Introduction
French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"
Certain outcomes should be expected from certain actions. The Scriptures we will look at today concern the life of Jesus and the change He desires to make within us.
MK 6:1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
MK 6:4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
1. We live in a world with an astounding lack of faith
Some years ago, Richard Foster wrote a book in which he described what he thought were the three most likely forces at work in the lives of modern Americans. His list? Money, sex, and power. And, you know, it’s possible. These things may very well be the base metals we use for forging a belief system. And we have a lot of latitude in how we use them. Take money, for example, it can be the most important thing in my life whether or not I have much of it or even want much of it. The same with sex and power. I can err on either side of an obsession; in the name of power, I can seek to control everybody else, or I can see to it that everybody else controls me. And the way I chose to play it exposes my most visceral beliefs about what is true in life. If I insist on being the master, it shows that I believe that is the safe way to navigate through life. If I choose to be the slave, it shows that I believe that is the path to security. Whatever I make into the central value of my life, however I might do it, it becomes the core of my faith. The only trouble is, outside of God my faith is misplaced. And the outcome? It is at best restrictive and worst destructive. Restrictive because it may prevent me from living in the freedom for which I was created and destructive because it places not only my life but also the lives of others at risk.
Reasons for a lack of faith:
• Repeated rejection of God’s grace has brought a hardness of heart
i. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he couldn’t believe the miraculous hand of God at work.
• Surface level understanding of the Christian life (faith without disciplined study and living)
i. Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 13 that people can have faith without depth and when that faith is tested and tried, it is too shallow to bear itself out and they fall away.
ii. The people in Jesus hometown were familiar with the Jewish faith to an extent. They were unable to accept something new because they thought they knew it all.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
MK 6:8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."
MK 6:12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
2. We live in a world that doesn’t want to change
Video clip of people on the street answering, “How do you get to heaven?”
Few want to admit the need to change. Only one person in the interviews made reference to Jesus. Why? Because the mandate Jesus gave and passed on to His disciples to carry was that people should repent.
Repentance is a deliberate choice to forsake sin and embrace pure living.
Charlie brown asks Linus "What would you do if you felt that nobody liked you?"
Linus responds "Well Charlie Brown I guess I would take a real hard look at myself, ask if I am doing anything that turns people off, How can I improve myself? Do I need to change in some way? Yep thats my answer Charlie Brown."
Charlie Brown says, "I hate that answer."
Reasons people don’t want to change:
• They like their life too much
o This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21)
• They are afraid of the cost (Rich young ruler)
• They have never seen an example of Christ changing a life
LK 7:11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don’t cry."
LK 7:14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
LK 7:16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
LK 7:18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
LK 7:20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ "
LK 7:21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
3. We live in a world where the touch of Jesus still makes a difference!
Introduce clip—Regarding Henry tells the story of Henry Morris, a successful lawyer in New York City. Whatever it takes to win a case, Henry is willing to do it…even if he has to compromise every ethical standard. Henry does very well in a worldly sense and achieves great wealth and moves up the ladder. Everything changes in a moment though when Henry stops by a convenience store at night for a pack of cigarettes and interrupts a robbery. He is shot in the chest and head. His life is saved by the doctors but he requires months of therapy that return daily function but cannot give him back his memory. His life is foreign to him as returns home and he seeks to recapture memory by doing things he did before. He wears the same clothes, returns to work and eats the same foods. None of this helps and these things are now foreign to him.
During the recovery process, Henry discovers some unsettling things. His wife has told him that things were very different before his accident. As he searches for answers to his past, he finds out that his wife had been unfaithful to him and that he had been unfaithful too. He is shocked to uncover the fact that he withheld evidence in court that prevented a critically ill patient from obtaining settlement from a hospital he was defending. As the scene we will see today begins, Henry returns home, troubled by his past. His wife meets him at the door and breaks into tears.
Show video clip from “Regarding Henry” starring Harrison Ford
Henry was different because of a traumatic event. A crisis.
You and I are to be as radically different and even more so. Christ has called us to repent and has the ability to reorder our lives.
We no longer act the same. We no longer desire the same things. Life is different when we go through the crisis of repentance leading to salvation.
Is your life different?
Rabbi David A. Nelson likes to tell the story of two brothers who went to their rabbi to settle a longstanding feud. The rabbi got the two to reconcile their differences and shake hands. As they were about to leave, he asked each one to make a wish for the other in honor of the Jewish New Year. The first brother turned to the other and said, "I wish you what you wish me." At that, the second brother threw up his hands and said, "See, Rabbi, he’s starting up again!"
Conclusion
John sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?” Jesus healed people right before the eyes of John’s disciples and then basically said, “Go tell John that when I come into their lives, there is change!”
There is no one else.
God calls us to faith, repentance and life change.
Don’t expect anything different.
