Let’s Talk About Jesus (Hymn)

Let’s Talk About Jesus
Herbert Buffum

Let’s talk about Jesus, the King of kings is He,
The Lord of lords supreme, through out eternity.
The Great I Am, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door.
Let’s talk about Jesus more and more!

I don’t know if there is more to this song than this little chorus, but even if there isn’t, it’s a great little chorus – especially for Easter Sunday.  To me, it’s one of those songs that just gets into your head and you can’t help humming it all throughout the day.  If there is one thing that would be good to be reminded of all throughout the day, it would be to talk about Jesus more and more.  Yes, let’s talk about Jesus more and more.  On Easter, we usually do talk about Jesus, but we should be talking about Him every day!

Results of Seeing God

And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.  Amen.

Luke 24:50-53

After seeing the risen Lord Jesus and talking and fellowshipping with Him, the disciples went with Him “as far as to Bethany,” where He ascended into Heaven.  After being with Him, seeing and hearing Him, and walking with Him, they were on top of the mountain, so to speak.

After He left them, going back to Heaven, they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.”  After they had been with the Lord, they worshipped Him.  They went lived “with great joy.”  That is what being close to the Lord will do for us: it will cause us to worship Him and will bring us great joy.

After they got back to Jerusalem, they “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.”  They went to church and praised and blessed God.  Again, when we have been with the Lord, we will want to be in church and we will want to be praising and blessing Him.

There are certain things that we will want to do when we have been with the Lord.  When we have walked closely with the Lord, we are going to act a certain way.  We are going to have the same reaction as these disciples.  We can tell if we have been close to Jesus by the way we act.  Are we worshipping Him?  Is our life characterized by joy?  Are we in church?  Are we praising and blessing God?  If we are, then we can know that we have been walking with the Lord.

Opening Our Understanding

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Luke 24:44-45

When Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, they were “terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.”  They had seen Jesus nailed to the cross and crucified.  They had watched Him die.  And now, all of a sudden, there He was in the middle of them, talking to them.  That would probably scare just about anybody.

After getting over their initial shock, He reminded them of words that He had given them when He was with them.  He reminded them of all of the things written about Him in the Old Testament – in the law, the Psalms and the prophets.  He had told them of all of these things before.  He had shown them the prophecies and had tried to explain to them exactly what would happen.  But they had not understood it before then.

“Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.”  That is the key to anybody understanding the Scriptures.  In order to understand anything in the Bible, our spiritual eyes have to be opened by the Lord.  As it says in I Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”  The key to understanding the Scripture is having the One who wrote it explain it to you.

When we come across a passage we don’t understand, let us pray that He would open our understanding of it.  There are some passages that we might not need to understand.  But the one Who authored the Book can and will open our understanding if we will allow Him to.

Peace Be Unto You

…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 breaking of bread.  And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.  But there were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

Luke 24:34b-37

The disciples were gathered together when they got the news that “the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.”  The men who had walked with Him on the road to Emmaus came in and told the eleven that it was indeed Him.  As they were telling their story and giving them the wonderful news that they had seen, walked and talked with Jesus, He appeared in their midst.  Apparently, His glorified body is not subject to the same laws of nature as ours are.  He was able to appear and disappear at will.  They were talking about Him, and He showed up in their midst.

The first thing that He told them was “Peace be unto you.”  I find that interesting.  Of all of the things He could have said to them, He chose “Peace be unto you.”  I believe that there are several reasons for this.

First, He wanted them to not be alarmed, as it says they were in the next verse.  It was Him: the same Jesus that they been with for years.  He had conquered death and was back in front of them.  There was no reason for them to fear.

Second, He wanted to calm their nerves and strengthen their faith.  I’m sure that they had seen their faith shaken a great deal during the mock trial and crucifixion of their Saviour.  But He was now here, to comfort, calm and reassure them.

Third, He wanted them to know that He was the source of their peace.  Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  It is through Him and through Him alone that we can have peace with God.

The Saviour told His disciples the same thing He still tells us today: “Peace be unto you.”  What a wonderful Saviour!

Our Heart Burning Within Us

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
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?

Luke 24:13-16, 31-32

After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to and walked with these two people on the road to Emmaus.  In the verses 17 through 30, Jesus talks with them and “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”  These two people had an incredible opportunity: they walked and talked with the risen Saviour, listening to Him speak of Himself and of the Scriptures.  But they didn’t know at the time that it was Him.  “…their eyes were holden that they should not know him.”  It was only after He was gone that they realized Who it was.

After He was gone, having been “vanished out of their sight,” they said to each other, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”  They didn’t know that it was Jesus with whom they talked, but they knew there was something different.  Their hearts burned within them.

It should be the same with us as Christians.  When we hear Jesus speak to us and when we open the Scriptures, our hearts should burn within us.  To a Christian, there is something about hearing the Word of God.  There is something about hearing His voice.  Even when we can’t see Him clearly, we know that He is there, for our heart burns within us.

Peter Ran

It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.  And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.  Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Luke 24:10-12

After Jesus was crucified and rose again from the dead, some women (among them Mary and Mary Magdalene) went to the tomb.  Of course, we all know that they found the stone rolled away and the Lord Jesus gone.  After seeing this miracle, they immediately went and told the apostles.  Strangely, even after having followed Jesus for three years and hearing Him tell of His rising from the dead many times, they didn’t believe it.  “…their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.”

But one of the apostles did something.  Peter, who just days before had denied the Lord three times, decided to get up and go.  “Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre.”  The same Peter who had gone out and wept bitterly after his failure was the one who ran to see the empty tomb.

Why was it Peter who went?  Was it just that he was the boldest?  Was it the fact that he desperately wanted to see the Lord again to ask for forgiveness?  Was it that he had more faith than the others?  We will never know.  Peter had his doubts.  In verse 12, he was “wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.”  Whatever the reason, Peter showed at least some faith.

Let it be the same with us.  We may not understand everything, but we can have faith in every situation.  Do we?

The Stone Rolled Away

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

Luke 24:1-3

Jesus was crucified.  He went to the cross to bleed and die for us.  But it didn’t end there.  These verses give us the basis of all of Christianity.  These verses are the key.  “… they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre… and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.”  They went to the grave, but He was not there.  They went to pay their respects to a dead Saviour, but they didn’t find a dead Saviour.  They found an empty tomb.  They found the empty tomb of a risen Saviour.

Revelation 1:18 describes Him as “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.”  He lives.  He was dead, and He is now alive for evermore.  He is our living Saviour.

Knowing Jesus as our Saviour allows us to confidently speak the words of I Corinthians 15:54-57, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The empty tomb is the basis for our faith.  The living Saviour is the rock upon which we stand.  It is wonderful to serve a risen Saviour!

Let Him Have His Way With Thee (Hymn)

Let Him Have His Way With Thee
Cyrus Nusbaum

Would you live for Jesus, and be always pure and good?
Would you walk with Him within the narrow road?
Would you have Him bear your burden, carry all your load?
Let Him have His way with thee.

Chorus
His power can make you what you ought to be;
His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free;
His love can fill your soul, and you will see.
‘Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.

Would you have Him make you free, and follow at His call?
Would you know the peace that comes by giving all?
Would you have Him save you, so that you can never fall?
Let Him have His way with thee.

Chorus

Would you in His kingdom find a place of constant rest?
Would you prove Him true in providential test?
Would you in His service labor always at your best?
Let Him have His way with thee.

Chorus

This is a great hymn that reminds us how to have a successful life: let Him do what He wants to do with you.  His blood cleanses our hearts and makes us free.  His love fills our souls.  His power is what helps us to do what we ought to do.  We need to just let Him do His will in us and through us.

Our Model of Forgiveness

And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.  And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Luke 23:33-34

As Christians, we have a perfect model of everything we should be doing in the person of Jesus Christ.  In these verses, we have the perfect model of forgiveness.  Jesus had been sentenced to die.  He was on the cross being crucified.  People at the foot of the cross were casting lots for His clothes.  These people hated Him, wrongly accused Him, insisted He be crucified (the most horrible death of the time), and mocked and tortured Him as He died.

Still He forgave them.

He had done everything for them.  He had healed their sick, caused their blind to see, their deaf to hear, and made their lame to walk.  They paid Him back by betraying Him and rejecting Him in His hour of need.  They chanted for His crucifixion, instead allowing a known murderer to go free.

Still He forgave them.

Whatever anyone has done to us, we can surely find a way to forgive them.  We have no right to hold grudges and harbor unforgiveness in our hearts when we have the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was able to forgive those who betrayed Him and crucified Him.  No one that we know has ever, nor will ever, do anything of that magnitude to us.  So why should be not be forgiving, as was our Lord?

We have the perfect example of forgiveness.  We have only ourselves to blame if we do not follow it.  Forgiveness is a way of life for the Christian.

Weep for Yourselves

And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.  But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Luke 23:27-28

After being condemned to die on the cross, Jesus was led away.  “A great company of people, and of women” followed Him, bewailing and lamenting Him.  They were apparently genuinely sad about the fact that He was being accused and executed wrongly.  But He said something interesting to them.  He told them to “weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”

He knew what was coming for Him.  He knew the death that He would die and the pain that He would suffer.  But He could also see the pain, suffering and death that would come upon those who had rejected Him.  And that is what He saw when told them to “weep for themselves, and for your children.”  He knew that His death, as horrible as it would be, would be temporary.  He could see beyond His terrible crucifixion and see the glory that awaited Him.  And He also knew that the pain and death of those who rejected Him would be an eternal pain and death.

We can look at this story and apply it to our own lives.  We might face trials and tribulations, and sometimes we want to weep for ourselves.  But we know that our trails, troubles, and problems are merely temporary.  The problems of those who have rejected the Lord Jesus are eternal.  Those are the people we should be weeping over.  Some day, we will look back and see that our greatest problems really weren’t that bad.  And we will look back and see that problems of the unsaved were far, far worse than we thought.

Who are we weeping for today?  Ourselves or the non-believers?