-THE WRITTEN WORD-
“And, behold, two of the Disciples of Jesus, went that same day to a village 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, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them.
But their eyes were holden that they should not know Him. And He said unto them, what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto Him, art Thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
And He said unto them, what things? And they said unto Him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, Who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted that it had been He Who should have redeemed Israel; and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early in the sepulcher; and the women when they found not His body, they came saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that He was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even as the women had said, but Him they saw not.
Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.
And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and He made as though He would have gone further. But they constrained Him, saying, abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And He went to tarry with them.
And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them. Saying, the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simeon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them in breaking of bread.”…LUKE 24:13-35.
-THE RECEIVED WORD-
Men and brethren, this passage is about an encounter between our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, even before He made Himself fully manifest to His Disciples. Mary Magdalene and the other women, who went to His grave on the third day of His burial, had reported that He was no longer in the grave. This was also confirmed by some of His Disciples who went to verify that claim. And so there was much concern amongst His Disciples, who were wondering what that could mean. They were in that confusion because it had not yet been revealed to them that our Master would rise from. They heard Him say it severally in the course of His walk with them, yet their hearts were yet blinded to what He actually meant by that.
And in the midst of that uncertainty, two of His Disciples, took a journey from Jerusalem to a nearby village. And on their way, our Lord joined them, but blinded their eyes so that they could not recognize Him. As He journey with them, the same story of His death and “missing body’ came up by the mouths of the two Disciples, and He joined them in the discussion. And in so doing, He was able to convince them that the rumor making rounds that He had risen was true – revealing to them how that was revealed in the Old Testament. He later made Himself known to them and disappeared. That is about the summary of that scripture.
In that encounter, those two disciples were just telling a story that they scarcely believed. They heard this and they heard that, but they did not believe anything. They had severally heard the Master state that He would be murdered and rise again on the third day, but all that seemed to them like a story from a distant land. And now faced with the certainty of what they heard, yet they doubted and continued to doubt. They had no doubt that their Master was from God, but they could not just understand this resurrection story. It did not tally with whatever they had heard and known throughout their lives. And in the midst of their doubt, they decided to leave Jerusalem, perhaps to ease off tension and then return to the normalcy of their everyday lives. But it was not to be.
Likewise are many in the Church today who are full of doubt about all that Christ represents. Their knowledge of Christ is as a story – they believe some and doubt some. They lack any form of personal relationship with our Master. They talk about Christ because everybody is talking about Him; but in reality they do not know Him. When they talk about the love of God in Christ Jesus, their thoughts would go to the world’s definition of love – of lust, even and sensual feelings, devoid of any spiritual understanding. And in the absence of this spiritual understanding, there is also absence of any personal relationship with the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what we call carnality in Christianity.
Brethren, carnality is spreading like an epidemic in the body of Christ due mainly to preachers of this gospel who mind the things of this life. Believing folks are no longer encouraged to develop closer and personal relationships with our Lord. Rather, they are cajoled into sowing all manners of seed in order to please God. They are forced to honor the persons of men and women at the expense of the true Owner of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ. Put simply, the congregation of the Lord is under a form of spell from erring preachers of this gospel. And this is world-side.
There is therefore need for all who name the name of our Lord to personally pray themselves into the spiritual understanding of what Christianity is all about. This matter requires prayer and faith, without which no man or woman could please our God. Permit me to write that majority of believers world-wide live by sight, and in so doing they live even as people of the world. They speak the language of the world even inside the Church of Jesus Christ – they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. Yet they claim they are Christians! This is a very sad thing to our Lord and He has sent me to tell His people to rise up to the challenges of true Christianity before it is too late.
Another definite issue in today’s scripture is the issue of the communion in the Church of Jesus Christ. I have received of the Lord these commandments concerning the communion of His body and of His blood. First, He directs that communion should not be administered in open Church - that it should be a private and family affair. Many would doubt this, but I bet you, to their own peril. And He also insists that all believers must partake in communion – all, without exception- irrespective of age – so long as that person is a believer in Christ Jesus. According to Him, the communion is the most foundational ways for His people to remember what He passed through at Calvary. He insists that at the gates of heaven He would not recognize whosoever has not been partaking in His communion.
Brethren of the Lord, one of the quickest ways for us to come into a closer relationship with our Lord is through His communion. THE HOLY COMMUNION IS NOT A CHURCH DOCTRINE. RATHER IT IS A MANDATORY PART OF OUR WORSHIP AS BELIEVERS. And when the communion is properly administered, the Lord would begin to relate personally with those involved. When communion is administered in a holy and righteous manner, the spirit of those involved is made to link up with the Spirit of the living God leading to a revelation of what true Christianity is all about. And that was what happened in Emmaus. When the two Disciples communed with our Lord, their eyes opened and they recognized Him. So shall it be with whosoever administers the communion of our Lord in a proper manner.
Men and brethren, many would reject this message; but I assure all of us that it came directly from our Master, Who for the first time personally gave me this topic. Yes, He did, and If for any ungodly reason you doubt me, you may as well ask Him. Nobody should go into the satanic exercise of debating and arguing these matters. The ears of our Lord are open to the prayers of whosoever is willing to ask Him about this matter. Debates and arguments only lead to more ungodliness and self-condemnation. I encourage all those who love our Lord Jesus and His appearing to study this message with great caution and apply their hearts, not their minds, to it. It is well.
Till I come your way again, always remember this – that our Lord Jesus Christ will soon be on His way to take us home. Live ready.