The Resurrection: A Cure for Feeling Alone - Life of Christ Part 112

So, what do you think? Is there life on other planets? Well, maybe you read the article I trust that you did about a few weeks ago that scientists believe that they found the first real evidence of life elsewhere in the universe. Granted, it's only a microbe-sized little piece of DNA, but scientists hopped on this like a dog on a T-bone as absolute conclusive proof that we are not alone in this cosmos.

In fact, Newsweek magazine ran a cover story several weeks ago entitled Mission to Mars, and in the article they said that it's a very common opinion that life developed on Mars at the same time it did here on Earth, but because the surface of Mars became so inhospitable to life, the life retreated underground, it's now under the planet, and that's why we have to send manned missions there so that we can dig and find the life that's there. Initial estimate of the cost of such a mission? $55 billion.

Wow. Now, as I was reading this article, I thought, why in the world would we send this kind of money to go to Mars and maybe find a mushroom or something? I mean, really. And the answer, I think, is that it's more than just scientific curiosity.

No, there's something more than that going on. I believe that a big part of this is our compelling need as the human race not to feel alone in the universe. I mean, some of you saw the movie Independence Day this summer, and you know there's been all kinds of spin-offs now on television about this, and when I thought about the popularity of that movie, it occurred to me, you know what, we will even accept the notion that our neighbors in the cosmos are hostile.

That's okay. That's better than accepting the notion that we're all by ourselves. There is no human emotion worse than feeling all by yourself, than feeling alone. And yet the truth is our world can be a very lonely place.

It can be a place where we feel that we're facing the cruel realities of life all by ourselves and a place that when we're scared that when we get to dying, we're going to be dying all by ourselves. Folks, God has something much better than that for us, and I want to talk to you about that because God wants to make sure you and I never feel alone in the crises of life. So we want to talk about two men who felt very alone and how Jesus Christ came and met them at their point of their need, and then of course we want to answer the really important question, which I'll let you save till we get there.

Okay, let's look. Beginning at verse 13, Luke chapter 24. Now that same day, meaning the same day, this first Sunday, the same day of the resurrection, it was later in the day, two of them, two of the men that had been around Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, about a seven mile walk northwest from Jerusalem. They had been in the town. Now they were going home. Passover was over. They were headed back to their hometown and they were talking with each other about everything that had happened.

What do you mean? Well, everything that had gone on with the death of Christ and the burial of Christ and all of this. And while they were talking and discussing these things, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him and he asked them, what are you discussing together as you walk along? What are you guys talking about? And they said, what's wrong with you?

Cleopas, one of them said, are you a visitor to Jerusalem? Don't you know the things that have happened in these days? Did you just get off the boat? I mean, did you just arrive here? What in the world is wrong? What do you mean that you don't know what's going on in Jerusalem?

I mean, it's front page news all over everywhere. Jesus said, well, like what things? And they said, well about Jesus of Nazareth, how he was a prophet and he was 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 going to be the one who was going to redeem Israel.

And what's more, it's the third day since all this took place. And in addition, some of our women amazed us by going to the tomb early this morning, but they didn't find the body. They came and told us that they had seen angels there who said he was alive. And some of our own companions went to the tomb and found it just the way the women had said, but they didn't see anything. Isn't it interesting to notice everything that these men say that the people of Jerusalem knew? Look what they knew.

Well, look what was front page news. Verse 19, they knew all about Jesus's life and all about his ministry and his miracles and his healings. Verse 20, they say that they knew all about his unjust execution by the rabbis. Verse 21, they knew all about the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah that they hope Jesus would fulfill. Verse 21, they knew all about the fact that Jesus had predicted he was going to rise from the dead on the third day. And verse 22 and following, they had already heard the rumor that when somebody went to the tomb, his body was gone and that people have seen him and he's risen. Everybody in Jerusalem, they say, knows this. Isn't that interesting? And yet, even these guys hadn't believed it.

You say, how do you know that? We'll look back up in verse 17. He said, he asked them, what are you talking about? And they stood still before they answered him. Their faces downcast.

Some translations will say they were sad. They hadn't even believed it. And they knew all this. Say, wow, man, these people knew a lot.

Yep. And this is important for us to know, folks, because so often we have the idea that the reason that the nation of Israel did not embrace Jesus as their Messiah was that they just didn't have enough information that they just didn't know enough about Jesus, that a small core of rabbis were the only ones who really understood the issues. And if the people had just known more information, they would have believed. But hey, that's not the truth. Look what these people know. The affair surrounding Jesus's life and his ministry and his death and his predicted resurrection are front page news. But you see, folks, the issue with these people was not ignorance.

