Getting a glimpse of Christ

Luke 24, reading at verse 29, And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. Cal, can I have five minutes extra if I need it? Verse 30, And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blusted, and brake, and gave to them.

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of bread. I came to the conference, the La Crosse conference, with one thing that was obvious in my own soul. And that is that I had to somehow get closer.

I had to somehow get closer to the one who has linked me eternally with heaven. Do you ever feel a coldness and a barrenness? And driving to the conference, it was clear that there was something that I wanted. I wanted a glimpse.

I wanted something to get me back again. To restore unto us the joy, as David could say, the joy of our salvation. Already my heart was pulled, even last night.

Brother Murray spoke about the three days that was with David. And there was one thing for sure, that three days with David, that there was a very, it was obvious, that three days with David, you'd forget about everything else. Three days with David and you'd be attracted to David again.

And if you were somewhat removed from that place of nearness that you had before, well, for sure, it would bring you back. So, here's these two on the road to Emmaus. What we've been reminded of already is the fact of the Lord's test.

Getting back to the one that I am with. And knew that I was with. Finding out that this tremendous book that we hold in our hands, the inspired Word of God, and how easy it is, we can let it go, but we need to get back.

Get back to the one that is the author and finisher of faith. Here's these two on the road to Emmaus. And I'm putting myself in that particular shoe.

Because every man who labors in the Gospel needs to get a fresh glimpse. Every Sunday school teacher who's given their heart to it can get burnt out had they need a fresh glimpse. Every mom and dad who has the responsibility of raising those loved ones that you love so dearly and would give yourself for them, they need a fresh glimpse because you see things that, well, if they don't change their mind.

The two on the road to Emmaus. I'll try again. Third time.

The two on the road to Emmaus. There's something that they needed. Because they come up with one conclusion in verse 21, but we had trusted that it had been He.

They had all their hopes in Him. They had trusted that this was the One who would perhaps set up the kingdom. He would be the One that should have redeemed Israel.

So, they had all their hopes in Him and rightly so. But, something terrible has come in. He was taken out of the city.

He was taken out and He was crucified. We had hoped. Now, I'm looking at parents today.

And you had hoped. I'm looking at moms and dads and their sons are not saved. I'm looking at some of your grandparents and your grandchildren have taken a wrong turn in life.

We had all hoped. I've got a grandson. I had hoped.

Saw him saved in meetings. I had hoped. Now, something has come in.

And there's the kicking out of the way. What do we need, dear Christian? What characterized these two? What characterized them before they met the Jerusalem stranger? Number one, they were walked. And they were sad.

They were journeying along the way. There was the sadness of the countenance. And number two, they were slow of heart.

Because He says in verse 25, then He said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. So there is something that was characterizing them. But perhaps maybe, just maybe, in Wisconsin, in La Crosse, that there might be some that have experienced this.

Sad heart. Sad countenance. And fools, slow of heart to believe.

Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them the things concerning Himself. So here you are today. And you have the thoughts of whatever it might be.

Whether farming has gone bad. Whether the business has gone bad. Whether there's something that is not right in the home.

Whether there's a disagreement between mom and dad. Whether there's a disagreement with children being raised. You're struggling.

Hurting. Wondering about your physically. I didn't used to worry about the physical part.

But I'm past 49 now. And the aches are growing just a little bit more obvious. So what's going to happen? What do I need? In 2015, I need something.

I need something to take me just a little further. So as they walk, and as this stranger comes alongside, he begins at Moses, and all the prophets. And He expounded unto them the things concerning Himself.

And it isn't long. As they move along, perhaps starting in Genesis, as we've been reminded. Maybe Genesis chapter 22.

Maybe talking about the ram on Mount Moriah. Abraham offering up the ram. Maybe coming to Exodus chapter 12, and the blood upon the door.

Maybe a little bit further as the manna fall. And how the manna would speak of the Lord Jesus. And all this marvelous truth that it is in the manna.

The round, white, perfect manna. Maybe coming into Leviticus, discovering all the offerings. Perhaps the two goats on the great day of atonement.

And how that one goat was led into the land that was uninhabited. And now they're getting closer to the home. And they're getting closer to the point where already their heart is pulled.

Their heart strings are pulled. And they're wondering, how does He know this? They're wondering, where does this come from? And they get to home. And they constrained Him.

They constrained Him to come in. And He went in. And He sat with them.

And as He sat with them, He took the bread. And He raised His hands. And He gave thanks for the bread.

No, it's not the Lord's Supper. It's an ordinary meal. And as He gave thanks for the bread, maybe put it down again.

They saw Him. They got a glimpse. They got something that they didn't expect to get.

They got a glimpse from the one that they thought all their hopes resided in. And as they got a glimpse, He vanished. Everything went from the unknown to an inward understanding.

From a ruined hope to a revived heart. From a sad walk to a radiant witness. All because, dear Christian, you got a glimpse.

I already got the glimpse at this conference. Can I go home now? I got the glimpse. Beginning right from last night to right to this morning.

Got the glimpse. Got my heart back again. Perhaps maybe my eye is focused.

