If You See Something, Say Something
Pastor Charlie encourages us Christians to be what God has called us to be... We are witnesses to the power of God.
Luke 24:36-49 NASB
36 Now while they were telling these things, Jesus Himself suddenly stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They served Him a piece of broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it in front of them. 44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
This is the last installment of our series on post-resurrection sightings of Jesus.
Divine Design
There are artists and architects throughout history who can take their gifting in design to make us feel the beauty and strength of God's design.
The plan of the artist delivers the impeccable beauty of their design.
Frank Lloyd Wright was nicknamed the Divine Designer.
On a lower lighter lesser level, they illustrate for us the careful, meticulous design of God in creation.
We learn in Luke chapter 24 that God is the master architect of your life.
Just like God has planned and divinely designed nature, he has planned your life so that nothing that has happened to you or the sequence in which it has happened is by accident.
You are not an accident. Where you are in life is not an accident. Even the things that have happened in your life that you do not like.
God is building you and building his narrative to take you to a point where when other people experience you they recognize you as a Divine Design.
Sometimes we don't understand what God is up to even when he tells us what he's up to. We have to live by faith that the God who is good and gracious has not lied to us when life feels like it's betraying his promise.
God is working all things, in sequence, together for your good.
Some things can only be understood through the rearview mirror of life.
The order in which things happen is crucial to God's plan.
God allowed Jesus's suffering before His glory so that God could fulfill what he'd already spoken in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.
God will allow the suffering and the glory in your life to happen in sequence to fulfill a promise he made long before you were born.
If you misinterpret pain, you will misunderstand the providence of God.
Do not use the lens of your pain to measure the goodness of God. Use Jesus's resurrection as proof that God loves you. His goodness is in his ability to overcome.
The disciples are shocked to see Jesus. They think they're seeing a ghost.
Jesus asks for something to eat and lets the disciples touch His body to show them that He is real.
He opened their minds to understand the scriptures. It takes a touch from God for you to understand the Bible.
Empowered Witness
He gives them a commission. Go and make disciples (in Matthew). In Luke, he tells them that they are witnesses.
Their contact with the resurrected Jesus makes them verifiable witnesses to the power of God to fix the world.
They can tell the world that God can do anything.
As a church open in the name of Jesus, we have to do the work of Jesus.
Not just a space for people to hang out or to do things in culture and society.
Jesus started the Church and He tells us what to do.
We are a church only insofar as we are willingly and currently telling people what we've seen God do.
God let you see what he did in Jesus so you could see what he can do for you.
So you can say to someone else in your world what he has done for you.
Every friend you come in contact with, every colleague you work with, and everyone on your block is positioned so you can share with them the power of God.
They are looking for hope and guidance. You know the source of hope who is looking to you for help.
You are a walking billboard that grace is real!
We learn in the Old Testament that the people of Israel failed to be witnesses. When we get to the New Testament, God commissions believers in Christ to be witnesses. He also empowers us to be witnesses.
You don't have to do it in your own strength.
Why don't some people witness?
There is an unbelievable part to God's story that many feel may be too good to be true.
Verse 41 says that the disciples could not believe they were seeing Jesus because of their joy and amazement.
This isn't unbelief. It's a recognition that God has done something unexpected and contrary to your reality.
This is The Gospel.
Then other parts of the story are perplexing... Jesus asking for food.
Part of this is to show His humanity. This is proof that He is both God and man at the same time.
He became a human without losing any of His divinity.
He was man enough to have human emotions but God enough to overcome them.
It is the humanity of Jesus that gave us access to God. And it is the humanity of Jesus that gave God access to us.
Jesus understands our plight.
In Verse 44, Jesus reveals that everything was part of God's Divine Design.
Everything written in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms is about Him. All the major sections of the Old Testament.
He is the son Isaiah referenced (Isaiah 9:6)
He is Jeremiah's balm in Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22)
He is David's Shepherd (Psalm 23)
If you read your Bible, you don't have to just interpret life through the rearview mirror, you can see Him coming through the windshield.
God told us through the Word that trouble is coming, but not to worry because he's handled that too.
Reading the Bible in the morning before anything else will allow you to hear from God and prepare for the trouble to come.
The bad in your life is leading to a place called Glory.
We don't get a resurrected Jesus on Sunday without Friday's crucifixion.
All sunshine makes a dessert - Arab proverb.
We all want sunshiny days, but rain produces the foliage and trees.
But it has to happen in sequence.
The reason all of this had to happen is that the world needed to know that repentance and forgiveness of sins are available.
The only way for the world to know this is for someone to proclaim it.
Jesus wants eyewitnesses to proclaim His message.
Homeland Security came up with the slogan, "If you see something, say something," so that the public could report any suspicious activity to prevent terrorism.
This is what Jesus has been saying to the church all along.
Christians have seen too much to stay quiet.
Reflection questions:
Have you seen God work in unbelievable ways?
When you have the opportunity to witness to others, do you? Why or why not?
Do you ever find difficulty in seeing the goodness of God through your pain?