the new Jerusalem

From Doubt to Faith

• Subir Joshua Gorey • Season 3 • Episode 2

Share episode

Are you walking through what seems like a dead situation today?

Remember that death has no victory over those who follow the risen Christ. Your grief will turn to joy, just as it did for those first disciples who encountered their resurrected Lord. Listen to this episode and rediscover the living hope we have in Jesus.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.”

- John‬ ‭16‬:‭20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Send us a text

Support the show

Support the show

Visit our website

Speaker 1:

Last week was Resurrection Day and Jesus was raised from the dead and I want to tell you he died on a cross and on the third day he rose from the dead. And Matthew the 28th chapter, the 5th and 6th verse. But the angel answered and said to the woman you heard this last week. The angel answered and said to the woman do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified, and he is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come and see the place where the Lord lay, hallelujah. And I want to tell you that the angel then told the woman the women, rather, there is more than one in this case to go ahead and tell jesus, his disciples, that he will go ahead, he's risen from the dead, he will go ahead and meet them in a place called galilee, where he has appointed them to meet him. And I want to tell you that, on the way, jesus also met with the women. Hallelujah. And as was said by the angel of God, jesus met with his disciples in Galilee. And this morning I want to tell you that all the four Gels, that's, matthew, mark, luke and John, capture this part so beautifully and all of them have a very different version of it. They have their own versions, actually, of depicting how, how this happened, because they're four different authors in four different books and it's beautiful because of course there's no difference they all captured the same way. But I will tell you a few of all four of them, in fact, and I'll tell you that.

Speaker 1:

Start with Matthew, and Matthew talks about how Jesus meets them at a mountain that he has designated to them. So all the disciples go to this one place, in this mountain in Galilee, and there he meets with them and he talks with them. He speaks with them hallelujah, mark. In the book of mark it jesus appears in a different form, two of the disciples and on their way. It says they on a way to a country, to the countryside, and he appears to them and the bible says that they can't recognize him. And then later he appears to 11 of them while they are reclining at the table.

Speaker 1:

This is in the book of mark. And after speaking with them, the bible says he went up into heaven and sat at the right hand of god, and they saw it happening, hallelujah. And then there's the book of luke, and luke has a very different version. It says Jesus meets with two of his disciples on a way to a city called Emmaus, from Jerusalem, and and this book documents that he traveled with those two disciples for seven miles, from Jerusalem to Emmaus, seven miles. And he's talking with them about what has happened and the series of events, of how the disciples say he's risen and some people have seen him and some people have not, and they're having a discussion for seven miles and the bible says, and I'm quoting to you but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him, hallelujah. And they reached the city and, because it's late in the evening, they urged, urged Jesus to stay with them and not go forward, because Jesus has told them that he has to go somewhere else. And they sit together and when they sat at the table and broke bread, jesus blessed it and he gave it to them, and that's when their eyes were opened, hallelujah. And that's when they recognized him and he immediately vanishes. The bible says from their sight, oh, hallelujah. And there then they sit amongst themselves and they talk about how they. So their spirit was burning inside when he was talking to them, that entire seven miles that they were traveling together. And then they decide let's just leave this place and go back to jerusalem.

Speaker 1:

So they go back seven miles late at night to tell the disciples that they have walked with Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, hallelujah. And I want to tell you that when they reach there, jesus himself appears in the midst of all the 11. Oh, hallelujah. And he says peace be to you, hallelujah. And just to complete the story, I want to tell you that they all startled and frightened and Jesus asked them why they startled and frightened and why do they have any doubts? And Luke 24, 39. Luke 24,39 says Hallelujah, see my hands and my feet, that it is myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah. And then he goes on to ask them whether they have anything to eat, and they give him broiled fish. The bible says, and he sits and he eats right in front of them. Praise God. And he explained to them how the scriptures have been fulfilled through what he had to do on that cross and how today he's alive and how he's in their midst, being raised from the dead, hallelujah.

Speaker 1:

And then the book of John. This is another beautiful version, the book of John, where his disciples are sitting in fear with the door shut, not knowing what's the future. And the Bible says Jesus appears in their midst. The Bible says stood in their midst, hallelujah. And he says peace, be with you. And he begins to show them his hands and his side, which means he knew that his disciples had doubt. And then the Bible says the disciples began to rejoice and John 20, 22 says, when he had said this, he breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit, hallelujah.

