Pastor Leon Seaton

Wasted Worry

Luke 24:13-32

Some of us are old enough to remember the shock and fear that our country felt in 1963 when President John F Kennedy was assassinated. In 1968 there were two more assassinations: Martin Luther King, Jr died April 4, 1968 and on June 5, 1968 –President Kennedy’s brother Senator Robert F. Kennedy was murdered as he celebrated his wins in the California primaries while seeking the Democratic nomination for President.

More of us remember the shocking Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Building in 1994 and the terrible events of 9-11-2001 when the terrorists attacked the twin towers in New York City. Following established protocol the President of the United States got on board Air Force One and flew around until the military experts had time to determine what was going on.

Thinking about those events helps us understand why the disciples of Jesus were struggling to understand the events surrounding Easter.

Our nation had been warned about terrorists. We thought we had covered the risks. The men that were assassinated were all protected by Secret Service personnel. But still it happened. Satan, using people, was successful.

The death of Jesus, on the other hand, was put together by God. Although it was unnerving for the participants, it was necessary for our salvation, our healing and our security as God’s children.

In the midst of the chaos of life, God is always there to help us through the dark times. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

One of the popular church choruses several years ago said, “Standing somewhere in the shadows you’ll find Jesus. He’s the One who always cares and understands. Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find Him. And you’ll know Him by the nail prints in His hands.”

The two men walking the 7 miles home from Jerusalem to Emmaus obviously loved Jesus and were His disciples. But on this day they were so lost in the gloom of their recent experience that they had lost all hope. Most of us have been there at one time or another, but God has pulled us through. It may have only lasted a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days, but we understand how they felt!

Our nation’s economic problems have many people feeling the same way. However, as believers we do not have to participate in the crisis. God has promised to take care of us in any and every situation. But we have to make a commitment to trusting God during these difficult times, to the Holy Spirit as He guides us through the tough times. In John 16:13 (KJV) Jesus states, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.” God is committed to helping us through the tough times, but we have to apply the knowledge and faith to make it happen.

God told Joshua that He had given Canaan to the Children of Israel, but they had to walk in obedience to take the land. We are aware of how many times they dropped the ball!

Because the disciples had not understood what Jesus told them, they thought that they had just experienced the greatest loss possible. For three years they, like the twelve, had believed that Jesus was the Messiah. But now they were crushed in spirit. Totally disappointed, they were returning from Jerusalem to their home in Emmaus. What they did not understand is that the tragic events of the last three days were for their benefit. In His death, burial and resurrection Jesus had purchased their eternal redemption from sin; His beating had provided for their healing, and His three days in hell had taken Satan’s power away from him. Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave over that remarkable weekend.

Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Jesus’ death was a God-event. God planned it and God supervised it.

However, most of our problems are not God-ordained. We live in a wicked, sinful world full of hateful men and women. The awful crimes that are taking place defy belief and understanding at times. God is not in on this; He does not cause it.

God gave man dominion and responsibility for running this world. Unfortunately we have made a mess of things. Psalm 115:16 says, “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to man.” Thus we see our responsibility outlined. God gives gifts to men, so our physicians can be involved in healing our bodies. Scientists can help us with the environmental issues. God’s people are called on to provide leadership in all areas of government.

Psalm 24:1, 2 says, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” Yes, it is God’s world… but He has given us responsibilities. And because of Adam’s sin, Satan is currently the god of this world.

Unfortunately the Church around the world has abdicated its responsibility to the unsaved.

As the men in our text for today walked the seven miles from Jerusalem to their home in Emmaus, they openly discussed their bitter disappointment. A Stranger joined them and asked them what was going on. Somewhat surprised at His lack of knowledge Cleopas asked Him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" (Have you ever wondered if God really understood the problem you were struggling with?)

Jesus understood their pain. He was there to instruct them and bless them, not to criticize them. His teachings were for them – and for us as well. “What things?” He asked. You can hear the pain in their voices as they explained, “About Jesus of Nazareth. He was a Prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; 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. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.”

Listen to their pain and sorrow! Until Jesus had died He was their Messiah – the Christ – the Anointed One. But now, He is just a prophet… they demoted Him. Surprisingly, many people today have done the same thing. They consider Jesus a good man – a great teacher, but not the Son of God.

If we reduce Jesus to the role of a prophet, we take away His divine power and our redemption from sin. To consider Jesus a mere man is to devalue the Word of God and turn the Bible into an ordinary book.

In reality these men had nothing to worry about. The Man that they thought was dead was walking along the road with them. They could not see who He was because they were immersed in their grief. One of my friends said that her pastor titled his message on this scripture, “Look behind you!”

To keep this “fair and balanced,” we should admit that often we are just as blind as these two men were. Sometimes we think that if we could see Jesus in the flesh we would do better. Jesus would tell us that since we have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, we are better off than the early church was.
 

Is there anything in your life that keeps you from seeing Jesus for who He is? Have you been disappointed? Do you feel that God has failed you… that you serve a God that really does not care?

A frustrated seminarian in Texas wrote:

This may sound harsh, but if we are not receiving the fullness of God’s blessings, it is probably due to our disobedience. Or it could be that it isn’t God’s timing yet. We walk by faith, not by sight!

Deuteronomy 28 has some fantastic promises especially verses 2-13:

That’s the good news. However, there are qualifiers in verses 1, 14 and 15.

Verse 1: “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”

Verses 14 and 15: “Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

As believers we need to set a higher standard for ourselves. Too many of us get by on just what we have to do. God wants us to excel in the matters of holiness and obedience to Him. But not everything we call sin is sin. 1 John 3:4 says, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.”

As God’s dear children we want to avoid doing things that frustrate our Heavenly Father because of our love for Him. Jesus was tempted in all areas of life like we are, but He was committed to not sinning; He was not committed to just getting by!

Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins so that we can walk free of sin. Yes, I know that we fail at times… sometimes miserably. However, failure is not sin when our hearts are right. “Sin is lawlessness.”

Dwelling in the heart of every believer is the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit! His mission is to help you live the life God has called you and me to live.

To sin is to willingly reject God's right to direct our lives. Sin is following the law of human and satanic desire rather than following Christ in the way of God.

Lawlessness is deflection from any of God’s standards. The Greek verb for lawlessness is in the continuous present tense, which denotes a person's habitual attitude toward sin as expressed in his practice or non-practice of it. John is not speaking of a state of perfection in which it is impossible for a Christian ever to sin; but he is stressing the fact that a Christian cannot keep on practicing sin, because he is born of God.

When Jesus corrected the men on their walk to Emmaus He did not call them sinners… he said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”

I conclude with one simple question… do we believe God? Yes, we believe in God… but do we believe and obey what He says?

This is one of my favorite stories:

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"

"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."

"But I'm starved," the governor said.

"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."

Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. "Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."

"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister." Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, pp. 5-6.

Now we may not use those words with God… but what about our actions?

April 19, 2009