1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:12,520 We're going to Matthew 13 with the end of the chapter now, 2 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:21,600 verse 53. I always do this to you. 3 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,760 I say verse 53 and then I start talking about what happened 4 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:25,440 before it and I'm about to do it again. 5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:27,600 You ought to know. You ought to expect it at this 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,000 point. Jesus remember, all in the same 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:32,280 day. Everything else has happened. 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,120 Now we know that the time the timeline has changed. 9 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,520 But before he had said he had been he went nuclear on the 10 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,320 Pharisees and then he goes into those parables, the seven 11 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,040 different parables all on the same day. 12 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,720 But now we transition and when Jesus had finished in verse 53 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,240 with these parables, he went away from there. 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,440 So it's not a 15 minute drive that could be, you know, miles 15 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,960 of walking and coming to his hometown. 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,960 So now we know he's and Nazareth coming to his hometown. 17 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,000 He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,680 astonished and said, where did this man get this wisdom and 19 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,080 these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? 20 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,760 Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James 21 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,400 and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Are not all his sisters here 22 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,320 with us? Where then did this man get all 23 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:24,680 these things? And they took offense at him, 24 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,000 but Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor 25 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,480 except in his hometown and in his own household. 26 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,480 And he did not do many mighty works there because of their 27 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,040 unbelief. God, we pray that you would fill 28 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:46,480 us with wisdom as we would have great humility today to trust 29 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,960 you, to receive from you. It is the wise thing to be 30 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,720 obedient. It is the wise thing to be eager 31 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:54,200 to receive everything that you have. 32 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,160 That's the posture of our hearts now, Lord, so bring us light and 33 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:05,280 revelation in Jesus name, Amen. So Jesus goes to his hometown 34 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,000 and when he gets into his hometown, he runs into folks who 35 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,720 have this perspective that says we know him, we know him 36 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,240 already, we already know what he's going to say, we know what 37 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,720 he's going to do, and we understand his background. 38 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,440 They thought they understood his background. 39 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:25,520 The Scripture tells us in verse 54, they were astonished. 40 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,840 So we're going to understand their errors where there's three 41 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:30,000 points we're going to look at today. 42 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,280 We're going to look at how easy it is for people to reject 43 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,800 Christ and how we have to be careful not to do the same 44 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:37,320 thing. We're going to look at how easy 45 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,320 it can be for people to reject us because we can be in the same 46 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,480 situation bearing, bringing the gospel. 47 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,760 Folks can reject us and say, I know you, I know your 48 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,560 background, I know your past. What do you think you're doing 49 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,680 this Christian thing now? And then the third thing we're 50 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,040 going to look at is the importance of faith compared to 51 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,480 unbelief, where the passage tells us that Jesus could do no 52 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,920 mighty works there or he did no mighty works there because of 53 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,920 their unbelief. So that's the way we're going to 54 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:04,600 break down this text. Jesus goes and teaches in their 55 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,280 synagogue. Remember, the temple has priests 56 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,320 working in it in Jerusalem. But other communities, I think 57 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,280 it's, if you have 10, is it 10 Jewish men in a community, then 58 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,040 you can have a, a synagogue. I don't know. 59 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,440 I thought some of my historians wouldn't know for me, but I 60 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,880 think Adam, Mr. Bible College here at Adams like to go to. 61 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,880 So I think you've got 10 Jewish men in the community then now 62 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:30,440 you can have a synagogue in that community. 63 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:32,840 So this is essentially their church. 64 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,520 And you don't really have a ruler though, or you don't have 65 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,520 a, a priest or a teacher or a rabbi. 66 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,240 You have a ruler of the synagogue. 67 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,280 So he's a godly man that we've, we've probably nominated into 68 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,400 that role, but he's not necessarily preaching, he's just 69 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,800 kind of officiating things. And he is scheduling for the, 70 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,320 for the traveling rabbis to come around and minister to us in our 71 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,800 town. So that was a common practice in 72 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:57,760 Israel. So we've all got synagogues in 73 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,080 our different communities, but there's like like in the United 74 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,920 States, they used to call them circuit riders, so preachers on 75 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,440 horseback. And they were just traveling 76 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,760 just throughout the nation and they're just all on rotation, 77 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,400 just finding local churches throughout the country. 78 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:11,560 And they're saying, hey, we're going to preach. 79 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,280 I'm going to stay with y'all for two weeks and I'm going to 80 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,520 encourage you in the Scriptures and then I'm going to ride on 81 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,760 and maybe another one comes on another couple months. 82 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,160 So this is, this is what it looked like, something similar 83 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,520 to that. So Jesus is a rabbi and he's 84 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,160 going and he goes to teach in the synagogue in Nazareth. 85 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,040 The thing with Jesus, though, when Jesus teaches, when Jesus 86 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,680 preaches, he's not preaching like everybody else. 87 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,000 He preaches like someone who has authority. 88 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,280 He's not just saying, hey, here's one way to look at it. 89 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,000 He's saying this is the way that it is. 90 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:48,040 So Jesus's boldness, Jesus's power, Jesus's ministry is 91 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,880 marked by mighty works. It's marked by mighty wisdom. 92 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,720 You can see that Nazareth even recognizes that. 93 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,440 They don't say he has no wisdom. They don't say he doesn't have 94 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,720 any power. That's not their argument that 95 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,600 they're making against him. They said where did he get that 96 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,520 from? Where did he get that wisdom? 97 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:07,800 We've been here the whole time. We know. 98 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:15,160 We remember his life, Remember Jesus born where Bethlehem. 99 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,320 And then he's warned or Joseph is warned in a dream to take 100 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,800 Jesus away, to take him and Mary to Egypt. 