And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. -Matthew 13:57-58 ESV
Warrior;
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) When I was a kid one of the ways I noticed people using God’s name in vain is that they would say, “For Christ’s sake”. It became almost a swear word! Just like today the only allowable time to speak the name of our Savior in our God-forsaking America, and world. is if we hit our thumb with a hammer, or we are angry or shocked by something, people blurt out our Savior’s name. However, IT IS FOR CHRISTS SAKE, BE RECONCILED to GOD! Jesus was incarnate for HIS ministry of reconciliation- in other words, for OUR SAKE. Sake is defined as; in order to help or bring advantage to someone; because of, or for the PURPOSE OF SOMETHING. When Jesus was in the GARDEN, He cried out to Abba Father God: saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) What Jesus was asking, Daddy was, “If there is any other way to redeem a fallen man, to a Holy God…?” God’s answer was like many a Father who are focused on an outcome-SILENCE! There was NO OTHER WAY.
Leader, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. (Philippians 2:5-11) This is our GLORIOUS JESUS who is God, who walked among His people, His prize, His Children, His brothers and Sisters- and yet in his own hometown, Jesus, GOD HIMSELF was not able to do “many mighty works”. What could keep GOD HIMSELF from doing mighty works? UNBELIEF! Our unwillingness to believe. Believe to the point of a LIFE CHANGE, a SPIRIT CHANGE, a CHANGE OF HEART, changed from the INSIDE, OUT! Like Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, “You must be born again…of SPIRIT!” The same reason why JESUS could NOT do MIGHTY works in His hometown, is the same reason He cannot do MIGHTY works in many of our lives- LACK OF Belief, lack of faith.
Conduit, where does this lack of faith, this lack of belief come from? It comes primarily in 3 forms: Prejudice, Skepticism and Familiarity. We are all prejudiced people, we PREJUDGE. We have preconceived notions on what things are like, what they should be like, and what is possible or not. We make GOD into our image, our own idol. We bring our BS, into every new relation and we prejudice the possibilities, with our past fears, doubts, trauma, and drama. Which then manifests itself in SKEPTICISM. We have closed minds and closed hearts. When the TRUTH comes KNOCKING AT THE DOOR, we do not open the door because we believe we already possess the truth. (Revelation 3:20) This is why Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. (Matthew 18:3-4) The final reason why we SIN, fall short of God’s Glory, and the full manifestation of GOD’s power in our lives is because of FAMILIARITY. Interestingly, the base of this word is FAMILIA, which means family. In Matthew 12, Jesus was preaching, telling the people who He was and why He was here, and, just like today- people were feeling uncomfortable! Knowing this, God in His infinite wisdom gave us this interaction and recorded it, for our benefit. While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50) In today’s racist America where people are looking out for, and claiming VICTIM status for, THEIR PEOPLE- we must ask ourselves, WHO ARE MY PEOPLE? If you are a child of GOD, your people have nothing to do with the color of your skin, or nationality, or DNA, it has to do with your heart, and your faith. This verse also REMINDS us that FAMILIARITY breeds CONTEMPT! Today BEWARE of your familiarity with the Bible, with THE GOSPEL with the SAVIOR, JESUS! I pray that you have new eyes, new ears, a NEW HEART to reconnect with our Lord and SAVIOR JESUS! Today, I pray for you that you find a NEW PASSION to know, and to make known our GLORIOUS MESSIAH! I pray for a REVIVAL in the heart and mind of all who read these words, so that JESUS can do many mighty works IN YOU, and THROUGH YOU! In the precious name of Jesus, I ask this, Amen!
Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional 