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[ Silence ] (upbeat music) (upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music)

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(upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music continues) (upbeat jazz music)

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(upbeat jazz music) We've come to praise the Lord. We've come to praise the Lord. For all that you've done, we give you the praise.

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We lift our hands before you. Lord, we do adore you. We've come to praise the Lord. We sing hallelujah to your name. Yes, we praise you. We bless you. We magnify your name. We come to praise the Lord. We come to praise the Lord. We come to praise the Lord.

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♪ For all that you've done ♪ ♪ We give you the praise ♪ ♪ We lift our hands before you ♪ ♪ Yes, we do adore you ♪

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♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ We sing hallelujah to your name ♪ ♪ Yes, we praise you ♪ ♪ We lift you ♪

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♪ We magnify your name ♪ ♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪

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♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪

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♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ Amen. Hear this word recorded in the gospel according to Saint Luke 24th chapter verses 13 through 15. And behold, two of them went that same day to a village

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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,

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Jesus himself drew near and went with them. The subject, walking with the risen Lord. the risen Lord, walking with the risen Lord.

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This particular passage of scripture concerns what happened on the highway from Jerusalem to Emmaus

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on Easter Sunday afternoon. Two travelers on this road. They're traveling west. They're facing the sunset.

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In many ways, all of us are on this highway. We're facing the sunset. It is in the afternoon. We are facing the evening of our existence.

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We're on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It's not a long road. The distance is about seven miles.

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It's a short distance we have to travel. Evening shatters descend And it's not the darkness of the sky on which I want to dwell It is the darkness of the spirit

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The darkness of the spirit that overshadows these two travelers on the road to Emmaus They discuss the recent events that have occurred in Jerusalem and while they talk together Their hearts are heavy

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They're sad They're yawned on this road by a stranger He does not introduce himself He does not ask to be recognized

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He just butts in He breaks in. "What are you talking about?" this stranger asks. They're carrying on a conversation within the family. These two travelers are evidently followers of Jesus.

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We do not know the names of both of them, only one of them, Cleophas. It seems to them that this stranger is out of touch. He doesn't know what is happening. He is like the one who hasn't read the papers.

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He has not received the news from the grapevine. on what has happened, he has not heard the word on the street. They want to know from this stranger where have you

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been that you don't know the hottest news that is circulating all over Jerusalem. Don't you know the things that have happened? And the stranger responds by saying, "What things?" They say to him, "Concerning Jesus of

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of Nazareth, a prophet, mighty in word and work. Then the travelers released the burden of their hearts. Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to death by our religious leaders and rulers.

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He was crucified. we had hoped that he would have redeemed Israel. It is now the third day and he has not showed up. Some women surprised us with reports

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concerning a visit to the tomb, but his body was not there. Others went and they did not see him. And the stranger responds, "Oh you

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with sluggish minds and slow of heart, what has happened is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets." And the stranger taught them concerning the scriptures

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and Jesus. On this road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, they are taught by Jesus Christ. They do not understand, but Jesus joins them. He joins these two disciples and opens to them the scriptures. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, joins us on the road. He is with us on the highway of life.

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We face the setting sun. We're weary, worn, we're depressed, we're sad, but nevertheless, Jesus Christ joins us. We do not invite him, but he joins us anyway.

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He teaches us, he enlightens us as we walk on this road. Sometimes we are situated close to Jerusalem and we do not know what has happened in Jerusalem. We may not know the meaning of what God is doing in our lives.

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The risen Lord comes where we are. He meets us on the highway from Jerusalem to Emmaus. He joins us. He walks with us.

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He talks with us. He teaches us. He enlightens us. He joins us in our most depressed and despondent moments.

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He joins us when we have descended to the depths of despair. He comes and shares the evening with us. Does Jesus care when my way is dark? with a nameless dread and fear?

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As the daylight fades into deep night shades, does he care enough to be near? Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares.

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His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. Calvary is not what these travelers expected.

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They did not anticipate a cross and death. They anticipated a new kingdom with new positions, bonus pay. Calvary is not what they expected. Christ joins us on life's highway to prepare us for the unexpected. So the historical record after Easter is

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The disciples see the risen Lord. They see him, but at first they do not know who he is. Jesus Christ is in our history. We only need eyes to see,

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the eyes of faith to believe, The hours of faith to see He is with us on this road. So look for Him. Look, He comes, He joins us.

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Jesus Christ secondly walks with us on this road. Not only joins us, He walks with us. He is with us, He is beside us. So we are not abandoned,

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we're not left alone to go it for ourselves. Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, is with us on this road. So listen, listen to the words of these two disciples.

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We had hoped, we had hoped, we had hoped that he would have been the one to have redeemed Israel. Oh, how many of us have shattered dreams?

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We hoped, hope to do this, hope to realize this. And the years come and go, and they're lengthen on and on. And we do not realize these hopes.

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Langston Hughes puts it, what happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet?

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Does it sag like a heavy load? Or does it explode? What happens to a dream deferred? We had hoped!

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We had hoped that he would have been the one to have redeemed Israel. Today, many young people sacrifice their lives as suicide bombers.

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We had hoped. They placed their hopes in that sacrifice that they make, thinking that this would make possible a better world. we had hoped. So while they walk and talk, they come to the place where they're going.

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Let me say that again. While they walk and talk, they come. As they walk and talk with Jesus, they come to the place where they're going. And many, many times we have hopes, we're making journeys, but what will we do when we get there? So often I see someone come around

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me, they're in such a big hurry weaving and going, and they go right up the road and stop. It's such a huge hurry. We had hoped that he would have been the one and they get where they are going and Jesus is with us. If we really get where we need to go, we must have him with us.

