Elevation with Steven Furtick - No More Nails Part 1

Episode Date: March 15, 2024

When Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross to extend mercy, He never intended for us to keep it to ourselves. Discover the freedom found in forgiveness and the greater story your scars can tell. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: ele.vc/tIepfr To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: www.elevationchurch.org/giving/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. Last week, we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember his name? Yeah. Cleo. We call him Cleoos. The Bible calls him Cleopas, but we're friendly. with Cleo.

So we gave him a nickname, and we were surprised that we have never met him before, and he's the first one that Jesus appears to. Well, I should give you a little bit more context than that. But women went that morning, because sometimes women have more faith than men do. They have the ability to feel God in ways. When you get men to worship, it's like a miracle. Women will lift their hands. They just don't really have a problem.

problem coming into the presence of God. And sometimes a woman will have the kind of persistence and patience with a child. I thought you would back me up right here. I'm trying to give some love to the women. But they went to the tomb, remember, to anoint Jesus' body, but his body wasn't there. And in some ways, I guess it was an indictment that they thought he would still be there when he told them, I'm getting up on the third day. They didn't really believe that, even though they were sentimental.

They had not yet experienced that kind of supernatural resurrection power that enables you to know that even if it seems dead, was dead, is dead, it doesn't have to stay dead. That's what resurrection tells me. That's why our logo is a neon logo, a neon arrow pointing upward to let you know that wherever your life is today, love can lift you, whatever pit you've fallen into, Love can lift you whatever time you've lost Whatever years you've wasted love can lift you Whatever fear has held you down up until this point The grave is empty He is risen and we're going somewhere

Going somewhere So the women come to anoint his body but his body Isn't there somebody say it isn't there I feel excited today God's going to set somebody free I feel it in every fiber of my being. God is going to set somebody free today. Yeah. His body wasn't there. His body wasn't there. So his body isn't there. So he's up out of the grave. Where is he? Well, he kind of appears throughout the day, but I want to go back to where. Can I pick

up where I left off last week? Don't worry about it if you weren't here. I'll bring you in. So he walks with Cleo in this unnamed companion. Some scholars speculate it could have been his wife. The text doesn't say that. The text doesn't give us the other name because sometimes it's not about you. It wasn't about revealing who the other person was. It wasn't even about Cleo. Jesus is sneaking up behind two travelers who are disappointed and discouraged because God doesn't need for you to be happy to do a work in your heart.

He doesn't just hang out with people who pretend like they have it all together. Cleo is not only concerned, but in many ways he has crossed. Because his expectation of who Jesus would be, what he would do wasn't met when he died on the cross. It crushed Cleo. And Jesus comes alongside the one who was crushed and his unnamed companion. And he walks with him away from the place where the promise will fall. Toward an unknown place.

Well, it's unknown today. They knew where it was at the time. But it was so insignificant in that day because God doesn't just show up in big places. appear to important people. He might show up and speak to somebody in the back of the room, somebody in overflow, somebody who isn't even in the church building, they're in a hospital bed. He goes to this village called Amaeus. And along the way, wouldn't it be awesome if Jesus himself preached to you? I mean, I know I'm pretty good, Stacey, but imagine, so y'all walk and Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he can walk with you, he just starts talking. And he asks

them a question. Okay, listen, before God gives you the answers, sometimes he'll change your questions. Is it good? Mighty quiet in this church today. Sina is mighty quiet. Sina looks good. He shaved his head, looking like a UFC fighter, looking like a mixed martial artist. I'm choking nobody, Sina. But he goes for a walk and, hey, what you're talking about? And they tell him about their disappointment, and he can handle it. It doesn't chase him away. They tell him about their doubt and he can handle it. And that's revolutionizing me because I thought I had to have faith for God to meet with me. But I'm growing to understand that maybe God's presence is most powerful when I get honest about my doubt, get honest about my pain and seek him even still.

Maybe that's where I learned the most when it doesn't go the way I wanted to. The detours, the details, the dead ends, the detour. Remember we said we want to see him in 3D. So here's the Son of God walking with two travelers away from the destination. I'm supposed to be on that stage right now, but we're walking the wrong way. And as we're walking, he's talking. And he explains to them all about himself. The Bible says that he started with Moses and the prophets.

And he talks about maybe, I don't know exactly what he said. The Bible just summarizes, but maybe he talks about the Passover lamb that Moses had the people prepare to celebrate and commemorate their coming out of Egypt. and their forgiveness of sin. Now, they're hearing about the Passover Lamb, but they don't know that they're standing with the Passover Lamb. They won't recognize that right now because usually you only recognize the full extent of what God was doing in reverse. So while you're on the road, you might not see it.

