Urban Life Church
ChurchOnline | 14 Jun 20 | Re:Build | Re:building Hope Part 2 - Craig Clark | Urban Life Church
Re:Building
Locations & Times
Join us at: urbanlife.org.za for all our online meetings
Maud Ave, Crowthorne AH, Midrand, 1684, South Africa
Sunday 9:15 AM
RE:Building Hope part 2
We are talking about Re:Building Hope, in what may be to many, hopeless times.With all that has happened and seemingly fallen out at the same time. Like a perfect storm.There are moments of great faith, then all of sudden, moments of great despair. Uncertainty pounces upon you like a hungry predator. Fear and Doubt creep up on you like fog, covering your vision and causing you to loose perspective.
Healing Spiritual Blindness and bringing order out of chaos
The base text that we have been digging into and asking God to open our understanding to is Luke 24: 13-53
The story of two friends of Jesus as they walked away from Jerusalem, heavy hearted, discussing the things that had happened - His death, burial and possible resurrection.Jesus joins them in their walk.They are grappling with things but can’ t seem to see whats right in front of them.
Seems like they had a case of spiritual cataracts - the clouding of the eye’s lens They were blinded to the truth.The Way, The Truth and The Life was walking with them and they did not see him. Sure they saw Him, but did not recognize Him.
I want you to see what Jesus is about to do here - Bring order from chaos - this is God’s specialty!
When God created the heavens and earth, before there was light, there was chaos. The Holy Spirit was hovering over darkness, chaos, disorder.
When the Spirit of God hovers and the Word of God speaks, order comes out of chaos.
Gen 1 TPT
When God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was completely formless and empty, with nothing but darkness draped over the deep. God’s Spirit hovered over the face of the waters.
And then God announced:
“Let there be light,” and light burst forth!
And God saw the light as pleasing and beautiful; he used the light to dispel the darkness
Does your life feel formless and empty, with nothing but darkness draped over the deep hidden things?
The Good news is that God is attracted to this and by His Spirit, He is hovering over ready to speak - LIGHT!
Light bursts forth. Dispels darkness, disorder and confussion
This is what happened to these two friends and followers of Jesus.
“All at once their eyes were opened and they realised it was Jesus.” vs. 30 TPT
This word opened is used 3 times this chapter. It does not mean to open a door, it means more like BURST through a door. Breakthrough!
When Jesus vanished, He did not relocate. He became invisible to the natural, but was present to the spiritual eye
Tim Keller said, "Spiritual blindness is not the inability to see the truth, but it’s the inability to value it, to appreciate it."Appreciation means to increase the value of something. or to realize the increase of value.
We start our healing of spiritual blindness by firstly, Appreciating what Christ has spoken.
These two friends of Jesus, valued and appreciated Jesus talking, walking and opening the Scriptures to them, that they immediately went back to Jerusalem to be with their friends, fellow believers.
That looks a lot like repentance to me???
Yes they were afraid, behind locked doors. But Jesus bursts through and the invisible becomes visible and then supernaturally opens their understanding to the Scriptures.
Order out of chaos
Then, Commissions them for greater things than He did.
The same risen Jesus who walked with His friends on the road away from Jerusalem, wants to walk with us today no matter where we are headed.
Just as Jesus walked with His friends as they battled with all that had happened He wants to walk with us through all that is happening to us today.
Just like Jesus used Scripture to breakthrough into the hearts of His friends, so He will do the same with us today.
He will even stay longer than necessary to fellowship with us until we appreciate and value His Word to us.
He may not be visible but is always present.
In our fear and doubt, we can look to the resurrected Christ, scarred from death yet full of Abundant Life.
He is doing all this to commission us to greater things
We are talking about Re:Building Hope, in what may be to many, hopeless times.With all that has happened and seemingly fallen out at the same time. Like a perfect storm.There are moments of great faith, then all of sudden, moments of great despair. Uncertainty pounces upon you like a hungry predator. Fear and Doubt creep up on you like fog, covering your vision and causing you to loose perspective.
Healing Spiritual Blindness and bringing order out of chaos
The base text that we have been digging into and asking God to open our understanding to is Luke 24: 13-53
The story of two friends of Jesus as they walked away from Jerusalem, heavy hearted, discussing the things that had happened - His death, burial and possible resurrection.Jesus joins them in their walk.They are grappling with things but can’ t seem to see whats right in front of them.
Seems like they had a case of spiritual cataracts - the clouding of the eye’s lens They were blinded to the truth.The Way, The Truth and The Life was walking with them and they did not see him. Sure they saw Him, but did not recognize Him.
I want you to see what Jesus is about to do here - Bring order from chaos - this is God’s specialty!
When God created the heavens and earth, before there was light, there was chaos. The Holy Spirit was hovering over darkness, chaos, disorder.
When the Spirit of God hovers and the Word of God speaks, order comes out of chaos.
Gen 1 TPT
When God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was completely formless and empty, with nothing but darkness draped over the deep. God’s Spirit hovered over the face of the waters.
And then God announced:
“Let there be light,” and light burst forth!
And God saw the light as pleasing and beautiful; he used the light to dispel the darkness
Does your life feel formless and empty, with nothing but darkness draped over the deep hidden things?
The Good news is that God is attracted to this and by His Spirit, He is hovering over ready to speak - LIGHT!
Light bursts forth. Dispels darkness, disorder and confussion
This is what happened to these two friends and followers of Jesus.
“All at once their eyes were opened and they realised it was Jesus.” vs. 30 TPT
This word opened is used 3 times this chapter. It does not mean to open a door, it means more like BURST through a door. Breakthrough!
When Jesus vanished, He did not relocate. He became invisible to the natural, but was present to the spiritual eye
Tim Keller said, "Spiritual blindness is not the inability to see the truth, but it’s the inability to value it, to appreciate it."Appreciation means to increase the value of something. or to realize the increase of value.
We start our healing of spiritual blindness by firstly, Appreciating what Christ has spoken.
These two friends of Jesus, valued and appreciated Jesus talking, walking and opening the Scriptures to them, that they immediately went back to Jerusalem to be with their friends, fellow believers.
That looks a lot like repentance to me???
Yes they were afraid, behind locked doors. But Jesus bursts through and the invisible becomes visible and then supernaturally opens their understanding to the Scriptures.
Order out of chaos
Then, Commissions them for greater things than He did.
The same risen Jesus who walked with His friends on the road away from Jerusalem, wants to walk with us today no matter where we are headed.
Just as Jesus walked with His friends as they battled with all that had happened He wants to walk with us through all that is happening to us today.
Just like Jesus used Scripture to breakthrough into the hearts of His friends, so He will do the same with us today.
He will even stay longer than necessary to fellowship with us until we appreciate and value His Word to us.
He may not be visible but is always present.
In our fear and doubt, we can look to the resurrected Christ, scarred from death yet full of Abundant Life.
He is doing all this to commission us to greater things