101 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,520 And he was there probably till about 10 years old. 102 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,880 So now he spent the next 20 years from about age 10 to about 103 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,680 age 30 when he begins his public ministry in Nazareth. 104 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,360 So you've seen a 10 year old kid for all these years. 105 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,960 You know him for 20 years. And now for the past year, past 106 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,560 two years, or we're not quite sure the timeline at this point 107 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,200 in Matthew how far Jesus is into his ministry. 108 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:44,560 But it's no more than three years. 109 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,360 Can't be any more than 3 for sure. 110 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,760 And they're going, oh, well, that's the carpenter's son. 111 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,160 We know you. They thought they knew him. 112 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:58,680 Where did this man get this wisdom? 113 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,040 The scripture says they were astonished. 114 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:03,920 I often think of the word like that was it was astonishing. 115 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:05,720 I would always think of that in a positive sense. 116 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,200 But the word is not necessarily used in a positive sense. 117 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,320 It's a neutral word. You can be astonished at 118 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,160 anything. You can be astonished at how 119 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,520 wonderful something is. You could be astonished at how 120 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,960 bad something is. But their astonishment, their 121 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,120 amazement, it's not that they were impressed. 122 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,800 It's not that they were blessed. It's that they were offended. 123 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,880 The passage even shows us with clarity the roots of their 124 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,880 offense. It's that they thought they knew 125 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,400 him and they took the approach that said we know who he is, But 126 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,720 who does he think he is? I know who you are. 127 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,600 I know your Mama and your brothers and your daddy. 128 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,720 I've seen you grow up. I know who you are. 129 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,200 Who do you think you are now is the approach that they're 130 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,680 taking. Where did this man get this 131 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,920 wisdom and these mighty works? And then they list all the 132 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,680 reasons that they think they have to discredit him. 133 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,800 Isn't this the carpenter's son? So Nazareth is not a big place. 134 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,840 It's very possible that Joseph would have been the only 135 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:05,640 Carpenter in town. It's not a strict rule, but it's 136 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,680 very possible and probably likely that Joseph was the 137 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,040 Carpenter, which meant Jesus would have trained under Joseph. 138 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:14,600 Why? Because that's how human history 139 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,280 works. Like the father just trains with 140 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,080 the Son. That's what he would have done. 141 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,560 And just just a fun fact, carpentry, you and I think of it 142 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,240 as woodworking, carpentry in this context would have just 143 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,440 been the builder and it would have actually been a lot of 144 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,320 stone work. So primarily it would have 145 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:32,880 mostly stoned. It could have involved wood as 146 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,480 well, but a lot of stone work. So Jesus was of course, super 147 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:41,120 bulky and and big because he's doing all kinds of stone work. 148 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,160 So Jesus is the carpenter's son, which also meant that he was the 149 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:46,840 Carpenter. But now they're building their 150 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,720 case. Isn't his mom named Mary? 151 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,360 Aren't his brothers James, Joseph and Simon and Judas 152 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,240 aren't all his sisters with us? So we also know here that Jesus 153 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,880 it has, is at least one of seven children. 154 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,960 He's the oldest of one of at least seven kids because we we 155 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,600 counted the brothers. We count Jesus, there's at least 156 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,080 two sisters, potentially more. This is all of his sisters. 157 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,120 Just to also clarify, Jesus was the only one born of a virgin. 158 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,040 Mary was not a virgin after Jesus was born. 159 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,480 The scripture also makes that plain. 160 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,640 So there are different bodies, they're different denominations 161 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:24,560 that would say, hey, Mary was always a virgin. 162 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,880 It's not true in the scripture makes it plain. 163 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,920 So Joseph and Mary did get into the marriage bed together after 164 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,200 Jesus was born. But they say all these things, 165 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:40,080 they list all this stuff as though this is valuable evidence 166 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,799 against Christ. Like this is damning evidence. 167 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:46,240 His mom's name is Mary. OK, what's your point? 168 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,600 I know his brothers. What's your point? 169 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,560 His his dad was Joseph. He was the Carpenter. 170 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:54,840 Like, his shop was right there. Jesus made me a table. 171 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:56,880 He set the foundation on my house. 172 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,240 And your point is, congratulations. 173 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,440 You know people who know him, but do you really know Him? 174 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,120 That's a question that we should all constantly ask ourselves and 175 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,480 ask those who might think that they're safe. 176 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:11,920 Why? Because we want to make people 177 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:13,280 insecure? No, because we want to make 178 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,200 people secure. I want people to be secure. 179 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,920 I want my sons to be secure. I want you to be secure. 180 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:21,840 I want you to know that you know Christ. 181 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,600 Not that you know that your mom knows Christ, or that your dad 182 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:27,720 knows Christ, or that your pastor knows Christ, or that 183 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,040 your spouse knows Christ. I want you to know that you know 184 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,520 Christ because one day you'll stand before him all alone and 185 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,000 you won't be able to say, hey, I'm going to, I'm with, I'm with 186 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,000 this party, I'm with this family, I'm with this church. 187 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,840 We won't stand together as salt. We'll stand as individuals 188 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:45,400 before the king and before the judge. 189 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,480 Do you know the Lord or do you just know a lot about him? 190 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,560 Do you know a lot of data? Do you know his mother's name? 191 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,320 Do you know his brothers names? Do you know about his sisters? 192 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,240 Do you know about his crucifixion? 193 00:09:58,240 --> 00:09:59,800 Do you know about his resurrection? 194 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,920 Do you know about his ascension? Do you know about his sending of 195 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,040 the Holy Spirit? Do you know about the growth of 196 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,280 the Church and the earth? Do you know about the coming 197 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:08,400 Kingdom? Good. 198 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,040 Those are all good things. But those things, it's not 199 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,200 enough to just know, to just have knowledge. 