It was stubbornness. Listen to what Jesus said. John 5. Jesus said, you search the scriptures, for in them you think that you'll get eternal life.

And those very scriptures testify about me, but you will not come to me so that I can give you eternal life. The problem was not the people's heads in Jerusalem. It was their hearts. It was not their intellects, but their wills.

And you know the same is true today? If you haven't trusted Christ yet as your personal Savior and you're here this morning, there are so many people like that who are just waiting for more information, waiting for more information, and they figure when they get enough information it will convince their heads that this is the right kind of decision to make. Could I say to you that's never going to happen?

It's not going to happen. Because folks, the issue is not our head. When I came to Christ at the age of 21 years old in 1971, the total amount of information I had about Jesus Christ I could have put in a thimble, and it wouldn't even have filled the thimble. But I had a heart that was hurting. I had a heart that was willing to do business with God. I had a heart that was willing to humble itself and say, I'm in trouble and I need help. And God, if you say Jesus Christ is my help, I'm willing to give that a try.

The issue is not the head, it's the heart. And if you're here this morning, I've already given you enough information that if you wanted to make a decision for Christ, you could make it. You don't need a lot of information, but you do need a heart that's willing to humble itself, admit that it has a need, and then accept the help that Jesus Christ is offering on his terms. And so I hope you'll think about that if you've never trusted Christ. Don't just keep waiting for the perfect amount of information because that's not the issue. It wasn't for these people.

It isn't for you. Now let's go on. Verse 25. And Jesus said to them, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.

Now I'm going to skip a little bit. He went, he had dinner with them. Verse 31. Then their eyes were open and they recognized him and he disappeared from their sight. Verse 32. And they asked each other, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us? We should have known it was him, they said.

Because didn't you feel what was going on in your heart when he talked to you, how your heart burned when he was here? It says in verse 33, they got up and they were turned at once to Jerusalem. You say, but Lon, they just walked all the way from Jerusalem earlier in the afternoon. That's right. I mean, it must be the middle of the night.

That's right. You say, why didn't they wait till the morning? Because they've just met the risen living Christ.

That's why you don't wait till the morning to go tell somebody about that. They rushed back to Jerusalem. Isn't it interesting? These were the same guys who were sad and downcast and had lost all hope back in verse 17. Look how they had changed and nothing, no circumstance had changed.

The only thing that had changed, they had met the risen Christ and they ran back to Jerusalem and they've met with the 11 disciples and they said, you know, you guys are saying the Lord has risen. I'm telling you something. We just walked with him.

We just ate with him. It's true. It's true. You ever wonder why Luke took so much time in the very last chapter of his gospel to tell us this story? I mean, half the chapter is this one story. Why would you take half the chapter, your last chapter and tell us the story? You ever think about that?

I thought about it. And here's the answer I came up with because I think this story shows us the kind of difference in the life of an everyday person in crisis, which these guys were, that the risen Christ can make. How he can change everything about how you see crisis. These guys had lost hope and he restored it to them.

And what made the difference? It was all in verse 32. Did not our hearts burn within us when he spoke to us? Man, he connected with us in our sadness, in our disappointment, in our pain, and he changed everything. Now that's the end of our passage. And by the way, there's some great stuff in these verses that we're going to come back and look at over the next couple of weeks.

The fact that he ate with them, the fact that he opened the scripture and explained himself from the scripture. I mean, there's a lot more here, but I just want to stop here and ask the really important question for this morning. And you know what it is.

What is it? So what, right? Have you been keeping up with Alomar gate? For those of you who may not know what I'm talking about and I can't imagine anybody doesn't Roberto Alomar second baseman for the Orioles, you know, a week ago, Friday, September 27 spat on umpire John Hirschbeck in the middle of a very violent argument. And then to make matters worse in his attempt to explain why he did it, he brought up the fact that Hirschbeck, the umpire had gotten bitter and his behavior on the field had totally changed ever since his son died in 1993 Hirschbeck son died of Lorenzo's oil disease in 1993. Well, when Hirschbeck who was in the umpires dressing room, heard what Alomar said, he charged into the Baltimore dressing room and had to be physically restrained from assaulting this guy, Alomar. USA Today wrote an article on this and they quoted a guy named Richard Lapchick.

