Alarm Bells, Part 6 Sunday, July 14, 2013
“I Quit”
I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Psalm 31:22 (ESV)
And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls. Joel 2:32 (NKJV)
Satan’s major strategy against us is to DISCOURAGE us until we QUIT.
Video: Facing the Giants
We quit when we …
1. TRUST ourselves
2. Can’t SEE JESUS
3. ISOLATE ourselves from FRIENDS
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. Hebrews 10:32-34 (NIV)
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38 And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10:35-39 (NIV)
Luke 24
Context of Luke 24:
Things were going great
Jesus comes to Jerusalem
Things turn bad
One minute rock star status, the next He’s crucified.
The entire roller coaster left the disciples devastated, confused
The resurrection takes place.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:13-16 (NIV)
CONVERSATION does not mean CONNECTION. Rarely have I found someone drifting in the wrong direction who didn’t also say, “I’m closer to Jesus than ever.” They’re just walking in the wrong direction!!!
Jesus came alongside but they did not RECOGNIZE Him. Jesus actually had to INTERRUPT them.
If the devil can’t make you BAD, he tries to make you BUSY. So preoccupied you can’t recognize Jesus.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” Luke 24:17-18 (NIV)
Have you ever been disappointed? Ever gone on a vacation and the picture you saw on the internet did not look like the room you walked into?
People let you down and perhaps you even feel God has let you down.
Something did not meet your expectations. It did not turn out like you had thought it would. You became disillusioned and you started back-pedaling.
We start telling Jesus how to do things. We start correcting Jesus.
19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 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. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” Luke 24:19-24 (NIV)
We find ourselves lecturing Jesus about Jesus.
If it ain’t good, it ain’t over.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27 (NIV)
Stay grounded in God’s Word.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. Luke 24:28-29 (NIV)
Turning point: STAY.
Take time for intimacy.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:30-32 (NIV)
Slow down and do what’s important.
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. Luke 24:33-35 (NIV)
One of the most frequent phrases in the Psalms is “His love never quits.”
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