Speaker 1:

And I want to tell you that the Bible even documents that at this point of time there was one disciple whose name was thomas, who was not there. And when jesus disappears, which again the bible says he disappears, I wonder where he was going and when he disappears. I want to tell you that when thomas comes back, all his disciples tell him you know Jesus was here. And he says I will not believe. I don't believe I until I don't feel the nail pierced, wound in his finger, until I don't put my hand into the side, into his side which was pierced. I will not believe. And you know what? I'll tell you what Jesus comes eight days later, again in the midst of his disciples and this time Thomas is there and he tells him peace be with you. And he says Thomas, reach here your finger and see my hands, reach here with your hand and put it in my side, but do not be unbelieving, but believing. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Speaker 1:

And then later the Bible in this book, again says that he meets with his disciples at the Sea of Galilee. And I want to tell you that the disciples go fishing at night I'm not going to get into the names and who all were there on that boat but they catch nothing. And at day, jesus is standing on the beach and from the book of John, the 21st chapter, the 6th verse onwards, he said to them cast the net on the right hand side of the boat and you will find a catch. And so they do it. And then they are not able to haul in because of the great number of fish. Hallelujah. And then immediately they realize that it's Jesus, because he's done this before. And I want to tell you that immediately, when that happens, peter puts on an outer garment. The Bible says, which means he probably was on the boat shipping all night and he was probably without a t-shirt. And the Bible says Peter puts on a garment and he jumps into the water and swims ashore. And the bible then goes on to say that the others who were in the boat bring in the haul. And at shore, I want to tell you this this is Jesus. The Bible says there's a charcoal fire laid and a fish and bread is already kept on it, and he asked Peter to get some more fish from the catch. And then he tells them come and have breakfast. Hallelujah, jesus was into eating, for sure. Come and have breakfast. And then he gives them fish and bread, hallelujah.

Speaker 1:

And today I want to tell you two things. I just gave you all the four versions of how the disciples have documented this in the Bible, of how, after Jesus was raised from the dead and how he came with them. He interacted with them because I want to tell you that they were his people when he was on this planet. They were his, his sheep. And then you see this whole new version of Jesus from four different sets of eyes and experiences from the four disciples. And they're talking about how Jesus is there. He comes to them in resurrected form and even, in one of the versions, even says I'm not a spirit, come, touch me, feel me, I am, I am flesh and bone and I want to eat something, hallelujah. But this morning I want to tell you that Two things and all of this, as I said, is so beautiful and I would have loved to be in a time like this. What a time to experience Jesus in his resurrected form, to see him speak with him, chill with him, talk, eat together and even have him cook a meal.

Speaker 1:

But it's important to know this and there is a time when Jesus is gone. You know, after his death and all of these things that happen, that Jesus is gone, so he dies, and I want to tell you that when he dies, you need to understand that for these 12 disciples who left everything to follow him, he's gone. And when they put all their faith in Jesus and now, suddenly, the person who was healing the paralyzed and the sick were waking up and the you know, the lame were walking, the blind were getting their sight back, the dead were being raised to life, and now, suddenly, this person is gone. And you know, we've all been in this, in this sort of a feeling in our life. You know where hope is gone and I want to tell you that hope is gone. Jesus is gone, he's dead, and there's just this big void. And yes, we know the story and we know that he gets. He's raised from the dead and we know today, seated at the right hand of god.

Speaker 1:

But you have to imagine that time when the disciples are sitting scared and, as I said, we've all been in the stage or in this phase in life. You know, suddenly things are really good and then suddenly there's a complete downer. Or you feel like there's no point downer, or you feel like there's no point of return, or you feel the situation is dead. Or you feel how did I get here? Or you feel I'm not sure what I need to do. I don't know where to go from here. I don't know what needs to be done. I'm afraid. It's human. It's a human emotion. I'm hiding. I don's human. It's a human emotion. I'm hiding. I don't know what to do. And we've all been there, I know we have.

Speaker 1:

But today I have a beautiful answer for you from the word of God, hallelujah, and I'm reading it to you directly from the book of Luke, the 24th chapter, the 48th verse onwards. The 24th chapter of Luke, the 48th verse onwards. And I am reading it to you directly from the word of God. You are witnesses of these things and so are you. You might not have been amongst the 12 disciples who witnessed him getting raised from the dead, but you are a witness today of these things because you have put your faith in Jesus. And if you have not, not, you should. And behold, I'm sending forth the promise of my father upon you, but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Amen, hallelujah. Luke 24, 48 unto the 49th verse. I'm reading it once again you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my father upon you, but you are to stay here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Hallelujah, with power from on high.

Speaker 1:

Oh hallelujah, stay where you are, he tells them. This is from the book of luke, and I've already told you luke's version of what happens after he was raised from the dead and how he interacted with the disciples. But this is when he comes and he tells them the last few things before he goes up into heaven. In their sight, he goes up to heaven. In their sight. The book of luke documents say that they see him going up to heaven and sitting at the right hand of God, which means, probably, the heavens opened up, they could see heaven. Oh praise God. And before this happens, he tells them stay here. I'm sending you, I'm sending you something from the Father, stay here. It's a promise from the Father. Stay here, yeah, sometimes you just need to stay still from the Father. Stay here, yeah, sometimes you just need to stay still and His promise will manifest, because he is not man. Hallelujah, stay where you are.

Speaker 1:

And I want to tell you in the book of John, as I already read to you, in the book of John, the 20th chapter, he says Jesus breathes upon his disciples when he meets them and he says receive the Holy Spirit, oh hallelujah. And I wanted to tell you this is the same time when Thomas is not there. He's not there and of course, jesus comes eight days later to meet them. But this is the time when Jesus breathes upon them and says receive the Holy Spirit, receive the Holy Spirit. He said it. But I want to tell you something the Bible does not document them receiving the Holy Spirit on that day. It does not. But instead history and there are many variants of it, so I'm not going to get into it, but I want to tell you this what people celebrate as the day of Pentecost.

Speaker 1:

The Holy Spirit came 50 days, approximately 50 days, after Jesus went into heaven. But I won't tell you. Jesus said receive the Holy Spirit. It didn't happen. On that time, I want to tell you that that's a long time to be hiding. That's a long time to be hiding. That's a long time to be in the dark. That's a long time to not be sure of what to do. That's a long time to be like a headless chicken. That's a long time to be fearing. That's a long time to be feeling alone and dejected. That's a long time to not know what are you supposed to do. Wow, that's a long time. To have no hope, that's a long time. But I want to tell you that Jesus said he breathes upon them and he says receive the Holy Spirit. But it's Jesus. And, as the Bible also documents, there's a time for everything under heaven. The Bible says it's Jesus and he says he. The Bible says it's Jesus and he says he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Speaker 1:

And now, from the book of John, the 14th chapter, the 25th verse onwards, these things I have spoken to you while abiding with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, helper. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives you, I give you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Oh, hallelujah. Jesus knew he had to go. Jesus knew that these were, these were his people and were these were his people, and they trusted him. They put their faith in him, they blindly followed him and he's just giving them what's about to happen. He's not telling them the truth, but he's telling them I'm sending you someone, don't worry, don't be troubled. Peace I, I am giving you, not as the world will give you, I will give you. Don't let your heart be troubled, not let your situation take over you, hallelujah. I want to tell you that it's important to know that Jesus, as per plan, as planned by God, decided to give you a helper, you and me a helper, and today there are helpers on this planet.

Speaker 1:

I want to tell you I shared this scripture last week and it's such a powerful scripture the 1 Corinthians 15, chapter 55, verse O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? But thanks be to god, who gives us the victory through our lord jesus, hallelujah. I want to tell you this morning your dead situation is not a dead situation, it's just the way you see it. You know that passage of scripture. I walk by faith and not by sight. That's what it is. The situation looks dead to you, but I want to tell you death has no control over you. Amen. Death has no control over you. A dead situation has no control over you. And if you don't believe it, go back to the first, this chapter. First corinthians, 15th chapter, the 55th verse. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? All thanks to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus, and I leave you with these words of Jesus to his disciples. It's for you and me this morning.

Speaker 1:

From the book of Mark, the 16, 16th chapter, the 17th verse onwards, these signs will accompany those who have believed in my name. And why? Because he's given you a helper. He's left his helper with you. His helper is always with you. He says I will never leave you nor forsake you. He doesn't say from 12 to 3, I'm not available. Or from 6 to 6 30 I have another meeting. He says I will never leave you nor forsake you. He doesn't say from 12 to 3, I'm not available. Or from 6 to 6 30 I have another meeting. He says I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am always at your right hand side. That means the helper is always with you. He is with you even right now. And these signs will accompany those who believe in my name. They will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up serpents and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Oh amen, hallelujah, and I want to leave this.

Speaker 1:

This is for somebody this morning. Truly, truly, I say to you from the words of Jesus that you will weep and lament. There is a time when you will weep and lament. There is a time when you will weep and lament. It's not that jesus says that there won't be times like that. There will be times like that, but the world will rejoice, which means the world might rejoice at your situation where you are weeping and maybe others are rejoicing. He says you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. Amen, amen. Let's all pray.

Speaker 1:

Dear Lord, I thank you for this beautiful word. Lord, I thank you for your double-edged sword. I thank you, lord, for your word that does not go back until it has achieved what it has been set out for. Lord, I thank you for your beautiful presence that's in people's homes this beautiful morning. I thank you for your helper presence that's in people's homes this beautiful morning. I thank you for your helper, your beautiful spirit, lord, that's with us at this moment, standing at the right hand of each of us. Lord, I thank you, lord, for being faithful to death on a cross only for us. I thank you, lord, that you will never leave us nor forsake us.

Speaker 1:

Your word says and I thank you, lord that no situation, no situation can overcome us. Lord, because of your name, the name that's above all names, where every knee will bow on the earth, above the earth and below the earth. Thank you, lord, for your beautiful spirit that's always with us, for your beautiful presence that's always with us, and thank you, lord, that we are more than conquerors through what you have done on that cross. We are more than conquerors in every situation. Through your name, thank you, lord, for your beautiful, beautiful love that you've showered upon us, for your beautiful grace that surpasses us every morning, for your mercies that are new every morning. Thank you, lord, for beautiful time. Thank you for your beautiful word. Thank you for your beautiful presence. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.