Church Requel
Our outlook on life takes on an incredibly positive hue when the resurrected Jesus is among us. Today as we study the final verses in the Gospel of Luke, we discover the peace of Christ that can calm the troubled mind. We also learn that regardless of the illness and weakness we suffer in our present bodies, that our minds can envision our imperishable, resurrected future bodies and that makes all the difference in those suffering moments.
The New Mindset - Luke 24:36-49 NIV
We want to study one last appearance of the resurrected Jesus. Jesus appeared and their mindsets were immediately changed. Same for us.
When The Resurrected Jesus Is With Me…
#1: My mind is controlled by the ___________________ .
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” / “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?” Luke 24:36, 38 NIV
Imagine that you were there and suddenly, out of nowhere, Jesus is standing next to you. Yes that would freak you out! The rules have changed. If Jesus can appear out of nowhere, what else could happen?
This is why he says first, “PEACE…” “Don’t be troubled.” “Why doubt?”
When we become Christ-followers, the same is true for us. Hearing voices in our heads is normally not a good thing! Being led by someone other than ourselves sounds freaky! All to which Jesus says to us, “PEACE.” “Don’t be troubled.” “Why doubt?”
Focus on those last 4 words: “rise in your minds.” This is where the battle for peace takes place. Whether you’re troubled by following Jesus for the first time, or that bad diagnosis, or the IRS letter - the trouble takes place in our minds. And that’s actually a good thing, because there we have choices. Choice of what we follow: The peace path or the worry way! And like an exit ramp off a freeway, the default is Worry Way. You have to choose to exit, to get off the main route. Jesus IS that exit!
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” Colossians 3:15 NIV
Let’s break this verse down. You were called to peace. That is your destination if you are a member of the body of Christ! So what is going to rule in your heart? A close reading will show a distinction between “Christ” and “the peace of Christ.” Many believe wrongly that if Christ rules then they won’t worry. Not true! You can be a Christian and allow worry to rule your mind. You must (1) be a Christian and (2) CHOOSE to let Christ’s peace rule. Two decisions. Two choices.
“The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make.” Colossians 3:15 GNT
I love this translation because it makes clear what “rule in your hearts” means. It is guidance for the decisions you make. Many of us now use our Maps program to drive to an unknown destination. The satellite system lets us know where we are, where our destination is and how to get from here to there. Following the Peace Path instead of the Worry Way is much the same thing. God knows where our peace lies, He knows what’s got us worried, and He knows how to get us from here to there. The choice on our part is whether or not we choose to follow.
#2: My mind looks forward to a __________________ .
Naturally the disciples were scared. They thought Jesus was a ghost!
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” / “Do you have anything to eat?” Luke 24:39, 41b NIV
Jesus wasn’t a ghost. Not a spirit. He was flesh and bones. He was in his resurrected body! A resurrected body of flesh and bones! Same for us.
“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come? The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:35, 42-44NIV
Don’t allow yourself to be carried off by the world’s idea of the afterlife. The Bible is really clear about this. We get confused because the Bible uses the words, “natural body” to describe our present bodies and “spiritual body” to describe our resurrected bodies. The key word though is BODY! Certainly our new bodies will be imperishable, glorified and powerful - and what all that means, we can speculate upon. But one thing for sure - we WILL have bodies. On that, our minds can be sure!
#3: My mind is opened to ______________________ .
This is so important. I know you expect to hear me say this. But look at this…
“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” Luke 24:45 NIV
What is so important. Simply this. Jesus did NOT say “Let me tell you Scripture.” Which HE alone could have done. He was, after all, the Son of God, 2nd person of the Trinity, now resurrected. And anything he would have said at that moment would have become for us Scripture for all eternity! But INSTEAD the Bible tells us 2 things.
1st - that they could understand the Scriptures. He used what was Scripture then to help them to see the importance of everything that happened. Now if Jesus was focused on Scripture, what does that say about us?
2nd - Without Jesus they never could have understood. “He opened their minds.” That is a perfect explanation for us too! We need our minds opened…
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:13 ESV
According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the revealer of all truth. So when we come to God’s Word, we also come to God’s Spirit and we ask both to speak truth to us. The Bible itself testifies to itself as to its usefulness:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
So we should attempt - with God’s help - to understand God’s Word. Why? (1) Teaching (Doctrine);
(2) Rebuking (showing mistakes / convicting of sin);
(3) Correcting (how to stop living the wrong way and get back on the right track)
(4) Training in Righteousness (what we are aiming for - how to live God’s way!
#4: My mind is a _______________ to the wonders of Christ.
“You are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24:48 NIV
Notice that the disciples were not now supposed to be expert theologians - well studied enlightened saints who could do no wrong and could make every decision rightly from this point forward. Their job was to be witnesses. To simply tell people what they saw and heard. That is our job too - to be witnesses for Christ. How do we do this? 2 ways! First…
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 ESV
We do the right thing at the right time in the right way, all the while making sure that God the Father receives all the credit.
That means Second,that we put words to our actions…
“We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20 NIV
Both of these go together. If we simply do good works without the words, then people just assume we are good people… good for it’s own sake. Without attaching any importance to God’s role. But if we talk talk talk but never do the walk walk walk, well then people won’t listen to our words. Here’s an important truth. We CAN’T DO THIS, at least in our power.
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 NIV
The disciples couldn’t do this in their power either. They had to wait. And so do we. Wait for God. Wait for God's Spirit. Wait for God's power.