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We must have him to walk with us, to talk with us, to lift our spirits, to guide us the maze of life. If we're going to get where we are going, where we hope to go, we need to have Jesus with us. And so the scripture says that as they were walking, that they came to a place where Jesus acted as if he were going farther. And

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And they say to him, "Abide with us, abide with us." Well, they want Jesus to stay with them. They recognize that they need this stranger in their lives. Not just some of the time,

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but they need him all of the time. You know, as we used to say, will you go piece of the way home with me? not piece it away, but we need him to go all of the way

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with us on this journey. And they say to him, "Abide with us." And we have a beautiful hymn based on that. "Abide with me.

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"Fast falls the evening tide. "The darkness deepens. "Lord, with me abide." When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

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help of the helpless, oh abide with me. And so Jesus grants their request. He goes with them inside the house to stay with them. And after he had taken his place,

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At the table he took bread, blessed it, break it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. And then he suddenly vanished from their sight. that Jesus is known by his disciples in the breaking of bread, in the fellowship

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that is involved around his table, the table of the Lord, that Jesus reveals himself. And then it is said here that he vanished. And they said to one another, Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked with us by the road? In other words, they come to know him as he walks and talks with them.

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have not only the vision of him with the eyes of faith, but they have a feeling in their hearts. If you've got good religion and you don't feel anything, there's something wrong with your religion. Every time, our ancestors say, every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart, I will pray.

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So religion not only has to do with seeing, it has to also do with feeling. And did not our hearts burn within us as he talked with us by the way? so the risen Lord is seen, the risen Lord communicates with his disciples, he talks with us, the risen Lord walks with us on this road to Emmaus and after this

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experience, after this experience and Jesus vanishes, they make the journey, they decide to go back to Jerusalem. Now Jesus is with us as we travel on this road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Now as they arrive at Emmaus, they go right back to Jerusalem. They can't wait to get back to Jerusalem. Now when they left Emmaus, they are

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traveling now eastward. You know we have IH 35 connects with 290 down down the road and we see a sign say 290 east, 290 west. So they're traveling now east. They had been traveling west but they're traveling east and they get back to Jerusalem they had been traveling facing the setting Sun now they are traveling

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facing the rising Sun and they get back to Jerusalem and say oh we have seen the Lord He, you met us on the road as we were traveling to Emmaus and our hearts were heavy. That's a good testimony that He lifts the heart. That He soothes our wounds.

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He helps us over the hills in our lives. And where there is hope, now, there is hope now. been despair, but he overshadows that, he gives hope. We have seen the Lord, they are now at Jerusalem and they're giving testimony, the risen Christ is in their

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lives. And so they are now on the same road. Can you imagine? They were on that same road a few hours earlier going to Emmaus. Now they're on the same road coming back to Jerusalem, but they are different. Not the same people that walked on that road a little earlier. They're different now, they've had experience of the living Lord and they feel him in their lives

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and they know that he is alive, they don't have to take the word of some women, they know for themselves. We should know for ourselves. Wonderful thing to have a godly mother, godly father, but But it's even more wonderful when we have that same God in our lives and in our hearts. So they traveled with him.

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They hurried back to Jerusalem. They couldn't wait to get there. They couldn't wait to see the other disciples and to tell them what had happened in their lives. And that's what makes a difference.

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That's what makes a difference in our lives. Oh we have not seen the historical Jesus. We were not there. We didn't walk with him on the dusty sunlit hills of Judea. No. We weren't there in the boat as they launched out on the Sea of Galilee. We don't have that privilege. We were not with the historical, but we know the

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risen Christ. His spirit is with us. His spirit abides in our lives and we know for ourselves. And we sort of date things in our lives by when we encountered him along the road. So when I met him, some say, "Well, I was nine years of age." Someone else, "Well, I was a teenager." Someone else, "Well, I was a little older." But whatever was that moment, we trace it to when we met Jesus. Since I met Jesus, since I met Jesus,

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since Jesus, since Jesus, since Jesus came into my heart, I have joy in my soul. Like the sea below the road, since Jesus came into my heart.

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Since Jesus came into my, that's the difference. That's what makes the journey more meaningful as we travel on this road from Jerusalem to Emmaus and then from Emmaus to Jerusalem.

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Because there is a new Jerusalem to which all of us journey and God will be with us for he has arranged for us that home which is eternal. So comfort you one another with these words. We extend now the invitation of

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the church, the invitation to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. I come, it's a personal experience, I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses come, he walks with me, he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known. It's a privilege to

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become a part of the family of God here at Ebenezer. You may come by letter, by Christian experience our own profession of faith. Come. Come to the garden O Lord, while the dew is still rolling. And the joy of the King shall be found. ♪ Now the Son of God is close at hand ♪ ♪ And He walks with me and He talks with me ♪

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♪ And He tells me that I am His own ♪ ♪ And the joy we share every day ♪ ♪ None other has ever known ♪ ♪ These things and the sound of it all ♪

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♪ It's so sweet the birds just keep singing ♪ ♪ And the melody that he gave to me ♪ ♪ Within my heart is ringing ♪ ♪ And he walks with me and he talks with me ♪

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♪ And he tells me that I am his song ♪ ♪ And the glory's there ♪ ♪ That we carry there ♪ ♪ But our love ♪

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♪ Has never more ♪ ♪ Any cost ♪ ♪ Will be any cost ♪ ♪ With thee and every life ♪

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♪ Even I am His own ♪ ♪ And the joy we share ♪ ♪ And the death we bear ♪ ♪ None will know ♪

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♪ And shall not know ♪ - Lord God, our Father, with us on this spiritual journey on which we are all engaged from Jerusalem to Emmaus and from Emmaus to Jerusalem. Comfort us, strengthen us, teach us,

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enlighten us. Grace, mercy, peace be with you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [ Silence ]