 encourage everybody to come and welcome to Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. We're so happy to have you here with us and we're excited to tell you about some of the great events that are coming soon. This Saturday, April 22nd, is our couple's picnic at Carbon Canyon Regional Park. Come and enjoy an afternoon of sunshine, games, lunch, and a great way to connect with other couples in the church. The cost is just $15 per couple and today is the last day to register. If you're a single mom to school-aged children, we want to invite you to attend our annual Mother's Day dinner. This event includes a delicious dinner, time of worship, and an encouraging devotion for the moms while your kids enjoy their own special dinner, devotion, and activities in their classrooms. The event is on Friday, May 12th, and is just $12 per family. In our city and across America, the observance of the National Day of Prayer will be held on Thursday, May 4th, 2023. We are co-hosting with the City of Chino and Outdoor Prayer Service at 12 p.m. in front of Chino City Hall, featuring our Chino Value Worship Team. In the evening, beginning at 7 p.m., Calvary Chapel Chino Valley will host a special prayer service. Join us as we spend time joined together in worship and prayer, lifting up the needs of the church, our nation, and our leaders. Ladies, our next temple maintenance exercise is happening on Saturday, April 22nd, at 8 a.m. We are meeting at Sunset Park in Chino Hills for a three-mile hike. Come join our group for a beautiful morning outdoors. There's no cost to attend, but don't forget to complete a waiver online. The next father and son fishing trip is coming soon. They'll be heading to Brown's Millpond Campground and fish up for a long weekend of hiking, fishing, Bible study, and outdoor sports. This is a great time for fathers to connect with their sons alongside one another. The trip is happening from Thursday, May 18th through Sunday, May 21st. Whether you're visiting for the first time or have made Chino Value your home, we're blessed to have you with us. These are just a few of our upcoming events, classes, and opportunities to get involved. You can sign up for any of our events and see what else is happening through our website at CalvaryCCV.org or by visiting the Vents tab on our church app. Thank you for worshiping with us today. As we get ready for our Bible study, don't forget to place your cell phone on silent and to help us limit distractions by staying seated until service is over. Thank you for being with us and we hope to see you again soon. Have a blessed week. Well, good morning, everybody. Good morning, everybody. There we go. Good to see everyone. Want to welcome those who are joining online and those who are in the patio. Want to say welcome and God bless you. And you know, it's always a good morning when we're able to come and worship the Lord in our church services. And so that's why I was so, come on, you guys. Let's get enthusiastic, but you guys did. So I'm grateful for that and happy for that. You know, every so often we spotlight a different ministry here that we have here at Calvary Chapel, Chino Valley. And in the midst of all the things that have been going on in the public schools, all the just crazy stuff that's going on. And you know, thank God for the Christian teachers that we do have in our public schools that are fighting for our children. Amen. We also thank God for homeschool that we actually have here at our church. And this morning we're going to spotlight our homeschool ministry with John and Melissa Navarro who are actually leaders in our homeschool ministry and have been part of the homeschool ministry for a long time now. And so they're going to come up in a few minutes. And when they do, please give them a warm welcome. But before they come out, we want to show a brief video spotlighting our homeschool ministry. If you guys can go ahead and start that. Good morning church family. First of all, I'd like to thank Pastor David for allowing us opportunity to share this morning and for his continued support for the homeschool ministry that's been an active ministry in this church for over 20 years. Thank you. We want to share a few benefits of home education, as well as some things that our ministries offer. But first, my wife is going to share a little bit about how we got here. Let me begin by first saying, I never thought I would be a stay at home mom, let alone a homeschooling one. Those people are weird. I went to school to become an English teacher and I had no intentions on giving up my career, but God has a way of changing hearts. I have taught junior high, high school and college. So you may be thinking, well, no wonder she's homeschooling, she's a teacher. But truthfully, my education has not helped me teach my own kids. In fact, I had to unlearn some things. However, it did give me inside knowledge to the public school system. When our first child became school age, I knew from my experience in the classroom, I didn't want him in there. Not because there aren't great teachers. Most of my colleagues were awesome, but I didn't want my son there because I knew how my own hands were tied when it came to what I was supposed to teach and how fast I had to teach it. Many students struggled while others were bored, but we were on a state-mandated schedule. Even when I taught at the Christian school, we couldn't cater the curriculum to the diverse needs of each student. Besides curriculum issues at both the public and private school I taught at, there were many kids who were hurting, and they took out their pain by hurting others. There were influences in the classroom and on the playground, I didn't want my son to experience. More than those things, I wanted Jesus to be the center, not only of his education, but of his whole childhood, and I knew nobody would care about that more than me. Thankfully at that time, I met a new friend here at church who told me about our homeschool ministry, and 13 years later, here we are getting ready to graduate the first of our four children through that homeschool. Now that we've finished the first race, I can honestly say I don't regret all the time he's been home, I actually wish we had more. Homeschooling provides many academic advantages and spiritual benefits. Today, we want to share just two of the main reasons why we chose to homeschool our kids. The first reason is influence. In Deuteronomy 6-7, it says, you shall teach the words of God diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. As Christian parents, it is our responsibility to instill in our kids a biblical worldview. But the amount of time and influence that we have as a parent is often limited. As we know, the average school day is close to seven hours long, and that doesn't include travel to and from and extracurricular activities. This, multiplied by the number of school days over 13 years, means that by the time a child graduates, they are under someone else's influences for nearly 16,000 hours. Parents who homeschool have more time together, more time to influence their children for the Lord, more time to teach, play, serve, and show our kids faith in action. Another reason we homeschool is freedom. And just to be clear, those of you who experienced Zoom schooling during COVID, there was not an accurate representation of homeschooling. When you, there was no freedom in that. When you leave traditional school, you leave their curriculum, you leave their methods, their standards, their schedule, and their influence behind. True homeschooling brings freedom, freedom to choose the content. You can opt out of the liberal one-size-fits-all curriculum and opt in to a faith-centered individualized learning. It brings freedom to choose the style of curriculum that best suits your