200 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,800 Many folks have knowledge. Bradley and I had a conversation 201 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:18,120 this week. He was talking about somebody he 202 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:19,640 met. He said, man, it sounded really 203 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:21,320 fruitful. This guy seemed to have a lot of 204 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,560 knowledge. And then at the end of the 205 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:27,440 conversation, that guy takes a weird hard left turn and reveals 206 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,200 that he does not know the Lord. So a strange thing can happen, 207 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:32,880 right? People can be so familiar. 208 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:35,800 People can grow up. Y'all, there's pastors, and 209 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,320 they're the worst people who used to be pastors online. 210 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:41,520 They're the absolute worst where that when they turn from the 211 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,560 Lord and then they make it their mission. 212 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,040 They make it their mission to also now shepherd others, but 213 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:48,800 they're not shepherds. They're called wolves at that 214 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:50,480 point. And they want to draw people 215 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,880 under this themselves. And they think because they have 216 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,920 some knowledge that it also gives them some authority and 217 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,280 some power. And they go, oh, I've seen this 218 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,040 in the church and I've seen that in the church. 219 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,040 They're just critics. Anyone can be a critic. 220 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:09,560 It's easy to be a critic, but these these people, they have 221 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,600 the King of glory standing in front of them and they're making 222 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,640 inappropriate judgments about Jesus. 223 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,480 And they think that they have some powerful knowledge and they 224 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,400 think that this knowledge gives them authority, gives them the 225 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,040 power to judge Christ. It's really, really, really 226 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,160 foolish. We know who he is. 227 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:31,880 Who does he think he is? You might know about Him, you 228 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,560 might know people who know him, but do you really know Him? 229 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,120 They're saying we think we know your past and we're going to 230 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:42,600 keep you stuck in it. The truth is, they actually 231 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,760 don't even know His past. They don't know about His 232 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:46,840 miraculous birth. They don't know about His 233 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,440 creation of the world before that, and they don't know about 234 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,920 His eternity before that. And they're certainly not going 235 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,000 to keep Jesus stuck in the framework that they have built 236 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,160 for Him. Unfortunately, they're going to 237 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,640 be the ones who suffer for it. He's grieved because He loves 238 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:04,400 them, because He did grow up around these folks, and he knows 239 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,560 this sweet old lady and that sweet old man, and he cares 240 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:10,920 about these people. God loves all of these people, 241 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,000 but they won't receive him because of their unbelief. 242 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:21,800 It matters who Jesus is to you. It matters who Jesus is to you. 243 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,640 Wait a second. Isn't Jesus isn't relative? 244 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:26,680 Jesus is who Jesus is. That's true. 245 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,720 And yet it also matters who you say Jesus is. 246 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,600 This is why in Matthew 16, we're eventually going to see Jesus 247 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:39,400 said to his disciples. But who do you say that I am? 248 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:47,000 The carpenter's son, Mary's boy, brother of so and so, friend of 249 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,720 so and so. Who do you say that I am? 250 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:51,440 He first asked his disciples who? 251 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,040 Who do the people say that I am? And they answered him. 252 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,000 Some say John the Baptist, others say you're Elijah, others 253 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,720 say you're one of the prophets. And Jesus goes, Yep, I've heard 254 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:01,800 all that. And then he turns to the guys 255 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,720 and goes, but but who did you say that I am? 256 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,840 That is the question. Well, there's all kinds of 257 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:11,720 theories on it. Y'all there? 258 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:13,840 There's plenty of things in scripture that we can hold with 259 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,240 an open hand. There's things that I hold with 260 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:17,760 an open hand. There's some things I will # the 261 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:19,800 pulpit on and I'll be pounding the pulpit this morning and this 262 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,920 is one of them. And there's other things that I 263 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,840 go, I got an open hand on that. This is not one of those open 264 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,080 handed issues. This one has to be settled. 265 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:34,120 Who do you say that Jesus is? Who you say Jesus is determines 266 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:39,480 who Jesus will be to you. If you say he's a builder, you 267 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:41,440 might get the foundation of your house laid. 268 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,400 If you say he's a good moral teacher, you might get some good 269 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:45,960 principles that'll bless your life. 270 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,320 But if you say like Peter did that day, you are the Christ, 271 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:52,920 you are the Son of the living God. 272 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,480 Which, by the way, was the first time any of the disciples had 273 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:58,680 said it with that kind of clarity, that kind of certainty, 274 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,000 that kind of boldness. That was a special moment. 275 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,320 It was a special moment for Peter, for Christ, and for the 276 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:07,360 disciples because it was like, we're all thinking it, we're all 277 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,720 seeing it, we're all believing it, but no one has said it yet. 278 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,560 But with the heart you believe and with the mouth confession is 279 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:20,040 made unto salvation. So in this moment Jesus goes, 280 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:21,520 Who do they say I am? Like, well, some people say 281 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:22,800 this, some people say that, some people say that. 282 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,600 He goes, I know that voice. But who do you say that I am? 283 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,680 Peter? You love Peter, right? 284 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,000 Or bellows Peter. He either gets it really right 285 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,280 or he gets it really wrong. It's just like there's not a lot 286 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,400 of Gray hair. You're just, oh, you missed it 287 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,560 big time, buddy, or you nailed it right on the head. 288 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,240 Well done. He nails it. 289 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,040 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 290 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,440 I bet some of the other times we're saying it now we're we're 291 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:49,640 we're in this thing. This is it. 292 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,960 Bunch of good Jewish boys waiting their whole lives along 293 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,520 with thousands of years with other Jews for the Messiah to 294 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,400 come. And we're saying, this is it. 295 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,440 I'm walking with him. He's the one I sit around the 296 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:03,400 fire pit with at night. He's the one who I travel with 297 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,160 during the day. He's the one who I'm going to 298 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,480 follow. And and they still had their 299 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:09,400 misunderstandings and we're going to take over the Romans. 