Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: He crushed the penalty of sin. So those who trust in him, who hide behind him, who repent of their sin, who say, "I've got to have this one. I'm not going to make it on my own. I need him," that those people are made right with God by the victory of Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you about it with honesty and transparency.

Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan shares the second half of a lesson from Luke chapter 24. Dr. Chapell shares of the hope that is found in Christ. Jesus fulfilled what was prophesied, and we can take confidence in knowing that his love and power are true and steadfast.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson, A Great Destiny.

Bryan Chapell: Our reading today is from Luke 24, verses 13 through 35. I'm going to ask that you stay seated this morning because it's an extra-long reading and because it's long, Josh Boyles is going to help me in reading from Luke chapter 24. He'll be beginning at verse 13. Josh.

Josh Boyles: That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?"

And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some 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."

Bryan Chapell: Continuing in verse 25. Thank you, Josh. And he said to them, "Oh, foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them.

And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon."

Then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, would you break now the word of life to us, opening our eyes and our hearts to receive the nourishment of the gospel? It can't just be form and sentiment, ceremonial services and fun songs.

Where there can be something that profound happens when you by your spirit take the word of truth and bring it to life in us so that we know new life and new hope and new strength. So do that work in us, we pray, because Jesus would be in this place by his spirit even now. Teach us of him through your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

He came into our journey. We had lost hope and he gave us hope again. What do you understand about mission? But if this same Jesus has made himself aware in our consciousness, then we have to tell people. We have to say, "You need to know him too." There was a plan from the beginning of the ages for men and women, boys and girls to know this Jesus.

That they would not be in the flat world of non-spiritual reality, that that would be their only hope, the material world that's going to end. I've got to tell you about this Jesus. And what I tell you is about his victory. He crushed the penalty of sin. So those who trust in him, who hide behind him, who repent of their sin, who say, "I've got to have this one.

I'm not going to make it on my own. I need him." That those people are made right with God by the victory of Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you about it with honesty and transparency. I didn't even get it. I was despairing. I had all the information in front of me and still I had trouble believing it. It's really just what God is calling us to do now.

If we think about friends and family and co-workers and we're wondering, what do I say? How do I talk to people? If you can be a little transparent to say, "You know what, I don't get it all either. I'm struggling at times to see him for real in my life." But here's what I know. I was blind, but now I see. I begin to get it.

I was trusting in my ability, now I trust in his work. I was despairing that my life could be made right, that my sin could be forgiven, that my relationships could be made right, that the addiction could be... I just didn't have hope anymore. And this Jesus came in. And when we are able to talk that way, not just with a formula, not just we have all the words right, maybe it's better if you don't have all the words right.

So that people know you're just being honest, sharing from your heart. That this transparency is in itself transforming. We're scared to, of course. We all know that. What if they get upset? What if they get angry? I read prior to Easter one of the more recent reports of Ed Stetzer, who's the researcher who works at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois.

And he began to survey people who are not regular church attenders and asked this question, "Would you be willing to have a conversation with someone who would talk to you honestly about their faith?" 78% of non-churchgoing people say they would be willing to have that conversation. Now, I know there's still 20% there roughly who aren't willing.

But 80% of the people in our lives who are not regular churchgoers, who do not understand Christ's victory, if you would speak with transparency and honesty to them are willing to have the conversation. Why is that important? Because 90% of the people who are in any evangelical Bible-believing church are here because a friend or family member invited them.

Isn't that true? It's not just the television, it's not the brochure, it's not the tract. 90% of the people who are here, just think of yourself. Why are you here? Almost all of you say because a friend or family member introduced me to the things of God, brought me to church, got me to understand the things of God.

And if I begin to understand that, it's the invitation recognizing it's unlikely to be rejected, at least in its early stages of just willing to have the conversation. You know what confirmed that to me recently? I've mentioned it to you several times. It's when Mike Jackson with Campus Outreach began to survey our local college campuses and ask the standard question, "What is your hope of heaven?"

If you believe there's an afterlife, what makes you believe you're going to get on the positive side of that? And here in this kind of Bible-rich, lots of Sunday schools, lots of churches community, the most common answer on the college campuses of this community was, "I think I've been good enough." The exact wrong answer.

Instead of saying, "I trust Christ's grace and provision, not my goodness," the most common answer of the educated, the best of our people in the college campuses, "I'm going to try to be good enough for a holy God to receive me." Now, we know that's not the right answer. What's going to get people to say, "I trust Jesus to make a way for me, not my goodness, but his"?

It's having a conversation with people. Mike asked the next question of those same people. "If somebody felt they had an answer for you of what it would take to be on the good side of the afterlife, would you be willing to have a conversation with them?" And the vast majority of those students say, "Yeah, if they were willing to be honest with me, I'd talk with someone."

It's exactly the same thing. If people feel from us candor and honesty and care, they are willing to have that conversation. And the power of it is recognizing I'm not speaking on my own. It is Christ who becomes present with me by his spirit. I'm not just fearfully trembling having this conversation and God is somewhere in another universe.

Here is Christ right here with me, helping me, even as I pray. God, I don't know what to say, but in this moment, would you just give me the right words to be transparent? I was blind, but now I begin to see some things. I was despairing, but now Jesus gave me some hope. I didn't deserve it, but he gave himself for me and I believe that.

And that truth is transforming if we can speak just with that kind of transparency. What would make you do that? Why would you become so motivated to share Christ in a way that you know 20% of the people won't want to hear, though 80% will? What would motivate you? Two things: burning hearts and breaking bread.

The burning hearts, obviously verse 32. These disciples, after Jesus has revealed himself, think back on the conversation. "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road and opened to us the scriptures?" Listen, one thing that should motivate us to let people know about our faith is that we look back over the miracle of the Bible as well as the miracle of Easter.

And we say, it is incredible that this Jesus was revealing himself through so many centuries in such a profound and inexplicable way by purely human measures. That's amazing. And we're just kind of inspired by that knowledge of the uniqueness and the speciality of our scriptures. That's inspiring. That's not enough.

I mean, it's kind of like when you come to Easter and you're a little thrilled by the music and you like seeing family and it's kind of fun to be in the big crowd on Easter day and we're inspired by that. But it can kind of be like President's Day, you know, that you kind of feel that Lincoln-ish appreciation. Yeah, that was inspiring, that Abraham Lincoln experience.

What will actually motivate you to share your soul with another person? The breaking bread. He knew all along that he would have to give himself and still he came. He knew what would be needed for my salvation, the forgiveness of my sin, the putting away as far as the east is from the west, my guilt, my shame. He knew what it would take and still he offered himself.

And what that brings out of me is not just inspiration, but affection, profound love. I have to tell you about the love of my life. That's what's motivating me now. Not just inspiration, not I've got a great story to tell. I need to tell you about the lover of my soul. When he knew the worst about me, he gave himself for me and that means everything now.

What's the difference? I think of the difference for some people who have that father who is either distant or was abusive. And they are in a relationship with that father. They can't help but be, you know, that's my family. I'm in relationship. But what about the father that they begin to recognize gave up everything? The promotion, the recreation, the self-serving to make a way for you?

Now you recognize it's not just inspiration, I have profound affection for that and I want to give and make known the love that was given to me. That type of father is the one who so motivates us when he says, "I will give you my own son that you too may be my child." That father is our father whom we share.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christian. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils.

At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular, pluralistic culture. These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye.

In his new book, The Multi-Generational Church Crisis, Dr. Bryan Chapell asks the question, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world.

You can request your copy of The Multi-Generational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-4-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: How do we know it makes a difference? I think of probably the most famous scene out of the Barcelona Olympics. Some of you will remember the name Derek Redmond, who was expected to win the 400-meter. But in the 400-meter sprint, after only 150 meters, he pulled up short with a torn hamstring, tearing, pain going down his leg.