child. Hands-on, online, video-based, STEM focused, creative. There are so many possibilities. Homeschooling gives freedom to choose the pace. Whether you need to speed up, slow down, or go back, and this results in actual mastery of skills. Also, homeschooling provides freedom to choose your schedule. Students can learn anytime, any place, in a variety of ways, just not eight to three at a desk with a textbook. Plus, teaching one-on-one is so much faster than in a classroom. You can be done with school in one to four hours depending on the grade level, allowing your kids more time for other interests. And if interest is, sports is important to you, just to let you know, our high schoolers have been able to participate in public school sports this year at Don Lugo. Motivated high schoolers can even graduate faster and simultaneously earn college credits. And our graduates have had no problem getting into multiple universities and branches of the military. Parents who homeschool also retain their freedom to make medical decisions for their children, including whether or not to vaccinate. Finally, homeschooling brings freedom to choose more of how your child is socialized. This isn't an attempt to keep our kids in a bubble. Instead, it's providing a greenhouse where our saplings can be shielded from the hardships of elements and get TLC becoming deeply rooted and grounded before they're replanted out in the world. Homeschooling gives you and your student freedom in just about every area, but maybe that's exactly what overwhelms you. Maybe you think you're not educated enough, not patient enough, not financially stable enough. If that's you, please come to talk to any of us in this ministry. We all have the same fears and concerns, but we've also seen the Lord faithfully show up throughout the years to equip, provide, and guide each of our families. In California, homeschooling is a legal option that anyone can choose. Our ministry is a private satellite program named Chino Valley Christian Academy. It is not a drop off school, but our group supports each other in a variety of ways, like helping you choose curriculum and planning school year, filing legal paperwork and record keeping, planning group field trips throughout the year, offering a sports program twice a week, organizing a Friday school here on campus with classes for TK through 12th grade, giving students a chance to learn a variety of subject from different parents. Finally, one of the best parts about being in our school is the many opportunities to fellowship and grow, build friendships with like minded believers. Just looking around today, I see so many dear friends and families that we've grown super close to, and we're all in this together. We're not alone on this journey. Our homeschool group is truly our family and we have made the best of friends. Educating your child at home is definitely a sacrifice, not without its own challenges, but it is one of the most worthy investments we as parents can make. Children are our legacy. They are the next generation of the church and our nation. They are definitely worth that sacrifice. As a homeschool ministry, we are here to come alongside you and help you with that endeavor. If you have any questions, or you feel the Lord calling you into this area, or are interested in rolling in our next school year, please come and talk to us. We'll be set up in the courtyard. We'll have a booth out there. So come talk to us. We'd love to talk to you and answer any questions that you may have. Thank you for your time and God bless you. Again, if you guys have any questions, you can go to the homeschool table after service. Again, thank you, John and Melissa. You guys have been a vital part of the homeschool ministry and just in the ministry overall. As a reminder, as mentioned in the video announcements, our Father, Son fishing trip. Guys, if you want to reserve your spot, you can actually go to the gazebo afterwards and purchase your tickets. It's $33. And they'll let you know what that includes. And so that's on sale today in the gazebo. So, Fathers, if you're wanting to take your son or uncles want to take their nephews, or however that's going to work, stop by the gazebo and they'll have some more information. And as Jared mentioned, Wednesday evening, we have our Wednesday night services. We have Pastor David's taken us through the book of Romans, and it's been a fruitful study. And along with our Bible study this Wednesday evening, we'll have communion as a church family. So it's a great opportunity for us to get together as church family and have communion with Jesus on that evening. So this is the time now that we transition into our tithes and offerings, and this is where we worship the Lord through our giving. And there are multiple ways that we're able to give to the Lord. For those that are watching online that are on Facebook and YouTube, there's a link in the chat box so you can give, that you can click on opens up a page to give. For those that are here this morning and brought your gifts, we have agape boxes and electronic kiosks that are located in the foyers. And even in front of you in the pews, there's a QR code that you can scan. But this is where we worship the Lord to say, Lord, thank you for giving us everything that you've given us. We're giving a portion back to you. And again, this is something that the church doesn't require. It's an act of worship. And so we say, Lord, I want to worship you. And not only that, it furthers the kingdom of God, but more than that, it brings glory and honor to his name. So this morning, as we prepare our hearts for our giving, we'd like to have another worship song. And then I'd like to pray. So why don't we pray and thank the Lord for what he's given us. Father, we thank you so much for being able to worship you, Lord. We thank you, Lord, that we worship you through song. We worship you through the word. And now, Lord, we take this time to worship you through our giving. And it's a reflection and a demonstration of how you first loved us and given us the ultimate gift in Jesus Christ. So, Lord, now as we give back to you, as we mentioned, may it further your kingdom, but more than that, Lord, may it bring glory and honor to your name. And, Lord, we lift up our pastor as he brings forth a message this morning, Lord, that you would anoint his words and that your spirit, Lord, would transform our hearts through your word and that Jesus, you would be glorified. So, Lord, we just take this time to worship you. We love you. We praise you. In Jesus' name, amen. Can we all stand together, family? Let's tell Jesus, thank you this morning. We just would open our hearts and our ears to hear what this practice so that we have with your spirit to the point of desiring to not only obey, but to share these things with others. And so we ask that you would speak to us now. And, Lord, we ask that we might be not only hearers, but doers of your word. We lift up those who are watching online, those who are outside, those who are here in this room. And we ask that we all equally will hear from you in Jesus' name. Amen. Turn to your neighbor and say, God bless you. I'm glad you're here. Well, good morning. Good morning. There you are. You're here. That's wonderful to know. We're going to have baby dedications today. Praise the Lord. Andrew and Daisy are bringing up Liliana, Ethan, and Emery. Come on up. He doesn't look too happy, Daddy. How you doing? Hey, guess what? They're going to wave at you. It's called the Calvary Wave. Why don't we give them a wave? Hello there. Oh, my goodness. Oh, I'm going to grab you. Anyway, I don't want to scare you. Our Father, we bless you for this family. We lift up these babies to you. And I ask that in your spirit, Father, and by your spirit and word, that, Lord, you would work in their lives very early. I ask, Lord, that you would just use them for your glory. And, Lord, also that their home would be filled with your love. With your word, may your Holy Spirit, Lord, just be in the home in a powerful way. So, Father, we dedicate to you these little ones. And we ask that you would use them. And we ask these things now in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. There you go. Right, Daddy? Who wants to carry this? All right. God bless you. All right. Let's open our Bibles together to the gospel of Mark. As you're doing so, I'll remind you that we're going to be having, well, or we have, you know, a Monday night for young adults. It starts at 7.30. We have a 6.30 a.m. men's Bible study breakfast. And that'll be on Tuesday, Monday as the young adults. And then Wednesday, we continue our series. And in the book of Romans, we're in chapter three. And we're going to also celebrate, as mentioned already, communion. And so I invite you to be with us as we gather together for that particular, those studies. Now, I was told, and I don't have much information, forgive me, but we have a brother here named Andrew Madrid, who's in the Air Force and is going to be leaving for, I believe, Texas, if I may. And I don't know, Andrew, are you here? And if you're here, would you please stand up so we can pray for you? Because I don't know where you're at. Are you over here? Oh, there you are. Okay. Okay. Amen. And as a church, obviously, as a church and a fellowship here, we're very blessed to have patriots. And may God be with you. Let's pray for him. Father, we lift up Andrew to you as he's about to leave and go through training or whatever else he's going to be assigned. I'm asking that you would keep him safe. I'm asking that you would help him as he finds place for fellowship that he'd continue his walk with you. Lord, I ask that his family, as they will miss him, will trust you to take care of him. And the duties that he has, Father, I pray that he'd excel. And I ask also that you would bring him home safely. We give you praise. We give you thanks. And all of these things in Jesus' name, amen. God bless you, my brother. Amen. All right. I think I mentioned to you, let's open our Bibles, if not Matthew's rather, Mark chapter 16. We're going to be looking at verses 12 and 13. And I'll be sharing also out of Luke, because Luke chapter 24 gives us more of a full detailed account of what we're looking at here in the Gospel of Mark. And so I'll read to you out of Mark chapter 16 verses 12 and 13. I'll share a few things. I'm going to give you an introduction, and then we'll pick up our study. And so beginning at verse 12, Mark 16 verses 12 and 13, Mark writes, after that, he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Now, what I'm planning to do, and I'll share this with you up front here at the beginning of our study is we're almost at the conclusion of the Gospel of Mark. We're here in chapter 16. And obviously, it wouldn't take an awful lot of time for us to pick up the verses and to go through it. And I could conclude this in really one more study, but we're not going to do that. And I'll tell you why. It's because I want to give you a more thorough account of the things that took place after Jesus had been resurrected. So I'm going to share with you excerpts from the other portions of scripture. So that way you get a more full account. I'm actually going to conclude our study of Mark by looking at a couple of chapters in the beginning of the book of Acts. So that's what I'm going to be doing. And so I'm taking my time because I want to lay as much information on you as I can. And it requires me to not only look at these two verses, but to take you to Luke, which we'll do. And then we're going to be looking in John and other portions as we move to conclude our study here in the Gospel of Mark. And so it's probably going to take us another four to five weeks at least until I finally satisfied that I gave you enough information concerning the things that are transpiring here in the last chapter and last verses. So with that said, we'll begin with a brief recap just to bring you up to speed and all these are things you're familiar with. We've already looked through and some of these things perhaps I haven't shared with you yet in much detail. So we're going to begin with a recap. Now I mentioned to you that many think that Jesus resurrected and was immediately taken into heaven, immediately ascended. But the fact is that he actually remained on earth for over a month after his resurrection and he continued his ministry. You see, after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to people on several occasions. For example, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene in John 20. He then appeared to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, Matthew 28. He appeared to the apostle Peter in Luke 24. He appeared to the 10 in the upper room. He appeared to the 11 a week later. He appeared to seven of the apostles at the Sea of Galilee. He appeared to the 11 on a mountain in Galilee. He went on to appear before 500 eyewitnesses. That's recorded in 1 Corinthians 15. He appeared to James, most likely the brother of the Lord Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15. And he also appeared at his ascension on the Mount of Olives. So there were a number of times that Jesus actually was seen by people. Sometimes we think that he was resurrected and just immediately ascended, but he stayed and remained for some time. His ministry didn't stop when he died and was resurrected. He continued his teaching ministry to his disciples because they had many questions. And Luke says that in Acts chapter 1 verse 3 where it says, he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proves being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. So there was a lot of confusion as you could imagine that needed to be cleared up amongst his followers. There was also unfinished business that he had with his apostles, especially the apostle Peter. And all of that's going to take some time. So Jesus remains and he ministered for 40 days for over a month. And when he finished his ministry on earth, he then ascended into heaven. Acts 1 verse 9 says, when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up in a cloud, received him out of their sight. And so Mark's gospel does not include all of his appearances after the resurrection. And so when you look at it and as we have, notice verse 9 here in chapter 16, how it says, when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom he had cast seven demons. And so Jesus first appears to her. Now John told us that Mary had gone to the tomb and she saw that the stone had been rolled away. And she went to tell Simon Peter as well as the apostle John. And they ran to the tomb. We looked at that how John arrived at the tomb before Peter. And at first John stooped, he looked in, he saw the linen cloth but he stayed outside. Peter arrived and went into the tomb and he saw the same thing that John had seen. You see John had looked in, he had believed but Peter left marveling at what had happened. And when they left, Mary stood at the tomb weeping and that's when Jesus appeared to her. She was confused at first as we've seen. She thought he was the gardener that worked for Joseph of Arimathea. I mentioned to you that it was early. It was a time where she was in emotional distress. She was confused and blinded by her tears. It's understandable that she didn't recognize him but I also mentioned that there was even a greater reason she didn't recognize him. She came in a state of unbelief. She didn't expect to see him alive. She had come to the tomb with expectation. She was expecting to find a dead body. We saw that. How that the angels had spoken to her and asked her, why are you