Text: Luke 24:13-35 (Two disciples travelling on the road to Emmaus)

REASON FOR SADNESS. (depression, anxiety, confusion, anger, sulking

— results)

Luke 24:17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast.

Luke 24:21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. Sounds so frustrated.

When things we hope, do not happen, then we become sad. The above scripture is clear that the disciples of Jesus who were going to Emmaus —had hoped something of Jesus. They expected that Jesus to be the saviour of the Israel, redeeming them from the Romans and setting them free. They must have compared him with Moses through whom God delivered the Israelites from the slavery under Egyptians. Their hopes came to an end when they saw Jesus dying on the cross and was buried. They thought that was the end of him. That’s why they were talking about him in the ‘past tense’ - never considered to be alive. Having lived with Him and heard Him talking about the Kingdom of God, still they could not understand Him. They wanted God to function according to what they wanted - That is to redeem Israel.

This is the same problem with most of us here as well. We want Him to do things as we expects Him to do.

"We want our God to come and set into our moulds." We used to claim that He did lot of things in the past, and he must do the same right now also. We try to limit the function of God with our expectations based on our experiences.

"We try to worship the God of our experiences instead of experiencing the God of worship."

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts arepot your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD: "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher-tharr~your~àys a~d my thoughts than your

thoughts.

REACTION I RESPONSE TO SADNES: The 2 disciples who were going to Emmaus, were of the same attitude, full of depression, anxiety, sulking spirit and perhaps angry also. All what they wanted to do is to leave the fellowship and run away.

Some of us may react the same way when we find that things are not happening the way we want them. We stop coming to church, absconding from the prayer meeting. Personal prayer, bible reading comes to a halt. We start thinking of going back to our old style of living.

When a situation like this occurred - Jesus, the resurrected saviour comet in our way to meet us. We have a wonderful Lord who does not want us to be in confusion. He always wants to prove to his people that nothing is done without his knowledge and will. The first thing he told them was that they were foolish and slow of heart to believe.

Luke 24:26 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

When sadness entered the minds of the disciples that affected their faith. Sadness is one of the weapons devil uses to doubt the word of God. Sadness makes us gloomy in faith and causes unbelief in the Scriptures. Also their vision of Jesus was dulled ,that they could not recognize Him. They considered Him to be stranger. When we lack in faith, same thing might happen. The dearest Lord will become a stranger in our lives and the relationship with him becomes a question.

Our Lord is the Good Shepherd. When the sheep runs away from Him, he comes after it to restore the reIationshp

REMEDY AND RESTORATION

Lk 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Sadness leads to faithlessness, but the word of God builds the faith in the children of God.

Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith used the scriptures to restore their faith.

Now the sun was setting down and Jesus acted as if he were going further. but the disciples begged Him to come and stay. They must have been comforted and re-strengthened by the words proceeded from the mouth of our Lord. When They sat down to eat together, instead of them serving the bread Jesus broke the bread and served them. Here the guest became the host. The hungry souls were fed by the master. The Bread of Life was given as it was in the last supper as a reminder where Jesus told them to remember Him by doing this. At that time their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. Their doubts vanished at that time, they were revitalized and their gloomy hearts started burning with zeal of God.

Luke 24:32 They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

When the word of God entered the gloomy and the sad hearts, it became burning and bright heart. Darkness departed and the light has come. The Lord who was hidden was revealed. They immediately realized that the place they stayed was not the place where they were supposed to be. They immediately returned to the fellowship from where they ran away. A beautiful scene of restoration.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Sadness is the result of misunderstaing of God and His word. The consequences are alienation from the fbllowship, sulking spirit, doubting God’s word, faithlessness, gloomy heart.

The only answer for that is the word of God. It is the two-edged sword, the consuming fire, hammer that breaks the stony hearts, the mirror to reveal all the hidden dirt. etc. The instruction from God to Joshua before he was assigned with the responsibility to lead the Israel was

Joshua 1:6-9: "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be

terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Amen.