Build a Bigger Table (Part 9)

TRANSCRIPT

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well good morning friends wow I am so grateful to be here today and grateful that I am no longer sick I did this to dan just last month if you were here with us and you remember that he prayed for me wow I am really breathing into my mic today um but he graciously stepped in for me last month and then that sort of took away the um the opportunity uh to speak so although I would have never ever in my life wished that amount of pain on pastor alex or the fact that he would lose an entire organ so that I could be up here today I really am grateful to be with you today so if you have been with us you’ve been tracking within this process of building a bigger table this is our eighth week or sorry ninth week in a 10-week series and we’ve been going through the gospel of luke and finding Jesus and all the different moments that he has done

ministry around a table and with our heartbeat to emphasize hospitality and today um or actually if we remember if you were with us last week we saw Jesus in his very last supper so all of you should be a little bit inquisitive as to why are there two more in this series because didn’t Jesus already have his last supper and yet in this today’s text and in the one to come next week we see Jesus continuing to meet people at the table even after his death and resurrection and I don’t know how you have entered into this series maybe you were with us first week and pastor alex gave the example of building a bigger table and how his family literally takes a giant piece of wood and puts it on top of their table in order to extend and create more spaces around the table so have any of you bought a bigger table because of this series or or place a new you know bigger table I come from a large family and in our family we have a pink punk

table and so we just take that from downstairs and add it to the upstairs table and it does the same thing um so that’s one practical physical way that we could be applying this message because obviously we don’t stand up here just to talk and and hear ourselves talk like we want what we are sharing with you to be lived out and maybe for you in this series you feel challenged um by the fact that Jesus had some really interesting people show up to his table we’ve emphasized that he brings the marginalized he brings the outsiders he he talks to those that are kind of caught up in their own serving and he even sits down with religious leaders and biblical scholars and and confronts them in loving ways but nonetheless he’s had some interesting conversations and the way that maybe you’ve applied that in your life is just beginning to pray lord who might you have come to my table I’ve heard many of you share that

with me and maybe for you the way you’re applying this is that you’re actually inviting some people to your table you’re doing this and you’re breaking bread together maybe it’s people that you love and people that are easy to love but maybe also you are working up the courage to invite those people that aren’t normally at your table or who you might not really want to sit and have a dinner with we would be so encouraged if if those are the stories and you and that you’re taking a next step but I also wonder if there are some of you sitting out there today a little bit fed up with this series like you’re gonna talk about this hospitality thing again okay I get it you know and maybe you’re a little bit confused as to why we keep reiterating this story do you know there’s other times in in life in the church in life with God that that we hit points that we’re just confused where we don’t get it in times where things don’t really click together and

and we find ourselves maybe confused maybe disoriented or doubting that this is actually what I need to be hearing and today in our story that we look at we’re gonna actually meet two characters that find themselves in this place they’re a little bit confused they’re a little bit disorientated and and they’re kind of questioning they have some doubts and we find them in a state of actually feeling those doubts in to the extent that they feel defeat and I wonder if any of you have experienced that in your spiritual life or maybe you’re experiencing that right now but the story goes that they don’t stay in defeat by the end of the story in scene 3 we see that they are delighted they are energized they are full of life and they are taking a 180 turn and going with a message to declare something true that they’ve experienced and so in our lives I think we have to ask the question how did they get there what happened in the middle that

that changed them from a state of defeat to delight and so we’re going to open our bibles to luke chapter 24. we’re in the very last chapter and we’re gonna find out what is it that happens to these characters and how can that message and their discovery help us move from a place of defeat to delight before we get there let me just pray for us and ask the spirit to make his scriptures come alive and then I’ll give you some context to where our story picks up today Jesus we thank you for all the meals that you’ve had with people and all the ones that we’ve studied and whether or not our friends here today in their summer schedules have been with us or they’re just here for the first time lord I just ask that you would awaken us to your word awaken us to your scriptures that we might learn something today that might set us free I can’t set people free but you can and so I’m just asking lord that you would reveal more of yourself