Listen to this. He is the director of you ready for this, the Center for the Study of Sports in Society. Scott probably makes quarter of a million dollars a year with some bogus organization like this. I can tell him what the effect of sport in society is for a lot less money if somebody asked me. But anyway, the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, and here's what he said, and I quote. He said, the illness and loss of a child is the most sensitive thing that a parent can go through.

It goes to the heart of your life. You can't hit a person lower than that. End of quote. I don't know Roberto Alomar, but you know what? I honestly do not think he was being malicious. I honestly do not think he was out to do something evil and hurt the umpire. I think he was just giving an explanation of what he thought had happened, but you see, he just didn't get it. He just had no clue, no understanding of what losing a child means to a person. And making a comment like that, how that would hurt and anger someone.

I just don't think the man got it. Folks, I've never had a child die. Maybe you have, I don't know, but I never have. I've had one come close a couple times. My little girl who's now four and continues to have chronic illness, but I mean, I've given her CPR a couple of times waiting on the rescue squad to get there because she stopped breathing. We've stood in the emergency room, Brenda and me, at three o'clock in the morning watching them ambu bag my daughter because she'd stopped breathing, and you have to try to peek through the Venetian blinds because they won't let you see what they're doing in there.

I haven't had a child die, but we've been close. And I want to tell you something. Mr. Lapchick is right when he says that this goes to the very heart of your life. It is the black hole of black holes to have something like this happen. And I want to share with you a little bit from my own experience and from the Bible this morning about how to deal with the black hole.

Because you know what? You don't have to be facing the death or the serious illness of a loved one to face the black hole. You can find yourself facing the black hole when you go through a horrible divorce or when you're a child whose parents are going through a horrible divorce. You can find yourself in the black hole when you're going through a deep financial crisis or when you lose your job and you can't find another job and you're struggling with the feelings of inadequacy and insecurity that come because you can't find a job. You can find yourself in the black hole when you're going through the pain of a grown child being away from the Lord and seeming like they're never going to come back. You can go through the black hole when you have a romance that breaks up. You can go through the black hole when you're dealing with the rigors of cancer surgery and chemotherapy and radiation. You can go through the black hole when you lose a child with miscarriage or maybe when you're a single parent and you're dealing with all the frustrations and the demands and the exhaustion of being a single parent.

It just seems like it's never going to stop. There's lots of ways to get yourself in the black hole. And if you are not already in it, and some of us here know exactly what the black hole feels like because you're in it, but if you're not already in it now, trust me, before it's all over, you probably will be because that's just the way life works. And I want to share with you a few of the lessons that I learned in the black hole because these guys walking back to Emmaus were in the black hole. The whole thing had come crashing down. Jesus, the one they had hoped was going to bring redemption.

Israel was dead and gone. And when they were walking back to Emmaus, these people were not in great shape. From my experience in the black hole, folks, I found that there are a lot of devastating emotions in the black hole. There's exhaustion. There's anger. There's sadness.

There's guilt. Sometimes real guilt and a lot of false guilt in the black hole. When you're in the black hole, you can feel robbed. You can have great feelings of personal loss and personal grief. When you're in the black hole, you can get real desperate and you can start feeling that all hope is gone and I mean gloom and doom comes in. There's this little black cloud that just follows you everywhere you go and it never goes away. When you're in the black hole, though, without a doubt, the worst feeling of all that you have to deal with is the feeling of being all alone.

You're all by yourself. You're abandoned and I want to tell you something. I struggled with every single one of these feelings in the black hole and it is scary. It is scary to be in the black hole. You know who else struggled with this? A guy named David in the Old Testament and he wrote about a solution to all of these feelings that you deal with in the black hole. Here's what he said.

He said, Yea, though I walk through the black hole, the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. You know it. Why?

Because what? Thou art with me. Because thou art with me. See, when it comes to the toughest emotional crises in life, it's the presence of the risen, living Christ with you in the black hole that makes all the difference in the world. And when you know that he's with you, when you can say with David, thou art with me, man, that changes everything.

It restores hope to life. Knowing that God's with you means that there's somebody who really cares about you and there's somebody who really cares about the pain you're going through. Knowing that God's with you means that you don't need to be scared anymore. Knowing that God's with you means that there's light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train. Knowing that God is with you means that there's somebody to hold your hand and walk with you through the tunnel.

