A man named Gregory P. Elder told of growing up on the Atlantic Coast. And what he loved to do as a child was to spend his time down at the beach. For hours each day, he’d sit on the sand and build castles and intricate cities. But one year his joy in these creations was threatened by bullies who decided it would be fun to smash everything he made.
What was he to do? They were bigger than he was. And there were too many of them for him to fight. What was he to do?
Well, he decided to change his approach to how he built things.
He built the same kinds of castles and cities…but now he placed a new foundation underneath them: cinder blocks, rocks and chunks of concrete.
When his tormentors appeared - he disappeared. And eventually, they found their entertainment… elsewhere.
The moral of this story: If you lay the right foundation, the enemy will break his toes kicking at you.
Hebrews 11:6 says that “WITHOUT FAITH it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
The foundation of our relationship with Jesus is built on is faith.
Without faith our foundation will be too shallow and we will eventually begin to lean off center… and even fall over.
Before we look at our text for this morning, I want to show you something.
Jesus has been fairly busy…Before we get to our passage in Matthew 13, look at what He‘s been up to.
In Matthew chapter 8 we find that He:
• healed a Leper – Mat 8:1
• healed the servant of a Roman centurion– Mat 8:5
• healed Peter’s mother in law – Mat 8:14
• and at Capernaum, He healed numerous people with evil spirits and various diseases – Mat 8:16
And Matthew chapter 9 tells us that Jesus
• raised a girl from the dead – Mat 9:25
• and He made the blind to see – Mat 9:29
• and He made the mute to speak – Mat 9:32
This all took place before He made it to Nazareth. But something changed when He go to Nazareth.
It’s like the miracle switch had been turned off…nothing happened.
What could possibly stop Jesus from doing miracles? He is God right?
Only one thing will ever stop Jesus/God from performing His wonderful works and that is a lack of faith.
Without faith it’s impossible to please God.
Without faith it’s impossible to receive the power and the blessings of Jesus.
Without faith, your Christianity (and mine) lacks a sturdy foundation.
And when that happens, our Christianity has little to build on except lifeless doctrine and empty ritual.
1. Why didn’t the people of Nazareth believe in Jesus?
Why didn’t they have the faith necessary for Him to work in Nazareth?
We can find the answer to that question in their own words. Look with me at Matthew 13:54:
“Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked.”
Intellectually, they KNEW that He could do mighty works…
Intellectually they REALIZED that His preaching held wisdom and power…
Now… look at the next few verses BUT…then they said
“’Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?
Where then did this man get all these things?’
And they took offense at him.” (Matthew 13:55-57a)
Now here’s the crazy part of this statement.
They start by acknowledging Jesus’ power and wisdom
Then they backtrack to tracing his parentage…
And then they get offended with the whole idea that He could do and say what He did.
Some would ask are they crazy? Surely they heard about all the great miracles that Jesus has done everywhere else!!
The problem was it would mean moving out of their “comfort zone”
You see like many today they’ve got Jesus in a box… They knew everything they [wanted] to know about Him
The sad reality is that many Christians fall into the same trap.
Jesus becomes nothing more than a theological trinket for us. Something we can show off to our friends.
We read our Bible, go to church, when we feel like it and even toss out a few prayers… but then it‘s life as usual.
We tell Jesus to stay over there - and we’ll stay over here - and that’s just the way some Christians like it.
These are the “Christians” who will be quick to remind us:
Why it can’t be done
Why it won’t work
Why it’ll cost too much
Why it doesn’t work on paper
Why it’s just not the right time
But every once in while… Jesus gets out of the box.
Every once in while… He moves in a little closer than we’re used to, maybe a little closer than we want Him to.
He challenges us in ways we’re not used to being challenged
The time comes when Jesus stops just letting us SAY we believe something - and He puts us into situations where we have to PROVE that we believe what we say.
When that time comes…I have to ask myself… “Do I really believe what I say I believe?”
In the battle between faith and sight, all of us struggle from time to time.
2. How can I make sure that my faith doesn’t suffer the same fate?
I need to understand a few things about faith.
1. Faith looks to God as the source;
Sight trust in possessions, power and people. [Rich young ruler]
2. Faith looks at Who;
Sight wonders how [man at pool of Siloam]
3. Faith looks at he size of God;
Sight is controlled by the size if the problem. [David & Goliath]
4. Faith waits on God;
Sight rushes in unprepared [Isaiah 40: 31 “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”]
5. Faith looks beyond the circumstances to the possibilities;
Sight looks at how bad things are right now. [Elisha’s preacher boy]
2Ki 6:15-17 “And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who [are] with us [are] more than those who [are] with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
6. Faith doesn’t require that it work out on paper;
Sight demands facts and figures first. [Moses told God the Exodus plan wouldn’t work. “They won’t listen…He won’t let them go]
Is faith a huge leap or just small steps?
When trust God just a little bit He can greater things than we can ever imagine.
1. That small stone released from David’s sling and used by God to kill Goliath, produced the huge blessing of a king and nation in the making.
2. That small rod that Moses used to part the Red Sea, produced the greatest miracle in the Old Testament.
3. The small town of Bethlehem, produced the Savior of all who will call on His Name…
You may be saying ‘I’m praying but nothing is happening.”
We’ll look deeper into this but maybe the enemy is getting in the way as he did when Daniel prayed.
Daniel 10:12-13 “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
The angel was sent immediately when Daniel prayed… but there were spiritual issues that can sometimes delay the answer we want.
It is absolutely critical that we not give up in our prayers or become discouraged when we don’t receive immediate fulfillment of what we see as our needs.
According to Leviticus 26:3 & 8.
There it says
“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands… Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.”
Oh, that can’t be right, but that’s how God works. Sometimes He just pushes us just enough to make us uncomfortable.
See being forced out of our comfort zone is about THE ONLY WAY we can avoid falling into the trap of the Jews of Nazareth.
The only way we can avoid the temptation of unbelief is to either choose to… or be forced into actively looking for God to step out of the box. To actively watch for Him to do something miraculous.
As your pastor I want to challenge this congregation
As October comes to an end and November comes I want to challenge us to deeper prayer (21 days of prayer in Nov)
Let’s focus Beyond Our Limitations
Can we do that here?
WE BELIEVE that we serve a big God
And WE BELIEVE that a God-sized vision stretches us enough so that the only way it can be accomplished is by the power of our God.
Now, we may not make a $1 million dollar commitment as a church, but If we decide to step out in faith, as a congregation; I’m convinced that if we do our part in whatever God leads us to… if we focus on prayer and faithfulness and making our financial commitments as we feel led by God…He’ll supply what we don’t.
One thing I learned about ocean fishing. When you get out where you no longer see the shore, you must place your trust in the captain of the boat…I want to get so far out that all I can do is trust the captain of my ship.
