? You can't do that. Jeremiah said,
His Word is in my heart, just burning fire, shut up in my bones. David said in Psalm 39, 3 and
4, was hot within me while I was
musing, the fire burned. Then spake I with my tongue,
Lord, make me to know mine end and the measure of my days, what
it is that I may know, how frail I am." Every believer knows something
of those times when their heart truly burns as the Lord opens
to them. the Scriptures by His Holy Spirit. I mean, there's times that you
read something and you just overcome. You just overcome with emotion.
And you can begin weeping. I mean, it's just so wonderful.
And it just seems as though it's just a fleeting moment. You couldn't drum it up again
if you tried. Just for a moment, just for a moment. Your heart
just ignited of the joy of understanding. The Spirit of God just gave you
some understanding. I'm going to tell you something. There's coming a time when forever
we'll be just like that. that we'll behold Him as He is
and we'll know Him and be like Him. Oh, come quickly, Lord Jesus,
for His sake and for our eternal good.