And if necessary, there's somebody to pick you up and carry you through the tunnel if that's what you need. Knowing that God is with you means that your pain has a purpose, that it's not just random senseless suffering, but that there's a living God, there's a loving God, there's a sovereign God who is actively using all that pain to perfect your character. It means that there's a redeeming purpose to all this pain. Folks, when you're in the black hole, the four most powerful words in the universe are, Lord, thou art with me. You know what I found in the black hole? I found that Buddha couldn't be with me. You know why? Because he's dead. And I found that Mohammed couldn't be with me either in the black hole. You know why?

Because he's dead. And I found Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, couldn't be with me in the black hole. And Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, couldn't be with me in the black hole. And all the greatest Jewish rabbis who'd ever lived couldn't be with me in the black hole. You know why? You know why, don't you?

They're all what? Dead. That's right. But there was somebody in the black hole with me that wasn't dead. And it was Jesus Christ. Because he's not dead.

He's alive. And he's risen. And he met me in the black hole and was there with me. And folks, even in the darkest of situations, even in the depths of the deepest hole, when I felt alone and isolated and abandoned, man, Jesus Christ came and he connected with me there. And he's able to meet you there. And to do for you and me exactly what he did for these two men.

And that is to take you from being discouraged and feeling like all hope is gone and totally change the way you see your circumstances and bring hope back. You know, when I look in the Bible, I find that this was the solution God offered every single great man and woman of God anywhere in the Bible when they had a crisis, the same solution that he'd be with them. Listen, how about Joshua? Remember Joshua? Joshua chapter one, he was going to lead the Israelites into the land of promise. Remember that deal?

Okay. So he inherits this ragtag bunch of who knows what. And he's supposed to cross this river and take this land with fortified cities and armament and people in there so big that you feel like you're a grasshopper.

This was his job. And God says to him, Joshua one, be strong and be courageous. Do not be terrified Joshua and do not be discouraged. All right, God, right. You see what I got to work with here, don't you?

And you see what's on the other side of that river, don't you? How in the world can you say to me, don't be discouraged. Don't be scared. I mean, what are you going to give me?

Huh? That's going to help me not be discouraged or scared. You're going to give me more troops. You're going to give me a fabulous battle plan. You're going to give me artillery and air cover.

I mean, what are you going to do for me over there? God said, Joshua, listen, do not be terrified and do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. You know what God gave Joshua?

He gave him the promise of himself being with him. That was God's solution. And how about Moses? Exodus chapter three at the burning bush, Moses says to God, but who am I God? Who am I that I should go to Yul Brynner and bring the children of Israel out?

Who am I? Listen to what God said to it. And God said to Moses, Moses, I will be with you. That's all you need, Moses.

I'll be with you. And how about Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah chapter one, God called him to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah said, Lord, I don't know how to speak. I'm just a child. And the Lord said to me, do not say I'm just a child and do not be afraid of them. Listen, for I am with you, says the Lord.

That's the solution to every crisis. I'm with you. And you know what? God has a promise for you and me just like that. I want you to look at it. It's in Isaiah 43.

Would you turn there? Isaiah 43. It's page 514 if you're using our copy of the Bible, Isaiah chapter 43. And folks, listen, this is not a promise for Jeremiah. And this is not a promise for Joshua. And this is not a promise for Moses. This is a promise for you.

And for me, look what God says Isaiah 43 beginning in verse one, the end of the verse Isaiah 43. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine, says God. Verse two. And when you pass through the waters, look, I will be with you.

And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. Why? Because I will be with you. And when you walk through the fire, you won't be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze.

Why? Because I will be with you. I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, verse five, do not be afraid, for I am with you. Now in every one of these cases, God is not talking about some kind of head knowledge that God says he'll be with us. Do we need to know the word of God and God's promises?

Yes. But God's talking about much more than that God is talking about. Coming to you where you are in the black hole and connecting with your heart with all of its pain, with all of its hurt, connecting personally with your heart in the black hole. And this kind of a sense that God is with you is not an intellectual sense God is talking about, but is deep down inside your being where you know God is there. And that brings strength to your life.

You say, but Lon, how do you get this when you're in the middle of the black hole? Well, I want to close by telling you how. Remember what I've told you. Preacher's no good unless he tells you so what and how. So let me tell you. First Peter chapter five.