weeping? And she said, they've taken away my Lord and I don't know where they've laid him. And it was at that time that Jesus spoke to her and he first asked her, he said to her, woman, why are you weeping? And in tears she had answered. She said, sir, if you've taken him away, tell me where you have laid him. I will take him away. And now instead of calling her woman, Jesus called her by her name. And you can almost hear the tenderness in his voice as he spoke to her. He said, Mary. And she recognized the voice of her shepherd. And she said, Roboni, which is my dear master upon hearing her voice, his voice rather her fear and her pain disappeared. And John records how she clung to him tightly. She was afraid of losing him again. And he told her to release him because he still had work to do. But she also had work that she was to do because he told her, go to my brethren, tell them what you have seen. You have marching orders. You're to go and you're to talk. First service, I shared some things that aren't in my notes. And I said to them in a teasing way, I probably won't share that in the second service. But here we go. If there's anything, and let me first, some of you, some of you don't, don't know who I am at all. And that's okay. You're really missing out on a lot. No, I'm teasing. But you know, as a Christian, I've been a Christian for 52 years. I've been pastoring this church for almost 42 years. I've been teaching the Word of God for 49 years. I'm just saying that so that you know. Yeah. Thank you so much. How much did John pay you to clap? I do appreciate that. And I'm encouraged by that. And so let me say that first and foremost, because some of you, you know, you look and you say, who's that guy? Well, I'm a pastor. I've been ministering for a long time, taught the Word of God since September of 1973. So I've been, I've been in the Word for a long time. And I usually restrain some of the things that I have to say because I want to make sure that I'm giving to you what the passage says. And that's what teachers are supposed to do. But as I was looking at this passage this morning, refreshing my mind just before I came out for first service, I thought about what Jesus had done. He had said, go and tell my brethren. And so I was beginning to think about that in the first service. And I shared some things because I believe that if that the church that we, the body of Christ, we who are believers in Jesus, we who love him, we who believe that he died, was buried, that he rose the third day that he ascended to heaven. We who believe that he sent his Holy Spirit to dwell within the church and that he gave us a commission to go out and to preach the gospel to every creature. We believe that. And the heart of Christianity has always been to be faithful witnesses, to go out, to share, to tell people this is the truth. This is what God has said. And we're living in a time, I think, that because there is so much negative backlash that there are some who are getting a little bit gun-shy, if you will. There are words that are being forbidden. You can't use this word. You can't use that word and all. And people are being brainwashed every day by nonsense. And so I was sharing some things from my heart. I'm going to share with you a little bit of that today as we go into it. Because I was looking at how Jesus said, go and tell. Now He said, go tell my brethren. But He said, go and tell. Be a witness. Be a witness of what I've done. Tell them that you spoke to me. Tell them that Jesus is saying that I rose from them. Tell them. Don't keep it to yourself, even if they don't believe you. We're being told as people of God to shut up. We are. We know that. We're being told, shut up. You can have your religion. Keep it to yourself. Keep it to yourself. Well, every day the world progresses in taking the minds of our children, taking the minds of people while the church is afraid of just speaking the truth in love. And so we're living in a moment that I think is a very important moment. And that is we are being told that we can choose to be what we are. That there are 100, 200, 300, whatever different ways or variables. And that's not just a man and a woman, but you know that men can get pregnant. And it's just kind of like, well, it's delusional. It's what it is. It's demonic, for sure. At the heart of that is demonic. That's just what it is. It's undermining the teaching of the word of God, where he created Adam and Eve. And they had a commission and all of that that we're familiar with as Bible readers. But that's what's taking place right now. And one of the fastest rising movements is to try and convince Americans and they're doing a very good job of it that you choose your gender. And that's greatly distressing. And we need to be those who speak and share the truth with people. You know, years ago, when there was big controversy going on, I stood behind this platform here, on this platform behind the pulpit like this and I had said, I said this, I said, you know, I can tell you that I'm a six foot five inch blonde blue eyed swede. They're good. You can laugh. Thank you. Because that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to be looking at me saying, you're crazy or there's something wrong with you. Where'd you get that idea? Right? But now I legally can do that and you have to believe me. You have to believe me. How dare you be such a bigot? How dare you? And that's you've been brainwashed. You've been told that I don't think you have, but the world has and maybe some have. I don't know whether you believe that or not, but I've said that and I was making a point and it was ingest, but now that's real. So we have some kid. Now I don't drink. I haven't had a beer or anything for longer. I can remember. Don't remember the taste of it, but I'll tell you this. We have some guy who is celebrating, he says, his first year of womanhood. And he's a guy and he's on some beer can, you know that? Anyway, that's what you can do with the cans, not him. And then the CEO of the particular brewery organization writes his or her, his I believe, his statement related to it and everybody's supposed to still go by his brew and this and that. I just think it's crazy. I think it is. It's delusional. And I think the church has to say, no, you're not going to tell my kids that a woman is anything other than a woman. God created Adam. He created Eve. And that's what it is. And so when you have, here we go. So when you have a man competing in races, swimming races or fighting in MMA, beating up and almost hospitalizing women, what happened to the way we think? What happened when you think some man six foot plus is a woman swimmer and he hasn't had any transitions done at all. And there he is undressing in front of women in locker room. Or we're being told that you have to have bathrooms that men and women can use with. We're talking about crazy. We're living in crazy land. And when you have a Supreme Court justice who cannot define what a woman you're living in crazy land. That's a fact. Now I'm not mocking people who have delusions. I'm not. The enemy has blinded the eyes and they cannot see. I'm not angry at them, but I'm certainly not going to be quiet about it either. We have to speak up. There's something wrong here. We have to. We have to. Oh, you're going to hurt the feelings. Guess what? I'm an old man. I've had my feelings hurt a lot over the years. A lot after church. A lot of times. So I just hit him. No, after church. It's just a fact. We live in what we cannot be living in some kind of bubble. We're afraid to offend. Guess what? I love you enough to tell you the truth. I don't have. I don't think anybody here is going to have a problem with that. Maybe so. Let me say it. I'm telling you the truth. Listen, a man and a woman, God created so that they could