and that you would do what you’re so good at doing and wake us up to the truth in Jesus name I pray amen amen so we turn to chapter 24 in the gospel of luke and in between last week and this week we have seen that Jesus had his last supper he was executed he was buried and laid in a tomb and so if you were any of the jewish followers of Jesus there’s a lot going on in jerusalem there’s a lot maybe that you’d feel in your heart and in your in your soul and it makes sense that you might be in a place of confusion and disorientation the chapter begins on the third day the third day there are women that go to the tomb of Jesus and they do not see him instead what they see is two angels who come to them and declare that Jesus is no longer dead they said yes we know that he was crucified that he has died and that he was buried here but you’re not going to find him here he’s actually alive and the women without seeing Jesus run

back to tell the story that he’s alive and peter and some of the other disciples that are in Jesus’s closest crew they run out to see him as well and the same story is true they don’t see Jesus and in verse 12 we end that little intro by having peter wondering to himself what had happened so we pick up in verse 13. they don’t make these microphones for girls with short hair I’m sorry I apologize for all the static okay now the same day we’ve two of them these are two that are not a part of the disciples closest inner circle but two of them were going to a village called emmaus about seven miles from jerusalem the city of peace they were talking with each other about everything that had happened as they talked and discussed these things with each other Jesus himself came up and walked along with them but they were kept from recognizing him Jesus asked them what are you discussing together as you walk along they stood still their faces

downcast 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 what things he says about Jesus of nazareth they replied he was a prophet powerful in word and deed before God and all the people and then the chief priests and rulers they they 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 then what is more on the third day since all of this took place in addition some of the women they’ve amazed us because they went to the tomb early in the morning and 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 also went to the tomb and they found it just as the women had said they did not see Jesus Jesus said to them how foolish you are and how slow to believe that all

the prophets have spoken did not the messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory and beginning with moses and all the prophets he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself end scene 1. here we have these two new characters on the scene we’ve maybe not met them ever before in the gospel of luke and they are purposely leaving the city of peace and they’re leaving it in a place of confusion disorder doubt and it seems like they’re verbally processing along the way you know how when you’re stuck in a place where you just maybe don’t get something and you you want to talk it through and and yet it doesn’t seem like you’re coming to any conclusion and here they are in the midst of their confusion they’re slow they stood still their faces downcast they’re spiraling in their state of defeat and in the midst of that place Jesus draws near they don’t see him perhaps because they

are so caught up in whatever they’re trying to process whatever emotional disturbance that’s in their heart they don’t see him perhaps it’s because he’s in a glorified body and it’s somehow weirdly different than they’ve ever experienced him before but obviously they’re disturbed and in that place they share with Jesus that that they had hoped they had hoped so this means that they actually did not disbelieve Jesus they knew that he was a prophet they knew that he was full of potential for the kingdom they knew that he was a possible messiah and savior and they had hoped that things would turn out differently I think it wasn’t that they had disbelief it’s that they missed belief they missed the whole story but how often is that where you and I sit in our spiritual journey sometimes we trust and believe that that Jesus is who he says he is he’s a prophet he’s good he’s great he makes me feel good when you know with the vibes on sunday I

don’t know um but then we think wait a second he didn’t come through I thought I had hoped that he would change my circumstances that he would redeem things in a way that that made it easier for me he would heal places inside of me that that I thought that he would how often do we do we sit in this place with Jesus in our spiritual life and and hope that he’s going to change the circumstances rather than changing us and so as Jesus delicately presses back and in and says are you slow to believe is your heart slow to open and to listen to what’s true to listen to what has been the message of the prophets of all along are you gonna get it and we enter scene two with the phrase as they approached and it’s like the intensity of the story rises as they approach are they going to get it are they going to see the light are they going to see that Jesus is right there in his resurrected body with them and he has always been with them but

