Can you hear it?

I

Those “God told me.” kind of people

I'm not one of those God told me kinds of people. I have always struggled to hear from God.

I'm envious to be honest.

I have always struggled to hear from God like that.

pick it up look at it

set it down

pick it up

I have always wanted to have that calm quiet patient feeling of knowing 100% for sure. Hearing from God and following.

set it down

pick it up

and its always when you least expect it that BAM It rings and your like in the bathroom or something.

When I do hear from God God it's never that simple, it's taken lots of asking and it's hard to be 💯 sure

Did that answer come from God or someone else?

How can I be sure that I am hearing God's call?

Y

Trans: I know for me it's in the uncertain times when I don't know what to do. When I don't know the next step. When I'm overwhelmed, ashamed, or even angry. Its in those moments when I just need that clear voice you know

Anyone ever been there?

I think we want that...

G - Perhaps the reason we cant hear God, is because we dont want to hear God (like foster at bedtime)

TRANS:that's why I have always sort of envied the people in the Bible. They walked with Jesus they heard from God in no uncertain terms. Face to face. Burning bush ect.

Our scripture today is about a group of people that heard from God face to face and how they responded to his voice. Perhaps we can get and idea from there story how we can hear God better in our own lives (as I wrestled with this story this week I found....)

Tell The Story

Exposition

So Far

born, baptized, tested in the desert

Rising Action

Jesus has been teaching all over Galilee in synagogues. - People are loving it.

Jesus gets to his hometown Nazareth

The New International Version Chapter 4

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

Proclaims his message (presumably what he says elsewhere)

They hear him and they are excited, Everyone Loves it

Build anticipation

The New International Version Chapter 4

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

Build anticipation

The New International Version Chapter 4

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” q

But Jesus pushes back - He challenges

and They completely turn on him

Build anticipation

He’s reading part of written hundreds of years ago.

Its an ancient promise that is part of the long story of God’s people, a promise and story that EVERYONE in the room knew. One that defined how they understood the world and their place in it.

It goes like this.

God, chose Isreal to bless and be a blessing in the world if they followed him.

Isreal failed to follow God.

Isreal was destroyed, oppressed, and exiled.

BUT

4. One day God would send someone to restore.

They all know this promise, they were all raised on it. They hoped that maybe just maybe they would see it come true.

The New International Version Chapter 4

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

explain

this is a BIG DEAL. IF they believe Jesus this is something to celebrate

The New International Version Chapter 4

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

And they do.

Can you imagine it. The son of the Synagogue comes home! He has made a name for himself! and he comes to say.

That ancient hope is coming true!

right here, right now.

And on top of that, the one that will do it, the one proclaiming the GOOD NEWS is ONE OF US.

People are stoked to hear from Jesus, excited to hear from God or at least his messenger. But its more than that, they are excited because he is ONE OF THEM. Jo’s Son.

It’s like if your cousin got elected president and his message is about solving all the problems you and he grew up complaining about.

Its double good, not only does he have a good message, you have to assume he will remember you when he is sitting in the white house right?!

but this is bigger than that.

They are excited by his words of Grace.

But Jesus doesn't do what we might and soak it all in, he recognizes what they are thinking and he challenges them on it.

The New International Version Chapter 4

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”

Jesus says, you may be happy now but Its not going to be long before you are calling me up saying, “dont forget where you came from.”

Where are our miracles?

Where is our good news?

Of course help others, but start with us!

Jesus says I know where this is going...

He mentions two other stories they would of known. Isreal’s prophets that came during terrible times in Isreal, who preformed miracles but OUTSIDE of God’s chosen people, who were ultimately rejected by God’s people, by their ancestors.

The New International Version Chapter 4

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

Jesus says, when you discover that my mission. That this promise is bigger than you, you are not going to be too happy with me.

The New International Version Chapter 4

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

...

It starts off so good!

The whole region is amazed and excited by Jesus’ teaching.

He brings it to his home turf.

They Love it, but the story ends with them trying to kill him.

2 Questions

Why does Jesus give them such a hard time?

Why do they turn on him so fast?

They go from cheering Jesus on, to shoving him off a cliff.

The whole region is amazed and excited by Jesus’ teaching.

Why?

The whole region is amazed and excited by Jesus’ teaching.

He brings it to his home turf.

They Love it, but the story ends with them trying to kill him.

What they did not want to hear.

I love the gracious words of scripture until it says something I dont like

They were excited to have a God, and a savior that was on their side, and when it became clear that Jesus was bigger than that they didn’t want to hear it.

The Same thing happens over the course of the Gospel.... But Jesus doesnt escape the crowd that time....

Jesus offers us a chance to come back to God’s side, but often we would prefer a God that is on our side

They wanted a God that was FOR US, but

We want a god that is FOR US, but Jesus proclaimed

We want a

TURN: What Could God say to you that would make you want to shove him off a cliff?

I love the gracious words of scripture until it says something I dont like.

F

As I wrestled with this scripture this week and my own desire to hear God’s voice in my life. God kept confronting me with this.

If you want to hear from God, you have to be OK with hearing from God.

I dont know about you but I can think of many times in my life when I prayed for God’s voice. When I so desperately wanted to hear from him.

prayed prayers like this.

“Lord, tell me what to do.”

“help me to know the right thing.”

“Lead me.”

or more often when I said, I dont know what to do. I worried I analyzed I asked everyone who would listen. I turned it over and over and over again in my head, but NEVER really asked God.

The more I wrestled this week, the more I heard this word from God in this passage, “You dont hear becasue you dont want to.”

I don't want to know because I think I know i won't like the answer

“If you want to hear from God, you have to be ok with hearing from God.”

Maybe there is no good answer

I dont know about you but sometimes

Maybe it just have to feel the pain

Maybe it can't get better

I don't pray because I don't want to hear the answer

I don't pray those real prayers because I'm not ready to hear it. Or I'm hearing it and I don't want to listen.

because i dont like the answer,

Y

Sometimes we have heard from God, we know what we should do, but we dont want to do it.

sometimes we really dont know

we have heard from God

sometimes

Challenge:

repent with me.

Ask: “God what are you trying to say to me, that I dont want to hear?”

Take a chance: “do it”

I think God speaks to us more than we realize. Through his word, through others, and through the movement of his spirit. But so often we push him away. I think if we are really willing to listen, we just might hear from him.

Maybe God is speaking to you today, maybe he hasn't really been so silent. I believe he is speaking if we are only willing to listen.

Maybe God is speaking to you today… Or maybe he has been speaking to you for a while...

But your too...

Afraid

That if you share what he has told you people will reject you.

That his call to give sacrificially will prevent you from having the things you want.

That if you get close to that person they will hurt you.

That if you lay down your needs to serve your spouse your needs will go unmet.

That if you apologize to that person they will throw it in your face

That if you step up to serve people will judge you.

That if you share that hurt people will abandon you.

Angry

At your circumstances that you dont want to hear what God is doing in them.

At God.

at that person you cant forgive them.

at your self for failing in that way, for falling short, that you cant even think straight.

at someone that you cant even look at them much less for give them.

Ashamed

at where you have failed that you cant speak about it much less ask for forgiveness.

that you separate yourself from God and others for fear that they might find out just how messed up you are.

that you are not good enough, worried that no-one will be able to look at you if you acknowledge that shame.

W

GOD HAS DEFEATED this kind of sin and evil. That is the good news. We can be set free from it, we can hear from God if we are willing to let him set us free from this. If we are willing to be his, instead of asking him to be ours. If we are willing to be changed, we will be able to hear from God.

God has defeated this sin, it can be defeated in our lives too.

Our world is broken by sin. And most of all sin looks like ME first. Evil says me me me. Snake says, "You will be like Gods, determining, knowing, controling good and evil, They GRASP" And we have been GRASPING that ever since. At our best we sacrifice for ME for MINE and for US. But our US is SOOOOOOO NARROW.

Sin/brokeness is revealed in Nazereth. God's people hear a message of GRACE and they get excited until they find out it is bigger than them. They hear God's word and think ME, MINE, US. Revealing their slavery to sin and self. It drives them to silencing that voice they dont want to hear.

We dont want to hear this message either. We filter it in our minds to make it acceptable. But the sinful part of us doesnt want to hear it. Because it means its not about US, because of sin. I dont want to hear it, we want to be better, do better, be closer and be blessed, but GOd is constantly looking out for them.

JESUS died to set us free from this sin. He works to transform that part of us. but we have to be willing to hear him. To repent instead of recrucify.