Would you turn there? First Peter chapter five. It's page eight hundred and fifty nine and I copy the Bible and let me show you how. I have three very simple steps I want to give you as to how you can bring the presence of God to bear to connect with your hurt in the black hole and how it'll change everything. Three simple steps and they all happen in prayer. You say, I don't like to pray. I don't want to pray. Well, if you don't want to pray and you don't like to pray, then you can do this.

I'm sorry. But if you're willing to pray, you can do this. And if you know Christ, you can do this.

Here they are. Step number one. Be honest and tell God how you really feel. Look at verse seven here in first Peter chapter five. Look at the end of the verse. It says that he, God cares for you. He cares about you. That is true. And because God cares about you, he really is interested in how you do it.

And you can tell him how you really do and you can share your hurts and your feelings and your heartaches with God. You know, when I first went in the black hole, I wanted to be macho man. I mean, I wanted to pretend like I really wasn't hurting.

It really didn't matter. I could really handle it. I just suck it up, man. I just suck it up and I could gut my way through this. Not good.

Doesn't work. Self-destruct. I had to learn the value of getting on my knees and saying, hey, God, I'm doing horrible. I mean, I'm doing horrible.

I am about ready to go off the edge and lose this and I'm hurting bad. Now, was I telling God something he didn't know? Of course not. But you know what? That was what opened me up so I could receive help from him.

I had to be honest. And sometimes we act like we're Wonder Woman. God doesn't want you to be Wonder Woman and he doesn't want you to be macho man. He cares about you and he wants you to be honest about how you really do it. Number two, God wants you to transfer all of that pain to him. Look at the beginning of the verse. It says, cast all your anxiety, transfer all your anxiety to him.

Why? Because he cares about you. What I would do is I would pretend in my mind that all of my hurt and all of my pain was a football and I was handing it off to God. Or that all of it was written on a piece of paper and that I had a nail and a hammer and I was tacking it to the cross and leaving it there.

I mean, anything I could do to get across to myself that I needed to transfer that pain and all of that hurt to God because you know why? Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burdens light. Jesus said his shoulders can carry things that my shoulders can't carry. And I want to tell you something, my shoulders could not carry it.

And God kept saying, but Lon, you don't understand mine can. If you'll just give it up and give it to me, I can handle this. I'll carry it for you. You can't do it.

It's going to kill you. But we all want to hold on to it ourselves. You can't do that.

You got to transfer it. And then third and finally, Philippians chapter four, you don't need to turn there. Verse seven.

Listen to it. It says the Lord is near. The Lord is near. Philippians four. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God, let God know where you really are.

And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. You know, the third step was after you hand the football off, I then had to let God replace all of that anxiety with the peace of God. And he did it. I mean, I'd get up off my knees and go out and the circumstances hadn't changed one bit. But I had changed. My outlook had changed. There was hope in my life again. Why?

Because God took the pain and he gave me his peace instead. He said, but Lon, how does that work? How does the mechanics of that go?

What's the process? Explain to me how God does that. I can't. I don't know.

I don't understand. All I can tell you is he does it. He does it.

And sometimes I had to do this once a day and sometimes I had to do it once an hour and sometimes I had to do it three times a minute on some days. And that's all right. God never gets tired of the three steps.

It's okay. But it works. And that's how you deal with the black hole. And it all happens on our knees. Dear friends, when we are in the deepest, darkest despair, and some of you are today, the single most powerful truth I believe that you and I can know is that we're not alone, that the risen, living Christ is with us. And he can make our heart burn with his personal presence and his peace just like he did for these disciples and totally change the way we see life and the way we see our circumstances.

I love the song that says, because he lives, because he loves me, because he's with me, I can face tomorrow. And you know what? So can you if you know Christ.

So can you. If you'll use the three steps I've given you, be honest with God, hand the football off, and let him give you his peace in its place. And I hope you'll do that and it'll change the way you deal with pain in your life. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you so much that you're alive, that you're not dead in a grave somewhere. Because when I'm in the black hole and when these people are in the black hole, the religious writings of some dead philosopher aren't a bit of good to us. We need a living person to love us and reassure us and restore hope to our life and carry us through the black hole. And thank you, Father, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and he is that person. So I pray that you would help us take these three very simple little steps and take the promises of the Word of God that we've heard this morning. And I pray you'd help us apply them to our lives, our hurts, our problems, our fears, and that you change the way we live because of what we've heard today. Thank you that because he lives, we can face tomorrow till the day that we step off this earth and we're with you. We pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen.