Jesus is Alive! | Luke 24:36-53 | April 19, 2026 | Aaron T. Colyer

In this message, we wrap up nearly two years in the Gospel of Luke by exploring Jesus' final appearances before His ascension. Through Luke 24:36-53, we discover six life-changing truths for every believer: receive the peace that only a risen Savior can give, trust in the reality of the physical resurrection and the future hope it promises, ask Jesus to open your mind to Scripture, embrace the call to proclaim repentance and forgiveness to all nations, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, and live with joyful expectancy as we await Christ's return. If you've ever wrestled with doubt, wondered about your purpose, or simply needed encouragement — this message is for you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Well, good morning. Gosh, that worship was so good. It just makes me think of uh Psalm 115. It says, Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory because of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Why should the nations rage and cry, Where are you? Our God is in the heavens and he does all that he pleases. I don't know if you were encouraged or spurred on to greater love for Jesus or a greater affection as a result of that worship. I know I sure was. And I'm super grateful for our music team. If you see one of them, give them a hug. It's not about them, it's not about them being on this platform, but they led us incredibly well this morning. Amen. We are going to uh pray for a friend of mine. He's a pastor at FBC Yoakum. His name is Daniel McFarland. And uh we talked this week. He is undergoing the uh difficult task of bringing some edits to the bylaws in front of the church membership at FBC Yoakum. Now, I know that that personally how difficult that can be. I think many in our church know corporately how difficult that can be. So let's pray for Pastor Daniel. He's also preaching Revelation 14. Let's pray that that people would see Jesus in Revelation. And uh, he also said they're celebrating six seniors that are graduating as they get launched out of their homes and out of that church, that they would find uh great churches to plug in and be a part of and serve. So let's pray for our brothers and sisters at FBC Yochum, and then we'll be in Luke chapter 24. Let's pray. Lord, we uh are grateful. We're just a people grateful, grateful for salvation and forgiveness, grateful for the redemption we have in Christ, grateful for just the joy of being in your presence. Lord, we're grateful for a church family, for brothers and sisters that care for us and check in on us and pray over us and encourage us to faithfully run after you. I just pray for uh a brother in Christ, Pastor Daniel, and I pray God that you would continue to give him perseverance, strength, and wisdom, humility as he presents these edits in front of the church family that he's shepherding and leading. I pray for the other ministers and lay leaders alongside of him. Would they walk in unity, not that they have to create it? Jesus, you gave them that unity in Ephesians 4. It says that we just maintain it. It's a gift, and I thank you for that. I pray, God, for these six graduating seniors, that they would indeed launch out of their homes and be salt and light. They would live on mission for you, that they would make an impact for the kingdom of God. They would join other churches where they would be a blessing as they launch out of their homes. And we pray for their gathering right now. As Pastor Daniel gets up to preach in Revelation chapter 14, would they see Jesus ruling and reigning and in victory? And I pray all of that in your name. Amen. Well, if you've been here at FBC Wimberly for some time, you know that today is a pretty important day. It's marking the end of an almost two-year journey in the Gospel of Luke. Did you know this is the 62nd sermon that I have prepared and delivered in the Gospel of Luke? We've taken breaks all along: Christmas, Advent, Easter, uh, vision stuff in January, some psalms for the summer in the summer, but we started back in fall of 2024, mid-fall, and we're ending now in spring of 2026. This is a massive deal that we're coming to the end of this journey. I'm excited about the next few weeks. We'll be in an Old Testament book of Nehemiah. So if you want to do some homework and get ahead, start reading Nehemiah and see how the Lord teaches you many things about his character and his promise, his provision in the book of Nehemiah. I'll remind you one thing. We started this series in Luke chapter one, talking about the importance of Luke giving a detailed account for the life of Jesus. He, from a doctor's perspective, a very organized person, as he's putting all of his thoughts together, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he is saying, I want you to know the details. And I would further argue that it's because this is history. He talks about kings and governors and governments when Jesus is born and when Jesus is tried, when he's crucified, and even now as he's resurrected. Why? Because these things actually happened. You can test them and write this down. It's not even a main point, it's just for free. A tested faith is a trusted faith. A tested faith is a trusted faith. And at the very outset, I wanted us to see that all through the gospel of Luke and all the things that Jesus was doing, signs and wonders and preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God is here, also that we come to the end of this and say, We still trust you, Jesus. Because a tested faith is a trusted faith. But as we come to a close, we are going to see the final days of Jesus before he is ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father. If you're reading along with me, start in chapter 24, verse 36, and we're going to finish the end of the Gospel of Luke. As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them. He said to them, Peace to you. But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet. That I myself, that it's I myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and were marveling, he said to them, Have you anything to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending you the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Many things to learn from this passage, some of them reminders of what we've seen throughout the whole gospel of Luke, especially towards the end of Jesus' life. But I think we start with this in verse 36. Receive the peace Jesus offers. Jesus has already appeared to Mary and Mary. He's appeared to these two followers on the road to Emmaus, and now he just shows up where the 12 disciples and other others are gathered. And what does he say? Peace be to you. Now, if you listen to our podcast during the week, it's like a two-minute devotional. Different ministers on our staff and leaders in our staff give that every week. You know about Bro Isaac, our minister to students and families. And every time he leaves off with the same salutation that Jesus gives here. He gives the devotion, he talks about the scripture, and he says, peace. He just ends it, right? I would say this is more than just a greeting. Jesus is giving more than just a greeting. Remember what the angel said to the shepherd boys in the Christmas story in Luke chapter 2? Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. Jesus is giving more than a greeting. He's reminding the disciples here that because he kicked death in the teeth at the cross and resurrection, he is the one ultimately able to offer peace to those who would follow him. Because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. It continues to say, He speaks, Today, this prophecy has been fulfilled in your hearing. That's that mic drop moment where Jesus says, I am the one you've been waiting for. The reason that Jesus can offer peace is because he truly fulfilled the promises that God gave in the Old Testament. Rescue is coming, Messiah is coming, a savior is coming. It's more than just a greeting, it's that reminder that only in Christ can we have ultimate peace. Have you received the peace of Jesus? Have you come to the point where you understand that my sin made me an enemy of God? Your sin, your rebellion made you an enemy of God. And so often people talk about sins of commission. What did you do? Did you lie? Did you cheat? Did you steal? Did you lust? Were you greedy? Were you prideful? What about sins of omission? God said, put me first. I'm the one most worthy. Put me first. I guarantee you. I never did that before I was a Christian. And even though I'm sealed by the Holy Spirit now, I still struggle to do that.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

God is worthy of it all. I was supposed to put him first.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

So when I came to the place of understanding that my sin separated me from God, Isaiah 59 says, Your iniquities separate you from him. It was then that I cried out to Jesus and said, Jesus, I need your peace. I need you to take care of this war between me and my Creator.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Would you give me your peace? Would you forgive me?

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Are you walking through a season of suffering or stress or frustration? Did you know that peace is not just for initial salvation, but the peace of Christ can sustain you through that season? And it's the same thing that's able to offer that to you. It's the fact that Jesus died and he rose. That's the reason that we can have this kind of peace. We see that highlighted in verse 46 here. He said to them, This it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. That's repeated again in verse 26, what we covered last week. That is the only reason that we can have peace. Because Christ suffered and he rose from the dead. Have you received that peace in your life? Following the text, I think there's a charge for us to believe in the physical, bodily resurrection. You see, some might say, oh, they just saw a vision. Some might say it was it was just a spirit or a ghost. I don't believe in ghosts, by the way. If you ever saw a ghost, be careful. I think that's either demonic, which is really scary, or spiritual. Jesus says, I'm more than a spirit. How do we have that? Two proofs. Number one, right here, verse 38. He says, Don't be troubled. A spirit doesn't have flesh and bones like me. Put your hands, he said to Thomas in another gospel, put your hands in my wounds. See my feet and my hands. See the scars from the crucifixion. A spirit doesn't have flesh and bone. And by the way, just in case there were any slow people like the disciples and like myself so often, Jesus makes it even more clear. He says, Give me something to eat. And he eats fish in front of them. Let me just tell you, that is for people like me that are slow of heart to believe. Jesus says, Look, dead people can't eat. Spiritual bodies don't eat, physical bodies eat. Believe in the physical bodily resurrection. Why? Because trusting that Jesus had a physical body after the resurrection leads us to a future hope that everyone that trusts in Jesus gets a new body in the new heavens and new earth. Amen? That's a hope for us. Like I can't wait to be out of this body that's wasting away. I can't wait to be out of the temptation of sin. I can't wait to be out of that. I want to be face to face with Jesus, with a new body. Let me read. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 50. I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the imperishable inherit, excuse me, nor does the perishable inherit imperishable things. Behold, I tell you a mystery. But we shall be changed in a moment. In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable. That is a body that will never fade away again. And we shall be changed, for this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, if if Jesus really had a post-resurrection physical body, when he says, Follow me, turn from sin, trust in me, you will see me in eternity, and there's a new heaven and a new earth waiting for you. Behold, I prepare a place for you, John chapter 14. Where I'm going, you can't go yet, but I'm making it ready for you. It means that we, those who have trusted Jesus, have a future hope. That's why it's so important to see the historical facts of the Gospel of Luke and say, Yeah, I believe in the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus because I am longing for the day that I get that physical body. Not because I earned it. Jesus paid it all. Because Jesus paid it all. So where is your trust that Jesus really rose? The last few weeks we've been talking about Easter and the resurrection and some apologetics. Where is your trust? And if you have that kind of trust that he rose and has a physical body, does that change your future hope?

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Come, Lord Jesus, come. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

We look at verse 44 and it's a reminder of what he did to the two on the road to Emmaus. He opened eyes and he opened minds to see the scripture. If you're taking notes, right, ask Jesus to open your mind to the scriptures. I love here the reminder that all of the Old Testament was pointing forward to Jesus. By the way, super proud. Pastor moment, I read from a Jesus storybook Bible. Actually, it's a The Snake Crusher Devotional by Kevin DeYoung. We had like 15 books out there and they were all gone. We ordered a dozen more. Thank you, church. I don't know if that's grandparents giving them to grandkids or parents saying, We're going to start reading this. We want to see how Jesus is a snake crusher, but that is every page of the Old Testament. It's pointing forward, it's telling a grand story. Savior is coming, rescue is coming, and Jesus reminds them of that right here. Don't you know that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, it's been fulfilled. There's a passage in Corinthians that says, Every promise of God finds its yes in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you have fulfilled every promise. And I wonder if your minds have been opened to the scriptures. We read elsewhere in 2 Timothy 3, all scriptures breathed out by God. It's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God might be complete and equipped for every good work. Is that how you see the scriptures? You know, as a preacher, I oftentimes get a front row seat to many people growing in their faith and really overcoming many hurdles. And I hear this story all the time. Pastor Aaron, I used to try to read the Bible, it just didn't make any sense to me. I tried and tried and tried, and it was confusing, and I didn't understand it. But now I've given my life to Christ, and it's like scales have come off, and I understand the Bible. Isn't that amazing? We're gonna hear a testimony in the next gathering of uh someone that's been growing deep in their faith. Similar testimony. Oftentimes we're in those waters and we hear that testimony. Did you know since Palm Sunday, this is our fourth week in a row to baptize somebody? Isn't that good? I'm pretty excited about that. And so often we see people growing in their faith or new believers saying, something changed, and now I understand the scriptures. I believe that's the power of the Holy Spirit, the wonderful counselor that leads us to righteousness, that leads us to Christ. My question for you is Is that a reality in your life? That the scriptures have been open to you. You understand them, you cherish them, you live your life by them. They equip you for everything that God is calling you for. They're good for teaching and correction and reproof and training and righteousness. And if you would say, Not really, Pastor Aaron, what needs to change? Maybe it's sincerely and simply asking, Jesus, would you open my mind to the scriptures? You did it for the disciples. Jesus opened the grave. He opened the eyes of the two on the road to a mass, and he opened the minds of the disciples to understand the scriptures. I think he can do it for you. Next, we have this great commission passage in verse 47, 48. Write this down. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness to all nations. Jesus says it, look, everything about me has been written, it's been fulfilled. Now, disciples, it's your job. These are the marching orders of a king. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness. Forgiveness is available through me because I bled, because I died, and because I rose. And now, disciples, I'm building my church. You go proclaim these things. Did you know all four Gospels have a great commission passage? It's this in Luke, right? That repentance and forgiveness should be proclaimed to all nations. In Matthew, it's Matthew 28. That's usually the most quoted one. All authority in heaven and earth is given to me, therefore go make disciples of all nations. You've got Mark chapter 16, verse 15 through 18, very similar. And then I want to read for you the one that's in the Gospel of John. John chapter 20, verse 20 and 21. When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord, and Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you. Does all that sound familiar? As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Now there's a preacher that maybe some of y'all know about. I don't agree with everything he says, but I think God is using him out in DFW area in Texas to reach thousands of people for the gospel. He tells a story about Billy Graham. I want you to hear it. I think he's gonna do a better job. So take two minutes and listen to this.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

I'm getting ready to tell you the story of the most spiritually significant man in our nation's history you have never heard of. This guy, his name was Mordecai Ham. Not a famous guy. Um he was a he was a uh an American tent revival preacher in the late 1800s, early 1900s. In 1934, he was preaching a tent revival in Charlotte, North Carolina. And two 14-year-old boys saw the tent and they saw the commotion of people and they heard this ball love of the father preaching. They just happened to be walking by and they're like, but if they walk up, they see there are no seats available. But if they walk away, an usher whose name no one knows to this day. An usher ran after these two 14-year-old boys and grabbed one of them, and he said, Hey, we can find two seats for you boys together. And he walked them back, asked a couple people to scoot over, and found. That day, they ended up giving their lives to Christ and consecrating themselves to the purposes of God and their generation. One of those boys was a man we now know as Billy Graham. Billy Graham ended up preaching the gospel to more people than anyone else has ever preached to in the history of the world. Tens of millions of people were caught up into the kingdom of God under the preaching of Billy Graham. The other boy's name was Grady Wilson. And he was the man that ended up helping Billy Graham organize all of his evangelistic crusades. He changed the world. Not Billy Graham. Not Grady Wilson. Not Mordecai. The Usher. Yeah one man, one man. Just saw two 14-year-old boys walking away from the face and said, Not on my watch. You get back here, boys. Your job is not to change the world. Your job is to change somebody's world. And if you're in my generation and up, we got a job to do. Our job is to run into the breach. There has been a breach. Our job is to run into the breach and say, Not on our watch. Not while we're here. Where are the bullets the thickest? I'm in. I'm in.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Isn't that good? Yeah, so good. It's that's it's so encouraging on so many levels to hear what that preacher is saying. The ultimate question I want to ask you though is who are you sharing the gospel with? Mordecai shared with Billy Graham. Billy Graham shared with millions. I may never share the gospel with millions. You may never share the gospel with millions, but you should be sharing with somebody. Who are you sharing the gospel to? And that's what Jesus says to every follower of his. You should be proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sin. How is that possible? Because Jesus died and Jesus rose. Who are you sharing with here locally? We have all kinds of ministries that happen inside and outside the walls of this church where people hear about Jesus. But it also says to all nations, this should be proclaimed to all nations. If you didn't already know, today is a very exciting day for our church. We're going to have lunch right after the second service, about 50 people gathering that says, I'm interested in going on a mission trip. I want to go. I want to go share the gospel with all nations. We're going to hear from a young lady who's going to take a two-year assignment in East Asia. And how can we pray for her, partner with her? Could we send a team with the other missionaries that she's partnered with? We're going to hear about a church that's been planted in a small little place in an island outside of Cartagena, Colombia. Is it possible that we can send church members to go share the gospel and partner with this new little church plant that's trying to reach people for the gospel? We're going to hear about a pastor that actually preaches in this building every Sunday night. Salva Bogracia Iglesia Baptista. He leads that church. And we're going to hear about all the mission efforts that they are taking part in and see if there's a way we can pray or fund or send people to take part in the missions that they're doing. We should be proclaiming repentance and forgiveness to all nations. Amen. Don't you want to be a part? Don't sit on the sideline. Get involved. See what you can do. See how God is leading you to share with your friend or neighbor, to share with your family or your coworker. And then I want to encourage you with this exactly what Jesus said. He said, I know you're excited, but just wait because you have to have the power from on high. Let your proclamation be powered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, verse 49, just wait. Just wait. Just wait. And then we see it written again in Acts chapter 1. I know it's a chunk of verses, but I want you to hear it all together. Acts chapter 1, verse 1 through 8. In the first book, O Theopolis, I've dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. Until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands to the Holy Spirit to the apostles that whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God, and while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, You heard for me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? And he said to them, It's not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has fixed on his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. This was the power they were waiting for. Acts 2. The Spirit drops down, and thousands of people hear the gospel and get saved, and the church gets going, and it's been going for 2,000 years. Amen. I wonder if when you take seriously the mission to proclaim and to share repentance and forgiveness of sin, if you realize the need to be powered by the Holy Spirit, to go in and pray. Holy Spirit, open their eyes. Holy Spirit, open their heart. I'm gonna preach the gospel, but Holy Spirit, you've got to do something that I can't do. Holy Spirit, be with my words. Even if I seem nervous or jumbled, if I could just get out, John 3.16, you can use that. Are you being powered by the Holy Spirit in your proclamation ministry? Now I oftentimes think of the Spirit, and I think of electricity. This is just a normal power strip, right? You can plug anything in here: vacuum, Christmas lights, iPhone charger, and it doesn't do anything till it's plugged into a power source. Amen. We've got to be plugged into the Holy Spirit. If we are going to fulfill the ministry that Jesus left for us, we've got to be plugged into the Holy Spirit. Let me give you some practical what that might look like. Constant conversation with the Lord. Pray without ceasing. Just never stop talking to Him. Uh, you start a phone call, you end a phone call by hanging up, just never hang up. Good morning, Lord. I need you today. I want to hear from you. I'm asking you to lead me. I'm talking to you throughout the day. Would you please show me who do you want me to share with? I get really nervous whenever I feel like the Spirit's calling me to share with someone. So would you be my power? What if you're disciplined to get into the word and stay in the word daily? What if you're obeying when the Spirit leads? And the more that we obey, the more sensitive we get to the Holy Spirit. There have been many times in my life where I knew the Spirit was leading me to go talk to someone and I didn't. And then I got cold and numb and muted. And then there are seasons in my life when I know the Spirit's leading me and I obey, and I get more sensitive, and my ears are tuned in and my heart is tuned in. Pray for that kind of power. Pray that you would walk in step with the Holy Spirit. As we come to a close, there's just a couple more. Remember, Jesus is coming back soon. Verse 50 and 51, Jesus blesses them, and then he parted, he's carried up into heaven. In Luke chapter 21, there's a prophecy that the same way he goes up, the same way he'll come down in the clouds. In Acts chapter 1, verse 9, two angels come and they say, Look, what are you standing there amazed? Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. We're closing the book of Luke. But do you know that Jesus doesn't just stay seated at the right hand of the Father? He's coming back soon. He said it over and over and over here in this gospel. Do you believe it? And are you ready for it? He comes in a day that nobody knows. What does your life count for if he comes today or tomorrow? Or next week? How will you remember Jesus is coming back soon? How does that motivate your effort to say nothing matters more than living for you and your glory? Jesus, you're coming back, and I want to be ready. I want to be ready. And lastly, you see the very end of this passage, their response of joy and praise. Would you make joy and worship the auto-response of your life? Did you see what it said there? He's carried up into heaven. They worshiped him and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. They're continually blessing God. We know about auto-response emails. We know about autocorrect in text messages. It gets me all the time, by the way. That auto-correct it sounds like I'm speaking gibberish. I love that the auto-response of the disciples, after witnessing everything that Jesus preached about in the kingdom, the crucifixion and the horror of it, and the resurrection and the victory of it, is their auto-response is joy and praise. Verse 41. Jesus shows up, peace be to you. I'm not a spirit, I'm flesh and blood. And it says, While they still disbelieve, for joy they were marveling. Now that could be misread. And so I went to a couple other translations. It's helpful if you're like, what is that? What's going on there? CSB is a good one. N A S B is a good one. N I V is a good one. Go to another translation. In the CSB, it says this. They were in disbelief because of their joy. Okay? Imagine this then. Is that really Jesus? It's really him. Oh my gosh, that cannot really be him. That's crazy. I don't even know if I can believe this. I can't believe it. It's really him, right? Not that they didn't believe, they finally believed. And it gave them joy. I wonder if you have that kind of joy because you have seen everything Christ has done for you. It should be the auto-response of our life. Do you have to think to breathe? You don't have to think to breathe. Let's just do a quick little exercise. Let's see if we can all hold our breath for 10 seconds. You ready? One, two, three. You're thinking about that, right? Okay, breathe. We don't have to think to breathe. It's natural. It's a natural, automatic response. Christian, that's exactly what joy and worship should be like in our lives. We don't have to think about it. We walk in joy. That's natural. We walk blessing God. That's natural. We give him praise because he deserves it. That's natural. I want to read one more passage before we close. That's in Nehemiah chapter 8. Nehemiah is restoring the city of God, restoring the wall, seeking to restore the temple, God's presence, and Ezra, the same time, finds the scriptures. They've been lost because they've been in exile. Ezra stands to read the Old Testament, first five books of the law. He reads it, and the people start weeping, weeping and weeping. And this is what Nehemiah says. Chapter 8. Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink sweet wine, and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Man, we can learn from that example. We're a people knowing and understanding the victory of Jesus. Let the joy of the Lord be our strength. Amen. The joy in worship is just an outer response to our lives. I said at the outset, Luke closes. He wants to give a detailed account. But did you remember that Luke is volume one of a two-volume set? Luke, Acts, they go together. And would I remind you that in the book of Acts, chapter one, verse one, Luke says, I gave you an account of all that Jesus began to do. Did you know that that's an assumption? If Luke gave volume one and said, This is everything Jesus began to do, then volume two is everything Jesus continues to do through the church. Everything Jesus continues to do through the apostles and everyone that would come after, including us, FBC Wimberly, 2,000 years later. How is Jesus continuing to do his ministry through us? That's a question I hope you ponder. Maybe the application for you is to check your joy. Maybe the application for you is to have your minds open to the scripture. Maybe the application for you is to be plugged into the Spirit and proclaim, have a ministry that shares the gospel. You use your mouth to tell others about Jesus. But I tell you one thing: our church needs to be the kind of church where Jesus continues his ministry through us. Amen. I hope that's true in your life individually. I see it in our church corporately. How can you jump in? How can you be a part of what God is doing here? And then maybe, just maybe your response needs to be individual in that your eyes aren't yet open. You're not yet sealed by the Holy Spirit to power you for ministry because you never had that moment or that season in your life where you understood the weight of your sin and you turned away from it and said, Jesus, I need you. I'm asking you to be my king. So whether that's your response today or your response is very specific to how am I gonna get a seat on the bus to continue the ministry of Jesus with this local church. Every time we hear the word, we have to respond. What changes for you today? Pray with me. Lord, thank you for so many great reminders here in the close of Luke chapter 24. God, I pray. I pray that this moment of response would not need to feel rushed, would not need to feel we're just going the next thing, we're going to a group, we're going to a Bible study, we're going to lunch, we're going to that thing we have planned today. God, in this time, would we really ask you to search our hearts, know us? We have invested as a church two years through the gospel of Luke. I ask your help that we wouldn't just forget about it and go on our way and say, What's next? We'd be changed by the word. So as people pray in their seats, maybe they come up to these steps to pray. Maybe they ask a pastor or minister to help them pray. God, do business in this response time. We pray in Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Amen.