populate. God calls marriage a holy thing because he intends us to take his faith imparting it to our children. So it's a holy, sacred relationship created by God himself. So some man says, I'm going to celebrate. Some man says, I'm going to celebrate 365 days of being a woman and they put them on a beer can. I wonder why women aren't insulted by that. Are you? I know we can't say anything. My goodness. No, we'll hurt his feelings. So they've lost like $5 billion in sales and that's good. Can't do it. You can't force me to do that. You can't do that. Listen, if you have a man and a woman and you were to place them on an island that they could live off of the produce that is naturally there, you leave them and you abandon them on a good size island. And 100 years later, people find that island, they're going to find a lot of people. It's going to be populated over 100 years. You're going to find a lot of people there. That's what's going to happen because a man and a woman of the age where they can reproduce, that's what you're going to find. But if you put a man and a transgender, a man who thinks he's a woman, you put those people on the same island and 100 years you come back, you're going to find skeletons of two men. That's what you're going to find. That's what you're going to find. Why don't we realize that when a woman decides to take hormones and grow a beard, that doesn't make her a man. I had a nun that had a better mustache than I had. It was a fat. That was at our lady of perpetual motion when I used to go am I angry? No, of course not. But what is it that the Lord said? Go and tell them. What are we doing? Nothing. Nothing. Listen, they're going after our children. They're going after our grandchildren. That's a fact. When you have a man with a beard, wearing a dress in entertaining children and doing nasty dancing and mothers are bringing their one and two-year-old children to watch this, God help us. The nations of the world are looking at the United States and their mockiness because we have, we had, and I'll stop, but one more thing, because it's worth saying, we had three, I call them babies. They were nine years old, three nine-year-old babies who went to Christian school just to go to school. Mama and daddy dropped them off and ended up with three dead babies because some woman who thinks she's a man decided to take out whatever she had, her anger on them, left a manifesto. She told everybody why she did it and the press will not publish it. Why is that? Why is that? It's a manifesto. It's out. Why is it that? Listen, if it was a Christian who did that, you better believe that manifesto would have been printed and they'd be pointing fingers at Christians. Look at the way you do. Look at how you are. They would be doing that. That's a fact. You know that and I do too. Because Republicans and I, you know, Republican, independent Democrat, you know, I'm not making a case for either but I'm telling you what we're seeing right now and you see it too. And three, three people in their 60s who were there caring for the kids, loving those children, they got killed too. And what are they saying? There were six deaths at this Christian school and they're saying there were seven deaths. Don't, no, wait a minute. When did we celebrate the person who kills children? When did we, well, we started celebrating them when we said abortion is okay. That's when we started. I told this church and many of you weren't here but I told this church when, many years ago when there was a mass shooting I said to the church and it was out of school and I had said you would think that a classroom is the safest place for a child, wouldn't you? And our church at that time said yes in Columbine, in Columbine when that happened and my church nodded their head and he said yes, I said you would think that a classroom would be the safest place for a child, wouldn't you? And my church all just, yes, yes, I said that's where you're wrong. The safest place for a child is in the womb and when you take the life of a child in the womb you will take a life of the child in the classroom. We have stopped valuing life, wake up, they're killing our children and they think it's okay. And it's not. And it's not. And so this is what we're living in. So yeah, that's not in the passage. They say, will you get back to the passage? I will. But go and tell. Open your mouths. Be free to speak. They have been lying to you. Tell them the truth. Don't just be there at the, at the water cooler at work where they're saying well I believe in all this and those Christians and you're just slipping slipping your water and you walk back. Don't do that. Stand up. Tell them. You have every right to tell them the truth. Every right. So tell them. When I got saved nobody told me I couldn't talk. As far as I know I have First Amendment rights and I didn't give them up when I got saved. I exercise them because I have freedom of speech and freedom of the practice of religion. I have that freedom and so do you. And we as a church need to be aware of that. Am I saying be pugnacious? No. Am I saying start fights? No, of course not. Just be willing to talk. Just be willing to say with all due respect I don't agree with that. And let me tell you why. And the way you'll be able to do that, we'll see this in a minute. I'm getting ahead of my notes, is by knowing the word. By knowing the word. And so let's get back to the Bible study. That was an aside that I felt necessary to share. And I know I offended people. People walk out and that's okay if they want to. But may the spirit of Lord convict them. Go and tell my brethren. Tell them what you've seen. And in John 2018 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples what she had seen. That she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. So she became the first to see the risen Lord and to testify of his resurrection. The woman who was delivered of seven devils was the first to declare his victory. It says in verse 10 here in chapter 16 she went and told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it was too good to be true. So they refused to listen to what was said. You see to them in the midst of their grief this all seemed like nonsense. But that's what's taking place. And so in verse 12 it says and that was your intro. After that he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country and they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. And so this particular portion, these two verses, actually we have more information. I'm going to ask you now to turn to Luke chapter 24 and I want to show you some things there and build this for you. Luke chapter 24. The details are found in Luke chapter 24 beginning at verse 13 all the way to verse 35. But let me read to you beginning in Luke chapter 24 at verse 13. In Luke 24 verse 13 it says, Behold two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus himself junior and went with them. But their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. He said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem and have you not known the things which happened there in these days? And he said to them, what things? So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty indeed in word before God and all the people and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, in certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women said, but him they did not see. So Luke begins to give us more information of this conversation between Jesus and two who are traveling. And these two, as it says, are traveling to a village called Emmaus. And it's told we're told that the Emmaus was close to Jerusalem around seven miles away. In verse 14, they were talking together of all the things that had happened there. As they're walking, they're talking about the recent events. And so