300 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,920 I think at some point. They still don't fully get it, 301 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:16,400 even though he tells them over and over and over and over, I'm 302 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,360 going to die on the cross on the third day, I'm going to be 303 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:19,240 raised. They're like, yeah, yeah, we're 304 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:20,840 going to beat the Romans, right? He's like, you're not hearing 305 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,440 me, boys. We are going to beat the Romans. 306 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,720 We're going to beat the whole world, just not the way you 307 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:31,520 think we're going to do it. It matters who you say Jesus is, 308 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,200 because who you say he is determines who he will be to 309 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,240 you. And then you'll get the fullness 310 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,000 of who he is, and He'll do the mighty works in your life 311 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:46,680 because of your faith. And then he says in verse 57, a 312 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:51,600 prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and in 313 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:56,520 his own household. How do you receive Jesus? 314 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,520 That's our first point. And now to go into our second 315 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,520 point, you also need to know that a similar thing can happen 316 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,400 with you. What happened with Jesus in his 317 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,920 hometown and those who knew him. This is especially true for 318 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,000 those of you who haven't walked with the Lord since childhood. 319 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,000 So when you come to the Lord sometime after childhood, even 320 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,840 sometimes as a teenager, but certainly it would always be 321 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,920 true for adults. When you come to Christ anytime 322 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,320 like that as an adult, there will usually be people who were 323 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:32,160 close to you at one time but are now offended at your new life. 324 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:38,400 It's a strange thing because they see fruit, they see power, 325 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,560 and they even see love. Remember Nazareth? 326 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:45,640 They didn't deny any of that. Where does he get this wisdom? 327 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,920 They didn't say he's stupid and doesn't have wisdom. 328 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:49,800 They said where does he get this power? 329 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,400 They didn't say he doesn't have any power. 330 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,840 They looked it right in the face like this is astonishing. 331 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:59,240 I'm offended. Why a hard heart does that? 332 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,120 You and I always want to believe naively that with more 333 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:05,800 information, people will be saved. 334 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,599 If I could just explain it better than they would believe 335 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:12,000 it better. And I love your tender heart. 336 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,880 I love that you're that way, and the Lord loves that I'm that 337 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:16,400 way. But it's not true. 338 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,079 It's actually naive. It's not wisdom, and it's not 339 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:23,200 what the Scripture teaches. Hard hearts are a real thing. 340 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,560 But that's hard to see when it's my sister, when it's my brother, 341 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:28,720 when it's my sweet aunt that I love. 342 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,400 And I just want to be convinced that no, no, no, she doesn't 343 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,520 have a hard heart. She just needs the right 344 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:36,160 information to hit the right way. 345 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,640 No, she needs the Spirit of God to break in. 346 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,640 So you need to pray, Joe Michael, because she does have a 347 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,040 hard heart. That is the blockage. 348 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,920 There is an enemy, there is a Satan who is blinding the people 349 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:50,520 of this world so that they cannot see the light. 350 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:53,720 And there is spiritual warfare happening. 351 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,000 Yes, and we have to pray that blinders would come off and then 352 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,120 we have to give people the only hope that they have of breaking 353 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:04,040 up that hard ground. And that is the gospel again and 354 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,560 again and again. It is the foolishness of 355 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:08,680 preaching the gospel to that family member who you've shared 356 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,840 the gospel with 100 times. It is the foolishness of 357 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,640 preaching the gospel to that Co worker for the millionth time. 358 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,800 Why? Because you know that the gospel 359 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,840 is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe. 360 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,560 The gospel is the power. The gospel is the power, not 361 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,480 your presentation, not doing it the right way. 362 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:39,760 It is the bloody messy cross, the foolishness of preaching the 363 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,480 cross and the resurrection and telling people the good news of 364 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:47,760 the Kingdom. That is what God uses because it 365 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,440 keeps the prideful proud, but the humble get to receive and 366 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:54,040 that is exactly what the Lord intended. 367 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,000 You cannot have the Lord if you will not humble. 368 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:01,280 Humble yourself before the Lord. So these people, they see fruit 369 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,680 in your life, they see grace in your life, they see power in 370 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,680 your life, they see love in your life and they're astonished, but 371 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:11,680 they're astonished at the stench of it and it breaks your heart. 372 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:17,160 2nd Corinthians 214 through 16 says But thank God, who is 373 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,480 always leading us around through Christ as if we were in a 374 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,760 parade. He releases the fragrance of the 375 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,240 knowledge of Him everywhere through us. 376 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,320 We smell like the aroma of Christ's offering to God, both 377 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,440 to those who are being saved and to those who are on the road to 378 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,640 destruction. We smell like a contagious dead 379 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,920 person to those who are dying, but we smell like the fountain 380 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:47,120 of life to those who are being saved. 381 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,520 Wait, wait, wait, what is our smell? 382 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,360 He tells us we smell like the aroma of Christ's offering to 383 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,280 God. That is the smell. 384 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,760 The smell doesn't change. It's, it's in the the problem is 385 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:05,400 in the nose of the sniffer. That's where the issue arises. 386 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,280 The scent, the scent is the scent. 387 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,760 One person smells and says praise God and another person 388 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,480 smells the same smell and says stinks like death and I hate it. 389 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,120 That was Second Corinthians chapter 2, verses 14 through 16. 390 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,240 But thank God, who is always leading us around. 391 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:24,920 What is he talking about? He's talking about the ministry 392 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,520 of reconciliation. We're going around as disciple 393 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:29,240 makers in the end of the earth into the world. 394 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,920 He's saying God leaves us, leads us around as if we were in a 395 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,920 parade. He releases the fragrance of the 396 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,040 knowledge of Him everywhere through us. 397 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,040 We smell like the aroma of Christ's offering to God. 398 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,000 So Christ's offering to God is a sweet fragrance. 