What Now? (Pt. 3)

Hold On to What He Has Said: Remember His Promises

Based on Luke 24:36-49

Over recent weeks, we've been looking at some of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Following Jesus' death on the cross, the disciples were in a dreadful state. Everything had changed in their lives. Their world had been turned upside down. What they thought was going to be and how it was going to be had totally changed. They were now facing a very different future, a very uncertain future.

They found themselves here in this moment following the death of Jesus with lots of questions, very few answers. And life can be like that at times—lots of questions, but there seems to be very few answers. They found themselves in circumstances that were not only beyond their control but beyond their comprehension. They couldn't understand it. This didn't make sense. There was so much uncertainty.

They were consumed with a whole host of thoughts and feelings and emotions: hopelessness, sadness, confusion, sorrow, disappointment, fear. It's all evident in the lives of those disciples following the death of Jesus.

The Universal Question: What Now?

In this moment, there was a question: what now? What happens now? What's next? Where do we go from here? And in all of our lives, there are times when we ask that question too. What now? Stuff happens, the unexpected happens. What now?

As for the disciples, some things were beyond their control and comprehension. So for us, too, as we go through life, things happen that are beyond our control. They're also beyond our comprehension. And like the disciples, we are left thinking, what now? What next? Where do I go from here? What's my future? Do I have a future? How does it look? How does it feel? What's it gonna be like? What now?

Jesus Comes to Meet Us

The wonderful thing about this is we know that in their "what now" moment, Jesus came and he met with them and he ministered to them. We've been looking at the ways he met with them, looking at the ways in which he ministered to them. And it's great to see that Jesus came to speak with them in it and he also came to walk with them through it.

I don't know about you, but I am really, really glad that we have a Living Saviour who walks with us through the stuff of life. He calls us to himself, and we make a decision to follow him, and he doesn't just say to us, "Alright, get on with it. You're on your own now, kid." He walks with us through all the stuff of life.

He also speaks with us, he also speaks to us, he also speaks over us. He speaks with us in the crisis, in the chaos, in the darkness, in the difficulty and in all the uncertainty. I don't know about you, but I am so grateful that in those times when I was in darkness and despair and difficulty and all that sort of stuff, there were moments when I heard his voice. And boy, did it make a difference.

Following the last message that I brought in this series just a couple of weeks ago, I received a message from someone. He's a young man who was part of the church I pastored before coming here. I dedicated him as a baby. I saw him get baptised, I married him to his wife, and his world has been turned upside down. I can't tell you any of the details, but his whole world has been turned upside down.

He wrote me this message: "It's 4 o'clock in the morning. I've just listened to your message. It spoke right to my heart and is the most timely words. I truly believe Jesus was talking to me." In his "what now," he heard the voice of Jesus. "I've sat in tears throughout most of the message. Well, my sermons also often have that effect on people. I've sat in tears throughout most of the message, but listen to this, I also found some joy after the comfort of the words."

That is so amazing, isn't it? That when he speaks, we can be in the depths of despair, but when he speaks, his words can bring comfort in the chaos, in the trouble. He walks with us through the stuff of life, and he speaks with us in the crisis and in the chaos, in the darkness, in the difficulty, and in all the uncertainty. And his words make a difference. Hold on to that—what he says.

Jesus Calls Us to a Future

Over the past few weeks, we have been looking at what Jesus said and also what he did to help the disciples come to terms and help them as they grappled with the reality of what now. We see Jesus coming to them in their brokenness, in their sadness, in their fear, in their doubt. He comes to them with their shattered dreams and hopelessness.

The incredible thing is He doesn't leave them in that place. He meets with them and He calls them to a future. They wondered if they had a future, but He calls them to a future that is filled with hope and faith, and confidence, new beginnings and restored lives.

I need to say to some people today: beyond this—and what do I mean by this? Beyond your "what now," beyond this crisis, this chaos, this darkness, this difficulty, this whatever has come your way, your present reality—beyond this, hear this, there is a future. It's not over. You are not over. There is a future that is filled with hope and faith and confidence, with new beginnings and restored lives.

