 Now behold, two of them were traveling the same day to the village called Animas, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they walked together and all these things, which has happened, they talked together and they were conversing, all the things that just happened, which Jesus just got resurrected and they were doubting that He was resurrected. Number 13, 15. So it was while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained so they did not know that it was Him. Let me give you a little bit background story to those who are new to the Bible. So what happened before this event, these two men were coming from Jerusalem to a small city. But before that, what happened was Jesus came on this earth, He had disciples, He had crowds, He had miracles. These guys have seen Him healed the blind, the lame walking, the leprosy being cleansed. And they saw all these miracles that have happened and this time He saw Him multiplying bread. I mean, it was amazing and incredible. And they were part of this clique, they were part of this group. It felt like maybe a game, maybe for the first time they felt like they belong somewhere. Somebody gave them an attention, somebody felt like they were loved. And so what began to happen in their life, even though Jesus said that I'm going to be crucified, I'm going to have to be crucified for the sin of the world. And this is what He said. But we were hoping that He was the one that was going to redeem Israel. They had hopes, they had future. He promised them that when I leave that you guys will do great and amazing things, they were hoping that He was going to be the one that's going to save their city. But something happens in their life and Jesus dies. When Jesus was crucified across, their hope was crucified across, their dreams, their future, their plans, maybe even like the things that Jesus said they were going to be doing, they were all crucified with Him. It seemed like in the story because they are doubting and they are walking away from Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is the place that Jesus said, I want you to wait for me in Jerusalem. Do not leave the city because I'm coming back. But they decided to go fishing. They decided to go home, pack up their bags, gone fishing. This evening I want to ask you, what are the crosses in your life, the cross of your hope? What are the cross, what are the situations in your life that made you go home, that made you walk back where you shouldn't be, made you maybe backslide and now go to the direction that God has placed you to be at? What are the crosses, what are the dreams that did not come to pass, that you were hoping that things were going to be certain way, expectations that were going to be your way but they didn't happen your way? And maybe today you are walking, some of the people on the road of disappointment, maybe some further, some earlier, all of us have those crosses, the cross of our hope, cross of our dreams and cross of our faith. And they are walking disappointed because Jesus died and we have nowhere to look forward to. We left all of our lives, we forsook everything, we give up everything just to be with him but he is gone and when he is gone our hope is gone, our future is gone and it seems like there is nothing to look forward to except the cross that's behind us. And these guys are walking and they are they are reasoning it and they are on the seven mile walk from Jerusalem. Nobody really knows where the city is at, it's not even on the map, it's somewhere lower, they are settling for a lower lifestyle. They are walking, they are doubting, this road is a road of disappointment, discouragement, despair, depression because things that happen in your life how you plan them to be and you are walking and you're reasoning with your friends. But Jesus does something amazing, he draws closer to them and he begins to conversing, he begins to ask them what are you guys talking about, what's going on, what is he saying that God is concerned about the things that are happening in your life, Jesus did not reveal himself for one reason because he wanted to hear out their doubts, he wanted to hear out their heart, what are they doubting about? And they begin to say are you the new kid on the block, don't you know what just happened? Our hero was crucified, we had to say goodbye to our hero, he is gone and our hope is gone with him and they begin to tell Jesus about Jesus as though Jesus wasn't there, Jesus was right at the cross that they are doubting about and they begin to pour his heart to Jesus and Jesus says this, don't you know that he was supposed to be crucified, he's supposed to die from the prophets promises in the Bible that you were not reading but that you heard from the Moses that he was supposed to be crucified, that he may enter to a greater glory. I want to remind you and encourage you today that Jesus has not missed a single event in your life, when you feel like he was gone, he was nowhere near, he is right there with you. God is so much into you that you have no imagination and we can't even comprehend how much God loves us, how much he is on your side and the Bible says and let me read it to you so you guys don't think I'll make it up. Matthew 10 30 but even every hairs on your head are all numbered, I want you to pay attention, they're not counted, they're numbered so whichever hair falls out he knows which number fell out, he is so into you, he is not against you, he is for you and he is concerned about the things that you are disappointed, he is concerned about the things that you have lost, he is concerned about the hope that have died at the crosses in your life, maybe it was a family member that passed away, maybe it's a sickness that you didn't get healed from, maybe it's a relationship that was broken, maybe somebody just walked on you, maybe it's your parents divorce or something that has crossed your hope out and he is concerned and he has not missed a single event in your life and he is walking and it said that he was not revealed to them, they were so discouraged that they couldn't even see that was Jesus next to them, they were so blinded that they couldn't even see that it was him, like blind Vartimaeus, he is screaming to Jesus just because you are blind doesn't mean God doesn't see you, just because you don't see God in your situations it doesn't mean God is blind as well, God is not discouraged at the crosses in your path, he knows exactly what happened in your life and Jesus begins to unveil, unfold the scriptures that this is what happened to him, he's supposed to be crucified, he's supposed to die that the Jerusalem that the Israel will be saved, who you are dictates what you see, Jesus was a good leader, Jesus was a shepherd, Jesus was a father and he began to tell his disciples these doubting men, he began to tell them this is the big picture and a lot of times we are disappointed and we are discouraged because we see the small black detail on the picture and we don't see the big picture of Jesus, Jesus crucifixion, we don't see the big picture of the crosses in your life and in my life and Jesus began to unveil and began to tell them that this is an amazing moment for Jesus because this is the first time that these men are walking and they don't know that it's Jesus walking because all their life they walked with Jesus so they know what Jesus was like and what he was doing and anything like that but this time Jesus has an opportunity and he begins to tell them the promises in the Bible of prophets when they were prophesying about his resurrection and this is a time where Jesus is teaching them to believe the promise when you don't see him, to trust him when you have no sight of him and this is why Jesus begins to pour out the word of God upon their life to say I want you to trust me when you don't see me next to you just because you don't see me doesn't mean I am not there with you can you trust him when you don't feel him when you don't see him when you don't see his hand healing when you don't see his hand multiplying the bread or when you don't see his hand opening the eyes can you still trust him when you don't feel nothing in your life and they are discouraged that they don't even see him and Jesus begins to open their eyes he begins to open their eyes through the scriptures through the word because a lot of times God might not be there but his word will be there and this is the time where they are looking for answers they're looking for answers and there are reasoning but Jesus wants them to know the answer which is himself the truth himself they're looking for truth what happened to him where where has he gone and Jesus wants to reveal the truth to them they're walking in the road and it was seven mile walk and at the end of the road it was almost as the Bible said it was almost end of the day and they invite him in they wanted to continue conversation with him they invite him in Jesus he and assisted that he was going to keep walking by himself but they know they insisted that he was going to be invited in I want to tell you one thing that God is never going to force himself into your life he is never going to come storming through your doors like I have some cousins they don't even knock they just think like it's their house right away through a refrigerator rude they never you know America guys um God is never going to do that in your life what he's going to do he's going to walk with you on the road where you're discouraged where you're disappointed and he's just going to feed you with his promises and he's going to stir it up and appetite inside of you that you will let him in by yourself he is never he is a gentleman and a gentleman he stands and he knocks he doesn't force himself into your life and they invite him in I want you to show that um he said in relations 330 behold I stand at the door and knock if anybody hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and dine with him and he with me back in the college days I took painting classes and I failed all of them but this painting taught me a big lesson um William Holman Hunt he was the first um painter that had to paint this picture called the light of the world and so he painted it like in 1851 he took him like five years to paint this picture and before his big show went in the museum he called his friends and family close friends and family and he wanted to show the painting and they were all like made fun of him because they're like five years and you still didn't finish a painting like what's going on dude and he said them down because he they said that this door is missing a door knob like come on every door has a door knob from both sides and so he began to explain to them he's like no this door is different this door is your heart and your heart only has a one side door knob it only has a one side that you it's your choice what you open your heart to god is never gonna come storming in and opening the door or whatever doing whatever you think he's gonna be doing it's your choice to open your heart to him and this is a perfect picture and ever since then every painter um they copied him off if you google it all the paintings at jesus knocking at the door there's no door knobs and will became very famous for for that specific reason and so just to remind that jesus he is knocking at your door and you can ignore him and it's totally fine but it is your choice to let him in it is your choice for you to let holy spirit in because he wants to dine with you he already stirred up your appetite through certain healing there's some things that he's done in your life but he will never come in in your life forcefully it is your choice and my choice to invite the holy spirit even jesus when he is walking on the road with those he is a stranger i don't know if you've ever been in your life through a situation when god becomes a stranger and he talks to you and you don't even recognize that it's his voice but jesus wants to reveal himself to you when he is invited into your house this is what i said and he took the bread and he broke it when he was sitting and eating a dinner with them and he took the bread and he broke it and their eyes were open and they saw that it was jesus himself jesus is going to reveal himself when you invite him in and this is i want to encourage and i want to urge you to spend the time with holy spirit because this is where he desires and he wants to reveal himself i can only imagine jesus walking in the road and he is wanted to show himself to them i can only imagine how much he desired for the eyes to be open but he had to be invited into the house he had to be invited into the life for the for him to be revealed and today i want to encourage that you begin to spend time with the holy spirit because he wants to be wanted in your life he wants to be needed in your life when their eyes are open this is what i said i love it it said that and they said to one another they didn't our hearts burn within us when he talked with us on the road they got their passion back they got their hopes back they got their dreams back they got their vision for their future back because he opened their eyes when we begin to commune with the holy spirit there is something begins to happen in our hearts our hearts begin to burn when moses and now they're realizing that the road of seven miles that we just walk with him it was a holy ground because when god encounters moses and there is a burning bush he said take your shoes off because where you are at it is a holy ground they begin to recognize it was him all this time and when you give your life to christ and he begins to reveal yourself and you begin to see that it was him all your life when you are doubting where you were in depression when you were suicidal when you had problems in your body it was all this time he was walking through your whole entire life he is not missing a single second in your life he is not missing a single hair there is falling out of your head he is with you at all times even when you see him and when you don't see him and today he wants to walk with you because he wants your heart to burn again maybe there was dreams or there's a purpose that you have in your life and it's gone now because you were doubting because of the crosses or the things that happen in your life and he wants your heart to burn again i love what it says it says when their hearts were burning again so they rose up and the very hour returned back to Jerusalem it's late nighttime they just walked the whole day but because their hearts are burning they're going back to where they should be they're going back to the place where Jesus said you go and you wait for me because my presence because i will come again in Jerusalem god touches the life for a reason that you can go back to your Jerusalem where he has called you to be at he is drawing your heart that you invite him in that you can go back to Jerusalem let me tell you what Jerusalem is Jerusalem is a place of promise in acts one four and being assembled together with them he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father which he said that you have heard from me Jerusalem is where God has promised where your life will be it's where he is going to come and encounter your life and it's your dreams it's your hopes it's the things that you hope for it's the it's a place where it seemed like you just had the cross it seemed like the place is already crossed out because there's already been death how can i go back to the places where things have died but god says i want you to stay in spite of what happened in spite of the events that happened in your life i want you to stay with me because i am coming back again in a greater glory don't leave my place of promise don't leave my word because i have promised you that i'm coming back in a greater glory in spite of what you feel in spite of what you already saw back there that you return to your Jerusalem it's place of promise where he has promised that your dreams will come back again where your marriage will be restored where where your career where your business will bloom again that you get to the place of promise when you don't feel anything and when you don't see anything second it's a place of presence and acts in chapter two said the holy spirit will come and he will baptize them with the power and they will be speaking speaking in tongues Jerusalem is a place of promise and presence where you begin to spend time with the holy spirit well this is a place where god wants you to experience his presence because in his presence every mountain melts like wax every doubt every storm in your life will be silenced in his presence and maybe today you are on the road of seven miles he wanted to get back into his presence he wanted to get back into the closet where you first found him where you first saw his healing where you first saw his hand touching your life he wanted to get back into his presence because in his presence he begins to reveal himself in his presence he revealed and opened their eyes for them to see that he is the messiah that he is the risen one before all that they were all doubting in your presence in his presence this is where your your your doubts will vanish this is where in your prayer in his presence your dreams will be resurrected this is in your presence you begin to live again you will begin to have your purpose and second of all third of all it's purpose Jerusalem is promise presence and purpose acts um chapter one and verse eight but you shall receive the power when the holy has come upon you and you will be my witnesses he's commanding them to stay in Jerusalem never believe that place because it's a place of promise presence and purpose that at Jerusalem you will find your purpose again i know you lost it at the cross i know you were so disappointed because you had to say goodbye to your hero but you go back there into your prayer closet you go back there and you begin to spend time with him because you will find your purpose again even when you felt like it was gone even when you felt like it's gone it's dead it's long time buried don't worry don't touch it because it's going to sink no he said go back to Jerusalem and today maybe your dreams have died maybe the things that you know you moved here from another state or you switched churches and you were so excited because these hungry gent people they were going someone great and something along the road happened in your life that you begin to lose focus you begin to be discouraged disappointments come when you begin to look a different picture than you should be looking at disappointments come when you begin to have expectations and they're not met and something happened and you begin to lose your fire and you begin to pack your bags yes you're still coming to church yes we'll still see you but we don't see you at your prayer closet jesus no longer sees you in his presence jesus no longer sees you at his promise at his word when you used to highlight and date and everything because god used to speak to you but not anymore nobody sees that in your life anymore you're still walking you're still coming to church but there's no life inside of you there's no fire burning on inside of you today i want to encourage you that you go back let god start up your heart once again that you go back and you begin to unpack your bags because this is your life this is what he called you for he said that you will be my witnesses this is your purpose you can't live your purpose unless you know unless you know his promise for your life and unless you begin to spend time in his presence in his presence where you will find your life again in his presence where your fire will begin to burn again and god is calling you today come back to Jerusalem Jerusalem is your home it's not your homies it's not the crowds that led you into drugs and sin it's Jerusalem that's gonna restore your life because i am coming back and i'm coming to a place of Jerusalem and if i am coming to the place of Jerusalem and you are not there you are going to be you're gonna miss out for the very reason that i died for and and that is for you to be my witnesses for you to witness the power that you have seen in your life for you to witness what you have seen in your in my presence that you have seen my face and this is what i want you to tell people what you have seen in the presence amen and god is calling us today that you come back home he's asking you he is longing to be wanted he wants to be wanted in your life amen