"Playing to the Crowd"

Hi there, this is long Solomon and I'd like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor to God's given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God.

Chapter 4 of this gospel beginning in verse 14 and Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the spirit and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him. The Bible tells us now that Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptist. The spirit of God like a dog is distended and lighted upon him. He's been in the wilderness for 40 days of fasting being tempted by the enemy and has one and now the Bible says in the power of God spirit he comes into Galilee. That region that lies between Jerusalem on the south and the Sea of Galilee on the north becomes into that very densely populated fertile area of Israel to begin his public ministry, and many of the miracles that we know from the early books in the Gospel of John occurred during this period that is all been summed up in one little verse in Luke the turning of water into wine at Cana of Galilee took place during this period, and many other miracles that Jesus did, and healings to attest to his Messiah ship and verse 15 says everyone praised him.

Although the Bible doesn't say it.

I suspect when he arrived in Nazareth, the whole town turned out they gave him a big parade down Main Street. He was like the hero of the town. They were tickled pink to claim the embed childhood playmates were anxious to tell the anecdote. Barbara Walters came to interview his fourth grade teacher and little thing, but things are going to change. Look verse 16 he went to Nazareth where he been brought up and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as was his custom. Who knows what day he actually arrived in Nazareth. Maybe Monday or Wednesday or Friday but Saturday he didn't play golf.

He went to the synagogue as was his custom number when the synagogue worked in those days was there was a ruler of the synagogue who was sort of a professional or semi professional, depending on the size of the synagogue, but they were often called upon dignitaries or well respected men of the community to do some of the reading and that's what's about to happen. Jesus is going to be asked is the hero of the town to do one of the readings for the morning and look what happens. It says and he stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him unrolling it.

He found the place where it was written and this is Isaiah 61 the spirit of the Lord is on me because he God has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. Recovery of sight for the blind to release the oppressed and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled the scroll back up and gave it to the leader of the synagogue and sat down.

Now this passage that Jesus read Isaiah 61. We know by all the Jews of his day was considered to be a messianic passage, meaning that the passage applied to the Messiah, the coming Messiah would be the one who would fulfill these verses in the mind of every Jew, Jesus read these verses and then the Bible says he sat down because the man who would've read the Bible that morning was allowed to comment, but he would sit down to calm anyone stand up like I am.

He would sit in Jesus that and this is what he said. It says verse 20 he rolled up the scroll, gave it back and sat down in the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him and then he began by saying today this scripture Isaiah 61 the Scripture, that every single one of you out there knows applies to the Messiah of Israel. Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Can you imagine what must be going through their minds to hear someone like Jesus and today the Messiah is sitting right here looking and fulfilling diverse Scripture that you love verse 22 and all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. He continued talking isn't this Joseph's son, they said. So far so good right I mean, he was welcomed into town with the parade and here he's claimed to be the Messiah and all people are speaking well of him, but the winds going to change fast watch verse 23 Jesus said to them, surely you will quote this proverb to me, physician heal yourself do here in your hometown, but we have heard you did in Capernaum. I tell you, Jesus said, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. Jesus looks down the corridors of time, any see that these people were sitting there right now and praising him and have so many good things to say about him will be the very same people who say to him to things number one position heal yourself. It was he talking about, will you turn to Matthew 27, which I don't want you to do, but you can check it out yourself. You'll find it when Jesus was hanging on the cross. The Bible says that the crowd went by him and as they went by him, they wag their tongues and human they mocked in the Bible said and what they said to him is you said that you build the temple back up in three days after was destroyed.

You went around healing all these other people what's wrong with you can't you heal yourself. What's wrong with you can't you come down off the cross yourself.

You healed all these other people and raise him from the dead, and you can even take yourself off the cross heal you soon.

Position Jesus could see that some of these very people sitting in front of him would be the people doing this to him three years later when he hung on the cross. They would also be the people.

Second of all, who would say want to do here in our town. What you get up there in Capernaum, because the Bible said Jesus did not do many mighty works in Nazareth because of their unbelief. In fact, this is the only time the Bible tells us that he ever visited the city of Troy Mountain just a few minutes and the Bible as far as we know, never tells us that he ever went back to the city again. He moved his headquarters alone more than to the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum and that's where he set up headquarters and that's where he did most of his mighty miracles and in the years to come.

He knew that these people would be complaining against him and bad mouthing him and say want to come down here and do some of those neat things you doing up there in Capernaum, but the Bible says he could, because of their unbelief.

The point from his Jesus said to them, look I may be a hero. Right now you're Nazareth but is not going to stay that way I can see that you are the people should be my greatest offenders. This is my own hometown. I grew up with you people you seeing me live a sinless life you seeing all the miracles I've done. You've heard me teach out of the Bible and all the people in Israel. I ought to be able to count on you to stand with me, but your will be some of the first people to turn against me and Jesus said, you know that's the way it's always been in Israel a profits never been with honor in his own hometown, and he gives them two examples.

He says first thing about Elijah.

Verse 25. I assure you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time when the sky was shot for 3 1/2 years and there was a severe famine through the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of those widows in the land of Israel, but to a widow, a Gentile in Zara's staff up in the region of side, understand what Jesus said you have to know little bit about the Old Testament and a little bit about Elijah the prophet Elijah was a great man of God so great a man of God that he stop the rain for 3 1/2 years at God's command. He raised the woman son from the dead he call down fire on Mount Carmel.

You remember and burned up the profits of bail. These were things that all of the people of Israel new and all of them saw, but when this great famine came, God was looking for a widow that he could stay with a widow who would believe God enough and trust God enough that God could supernaturally provide food not only through her for Elijah but for her and her family as well. And yet it all Israel. Jesus said there wasn't one widow that could be found that would believe. I live just enough and trust God knew Elijah's word enough that God could do it.

He had to go find a Gentile woman he had to go up into what's now modern-day Lebanon and find a non-Jew who would trust him enough that God could work to.

He was a prophet even have any honor in his own country. And what about Elisha, the great prophet here was a man who split open the waters of the Jordan River turn poison water suite made asked to explode raised up the shoe to my woman son blinded a whole army of Syrian Jesus and verse 27 and there were many lepers in Israel at the time of Elisha the prophet, yet none of them was Clinton's except Naaman the Syrian wasn't even Jewish, you would think after seeing Elisha do all this neat stuff like making accents float raising people from the dead doing all this other stuff every leper in the whole country of Israel would be lined up at his door saying he only heal me. I know you can do it, but they weren't in fact the only leper Jesus said he ever heal was named Jewish. He was a Syrian general name Naaman. Many of you may remember that story. Naaman came down and saw Elisha Elisha said Naaman go bathe in the Jordan River seven times if you want to give you member that and Naaman said this is stupid. This is audit this is no, I don't REMEMBER. Sincerely, I never come down here and have him tell me to go bathe in his room, all rivers, one of his servants came in Naaman and said look, if you told you to stand on your head drops bit Nichols when Jim Trotta said after death. The idea Naaman said yeah you know you said you were told to go out and slay a dragon. Would you try to yell well if he tells you to go bathe in the river. Go bathe in the river and the Bible says he went down the river and bathe seven times and came up with the skin clean like a baby but he wasn't even Jewish Jesus point was this, he was Elijah and Elisha and they didn't even have any honor in their own country. Why would I be any different. And you know the people of Nazareth got the message loud and clear.

John chapter 1 verse process. He came to his own and his own received him not to those of us who would receive. He gave us the right to become the children of God and Jesus said, you know, Elijah found the greatest adherence anywhere, not in Israel among the Gentiles and Elisha found his greatest adherence, not in Israel among the Gentiles. And guess what, here I am in my hometown and I'm not confined in EU people who gonna believe me. I'm going to have to go to the Gentiles and that's where I'll find the people who listen the best to and then they didn't like that that that's put it, mildly. Look what happened. Verse 28 and all the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this, I mean they were enraged at him and the same people who only a minute ago not look right back in verse 22 and says they were singing his praises. How long could this have been five minutes.

He talked to an eight minutes 10 minutes and now they're furious that he been so furious that it says verse 29. They got up, drove him out of the town talking loud to the brow of the hill on which the town was built and they were planning to throw it off and killingattendance. Bible says he will write through the crowd and went on his way is Jesus a number of times would say it's not my time said what he do did he disappear. I don't know. Did he float over. I don't know. I don't know what happened but somehow he just walked away and as far as we know never came back to Nazareth again at the end of the passage, but it really leads us to the most important part of the message and that is so, what I think there's probably a lot of lessons here. We could draw but the one that impressed me the most is I studied this this week was a lesson on human dynamics and what I see here is how fickle people are to see that is incredible. I mean people's feelings change like the win. Jesus was a hero and then 10 minutes later he's about and that the way people are venued in the hero one minute and say something or do something and be a bomb the next minute. People can change so fast it's unbelievable as Moses Neary (of these people right leave them through brings manna down from heaven brings more out of Iraq. These people think he's the greatest thing since sliced matzoh braille or whatever they and then all of a sudden in a second there, ready killing and go back to Egypt and you know that when alone he was a hero. He was a Bobby was a hero. It was a bomb back and forth, and when you know you can do favors for people and there's fickle as can be Moses to some pretty big favors fickle as President Bush who you know he had the highest approval rating two years ago of any president in modern history. The bleakness in the same people voted about office, but how to explain. Simple people folders are fickle. As Margaret, this man was the hero of Washington. The most valuable player in Super Bowl and then he's being booed every time he walks on the field by 50,000 fans at RFK Stadium and you know how many games leg in between those two events to ask any preacher we know were only as good as our last sermon we know that is true. Well, that's sweet of you. What is only one person answered you notice it will go. We all are like sports cards released I used to before they own nose dive but you can have a sports car. This is going through the roof and then let that play or do anything have a bad game. Say something makes fans angry and hurt himself. And I think turns in near Aldo's right back down. Collectors are fickle bodies, fickle Jesus knew that and we see it right here in spades. Look verse 15 everybody praised in verse 22 everybody spoke well of. In verse 28. They tried to kill him and the same thing happened.

A little bit later.

Remember, the triumphal entry when they put them on the donkey and the leading men of the city and the fill in the palm branches down and they're all saying hosanna hosanna well, in the name of the Lord, here comes the Messiah, that same crowd stood outside pilots place and soon grows in volume.

Greatest desire pilots and what is he gone away all tears shot when I want to hear which of the St. Rose of I'm violent you know how much space lay between those two events five days is that you mean in five days. They went from the triumphal entry to crucify him crucified him to explain. I keep telling you people are fickle.

Jesus also said Matthew chapter 6 no man can serve no woman can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and people you can't do it the warning to make everybody happy and wanting to be popular is okay something wrong with that.

That's nice but it's dangerous and the reason it's dangerous is that sometimes as Christians obeying God will mean you've got a go against the tide. You've got to and if we become slaves to the fickleness of human popularity. That will mean that will be tempted to disobey God to preserve our popularity is dangerous. Now I'm not suggesting that we should be abrasive or offensive or discourteous to people not at all. This is not what I'm talking about God didn't call us to be spiritual porcupines.

God wants us to be generous and kind and gracious to people but nonetheless there will be times when obeying God will mean you cannot stay popular with everybody around matter how nice you are about use will be able to. I like to close by sharing with you three areas where I believe as Christians. God wants us and expects us to forget about what people think and were not what he thinks number one in moral and ethical issues with the Bible is explicitly clear in moral and ethical issues with the Bible is explicitly clear folks you want to be popular. I can tell you how to do it be a moral chameleon.

It's easy. Just whatever audience you're with adopt their moral standard and okay it either explicitly or implicitly, and you will be as popular as can make everything relative. You'll be a hero. The only problem is you will please God because Jesus Christ never change moral and ethical absolutes. And he doesn't want you or me to either secondary. I like to tell you about is the area following God's will for your life. Following God's will for your life. You know the four spiritual laws are coming out or recasting of the first wall. My version of it goes like this, God loves you and other people have a wonderful plan for your life to anybody relate to that other people have a great plan for your life and you listen to them, they'll tell you what the plan is everyone of you have a great plan for my life and exactly how this church ought to be run and exactly how I spend my time and if I had 7500 hours a day. I might be able to do it and I love you with friends. I'm upset that you got your plans for my life and your mother had her plans for your life and you know how that goes. But the important thing is that God has a plan for your life that's important. And if you try to be popular plate of the crowd and please everybody will spend your whole life trying to make everybody else happy new never get done. Would God want you so worried about what other people want for your life. You find out what God wants for your life into the Psalm 32. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go God says if that's true, that means it doesn't matter what other people think your life will be in Madison.

God wants your life to be third and final.

Not only does God want us to forget about the crowd when it comes to the moral absolutes of Scripture and the will of God for our lives.

The third and finally when it comes to the truth that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone only you know we can make peace with every other religion in the world.

Christianity could and every person that your Christianity offends you could make peace with easy.

All you gotta do is go out there and agree yes there are many roads to God and they all take this the same place you go out there and tell that to your friends who are upset about your be a Christian and you will be as popular as popcorn and they'll love you you out there and tell that to people who don't like what you're telling them about Jesus Christ being the only way to God, and you can solve your popularity problem real fast easy true. And there's a great movement on worldwide to redefine salvation people to use the word but they just change would be, we can't do that.

Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14 six nobody what he said nobody comes to the father except through me onto how smart you are. How pretty you are okay how intelligent you are.

I don't care how much money you have on care with you Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, with the imams buried in the graveyard behind the church.

Don't make no different.

If you don't come through Jesus Christ in personal faith in him