You know what it is, don't you? To get your eye off the mark. I started driving a tractor, it just came to my mind. I started driving a tractor, I suppose, when a boy of, I don't know, 10? I don't know what age he is now.

10, 11? One of my first jobs was to drive the tractor and Dad was oat seeding time. That's when we had crop rotation. Right, Roy? Crop rotation and oats, hay, corn, beans, back to oats, hay.

I'm driving the tractor and Dad's in the wagon, the old seeder. And I got off the road. He'd give me his whistle.

Don't know if a man could whistle like Dad. He'd give a whistle. And I'd turn around.

Then I'd stop. And he'd say, you see that tree way over there in the fence line? I said, yes. Get your eye on that tree and don't remove it.

The oats would go just so far in this way and this way. But if I got my eye on that tree, there would be an even pathway of seed that would be sown without an overlap. We get our eye off the mark, don't we? We can get our eye off the mark.

And I get to looking at other men. I don't like the way they pray. I don't like the way they cross their legs.

Be thankful you don't have my legs to cross. There's a lot to cross. I can get attracted to all kinds of negative things.

But, oh, dear Christian, we need to get a glimpse. Remember the first glimpse you got on Ruins Dark and Fatal Road? And you discovered that when Christ died for sinners, He died for me. And you were able to sing the fires of hell mine eyes shall never see.

It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me. And you got a glimpse. Those glimpses should never leave us.

We need to get back to the One that is able to spur us on and take us again just a little farther. Now, they were slow of heart, and they were sad in heart, and they were slow to believe. That was before they got the glimpse.

What happens after they got the glimpse? What is characterized after they got the glimpse? Your Bible says they had a heartburn. And because they had a heartburn, it's to set on fire. The word is to consume.

It's the same that's written of John the Baptist in John 4. He was a burning and a shining light. He was consumed with the man that he was foretelling. A heartburn.

Those two individuals, they leave. They went back. The same hour, they returned to Jerusalem and found the Eleventh.

So, number one, after they got the glimpse, they had stirred hearts. There was a speaking saint, and the Scriptures were opened. A stirred heart.

A stirred heart gets me motivated again. It makes me see what is important again. I see the Lord's people as angels again.

I see the Lord's people, all of them, working together and bonding together. I see the saints of God enjoying. I enjoy them because who they are.

Leonard de Boer told me a long time ago, he says, Al, be careful what you minister and how you minister. Remember, those people in the audience are not your people, they're the Lord's people. They were speaking saints.

It was the same hour that they went back to Jerusalem and found the Eleventh. They're telling them that the Lord has risen indeed and hath appeared unto Peter. So, from a sad, slow heart, to stirred hearts, to a speaking saint, to unloosing their tongue.

I'm thinking something else, dear brethren. That getting a glimpse of Him, I can. I can forget the oppressive circumstances.

And circumstances that you have, unknown to anybody else, you can forget them, at least for the present. You can rise above them, but you need the glimpse. You need the glimpse to forget those oppressing circumstances.

Maybe a boss. Maybe someone here has an unrealistic boss. And you just can't please him, regardless of what you do.

Maybe there's some young people here today, and you have a classmate, and they ridicule you, and they make fun of you because of what you do and where you go. So, and perhaps maybe there's the circumstance of losing a partner. Seem like this year, we've stood beside more caskets.

And I don't like it, because these dear older saints, committed, consistent believers, one by one, they're being taken. Pray for the widow. Pray for the widower.

And those circumstances that now that widow must be faced. One plate, one pillow, one person in the car, hurts. I can forgive the offending Christian.

If I get these glimpses, I can forgive the offending Christian. Ephesians would tell us to be kind, tender hearted. Be kind one to another and tender hearted.

I can forgive that offending Christian. Got a head cold one day. I thought I was doing the right thing by going to meetings.

Head was pounding. I said to a brother, I got a head cold. Yeah, he says, I can see.

Isn't it amazing, he said, that it always settles in the weakest part of your body. A head cold. So my dear brother that I sat and broke bread with for years and years, said I had a weak head.

He didn't have to tell me that, I knew that. But it does hurt a little bit when it comes from somebody else. Did I forgive him? Forgave him on the spot.

Held no grudges. I think he was teasing. I can forget.

I can forgive. I can forsake the old chariots. The old chariot of fear and worry.

Walking the floor. Is it really going to happen? Is it really going to come to pass? What are we going to do? And what's going to happen? And all of this and all these old chariots that seem to come in like a flood sometimes. If I get a glimpse, dear Christian.

I can forsake those old chariots. If I get a glimpse, I can know what it is to forewarn the other companions. Forewarn them.

I can get a glimpse of the poor unsaved on the way to hell. If I get a glimpse of the Savior, I can remember going to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. I can get a glimpse of a soul that never shall die throughout the endless ages of a long eternity.

If I can get a glimpse of Calvary and get a glimpse of Him, I'll be able to witness with a stronger desire. Dear Christian, let's get a glimpse. Let's get our eye turned.

Let's get refocused. And if I can get refocused, I'll be able to have a heartburn. I'll be able to tell others.

I'll be able to go into the city and tell others of what great things the Lord God has done. May God bless His Word, for His name's sake.