And as he fell to the track, the various officials tried to keep him down. "You're hurt. You don't need to get up. You can't make it on your own now." But he got up and began to limp. It was apparent he was not going to end well no matter how hard he tried. And even as some of the officials were trying to get him back down, you saw this figure break through the security lines onto the track and come up and take his arm and put it over his shoulder.

Immediately, the shock of somebody else coming onto the track and taking his arm made Redmond react. Who are you? Didn't even recognize that it was his father, who had broken through the lines to help him. And as soon as Derek recognized it was his father, two things: he wept. So much sacrifice, so much pain, but here is my father for me.

He wept at his plight and then he leaned on his father. If we begin to recognize what we should do with Easter, we begin to weep for the plight and then we begin to lean on the father who gave us his son. What does that mean? It means when a particular area of sin looks attractive to you and you feel weak and vulnerable, you weep for your vulnerability, you weep for the guilt that you feel, and then you lean on your father.

And you say, "God, help me to remember that not only will you provide a way of escape, there's no temptation greater than your provision, and you gave Jesus to forgive my sin and give me strength by your spirit." And when you've been betrayed by someone and thoughts of vengeance enter your head, what do you do with Easter then?

You weep for the betrayal. You have a right to do that. And then you pray, God, that you would forgive as he has forgiven you, lest the bitterness go into your own soul and destroy it by the acid of anger in your own heart. And when you're struggling in your marriage and it seems impossible to love another as God has designed, then you weep for the struggle.

That is right and good to say, this is not what God intended. And at the same moment you say, "God, teach me again of your son who loved me and gave himself for me, even as you are now calling me to do for my spouse. I am not giving myself until they return the right favor, until they give me tit for tat. No, my savior gave himself without condition."

And I recognize this marriage will not turn around until you enable me to do the same. I'm going to need your help to do that. I lean on you, my father, to help me. And when you're facing another situation with a rebellious child and you feel as though there is no patience left, you remember that Easter where Christ, who rose from the dead, told you about his father, who had a prodigal son.

Who when the son was still a long way off, his father ran to him and threw his arms around him and kissed him and said, "This is my son who was lost and now he is found. He was dead but now he is alive again." And we say, "Father, teach me of your fatherhood that I might so deal with my own child."

And when you're in bed tonight, mulling over yesterday, today, and tomorrow, how will you face tomorrow? By recognizing the risen Jesus is there in the yesterday and the today and tomorrow. And because he is with me, that is the Easter miracle I still celebrate. Not just out of the tomb, with me. I weep for the worry, but lean on the father who gave me his son.

And for that reason, I have strength for today and tomorrow. May God so enable you to weep and to lean for your heart and the risen Lord. Lean on him. He would have you know his hope. Father, so work in us the truths of the gospel that you have given with such patience and care and determination.

That we would know how great is the gospel of your love and in knowing it, would lean upon it. Turn our hearts to you in prayer that we might weep for the hurts, but lean on the father who gave us Jesus. That we might know your strength through him. So work in us even now we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Hi, friend. This is Pastor Bryan Chapell. And I hope this message today has been a blessing to you. As we finish up, I would be honored to pray for you. Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us the grace of Jesus Christ through the conversations and interactions he had with all kinds of people, the anxious and the proud, the religious and the outcast.

When we understand Jesus' relationships with other people, we get to know his heart and understand his ministry was meant for people like us. So Lord, we ask. Please forgive our sin, pardon our past, and love us for eternity. We confess we don't deserve any of that, but you sent Jesus for the undeserving.

So we rest our souls on his promised grace. Each of us now prays in our hearts. May the one who died for my sins now rescue me from my guilt, and may his love now live in my heart forever. As you pray that, you have Jesus' assurance of his love and so we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from Pastor Bryan. While you're there, make sure to sign up for Pastor Bryan's daily devotional sent right to your inbox. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.