Worship call 0656 Killing the truth

John 1:1–5 (NASB95) — 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The cause of death is many. From disease from starvation from wars by the others when murdered.

I wonder how many who have died throughout history and even dying to this day for standing upon and espousing the truth.

How many more in the future and in the near future who will be brave enough to suffer and even die in their stand for the truth.

This is another fine day in the Lord.

Jesus is saying, “I AM THE MAN!”

John 1:45 (NASB95) — 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Yes, Jesus is that Man who fulfills what they had just heard in the reading

Luke 4:22 (NASB95) — 22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Up until this point Jesus was the Carpenters son. He was the hometown, Lad. I’m sure he had intimate conversation with others concerning what they all were learning about Scriptures. There was up to this point little offense. Conversations might have been left in agreement or even friendly disagreement, but now under the empowerment of God the Holy Spirit which Luke points out in the beginning of our passage the spirit drives the word right into the very heart of the listeners. And those words demand and response.

The power is in the words that Jesus read and spoke.

He laid it out to them.

They accepted the word but were they going to accept Jesus as being the one whom Isaiah spoke?

Jesus knew the answer

Luke 4:23–27 (NASB95) — 23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”

Jesus knew their hearts. The popular teacher of today if they could know the people’s hearts or sense the audience negative reaction to the message might lighten the mood by telling a joke or coddle with some words of comfort.

Other preachers would be more accommodating to the audience giving if they could all the signs and wonders that they came to see.

Not this preacher.

He drives the point home and to the heart.

The people were saying

“Physician, heal yourself! We are ok. We do not need what you are offering. And by the way we want to see some credentials, Carpenters son!”

Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”

“Shut up and do some miracles!”

These Jews of Nazareth who wanted to see some miracles were no better than the gentle governor of Judah, Herod, the friend of Pilate who Jesus will stand before wanting to see some miracles performed.

Nothing makes a person angrier when the truth of what is hidden in the heart is revealed. And Jesus here was laying their unbelieving hearts out right in the open for all to see.

24 And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

Matthew 13:57–58 (NASB95) — 57 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.” 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Mark 6:4–6 (NASB95) — 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.

Is it today that there remain the unbelievers who are hungry for signs and wonders so that they might believe?

And yet the same message is for them as it were for the Jews of Jesus’ day.

Matthew 16:4 (NASB95) — 4 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

Jesus sites two instances when Israel was in Unbelief, and it was that the prophet turned from the people and ministered to the Gentiles.

Luke 4 25 “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

Here it is unmistakable that Jesus is rebuking by example, his audience.

In both cases, the case with Elijah turning to Sidon in the time need to minister to a poor gentile and in the case of Naaman the Syrian by Elisha. Both prophets turned from the people in need.

Yes, it provoked Jealousy.

Romans 10:19–21 (NASB95) — 19 But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, By a nation without understanding will I anger you.” 20 And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” 21 But as for Israel He says, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

No there was no win friends and influence people here. One could imagine the vile hatred that was bubbling up from deep in their hearts with every word that Jesus spoke. Their faces were hot with anger, but Jesus was not deterred. His was to give the message, how his audience received and responded or reacted to the message was on them.

Luke 4:28–30 (NASB95) — 28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.

Truth is offensive to the carnal heart.

Truth is offensive to the very one that we love, Self.

Truth is offensive to the self-righteous

Truth is offensive to the arrogant.

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95) — 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

I wonder, how many have died because the espoused a lie? When it comes to sicks and stones yeah they hurt but what hurts more is the truth.

But I wonder how many have and are still dying because of their stand on the truth.

Truth is light and it has come into this world to dispel the darkness even those who love the darkness because their deeds are evil.

The light, the truth, is the great enemy of the darkness. Light dispels it and exposes the very heart of evil which people want to remain hidden and out of sight.

Stephen the first martyr died.

Why

His offense was reciting the truth.

And such violence is Satan inspired because it is the truth that will set a person free from the bondage of Satan. And only the truth.

So, you want to be a preacher.

How willing are you to stand before a bunch of self-righteous morally good religious people and tell them that they are all going to hell lest they repent? That their isle walking and their being dunked in water and all their good works don’t mean Jack because they are unbelievers to the true Christ.

You might not have a job for long, preacher.

With that they pressed Jesus to the edge of a cliff and looked to violently rid themselves from their own hometown boy.

But this was not the time.

Jesus would have more days to preach until that time did come. and when that time came it would not be an easy death but a suffering slow death and when Jesus will take out sins upon the cross.

Jesus then moved his Headquarters from Nazareth to Capernaum.

Luke 4:31–32 (NASB95) — 31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

God had one son and God made him a preacher.

What makes a good preacher? For Jesus was the greatest preacher that ever preached. What was a great sermon?

Of Course it is not the style nor the dynamics of the preacher but the spirit within.

Jesus as teacher who

Jesus was the model of what Paul tells Timothy to do.

2 Timothy 4:2–4 (NASB95) — 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

The Kingdom is near. It was at hand. The preacher must convey that message.

No one knew better than the Preacher Jesus. There was no,

“I Think”

“I feel”

“let me tell you a Joke”

Let me tell you about my family

No, every word out of this preacher’s mouth was thus says the Lord and he was the Lord who spoke.

Maybe people today are not drawn to the word of God in the day that we are living because there are few who are filling the pulpit who has the fire of the spirit of God within them.

Could they, have it?

How much are preachers filled with the very words that they are conveying?

It certainly came to Peter on the day of Pentecost when he began to preach, and many were coming to salvation.

I often asked what is the difference between preaching and teaching. I guess it is this.

Any one can be a teacher. A teacher passes on information. So does a preacher but within the message and the messenger there is the authoritative credentials of the spirit within to bring to the hearts of the listeners the word from God.

Related Media

Related Sermons