as they're conversing verse 15 and reasoning, Jesus draws near them. So it says they were conversing and reasoning. They were talking about the possibility of Jesus being Messiah. When it says reasoned, when they were reasoning, that word reason means to dispute or to investigate together. It speaks of discussing in a deep way. That's what they were doing. They were speaking. One would say something. The other would respond to it. So they were reasoning with one another about what had happened. So as this has taken place, Jesus himself drew near and he went with them. They didn't have the information at that time that they needed to be able to understand what had happened. And so while they're disputing and asking questions, the answer to their questions came and joined himself to them. Jesus joins their conversation and they don't even realize it. Now why would Jesus speak to two? Why do we see that he's speaking to two? Why did Luke include that? It's because according to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 and 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 1, it's the witness of two that everything is established. So he's speaking to two in order that there would be, there's a complete witness there, two people, not just a single person. But as he's speaking to them, they don't recognize him. Well, how'd that happen? Well, we saw in Mark 16 verse 12, he had said after that he appeared in another form to two of them. So he appeared in another form. The word appear simply means to be visibly manifested. It means to be made known or to see. Another form is two Greek words that heterosmorphi is what the Greek is, heterosmorphi. And it speaks of a different external appearance. And so he visibly manifests himself in a different physical appearance. That's what's taking place. Now, I'm going to do a bit of a theological aside for a moment because it's necessary at this point. Some teach to this day that Jesus assumed different physical looks. In other words, he changed the way he looked. Some believe that and they say that he changed the way he looked physically after his resurrection. And they teach that Jesus took upon himself different physical appearances, different shapes, the shapes that he desired at that time. This is because they say that Jesus' resurrection was not physical. They say that his resurrection was spiritual and therefore they say in that he was spiritually resurrected, he could manifest himself or express himself looking in a different way. And so this is actually one of the passages that they look to, to point to that belief. They want to present that he looked different. Well, in John 20, verse 15, they will say that Jesus assumed, he took upon himself the appearance of a gardener. And then they say here that he looked different and they combined these. Let me give you the answer to that because some of you perhaps have had people tell you that. One, Jesus was bodily resurrected and not spiritually resurrected. I took a master's class in Azusa Pacific many years ago and professor was asking whether or not it matters, whether Jesus was physically or spiritually resurrected. The professor was saying that apparently it didn't matter, but it does matter. It does matter because the Bible teaches that he was physically resurrected. And you see when Jesus appears, and we're going to look at this as we continue on next week, more likely or soon after. When Jesus appears to his men and they're frightened, well, Thomas was not present when that happened the first time. And so they had told Thomas that Jesus was there. And he said, unless I put my hand into his wounds, there's no way I'm going to believe. And then later on in John 20, later on, Jesus entered into the room and he told Thomas, he said, put your finger into my wounds and see that it is me. That was the whole point he was making. There was a physical resurrection and he even showed them the wounds. That's when Thomas said, my Lord, my God. That's when Thomas said that. And so Jesus was not spiritually resurrected. He wasn't a spirit being. He was physically resurrected. So some will say, but wait a minute, he looked like a gardener. No, remember what the word actually says. The word actually says that Mary supposing him to be the gardener said, if you've taken away my Lord, tell me where he is and I'll go get him. She supposed him. Again, she was blinded by tears. It was dark. She was in grief. She didn't expect to see him. And so she was confused. And that's why Jesus spoke to her and ministered to him, to her rather, because she mistook him for the gardener who worked for Joseph of Arimathea. Well, in this particular portion of scripture, Luke clearly says that their eyes were restrained. That's what he's saying here. Their eyes were restrained. Verse 16, that they did not know him. Their eyes were restrained. They were held in check. So to them, he looked different from his usual appearance. They weren't expecting to see him after all he's dead. So Jesus seems to have restrained them from recognizing him. And the fact is, we can't see him. We can't see him for who he is unless he discloses himself to us. In Matthew 11, 27, all things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal him. Jesus held their eyes in check. He was ministering to them. And we're going to see that ministry as we go on. Notice verse 17 again. He says, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk? And he points out, and are sad. So he's walking along with them. They're conversing. He's quiet, but at the proper moment he interrupts them. And he does so with a question. And that, well, that seems a bit personal, because they're having a private conversation when the stranger attaches himself. And yet in spite of this, he breaks in and even asks them a question. And he's the one who can answer the question. You ought to ask him. Well, verse 18 says, one whose name was Cloppus answered and said to him, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which happened there in these days? That was not a polite response. They were grieving. He interrupted their private conversation. But Jesus continues, verse 19. He said, what things? So they began to explain. So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty indeed, in word before God and all the people and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. So he wants them to tell him, what's on your mind by letting them talk? He's going to clear things up for them. So they begin to outline who Jesus was, what had happened. They speak of Jesus of Nazareth. They speak of him being a miracle working prophet. He was an amazing teacher. Now when they speak to him in verse 19 and they say who was a prophet, you need to understand that they were not simply saying that he was a prophet like Jeremiah or one of the others in Isaiah, but that we thought he was the prophet. Now the prophet is Messiah. The prophet is actually a phrase that was used and still used to describe Messiah. So we thought he was the prophet is what they're saying. You see in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 18, Moses said, I will raise up, God actually threw Moses, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren and I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him. So they knew of this prophet who was to come, who was a prophet like unto Moses. And so when they're speaking in that way, they're saying we thought that Jesus of Nazareth, a miracle worker, was the prophet. And so they're speaking about our disappointment that we have. We were hoping that he was going to redeem us. Verse 21, we thought he'd deliver us. We thought he was the redeemer, but he was killed. So as far as their concern, Jesus is still dead. He's still in the tomb. This had happened only three days before. But they continue on. Verse 22, yes, in certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. Some women went to the tomb. They didn't find his body. It was empty. Instead of finding his body, they saw angels. And then they said that some of the women went to the tomb and they found the tomb was empty. They were saying they couldn't find his body, that he's alive. Others have gone to the tomb. They didn't see Jesus. The problem, there's no visible proof that any of this happened. So what you have here is an internal war. It's being waged between hope and disappointment. They can't believe that this happened without proof. And so they weren't putting their trust in the promise of the Lord derives from the dead. These were his disciples. These were not strangers to him. They were not the 12. They could have been part of the 70, but they most certainly were followers of Christ. And so the teachings of Christ, undoubtedly over the three years or so of his ministry, they had heard these kinds of things. These were things that were being spoken. And so we're disappointed because he asked them, why are you so sad? What is it that you're talking about? Why are you so sad? Well, verse 25, he said to them, oh foolish one, slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Not the cries to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. What an incredible Bible study that would have been. Starting with Moses, the first prophecy of Messiah is Genesis 3.15, where God is speaking of what will happen between Satan and Jesus, ultimately. I will put enmity between you and the woman between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head. You will strike his heel, beginning at Moses and entering into the prophets. Isaiah 7.14, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel. Isaiah 53.5, he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. By his wounds we are healed. Psalm 16 verse 10, you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. Psalm 49.15, God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave. He shall receive me. And so he gives this incredible Bible study to them. Would you like a Bible study like that? You can have it. Read your Bible. It's there. Well, as this is taking place, verse 28, they drew near to the village where they were going, and he indicated that he would have gone farther. But they constrained him saying, abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. And he went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass as he sat at the table with them that he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were open and they knew him. And he vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, did not our heart burn within us? Well, he talked with us on the road. And while he opened the scriptures to us, and they rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together saying, the Lord is risen indeed, has appeared to Simon. And they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the break of bread. Well, they were going to the mass and Jesus made as if he was going to continue. And they said, no, please stay with us. He wouldn't have remained with them without the invitation. You see, if they had no interest, he would have continued on down the road. There's this hunger that we should have for spiritual things that should motivate us to invite Christ to dine with us, if you will. Jeremiah 1516 says it like this, your words were found, I ate them. And your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. I'm called by your name, O Lord God of Hosts. Your words were found. And I ate them. Job said, his word was more important than his daily food. I desire your word. And please, share more with me. So they constrained him, abide with us. It's getting late. There are wild animals on the road. There are people who can do you harm on the road. Stay with us. It's getting late. So they asked, would you abide with us? What a blessing they would have missed that they had not asked him to stay. The amount of time that you spend with the Lord is a good indicator of your actual hunger for him. The Psalmist in Psalm 63 verse 1 said it like this. He said, O God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. I seek you early. I desire you. You fill me. You quench my thirst. And so Jesus speaks to them. And I think this is beautiful. It says their eyes were open, and they knew him after he had broken bread, that breaking of the bread could very well have been a reminder of how he had fed the multitude, just the fact that he broke the bread and served them, would remind them of the ministry that he has already performed. And their eyes were open. They knew him. It says in verse 31, he vanished. And I looked that up. I wanted, you know, vanished. That's a strong word. And so some of the commentators will say that when they were eating and looking down, he walked out of the room. No, it's nonsense. That's not what the word means. The word vanished simply means disappeared. He disappeared. That would be trippy, wouldn't it? But he disappeared. And as that happened, they began to speak. And verse 32 is so powerful when they said to one another, did not our heart burn within us? Well, he talked with us on the road. And while he opened the scriptures to us, back when I first got saved, we called this holy heart burn. That's what this was. Holy heart burn. He showed them in all the scriptures the things that concerned himself. Why is that? Because scripture points to Jesus. It's summed up and fulfilled in him. Revelation 1910, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And as he taught them, their eyes were opened and they knew him because that comes through the word of God. Open means to, the word open there speaks of opening the mind. It means to cause someone to understand something. His teaching opened their eyes, causing them to understand the plan of God. Again, the way to know him is by his word and him opening our eyes. And if God doesn't open our eyes, we remain blind to who Jesus is and we walk in spiritual darkness. People will come, you know, I was I was hearing someone speak the other day and he was sharing how he said, yeah, I went to church before I got saved. I went to church on Easter and on Christmas. And there's a lot of people who would say, yeah, that's what I do. I go once or twice a year, you know, for special Christian holidays. And when you speak to him and you asked him as you could have done the same with me and you would ask him, are you a Christian? I would, I answered yes. Yes, I am. I answered that. Yes, I am. I'm a Christian. What else would it be? I'm not a Buddhist. I'm not a Hindu. I'm not Muslim. You know, I went through certain stages and various things to become a Christian. So if you asked me, I would say that. So for me, I was very comfortable going to church because Christians go to church, but I wasn't saved, right? Many of us in this room could say the same thing. Your eyes have to be opened by God. In 2 Corinthians 4, 3 and 4, if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. One of the ways to know whether you're saved is whether you like the Bible, whether you read the Bible, whether you study the Bible, whether that is something that's necessary to you. Because in many churches, in the case of many people, with no condemnation at all towards those that I mentioned, but in many churches the only time the Bible has ever opened for some Christians attending that church is when it's open in the church. It's the only time. It's the number one salient book in the United States still to this day, but it's the most unread. And so when the Holy Spirit is working, you will get this sense of, aha, my eyes are being opened. Now I see that. I'll say this quickly, but before I became a Christian, I was a hippie and being a hippie just simply means that