instead of going to scene two we’re gonna jump to scene three just to play with you and at scene three they got up and they returned to jerusalem look at that they’ve had energy there’s movement they turn they make a 180 turn return to the place of peace and they found the 11 there who was with them and they were all assembling together and now the energy is no longer defeat the energy is joy the energy is delight the energy is we know it’s true the lord has risen and he’s appeared to even simon peter and so the two of them that a little bit of the outsiders which is not a surprise in luke’s gospel come in and say actually it happened to us too Jesus appeared to us and we recognized him in the breaking of bread in the breaking of bread they said we saw Jesus in the breaking of bread it’s all about the bread they saw Jesus in bread what in the world what do you mean by that you saw him in the bread I’m sure thank you joel I

like that right aren’t you a little I think if I were a part of the 11 I might be real confused what is it about the bread well let’s go back to scene 2 and find out what was there so as they approached remember that the village to which they were going Jesus continued on wait a second I thought they saw Jesus he continued on as if he were going further but they urged him strongly to stay with us for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over so he went in and stayed with them this has been the story all along in this series Jesus has been invited to the table and he has gone in to stay with them to sit and to have a meal at his table Jesus the rabbi was a traveling teacher and everybody would have known that he has great things to say and they would want Jesus the the great rabbi teacher potentially messiah to come and stay with them and to sit at their table to recline and when the religious leaders invited him in it was to

have conversations to figure out let’s let’s figure this theology stuff out who’s God and who’s the messiah and what are you really saying now sometimes they went with evil intent but that was very common for the rabbi to come in and to sit with them and they did he was at the table he was with them and he took the bread and he gave thanks after that he broke it and he began to give it to them and in an instant they recognized him and he disappeared in a moment he was seen and known and they got it and he was gone they saw and they didn’t see at the same time it’s a miracle it’s a paradox it’s a mystery it’s phenomenal and they were left there with bread in their hands all they had was the bread and they knew it was Jesus in the bread oh they having bread in their hands they asked each other we’re not our hearts burning within us as he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us how beautiful that this symbol

has been given to them and it and it calls back to their previous experiences now remember these two are not two that were a part of the twelve they would not have been at that last supper even when Jesus did this just last week a couple days ago in terms of the text right perhaps they would have actually called back to a place even further back the feeding of the 5000 where Jesus did the exact same thing he took the bread he gave thanks he broke it and he gave it to them and you know what happened then it multiplied so just like Jesus took these loaves gave thanks distributed it to those seated in the crowds in john 6. he then took the bread and gave thanks and broke it and gave it to his disciples the inner twelve and said this is my body given for you do this in remembrance of me the bread carried with it the gospel that Jesus himself actually took the very form of of a man being found in our likeness he was

obedient until death going through that suffering breaking his body and now the invitation was to pass it around to distribute it that we might also be a part and of receiving that good news do you know you think more about about the bread and you think bread is such an amazing thing I think every culture has bread bread has become a sustenance for life and so I spent some time with steve schroeder this week asking him about bread because he ran a bread business and even in the process of making bread is some truths about the gospel in the process of making bread you’re going to mix the ingredients and wait you add flour and salt punch it around a little bit and wait then you prep to rise same thing punch it around wait then you’re gonna heat it up in the oven and wait and then you can’t eat hot bread straight out of the oven you’re gonna burn your your tongue so you wait and then you can eat and enjoy so

even in the process of bread there’s this story the story that this gospel doesn’t just happen in an instant he doesn’t just change the circumstances he doesn’t just go and redeem israel in the place where they were it is a long process and we see that uncovering throughout all of history that this is a multi-step process of waiting with just a few ingredients crushed down undergoing pressure and heat to create something new and nourishing and if we go back to the bigger story we see at the very beginning that actually part of the problem in humanity and part of the curse was that the bread actually was going to take a long time adam would have to work for his bread but in the end we see the whole story that actually bread becomes a cross-cultural hospitality a heavenly provision a symbol of God’s presence a sign of victory receiving wisdom and Jesus comes and says I am the bread of life he’s the source he’s the nourishment he’s the