399 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,320 It pleases the Lord. He says that's how the church 400 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,200 smells. As we're on the mission, we 401 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,680 smell this way to both to those who are being saved and those on 402 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,720 the road to destruction. But to those on the road to 403 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,240 destruction, we smell like a person who is dying, like dead 404 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,080 flesh. But to those who are being 405 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,720 saved, we smell like the fountain of life. 406 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,320 Jesus knows how you feel whenever you're rejected by 407 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,600 loved ones, by people who are familiar and they want to keep 408 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,400 you in that place. A lot of times the Lord knows 409 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,120 how you feel. He experienced it, but if you 410 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,680 seek Him, He will comfort you and He will strengthen you and 411 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,440 He will remind you of what He did when pressure comes from 412 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,040 friends and family. We looked at this just maybe a 413 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,720 month or so ago. Jesus is putting the Pharisees 414 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,840 on blast, and Mary and his brothers come and they say, hey, 415 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:33,040 hey, hey, could you get His attention for us? 416 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,800 It said they came to seize Him and take him away. 417 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,800 They said that He had lost his mind. 418 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,600 They don't believe until after the resurrection. 419 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,360 This is Mary, who literally knows that she had a baby as a 420 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:47,440 virgin. Does she just need more 421 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,000 information? Angels appeared to this woman, 422 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:55,000 but she's human. She's human just like you and 423 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,640 just like me. This is why the Lord marvels at 424 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:02,160 faith and He marvels at unbelief because both are miraculous. 425 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,400 Both are incredible unbelief. Are you kidding me? 426 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:10,680 You don't believe great faith. Wow, you really believe it? 427 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,080 It's strange. You should expect that the Lord 428 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,680 would expect faith, right? That he would see faith and go, 429 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,120 Yep, it's reasonable. But the Lord marvels at great 430 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:22,280 faith. He goes, yes, surprised to see 431 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,680 that. Why? 432 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,440 Is it because he's unbelievable? It's not because he's 433 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,080 unbelievable. It's just because we are so 434 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,080 fickle. It's because we are so weak. 435 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,120 We are so small oftentimes in our faith. 436 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,200 But Jesus will remind you what he did when pressure came from 437 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:43,800 fins and family, he doubled down. 438 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,000 They said, Lord, Lord, your, your, your, your mom and your 439 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,920 brothers and your sisters house. They want to speak to you real 440 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:50,920 quick if you could just take a breather. 441 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,440 And he, he knows exactly what's happening in that moment. 442 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:54,960 He understood all the social dynamics. 443 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:56,920 He knew they were embarrassed. He knew they thought he was 444 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:58,640 crazy. He knew everybody couldn't 445 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,040 believe that he was the trouble he was getting himself into. 446 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,160 And he doubled down. He said, who are my mother and 447 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,440 my brothers and my sisters? And he points to his disciples. 448 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,840 He says, whoever does the will of my father, oh, he's really 449 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,320 gone off the deep end now. That's what they're going to say 450 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,000 about you. That's what they said about me. 451 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,680 They're going to say it again and it's going to hurt and it's 452 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:18,960 going to break your heart and the Lord is going to comfort you 453 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,920 as you draw near to him. You smell like Jesus is offering 454 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:24,640 to the Father. What an awesome thing. 455 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,360 What a beautiful blessing that is. 456 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,600 But to those who won't believe, that's the problem. 457 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,320 You smell like the sacrifice of Jesus to the Father. 458 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,040 That is the problem. They hate it. 459 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:39,560 I don't like that, and I wish it wasn't that way. 460 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,200 But for anyone who hates the way that the church smells, for 461 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,160 anyone who hates the aroma that the body of Christ gives off, 462 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,480 it's because they hate Christ's sacrifice to the Father. 463 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,200 They receive it as condemnation instead of receiving it as 464 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,200 grace. And the cross will be 465 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,160 condemnation. If you don't receive it as 466 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,880 grace, it has to be received as raise. 467 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:02,440 Otherwise it is your condemnation. 468 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,400 So that's why when you share the message of the cross, you're 469 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:06,640 going. I don't understand. 470 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,280 I told him good news. Why are they not happy? 471 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,440 Why are they not blessed? Why are they not relieved? 472 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,960 I was so relieved when I was told the gospel. 473 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,240 What a relief for my conscience. What a relief for my soul. 474 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,760 What a deliverance for my life. But others hear it and go. 475 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,120 He died for my sins. You trying to say I got sins? 476 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:29,000 Well, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was implied. 477 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,000 You're a bad guy. That's the implication here. 478 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,560 Well, I don't accept that. Oh, then you can't have him. 479 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,760 No, no, no. If you can't accept that you're 480 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,000 bad, then you you won't accept that he's good. 481 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,840 And that's what you see. So what do I do? 482 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,320 You pray. You pray. 483 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,680 You trust. Just like the testimony of 484 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,320 earlier. A year ago I couldn't have 485 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:55,800 imagined this happening. But look what the Lord has done. 486 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:57,760 So we pray. We don't write anybody off. 487 00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:59,560 We don't say I think they've committed the unpardonable sin. 488 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:01,000 That's not your in my jurisdiction. 489 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,920 That's not our place. We continue to pray. 490 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,320 Do we commit all of our waking moments? 491 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,440 Do we sow all of our seed into a place that consistently shows us 492 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,320 it's bad ground? No, that would be foolish 493 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,400 because the harvest is ready, the Lord tells us, and yet there 494 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,960 is much to be done. People won't always, always 495 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,440 receive you like old classmates at a, at a class reunion. 496 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,480 They might be stuck on who you were and they don't want to 497 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,560 allow you to enjoy this new life. 498 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:32,000 That's bad news for them. But thankfully for you, God has 499 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,520 made you new and he has given you a new identity in Christ. 