The Key Lesson: Hold On to What He Has Said

This morning, our focus, the message that I want to bring, the lesson that I want us to learn is this: hold on to what he has said, remember his promises.

This journey for the disciples would have been so different if they had only held on to what he had said. They had only held on to his promises, but amid everything, they lost sight of what he'd said. They forgot what he said. What he said was clouded out by everything that happened.

Let's look at Luke 24: "Then, while they were still talking about this, what are they talking about? They're talking about what happened to the two people on the road to Emmaus. And it says, as they were talking about this, what happened on the road, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'"

"They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost, and he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do you doubt, allow doubts to rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet, it is I, myself touch me, and see a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.'"

"And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet, and while they stood not, did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?' And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it, and he ate it in their presence."

"He then said to them, this is what I told you when I was still with you." He's saying there: remember what I said, remember what I promised, this is what I said.

When Everything Changes, We Forget

When everything changes, it is very easy to forget what he has said. When life goes dark, when life gets difficult, it's very easy to forget what God has promised.

It was Raymond Edmund who said these words: "Never doubt or never forget in the dark what God told you in the light."

Jesus had spoken to them in the light, he was still with them. He told them everything. Now it had gone very dark, and it seems that they had forgotten what Jesus had told them in the light. And they are not alone in that because often that's us too.

But friends, there is an encouragement there for us to hold on to what he has told us in the light, in the good when everything is going well, because I want to tell you, what he tells us in the light will sustain us in the dark. What he tells us when everything is hunky dory and well and good will sustain us when it's not so good. Hold on to what he has said.

You know, the darkness doesn't change what he has said. The difficulty doesn't change what he has said. His word stands in the light and in the dark, it stands. In the easy and the rough, it stands.

Jesus Reminds Them of His Words

In verse 44, he said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms, everything in the scripture."

"Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, and he told them this is what is written. The Messiah will suffer, but he will rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things."

"I am going to send you what my father is promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

It's very interesting that in those verses, Jesus reminds them of what he had said. He reminds them of what he had told them before it got dark, before it got difficult, before they reached this place of "what now."

He reminded them of what the scriptures said about him, took them to the prophets, took them to the Psalms. "This is what the scriptures said," and he also reminded them of what he had promised them. He promised them that the Holy Spirit would come and be an abiding presence with them.

Friends, it really is in those dark nights and difficult days, in those times of uncertainty, when we are wondering "what now" that holding on to what Jesus has said, holding on to what the scriptures say, holding on to what he promised will not only make an incredible difference, but is the way forward for us.

The way forward for these disciples was holding on to what Jesus said, holding on to what the scripture said, holding on to what he promised. And I want to tell you the way forward for us, for any of us who are in a "what now" season, who are in a difficult day or a dark night or a troubled time. The way forward for us, the way we're gonna get through is by holding on to what he said, holding on to his word, holding on to his promises.

Hold On to What God Has Said to You

I want to encourage some of you in the room today and some of you at home. I want to encourage you to hold on to what the Lord has said to you. Hold on to what he said to you about your life, about your health, about your finances, about your family, about your future.

Hold on. There have been times where some of us have prayed, prayed for families, prayed for friends, prayed about our present situations. And as we prayed, God has spoken, and God has said, "I'm gonna do this for you, I'm gonna do that for you, I'm gonna meet the need, I'm gonna change it." God has spoken.

I want to tell you friends, if God has spoken, then He will do what he said he will do. God is not a man that He should lie. When he promises He delivers. He always does what He says He will do. Hold on to his promises.

A Pocket Full of Promises

Couple of weeks ago, I was given a book, and the title of the book is called "Postcards from the Land of Grief." It's written by Richard Littledale. He's a Baptist pastor. His wife, aged 53, died of cancer in November 2017. And he shares something of his story.

In the final pages of the book, he writes this: "When you travel through the land of grief, make sure you take with you..." And then under that, he lists seven things that you should take with you, or from his experience, he would advise us on that journey of grief to take with you.

One of the things he said was this: take with you a pocket full of promises. Take God's promises with you. And he writes and he says, "I say a pocketful because you will need different ones for different days. Sometimes you need big promises which cover today, tomorrow, and always, such as 'I am with you always.'" What a promise.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you." What a promise.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze."

These are big promises. These are wonderful promises, promises that we have proven in our life journey, promises that I have proven in my life journey and will continue to prove in the days that are before us.

But you know what, friends? Walking life's journey with a pocket full of promises is not just for those in grief. Whatever life's circumstance, a pocketful of promises as you walk that journey will make all the difference. "I am with you. I will never leave you, I will never forsake you when you're in that tough time." I'm gonna be there. It makes the difference.

Many of us have been in difficult times. Many of us have been in those places, and we've heard the word of the Lord, we've been reminded of his promises, we've been reminded of what he has said, and boy, hasn't it helped? It makes a difference.

The Comfort of God's Word

Many of us know the word and the promises of the Lord bring comfort to our lives. You know, thank God, there is tremendous comfort in his word. There really is. If you need comforting, I want to tell you there's no better place to go than to the word of God. There is a comfort here like nothing else.

His word and promises bring hope, bring strength, they sustain. And many of us in this room have stories to tell how God's Word, how his promises really have comforted us, have brought us hope in hopeless places. They've strengthened us, they've sustained us. That's my testimony.

The word of the Lord, the things that Jesus has said, the promises he made that comforted you, that brought hope to you, that sustained and strengthened you then will bring comfort and hope, and will strengthen and sustain you now.

Think back. You know many of us have a history with God, and sometimes we need to look back over that history and be mindful of what he's done for us, of what he has brought us through, where he has brought us to, and also where he's taken us to. Friends, it's not over. It's not over. It's not over.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Now for the disciples in this moment, in where they were at, at this particular time, there were particular words, there was a particular promise that Jesus wanted them to be mindful of.

We read there in Luke 24 and verse 49. Jesus said, "I'm going to send you what my father has promised," talking about the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter 1, verse 4, Luke writing again, says, "On one occasion, while he, Jesus was eating with them, he gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father has promised, which you have heard me speak about. I told you about these things."

"I told you that I would go, I would appear to you, and then you will see me no more, and the Holy Spirit will come, and you will be full of his presence, and you will know his power."

Jesus had already spoken to them. John 14—he'd spoken to them in the light, now it was dark. John 14: "And I will ask the father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and to be with you forever, the spirit of truth, the world cannot accept him because it neither sees him or knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

"I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you before long. The world will see me, will not see me anymore, but you will see me because I live. You will also live."

Jesus had told them what was going to happen, and he had made the disciples a promise. He had sought to help them knowing that the darkness would come, knowing that it would be difficult. He'd sought to help them, he'd given them his word, he'd spoken to them.

He knows what's before us, he knows what's going to happen. That's why he's given us his words, the word that sustains, the word that strengthens, the word that gets you through.

"I Will Not Leave You as Orphans"

He said in verse 18, these beautiful words, and I want to bring them to us today. He said, "I will not leave you as orphans. I'm gonna come to you. I'm gonna come to you." And you know what? That's his promise to us. "I will not leave you as orphans, you won't be abandoned."

Sometimes when stuff happens, we can feel as if the Lord has abandoned us, forsaken us, forgotten us. But I want to tell you, friends, he never forsakes, forgets or abandons. Never.

He said, "I will not leave you as orphans." And I went through the different translations to see what it says. And it says this: "I will not leave you comfortless. I will not leave you desolate. I will not leave you comfortless, bereaved and helpless. I'm not going to forsake you. I'm not gonna leave you without help. I will not abandon you. I'm not going to leave you bereft."

Isn't it lovely how those translations put it and how they convey the heart of God for us? You will not be alone. I will come to you.

The great confidence that we have in our "what now" moments and in our times of confusion and chaos and, you know, days of darkness and difficulty and all that sort of stuff that we face in life. And we're wondering, what now? What next? Where do I go from here? "I'm not gonna leave you as orphans. I'm gonna come to you." And he does, doesn't he? He comes to us.

He also said in verse 16 that he would go, but that the spirit would come. And when the spirit came, he would remain with them. They would know his presence, and they would be endowed with his power. And thank the Lord that promise is for us too. We can know the abiding presence of the Lord. We too can be endowed with his power.

Everything Changed at Pentecost

Fifty days after the feast of Passover, when Christ was crucified was the feast of Pentecost. And it was on the feast of Pentecost that what Jesus said would happen, happened in regards to the coming of the spirit and that endowment with power.

And you know what? Again, everything changed for the disciples as his presence and power filled their lives. And at that point, they stepped into a very different future with a new presence and a new power. There was a moment where they couldn't even see a future. There was a moment where it was all so dark, so uncertain.

But now, now because of his promise, because of what he had said, because of his word, there was a whole new future. They thought it was over. It wasn't over, it was only just beginning.

And sometimes we can think it's over, it's over, but it's not over. There's a new beginning, a new beginning.

So in the "what now" they were reminded of what he had said, reminded of what the Scripture said. They were reminded of what he promised them. There were promises over their lives. There was a promise over their lives. It was a promise that he was waiting to fulfill, and over many of our lives, there are promises that God is waiting to fulfill.

Hold On When Life Is Spinning

May I encourage you: hold on to them. Hold on to them because when you are in the dark, when you're in the difficulty, when you're in the "what now, what next, where do I go from here?" Those promises are gonna help bring you through.

On April 24th, 2022, it was my birthday. Write that date down in your diaries, please. 24th of April every year, the 24th of April is my birthday. 2022, I was 56, and Jill brought a message on trauma that was following the whole thing of the resurrection of Jesus, the death of Jesus, very traumatic event. And it was a great message on trauma, and there was so much in it.

The interesting thing is, such a profound message, but many people, what they took away from that message were a few simple yet profound words that she brought in that message. She played a little voice clip, a voice message from a friend who was taking her little boy to the park. And she put the little boy on a roundabout and was starting to spin him around, and she was recording what she was saying to the little boy.

Some of you might remember it: "Hold on, hold on, don't let go, don't let go, hold on, hold on."

And that was repeated numerous times and Jill brought that to us and I want to bring it to us today. I want to say to us, when life is spinning around, when life is spinning you around, you're on that roundabout and the circumstances and situations are beyond your control and beyond your comprehension: hold on, hold on, don't let go, don't let go, hold on, hold on. Hold on to God's promises, hold on to his word, hold on to what he said.

The Way Forward

The way forward for us is holding on to his word. Help us, Lord, to hold on to your word, to hold on to your promises. Help us, Lord, to walk this journey with our pockets filled with your promises, and daily to draw on them, and to be strengthened by them and sustained by them.

You do not leave us as orphans, but you come to us. Thank you for the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for his empowering. Help us, Lord, to hold on. Don't let go. Hold on.

All your promises are yes and amen. All your promises are yes and amen. My confidence is your faithfulness, and I will rest in your promises. My confidence is your faithfulness.

Beyond this—beyond your "what now," beyond this crisis, this chaos, this darkness, this difficulty—there is a future. It's not over. You are not over. There is a future that is filled with hope and faith and confidence, with new beginnings and restored lives.

Hold on to what he has said. Remember his promises. The way forward is holding on to his word, holding on to what the scriptures say, holding on to what he promised. When you are in the dark, when you're in the difficulty, when you're in the "what now"—hold on. His promises will help bring you through.

This blog is based on a sermon delivered by Michael Williams on May 25, 2025 at the City Church Swansea