you're open-minded. And one day I thought, man, I'm open-minded, which simply means that any trash can be dropped into my head. I'm like a wastebasket. The world can just drop thoughts into my head because I'm open and I learned to be discerning when I got saved. If the word of God says that, I want to do it. If it doesn't say it, that I don't want to believe it. It's that simple because I have a book. There are people who say, I feel sorry for you because you have that one book. Well, and you trust in one man. Well, who do you trust in? Who do you trust in? Trust in yourself. Have you ever been wrong? Yeah, then you're not trustworthy. Why would I trust in you? I trust in Jesus Christ who's never wrong. He knew no sin. I trust in the word of God. It's right. So man's opinion doesn't matter to me. What is it say? It's very simple. It's very simple. And so what happens? Well, he opens up the scriptures to them and their heart is stirred with the spiritual fire. And so verse 33 tells us, they rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem at the seven mile walk, found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together saying the Lord is risen indeed. He's appeared to Simon and they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Well, it was still dark. It was difficult to walk in those unlit paths. And yes, there's still the danger of animals or thieves, but they forgot their own concerns. And they hurried out of that room so they could go to Jerusalem and speak. And then finally, Mark 16, 13 simply says they went and told it to the rest, but they didn't believe them either. And that's the initial response of the apostles. We just don't believe it. We've heard this. It's already been told to us and we don't believe it. The next study we have, we're going to be looking at how the Lord responds to unbelief in his followers. Father, we ask that you would work within us. I ask that you would continue to teach us, Lord, we would ask that you would work within us as we read and study your word, that we would have this fire within, this fire, this sense of your presence. And we would ask that you would open the word of God to us in a way that is fresh and that we would have a hunger for you. Lord, I do ask that. I ask that every one of us who is in this room right now and those who are outside, those who are watching online, we'll see this later, that we would have a holy desire to hear from you. May we hunger for your word and Lord, may we properly apply it. So, Father, continue speaking to us. I pray for everyone here that you would fill every believer, Lord, as we open our hearts to you with your spirit, that we would have this desire to serve you, especially in these last days. I lift up this nation to you and I pray that you would do a work that you'd show us mercy, Father. You were going to destroy Nineveh and you sent a reluctant prophet to speak to that immense city. And repentance happened and you held back your hand. I would pray that you would do the same for us. May we, though we may be reluctant, may we be willing to speak your message, Lord, so that we might see people come to you. And even as our eyes are closed, our heads are bowed, there may be some right now who know that you need to get right with the Lord. It may be that you're rededicating yourself. It could be that you're saying, no, I just don't have a relationship with God and I want to know him. I want that kind of burning within. I want him. Whatever the case, if you need to get right with him or desire to know him, would you raise your hand right now? Let me pray for you right where you're at. Father, you see these hands. You know the reason why they're being raised to you. I ask in Jesus' name that every person whose hand is raised would have a sense of your presence, Lord, even right now. If they're asking for you to come into their life, then Lord, just manifest yourself, open their eyes. If they're saying they need to be right with you and need prayer, Lord, cleanse them. And Father, I pray that you would fill them with your presence and that you would use them. We lift them to you now. We ask that you would have your work in them. Thank you, Lord. Bless you. You can put your hands down. And perhaps there are some right now who have a physical ailment. You need prayer and you're asking the Lord to touch you. I'd like to pray on your behalf if you need that. Would you raise your hand and let me pray for you? Father, you see these hands. There are a number of people in this room right now whose bodies are not doing what they're supposed to do. So I ask that you bring healing to them for Lord, you are the healer of our body. You created us. You know every single portion of us. And so I'm asking that you right now would begin to touch or even instantly touch and bring healing to those who are asking. We also have friends and family members we love that Lord we pray on behalf of that you might touch them wherever they are. And Lord we ask these things because it brings glory to you and we thank you and bless you. You can put your hands down. And Jesus I ask you keep moving in all of us and I ask this in your name. Amen. Let's all stand. Amen. We'll close with the last song and one last comment. I shared it with the first service. I'll share it with you. I've been praying a lot about one thing and you know and that is I've been praying for a long time. It just won't be long. But I've asked the Lord help me to have kindness and love for people. And so over the years he has he has answered that. But I am now asking him help me to learn to lovingly speak the truth to people because I really believe that you know I have a strong strong sense of things that are scriptural not just my personal opinions but scriptural truths that that I often I just restrain them because I and I'm going to be real with you when I say because I don't want to be accused of being that political preacher. I just don't like that title for myself. I don't want that. So I'm careful with it. And I think any of you who know me know that's true. But that doesn't mean that I don't have strong feelings and I and I don't think that they are political. I believe they're moral. But because people get upset and immediately will go into the that's political. I just just don't feel like putting up with the garbage that comes with that. I'll be real with you. I don't want to argue with people after church. I've done enough of that with my wife. But I really feel this is a season I have to start opening my mouth and I did that today. Be warned. I will do that again. And I'll thank you. That's very kind of you. I hope you come back next week. Thank you. You know my job is to tell the truth. And as a pastor I love you. And so I will do that. I've been fighting it for a long time. But again just letting you know who knows what's going to come out next week. I'm going through the book of Romans on Wednesday and as I read chapters one chapter two into chapter three God convicted me. He said look at your world right now and you're not saying the things that you really should be saying. You're a pastor. Tell them the truth. So I am. I love you guys. I'll tell you the truth. Thank you for your encouragement. Father I lift up this fellowship to you. And I pray that we together we would do that which we're called to do. Lord we love people. We want people saved. And Lord people when they hear it they get up and they walk out and they're mad and you know that. I'm telling you what you know. Then we hear about it. But Lord I I want to hear well done. And so Lord help me to be honest with this your people. Tell them the truth and encourage all of us Lord together to do that which is pleasing to you. We lift these things to you now Lord. I pray that you work in Jesus name. Amen. I hope I see you Wednesday. Amen.