500 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,200 Amen. And now we're going to go to 501 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:43,400 verse 58 and we're going to focus the rest of our time here. 502 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:49,960 And he did not do many mighty works there because of their 503 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:55,720 unbelief. It's interesting Matthew makes 504 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,280 this reference and Mark makes the same exact reference to this 505 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,640 passage here in Nazareth. Mighty works are so common in 506 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,840 Jesus's ministry that you need to make a note of it when they 507 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:11,880 don't happen. Just reading comprehension stuff 508 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:13,320 here. No fancy preaching. 509 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:18,640 Mighty works are so common, so obvious, the normative 510 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,600 circumstance in Christ's ministry that when they don't 511 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,000 happen, you have to go, no, mighty works happened there. 512 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,000 That was, that was, that was weird, except he healed a few 513 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,200 sick people and I'm going that was, it's kind of a big deal. 514 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:30,960 They go, Oh no, no, no, we're talking mighty works. 515 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,480 No, no, no, we're talking like he, he did lesser stuff. 516 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,000 So isn't it interesting how the gospel writers inspired by the 517 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,360 Holy Spirit even make reference to there's great works and 518 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:44,080 there's lesser works. Some things are more 519 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,880 significant, some things are less significant, but mighty 520 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,840 works are so common that it's noteworthy when they're absent. 521 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:56,400 It is Jesus's standard operating procedure to do mighty works. 522 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,480 Mighty works are the rule. A lack of mighty works is the 523 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:05,480 exception. I'm going to go to Mark chapter 524 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,600 6. Well, I'll just read it to you. 525 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:13,040 Mark chapter 6 verse 5 Marks account of this same event. 526 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,240 Mark put it this way and he could not do any mighty works 527 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:22,600 there except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and 528 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,760 healed them and he marvelled because of their unbelief. 529 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,240 So Matthew said he did not do any mighty works there because 530 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,360 of their own many mighty works there because their unbelief. 531 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,680 Mark says he could not do any mighty works there because of 532 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,680 their unbelief. What's the point? 533 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:43,240 The point is not that faith is the power supply that God needs. 534 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,880 That's not true. That would be false to say that 535 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:51,000 if I don't have any faith, then God's power is cut off like he 536 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,440 is. He is somehow become weak. 537 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,160 That would be heretical. That's false doctrine. 538 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,000 That's bad teaching. It's not true. 539 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:05,600 And yet God has chosen to interact with our faith and that 540 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:08,920 most definitely impacts the fruit of what we do or do not 541 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,240 see. So to say, he could do no mighty 542 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:12,480 works there because of their own belief. 543 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:14,760 Well, why could Jesus do no mighty works there because of 544 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,520 their own belief? Because the Lord has bound 545 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,560 himself to his word and Lord has chosen to function in a certain 546 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,600 and particular way with his people that he created. 547 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,920 So it's not that he was weak and powerless and going, oh, I'm 548 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,520 handcuffed here. But it's that the Lord has said, 549 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:30,200 I will move through my people's faith. 550 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,920 These passages, along with plenty of others that we've seen 551 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,640 in Matthew that we're going to continue to see in Matthew, they 552 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:47,040 reveal that our lack of faith, that our lack of faith or our 553 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,560 abundance of faith, it impacts what we do or do not receive 554 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,400 from God. However, you want to divide the 555 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,160 details after acknowledging that truth is your business. 556 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,720 But you cannot sidestep this important biblical truth that 557 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,000 without faith it is impossible to please God. 558 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:07,160 For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists 559 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,320 and that He rewards those who seek Him. 560 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,560 We must ask in faith with no doubting. 561 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,880 For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven 562 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,520 and tossed by the wind. That person must not suppose 563 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:20,760 that he will receive anything from the Lord. 564 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:24,040 He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. 565 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,480 I just read to you from Hebrews 11 and James 1. 566 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:29,600 The Scriptures are full of this important truth, from Genesis to 567 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,360 Revelation, and our text today is just yet another example of 568 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,320 this important reality. The Holy Spirit saw fit to make 569 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,600 it perfectly clear He did not do many mighty works there. 570 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,000 Why not? Because he was mad at them? 571 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:50,680 No, because of their unbelief. Why are you emphasizing this? 572 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:54,560 Because of the common belief that God is going to sovereignly 573 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,200 do what God is going to sovereignly do. 574 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,600 And there ain't nothing you can do about it, sweetheart. 575 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,200 It is what it is. It be what it be it do what it 576 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,040 do. Well, are you saying God's not 577 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,120 sovereign? Hang on, slow down. 578 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:10,480 God is most definitely sovereign. 579 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:20,240 This is true, this is certain. But God's will is not 580 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,480 automatically fulfilled. This is why we pray for God's 581 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,720 will to be done. This is why we should pray that 582 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,320 He would give us revelation of His Word, because His Word 583 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:38,440 brings us faith. Does God want everyone to be 584 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:39,520 saved? Yes. 585 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,120 Will everyone be saved? No. 586 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,080 Does God want everyone to be healed? 587 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,360 Yes. Will everyone be healed? 588 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,160 No. The truth is, this church, I'm 589 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,520 not willing to move the bullseye for you, and I'm not willing to 590 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,520 move the bullseye for me. I'm willing to paint the target. 591 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,440 I believe the target is already painted. 592 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:59,600 I don't think I'm painting it. The target is the saying, no 593 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,360 matter where our darts land, God wants to move in powerful and 594 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:08,120 miraculous ways, and sometimes He does that in spite of our 595 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:09,880 unbelief. Sovereignly. 596 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:12,840 How do you explain that God is good? 597 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,280 My theology is simple, if you haven't figured that out yet. 598 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,600 God is good, the devil is bad, the world is broken, people are 599 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,320 stupid. That's how we come to the 600 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:26,520 conclusions that we come to. Why do bad things happen? 601 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:28,960 Oh my goodness, if I if I went out of here and died in a car 602 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,880 wreck today, I guess the Lord need another Angel to help pour 603 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:33,840 out the rain. Please don't let anyone say that 604 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,520 at my funeral, my sons, please like throw something at that. 605 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,360 Whoever would like stop the whole thing and say no, dad 606 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,480 would not have this. Why do you think he died because 607 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,520 he was texting? Because he's being an idiot, 608 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,480 that's why. Why? 609 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:51,600 I don't know why the Lord didn't. 610 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,040 The Lord told him not to text and he disobeyed because he was 611 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,240 an idiot and he wasn't thinking ahead. 612 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,280 He wasn't thinking of the tragedy and of the impact it 613 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:02,400 would have, and he just thought it was just a quick message. 614 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,880 That's why. Well, couldn't the Lord? 615 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,680 Yes, the Lord could have a lot of things and yet he didn't. 616 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,480 And Joe Michael is stupid and I'm sorry. 617 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,920 We'll talk about it later. We got all eternity for y'all to 618 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:16,960 fuss at me and how I should have been texting that day. 619 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,680 We're all going to be OK on my motorcycle, texting my 620 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,800 motorcycle. How fast was he going? 621 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,400 It doesn't matter. I went out having a good time. 622 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,840 No, but it's it's so often because I think there's a number 623 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:36,920 of factors there. I think it's, I think partly 624 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:41,240 Christians have too great of AI think we catastrophize. 625 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,560 Is that a word? I think we catastrophize death 626 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:45,760 too much. We think it's the worst thing 627 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:47,000 that could ever happen to somebody. 628 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:48,960 So I think it's part of our foundation. 629 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:52,120 So when something terrible happens, we go, how could God 630 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,520 hang on a second? Let's have good theology here. 631 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:57,280 Let's come back to the Scriptures. 632 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,840 What do you think would happen if Jesus was here right now? 633 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,560 And I'm a person. I live in the real world. 634 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,320 Your pastor is standing before you with elbows that hurt every 635 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,640 time he does this, every time he shakes hand, every time he 636 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,760 reaches for this water bottle for the past six months. 637 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,640 Well, what is my faith is shaken? 638 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:18,080 Why would your faith be shaken by my elbows? 639 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,480 Your face should not be built on my elbows. 640 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,200 Your face should be built upon the word of God, my elbows be 641 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:27,880 damned. Let every elbow be found false 642 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:31,400 and God's word be found true. What do you think about? 643 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,400 I got a lot of questions about a lot of things, but I'm always 644 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,160 going to continue. Say the target's the target. 645 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,920 No matter where my dart lands, No matter where your dart lands, 646 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:41,640 I'm going to come back to Scripture. 647 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,360 I have a lot of circumstances I've seen that I don't like, but 648 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,160 they don't change what the Word of God says. 649 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,040 I got a lot of questions and I think there's a lot of mystery, 650 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,840 but I'm also going to be simple and honest enough to say he 651 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,000 didn't do many mighty works there because they're in belief. 652 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,440 Well, I do believe. Well, take it to the Lord. 653 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,360 Then your argument is not with me. 654 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,240 You, you believe I do believe. Take it to the Lord. 655 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:08,639 That's where it take that belief. 656 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,480 Don't take it up with me. I didn't write it. 657 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:15,120 I'm just reading it, but I'm going to continue to tell you 658 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:19,120 the truth. God has decided to mostly work 659 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,560 in fellowship with us and with our faith. 660 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:25,920 And you read your gospels, you look at it over and over and 661 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:28,239 over and over again, and you keep coming back to it. 662 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:30,280 And he's saying, what would Jesus do if he was here right 663 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:32,360 now? It's hard to know. 664 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:34,400 No, it's not. Jesus Christ is the same 665 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,600 yesterday and today and forever. What would Jesus do if he walked 666 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:41,159 in right now? What would Jesus want to do for 667 00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:44,960 Angelina's knees? If we walked up to Jesus, to 668 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,639 Jesus one day in Nazareth and said, Lord, my elbows, what 669 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:52,320 would he say? We'll close with Mark Chapter 9. 670 00:34:55,199 --> 00:34:57,240 I want you to turn there. I want you to look at it. 671 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,960 Joe, Michael, this raises a ton of questions for me. 672 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:06,840 Good. I hope it drives you to the 673 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:08,800 Word. I hope it just drives you more 674 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:18,000 to the Scripture. Mark Chapter 9, verse 20. 675 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:21,680 No, let's go. Verse 19. 676 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:24,080 We're going to hear Jesus. And he answered them. 677 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:29,280 Oh, faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? 678 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,080 How long am I to bear with you? Bring Him to me. 679 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:37,000 This is a demon possessed boy and they brought the boy to him. 680 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,440 And when the spirit, the demon inside of the boy, when the 681 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,880 spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy and he fell on 682 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,360 the ground and rolled about foaming at the mouth. 683 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:49,880 And Jesus asked the Father, how long has this been happening to 684 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:52,640 him? And he said from childhood. 685 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,080 And it is often cast him into the fire and into water to 686 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,680 destroy him. But if you can do anything, have 687 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,800 compassion on us and help us. And Jesus said to him, If you 688 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:09,560 can, all things are possible for one who believes. 689 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:12,880 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I 690 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:16,360 believe, help my unbelief. And Jesus saw that a crowd came 691 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:18,480 running together. He rebuked the unclean spirit, 692 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:23,360 saying to it, You mute and deaf spirit, I command you come out 693 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:25,840 of him and never enter him again. 694 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:28,960 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came 695 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:30,320 out, and the boy was like a corpse. 696 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:31,760 So the most of them said, He is dead. 697 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,120 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose 698 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:37,280 and when he had entered the house, his disciples asked, why 699 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,040 can we not cast it out? And he said to them, this kind 700 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,080 cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 701 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:45,840 Notice the response of Jesus to this Father. 