A
Lesson on How Jesus Christ Witnessed to Everyone in His Hometown
Luke
4:16-32
DATE:
29 Sept, 2002 PM
PLACE: BBC Blarney
I.
Introduction (Luke 24:25-27)
A.
How did Jesus operate among people who knew Him best? They
are hardest
B.
How did He try to win their hearts back to God, and to
God’s way of living?
C.
He did not set up a new religion, or tear down their old
one – it would crumble soon enough
D.
He just simply opened up the Bible, and told them about
Himself
E.
The results aren’t what you might expect, but, the
pattern is the best way
II.
Message
A.
Use
Appropriate Traditions
(4:16)
1.
All cultures have some sort of moral foundation
2.
There are some good traditions – cultural morality
a)
Going to church
b)
Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day
c)
A Wedding – brides wear white for purity
d)
A funeral – people talk about God, and heaven
e)
Remembering disasters – September 11th, 2001
3.
We HAVE to get used to getting conversations started that
will end up talking about God, the Bible, Jesus and being born again!
B.
Focus
on Powerful Bible Texts
(4:17)
1.
Allow God to guide the events of your life for His glory
2.
Notice that on this day, they handed Jesus the Bible
3.
You need to know the places in the Scriptures that plainly
speak of Jesus
a)
Just as Philip did in Acts 8 (Isa 53)
b)
The theme of the Bible is the Lamb
c)
Jesus is found in the pages of this Bible from
1)
Genesis 1:3, “And God SAID, Let there be Light…”
2)
And Revelation 22:20 says, “Surely I come quickly!”
4.
I recommend
a)
Christmas – Matthew 1:21; Isa 9:6; Rom 6:23
b)
In times of trouble – Psalm 46:1,2
c)
Religious days – Acts 4:12
5.
Jesus turned to a powerful Bible text in Isaiah 61 –
only two verses (1,2)
C.
Exalt
the Truth About Jesus
(4:18-21)
1.
He is Anointed by God
a)
Not just a Man doing good
b)
He was the promised Messiah, Saviour
c)
Empowered by the Holy Spirit that will empower YOU when
you tell people God’s word!
2.
He Came to do TWO Things
a)
The two things are intertwined
b)
Preach – openly and publicly declare:
1)
The gospel – good news that anyone can be saved
2)
Deliverance – not just forgiveness, but MADE free
from the sins that enslave us, and are destroying us
3)
The acceptable Time – that people must be saved
today – don’t put it off
c)
Heal
1)
Broken-hearted – most of life today
2)
Blind – physical, AND spiritual blindness
3)
Bruised - crushed
3.
He has Come (4:21)
a)
Fulfillment of 750 year old prophecy – 300 prophecies
about Jesus!
b)
No longer need to yearn for God’s promise to come true
c)
God’s Lamb has come
4.
Didn’t take a long time – a very short message! But
His message was:
a)
From the Bible
b)
About Himself
c)
For THOSE people, on THAT day – not a prepared speech
D.
Expect
Troubles and Confusion
(4:22-24)
1.
People had problems with Jesus
a)
He was NOT what they expected
b)
Only a kind of “Clark Kent” – not a Superman
c)
A lowly carpenter, the son of a carpenter
d)
Part of an unremarkable family – Mary, 4 brothers, and
at least 2 sisters (Mt 13:54-58)
2.
People had a dark future
a)
They would think Him to be strange – unable to heal
Himself, and fix His life
b)
Would wish to have another miracle – maybe just one more
for proof, or out of remorse
c)
Would abandon Him – on the cross – abandon the Son of
God!
3.
People want a flashy kind of Genie, and so will not
gravitate to such a One as Jesus – but that’s ok – it has always been this
way!
E.
So,
Put People to the Test
(4:25-27)
1.
Jesus
a)
Reminds them of the widow in Zeraphath
b)
Reminds them of Naaman the Leper in Syria
2.
To show that God only worked in their lives because of
faith – not because of their worthiness
a)
There were lots of widows
b)
There were lots of lepers
3.
But Salvation, forgiveness is obtained only by faith
4.
The Christian life is lived ONLY by faith
5.
Rewards are given ONLY to those who lived a life of faith
6.
NOT according to goodness, or worthiness – none of us
are worthy!
F.
Allow
People to Turn Away Jesus
(4:28-30) – free will!
1.
It is not YOU they are fighting/arguing with anyway
2.
They will reject Jesus usually because God’s ways are
not their ways
3.
But not all will turn away – it would have been
different if just ONE had believed – then the whole town would have been
different!
G.
Go
into the next Towns
– in other words, Keep Going (4:30,31)
1.
If Jesus could not win His home town to God, don’t be
too discouraged when Mallow, Blarney, Cork doesn’t get right with God right
away
2.
Our concern cannot only be for Mallow
3.
But for the next town (Mk 1:38), and the next, and the
next
4.
A Christian keeps going, until the trumpet blows!
III.
Conclusion
A.
This is how Jesus operated among the people who knew Him
best
B.
This is how He set out to try and win their hearts back to
God, and to God’s way of living
C.
He did not set up a new religion, or tear down their old
one
1.
He
Used Proper Traditions
(4:16). There are some good traditions - get used to getting conversations
started that will end up talking about God, the Bible, Jesus and being born
again!
2.
He
Focused on Powerful Bible Texts
(4:17) Just two verses out of Isa 61. His message was: From the Bible, About
Himself, and For THOSE people, on THAT day – not a homily, or a
prepared dry speech
3.
He
Exalted the Truth About Himself
(4:18-21)
a)
That He was Anointed by God
b)
That He Had Came to Preach and Heal
c)
That there was no more waiting - Fulfillment of 750 year
old prophecy
d)
No longer need to yearn for God’s promise to come true
e)
God’s Lamb has come
4.
He
Expected Troubles and Confusion
(4:22-24)
5.
He
Put People to the Test
(4:25-27) – faith and trust ONLY would work
6.
He
Allowed People to Turn Him Away
(4:28-30)
7.
He
went on into the next Towns
– in other words, Kept Going (4:30,31)
D.
That’s our Pattern! Maybe you heard Him speak to you
today! Surrender!