sustenance and he becomes daily provision for us as we get to participate in this gospel and also extend it to Jesus to those who don’t know so in an instant as these two characters are holding bread I wonder what they’re thinking about maybe they saw the method of Jesus breaking and and his body broken for them maybe they saw the process of making bread and how long it would take and how maybe they wouldn’t understand in the process and maybe they saw that Jesus was the bread of life coming to give sustenance and hospitality to all who would receive him and we too have an invitation to receive the bread we can discover the truth about bread that what moves us from defeat in our spiritual journeys to a place of delight and declaration is discovery about the bread and the gospel and there have been times in my spiritual journey that I have had to come back to the basics come back to the nutrients of just

the gospel the pure and unadulterated gospel that I am loved by the God of the universe and even though maybe I need to I feel like I need to work for my bread Jesus comes and it is free to take for me I can believe that in his sacrifice in his breaking he has paid the punishment and penalty for my sin and that he offers it to me he extends the invitation to receive him to come into him and then to share it with those around us and so I I hope and pray that God would continue to reveal more to you that you would discover more accept the full truth as your eyes are opened because I think it’s possible for us that our hearts burn when we come to church and when we hear the teachings of Jesus we can get really excited about getting more information about him and knowledge and and insight into his scriptures and his word but we have to do more our our hearts must do more than burn they must come alive they must open

up in order for us to do the same thing that the early church did when they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer they broke bread in their homes so this is not only just breaking bread of communion that’s always symbolic and full of metaphor and rich and yummy right it’s also breaking bread together with one another with hospitality showing everyone that they are invited to partake of the same gospel of the same truth of the same message and so I just want to pray that the lord would continue to flood through our hearts awaken the eyes of our hearts to discover him to be reminded of the pure gospel that we can also share that in hospitality with the world Jesus I just ask you that you would do a work in our hearts like I said at the beginning I can’t open the eyes of anybody’s hearts but you can and so lord we need more discovery of you more

understanding where we get it like those two disciples on the road to emmaus so awaken our eyes we pray and as you go from here let me encourage you that a part of awakening and discovering this gospel is actually doing the same thing that those two disciples did inviting Jesus to your table they didn’t invite Jesus to their table because they just thought it was cool like they invited Jesus to their table because they wanted to eat with him they wanted to learn from him they wanted to listen to him and sometimes I think in we need to sit long enough that we actually listen to him invite him to your table to listen and maybe if you can’t physically invite him to your table and you don’t necessarily know how to spiritually invite him to your table you could invite someone who has the jesusy way in them to your table and you could listen and you could learn from them you could also take this week and think about this think

about Jesus think about the bread sit and turn on that let your heart be opened to seeing the connections there and and allow that to open the eyes of your heart to discover the gospel and then maybe some of you your your eyes are already open to the gospel and what you need to do is you need to go share the story of bread you need to go tell people about it in order to re awaken your eyes to how amazing this is that we get to partake in Jesus in his kingdom and that one day he’s coming back and until that day comes we can continue to share Jesus as we share bread so let’s go from here sharing bread by sharing the good news let’s pray Jesus I thank you so much for coming as bread giving us this physical real tangible something that we can see your gospel and your truth in I thank you so much for what you did on this road to emmaus that these two random guys we don’t even know why you’re going to them and yet they

authenticate the fact that you rose from the dead they they spoke out and and preached to those who didn’t know the truth that you are alive and I thank you that one day you are coming again and until that day comes we pray that you would use this unique model of breaking bread together to fill our souls with spiritual life and vibrancy that would move us from a place of defeat to a place of true delight we pray this in Jesus name and by the power of his spirit amen