702 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:50,720 Lord, if Jesus does not like that and he corrects it right 703 00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:54,560 away, Lord, if you can do anything, please have compassion 704 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,960 on us and help us. We think that Jesus response to 705 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:01,480 pity, but he doesn't. Jesus response to faith and 706 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:03,120 that's why he brings the correction to this man right 707 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:04,440 away. I don't like that. 708 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,840 I know I don't either because when my elbows are hurting and 709 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,800 hurting and hurting and aching and I'm doing my cold plunge and 710 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,000 I'm doing my hot tub and I'm doing my supplements, I'm doing 711 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,640 all the stupid stuff I'm supposed to be doing, leaning on 712 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:18,880 all the arms of flesh. By the way, all my plan. 713 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:25,560 BCDEFGI got a lot of plans to heal my elbows. 714 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:27,200 Are you in faith? Are you not in faith? 715 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,800 I don't get in condemnation about it either, but I'm honest 716 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:34,920 and I see many Christians who won't be honest to just go, I 717 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:38,200 don't know that I'm in faith. Oh, I believe, don't get me 718 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:39,680 wrong. Oh, I believe between these 719 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,520 years, Oh, I believe. I can get a paper test, right. 720 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,080 You give me a test on faith, I'm going to get a 100. 721 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,120 I'll probably get some extra credit because I'll write some 722 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,600 extra stuff in there. And this guy knows faith. 723 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,680 Congratulations on knowing faith, just like we say 724 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,840 congratulations on knowing about Jesus. 725 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,320 But there's a difference between a living faith. 726 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:01,800 Now, how do you get it? It comes from the Word. 727 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:06,120 It is not a formula. But God is a reward of those who 728 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:10,240 diligently seek Him. He is a rewarder of those who 729 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:15,120 diligently seek Him. If you can help, Jesus says no, 730 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,600 no, no, no. We're going to fix this real 731 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:20,400 quick. If you can believe, all things 732 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:21,720 are possible for those who believe. 733 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,880 And the Father responded with humility, which is exactly 734 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:25,960 right. He didn't go. 735 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:27,960 Never mind if you're going to talk to me that way. 736 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:30,720 I thought you were a good rabbi. I love to help people. 737 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:37,400 If you can do anything, please, Jesus, stop with that. 738 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:40,360 No, it's not. If I can, I can do everything. 739 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:43,200 If you can believe, all things are possible for those who 740 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:47,240 believe. Wow, you just blew my mind. 741 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:50,640 Jesus, you know what I believe? Help my unbelief. 742 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:56,520 A pitiful request and it is undeniable to the Lord because 743 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,840 he said I believe in the Lord says out in my compassion, in my 744 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:03,040 grace, in my kindness again, but the scriptures aren't given to 745 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:06,720 us as formulaic answers. So we don't just do what the 746 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:08,120 woman with the issue of blood did. 747 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,960 Can we learn from her? Yes we don't just do what the 748 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:12,360 father did. Can we learn from her? 749 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:14,480 Yes we don't just do what the father did. 750 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,440 Can we learn from her? Yes we don't just do with the 751 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:18,480 woman with the demon possessed daughter. 752 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:24,280 Jesus told her no, and he called her a dog and she said, but even 753 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,480 the dogs will take the crumbs. And he says you have just 754 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:29,800 impressed me with what? With pity. 755 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:33,880 Do I feel great pity? No, you've impressed me with 756 00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:40,240 great faith. So this is meant to be an 757 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:42,960 encouragement to us. It is meant to be a correction 758 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,800 when we need it, but it's meant to be an encouragement to us. 759 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:49,080 All things are possible for those who believe. 760 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:51,440 We're not going to get weird. We're not going to get flaky 761 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:56,680 with our all things, all things that God promises, all things 762 00:39:56,680 --> 00:40:00,520 that are in the scriptures, all things that are in the ministry 763 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:04,120 and within the promises of God. All those things are possible 764 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:06,960 for those who believe. We're going to prepare our 765 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,480 hearts now to receive communion. Chris and Kayla are going to 766 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,080 serve us. Thank you. 767 00:40:18,970 --> 00:40:29,320 Who is Jesus to you? That's the first question. 768 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:35,680 The next point we talked about was the people who don't respond 769 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:39,560 well to us, the people who try and keep us stuck and locked in 770 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,000 an old place, in an old way of thinking, an old way of living. 771 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:45,320 What can we do for them? We pray for them. 772 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,840 We recognize that we just need to continue to trust that the 773 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:52,600 Word of God is their answer. And then finally we see the 774 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,040 people of Nazareth. How many? 775 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:57,680 How many people missed out? Apparently there were still 776 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,480 Jesus left that community and there were still needs in that 777 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:03,280 community when he left that day. Let's be very clear about that. 778 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:05,520 There were needs in that community. 779 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,280 When Jesus walked out of Nazareth that day, there were 780 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,080 mighty needs. He healed a few sick people. 781 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:17,040 How foolish would it be though? And the Scripture does not give 782 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:19,480 us the opportunity to say he didn't heal the other people 783 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:21,760 because He didn't will them to be healed. 784 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,360 That is the scripture tells us explicitly why they weren't 785 00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:26,560 healed. It was because of their 786 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:28,440 unbelief. It's not I want to heal you. 787 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:30,000 I want to heal you. I'm actually working something 788 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:31,960 greater in your life, in your life, in your life that 789 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,720 paralysis is you'll see it's going to be super cool later. 790 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,440 All these other things. God bless you all. 791 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:41,600 That's not consistent with his ministry. 792 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:45,640 It's it's convenient for my life. 793 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:47,720 It would help explain a lot of things that I've experienced in 794 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:52,400 my life, in my ministry and in my personal life, but it's not 795 00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:56,400 consistent with scripture. So we're we're going to, as we 796 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:59,560 prepare to receive communion right now, I want us to pray for 797 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:00,560 ourselves. Y'all can come on. 798 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:03,280 Thank you. I want you to pray for yourself, 799 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:06,160 but I also want you to pray for the brothers and sisters that 800 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:08,200 we've lifted up and their physical needs today. 801 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:12,360 And as we take the body and the blood of Jesus, we're going to 802 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:16,240 attach our faith to Christ and the cross. 803 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:19,560 We're going to look to the stripes. 804 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:21,040 Thank you.