But they keep walking. Touch somebody. Say keep walking. And Jesus is just talking, and they like his teaching, and they're interested in what he's saying. You know how I know? Because when they got to where they were going, the Bible says it was a seven-mile journey. And that's why we're calling it seven-mile miracle.

And we're using it to look at the seven last statements that Jesus made on the cross that are recorded in the Gospels. But he went with them all seven miles. He went with them all the way to Amas. And when they got to the place where they thought they were going, because they weren't going to stay there long, God will meet you where you are, but he won't leave you there. How good is this already, man? This is the introduction. I had got to my topic yet.

Don't worry, I'll get you out on time, but I got something to say today. And as they walk, his words interested them. But when they got to the place where they were going, this village called Amas, the Bible says that Jesus acted like he was going to keep going. The journey starts where you are, but where it ends depends on you. And you decide whether you want your relationship with God to just be some superstitious thing or whether you want it to be something so real that you fully surrender the operating system. Write that down.

The cross is my operating system. It is not an addition. It is not an accessory. It is not an app. It is the new way that I do what I do, whatever I do. It doesn't just change what I do on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday. It transforms my Tuesday.

It works on Wednesday. It comes through on Thursday. I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday, because he's the God of all seven miles. How many have decided? I'm going all the way with Jesus. He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it. I'm not stopping where I started.

Somebody said I'm going all the way. All the way. And they were like, hey, you want to eat something? Cleo said, man, we didn't really plan on a guest, but come on in. And where we left last week is that while, look at verse 30 of Luke 24, I love this, it's resurrection Sunday. Every day is resurrection Sunday. Every day is Easter at elevation.

A miracle can break out in any heart, at any time, in any circumstance, in any grave. And so he sits down and in a common experience of a shared meal, the Bible says while he was at the table, because remember, They're interested in who he is, but they don't yet recognize who he is. Like some of y'all who come here who don't really believe the stuff yet, but you like the way it makes you feel. That's cool. You're not committed yet, but you're curious. You're like, that was kind of weird, that one thing. Want to go back?

Yep. Because he meets you where you are. And he sits down with him. Jesus Christ, the son of God, has time for a meal break on Resurrection Sunday. And Bible says he just starts taking over, okay? You've heard before that God is a gentleman and he won't come in if he's not invited. That's partially true. But once you let him in, he takes over.

Be ready for that. He takes over. He says, down, he took bread. He just took it. And Cleo is just watching. And this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host. somebody else's house. And that's what happens when he comes in your heart.

And when he takes the bread and he gave thanks, so Mary taught him manners, say the blessing before you eat, and he broke it, and he began to give it to them. We postulated last week that when verse 31 says, it was then that their eyes were opened. And then that they recognized him, that perhaps the reason they saw his presence when he sat down with them and gave them the bread was not only that he broke the bread like they broke his body, but that when he gave it to them in Jewish custom, the bread was broken like this and given like this, and they saw where he was wounded. They saw where the nails were.

And when they saw where the nails were, they realized who he was. Which lets me know that sometimes the power of an example is greater than the power of an explanation. He walked with them seven miles. He walked with them for the entirety of their journey and what his words could not show them they saw in his wounds. Graham was listening to this sermon. And you know how kids will just say what they think? He goes, how do you know?

Because he was pointing out to me that it doesn't say that they saw his scars in the text. And the more we got to talking about it, I realized the way he was thinking about it was like this. Well, if Jesus got up from the grave and he has the power to overcome death, he wouldn't leave scars where the nails had been. You know, if God has resurrection power, surely he'd do a little cosmetic surgery. So Jesus isn't having to walk around with some big holes in his hand or marks in the places where they had nailed him, where the Roman guard that was led by the Jewish leaders had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed him for the sins of all mankind.

Surely he wouldn't leave the scars. But I had to show Graham, and I'm going to show you today how I know they saw his scars. Because look, the Bible says their eyes were opened and they recognized him. They saw the one that was with them all along, but they saw him not in his words, but in his wounds. They saw him not because they heard the stone was rolled away, but because they were up close and personal with the one who had suffered. And when they saw where he suffered, they realized who he was. Then their eyes were open, and they recognized him. And then he disappeared from their sight because that was never their destination.

Look at verse 32. The scripture says, they asked each other, were not our hearts burning while he talked? His words made their hearts burn, but it was his wounds that opened their eyes. There are some things that cannot be explained. They can only be experienced. And when I tell you that God is near to the brokenhearted, I can tell you that all day long, but it is not until your heart is broken. It is not until you are at the end of yourself.

It is not until those who walked with you have turned their back on you, but God stood by your side that you can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper. What can man do to me? I bear on marks of the Lord Jesus. Let no man trouble me. I walk through the valley. I went through the shadow. But it wasn't with his words. It was where he was wounded.

That's where they saw him on the road. He opened the scriptures to us and now they're excited so they leave ameus. They got up and went back. God told me to tell somebody, get up and go back. I know Jesus got up, but the reason he got up is not so you could stand around with sacramental spices and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary God. He got up so I could get up. The same power. I'm sorry I'm shouting, but something's inside of me.

Makes me shut. Because I see you getting up and I see you going back. I see you getting up. The prodigal son said, this is ridiculous for me to be down here with the pigs when my father owns the palace. Get up, go back. You don't need a speech. This is your second chance.

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, and they retreaded the seven miles. This is the second seven miles when they turned around, rerouted by the resurrection power of God revealed in the scars of the Savior. Thank you, Lord. I feel his presence today. They got up, they went back. This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo.

Come back, Cleo. The Spirit is coming. Come back, Cleo. God's not done with you yet. Come back, Cleo. They got up and they came back. And when they got there, they found the 11. This is the disciples minus Judas.

Judas didn't go so well for him. He didn't come back. They were all assembled together. And when Cleo got there, they were starting to get the picture because Jesus had been appearing to them too. Now it all comes together, and now the ones who went away come back, and the ones who stayed, they all get together and they say, The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. And Cleo's like, yeah, me too.

We saw him too. It's amazing. Look at verse 35. They were like, hey, we were on this road, and he was told my Moses. When he broke the bread, he was recognized in the scars. How you know he still has scars? Graham said, okay, here's how I know. Because what Luke doesn't tell us, John does tell us.

And I want to go there for a minute because it's Resurrection Sunday, now it's evening. It's been a long day for Jesus. Okay, you start off with a little exercise, push that stone out of the way, a little crossfit. They take me for granted. That humor was epic. That is elite-level preacher humor. Whether you recognize it or not, the Lord liked that joke. I never realized how funny the Bible is, man.

It's hilarious. It really is. That's something I didn't get because I always thought God was so serious. And I know, hey, I know it's serious. It's a matter of life and death. Trust me. Nobody takes more serious to me. But Jesus is just messing around with people sometimes.

Because watch this. It says on the evening of the first day of the week, this is verse 19, John chapter 20. Same evening now. So Cleo is coming back. And the disciples were together with the doors locked. For fear. See, that's what fear will always do. It will always lock you in from the inside.

They weren't locked out. They were locked in. We lock ourselves in because of fear. Remember that. That's important. They were locked in for fear of the Jewish leaders. Hey, they might kill us. Hey, there's a rumor circulating that we stole the body.

We better stay up here. Now, remember, Cleo and his companion went the wrong way. But is it any better? to stay in Jerusalem with the doors locked? Some people go away from God. Some people stay in church, but their heart is so locked, they might as well not even be there. It's about your heart. And Jesus is so funny. Watch this. The doors are locked for fear of the Jewish leaders. And Jesus came and stood among them. How did he do it? He picked the lock. See, grace will break in the back door, kick the door. Kick the door.

door down. Grace is a G. Grace will come on in, take on over, take your bread, break your bread, change your life. Jesus showed up and said, peace. Grace is a G. Touch somebody say, grace is a G. Hashtack, grace is a G. Just any way in. Be with you. But watch this. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Five Five is the number of grace. Just remember that. Five wounds. In his side, in his hands, in his feet.

Five wounds. He showed him his hands, five fingers. He showed him his hands where the nails were. Where the nails were. And I wonder, did they have a flashback? Because the first word, there are seven. We're going to get them all. This is the first word that Jesus spoke from the cross.

It's a statement. He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. What a generous interpretation. When people insult me, I tell God they know exactly what they're doing. And if I do forgive somebody, it takes me time. But while they were driving the nails, I'm flashing back now from the cross, I wonder when they saw his hands, did they remember his words? I wonder when they saw where he was wounded, did they remember the words he spoke.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, not what they did, but while they were He had the presence of mine to forgive. And he needed help. Even Jesus, perfect as he was, human as he was, move that he could not forgive without the help of his father. So as I think about forgiveness today, I wonder where you've been wounded. Jesus, it was in his hands. When they saw the hands, they realized this is not an impersonator.

is not an imposter. They had to see something. They had to see something that let them know what he went through. And you keep trying to prove God's presence by your successes. But when it came time for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to prove His presence, he said, look where the nails were. See my hands? See where they drove the spikes between the bones so they would not break so that it would support the weight of my body long enough for me to suffocate. See, see, it killed me, but I didn't stay dead. It broke me, but I am now whole. I was dead. Now I'm alive.

See? My scars. My scars tell a story. I'm not ashamed to show my scars. Christianity is not cosmetic surgery. You can hide what you've been through to try to get people to think you're perfect Christianity. Jesus Christ didn't come to conceal the pain. He came to reveal his glory. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.