The American Jesus

The American Jesus

:16-30

They were so excited he was there but they did not know who he was

Are you a christian yes do you know what that means no it means being a follower of Jesus oh yeah I am not that

We read this Story about Jesus returning to his home town were he was from were he was brought up and at first it seemed he would receive a hero's welcome but it did not turn out so well.

But the bible says it was his own country.

He was the one that put them on the map and made them famous

Jesus of nazareth there are even songs about it

He was come from there he was called a nazarene.

But what did that mean for nazareth ?

No much.

And I thought about America were are coming up on the Fourth of July

And I know I have heard for years about how america was a christian country

And our founding fathers used the bible as their guide as they drafted the constitution.

I have heard about how our buildings have bible verses on them and God is in the preamble of all fifty states.

Even on our money we have in God we trust.

Our president talks about Jesus on Christmas at least our current one does.

We were known for being a Christian nation we at one time were known as the only nation that chose God Israel was chosen by God but at our founding our nation choose God.

But what does that mean for the average American ? not much

Not much at all.

Now if a nation can forget Jesus and a city can forget Jesus and a church can forget Jesus than you and I definitely can forget who Jesus is.

And he can be right in front of you and it not make a difference in your life

You can be in his country and miss him they missed him in Israel and they miss him here

You can in his hometown and miss him

You can be in his church and miss him

You can hear his voice and miss him.

He can be right in front of you and you can miss him

They saw him but they did not see him

And I am afraid it is that way with some people here today

In every class there is a few childrens youth crossroads and congregation here this morning

Admiration he Received Luke 4:16

They knew him they admired him they liked him

They were not opposed to him at first

But that did not mean anything admiring Jesus does not mean you know him

They were familiar with him

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

They grew up with him

There were people sitting there in the synagogue that morning that played with him as a boy

Went to church with him sabbath after sabbath their whole life

he grew up around them

They saw him play with their children and he was just another child

Nothing special

Jesus to them did not mean anything more than Jesus does to us.

If you asked them do you know Jesus they would say of course

He used to come over for dinner play on the swing set

I am from nazareth his hometown

Fredericksburg Texas you go there and you hear about admiral nimitz

they have buildings The nimitz Hotel and Museums named after him

I went and saw the grave of his father. Chester nimitz

His name is everywhere

I ask them who was nimitz he was navy admiral commander of the pacific fleet

They smile I am from his hometown

But they do not know him they only admire him.

they knew everything about Jesus or so they thought

knew his birthday

knew his story egypt , pharaoh

And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

they knew him his dad and his profession

Hiis family by name

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?

All seven of them they knew his mom might have been a virgin when he was born but they knew since than she had at least 6 other children.

How many of us know Jesus like that

We know him like a wikipedia article

Names of his miracles and his disciples and his birthday and how old he was in the temple and at the crucifiction

We know how many stripes he took but we do not know him only facts about him

We admire him but we do not know him

We are just familiar with him

But it does not make much of a difference in his life

People travel to the holy land because they are familiar with him

But they do not know him if they had a heart attack and died on the tour they would go from calvary to hell like the other thief.

They were fond of him

Wow look at what Jesus has become who would have ever thought

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

look at how well he knows the torah look how smart he is

Joseph you must be really proud of him.

Mary you must really be so lucky I wish my kids were like that.

He never eneve went to school and he just has a brain wos he is so talented.

Look at him play the piano.

And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

He is so well spoken nary a man spake like that

And he is so kind and grascious

I love when Jesus is here i never miss synagagoe when he is here

I love to hear him talk

I feal like I am listening to Joel olsteen.

And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him,

Where did you learn that Jesus you are so wise

I just admire you so much.

You should be on television.

But they did not know he was the king of Kings the creator of the universe

They did not know he had virtue in him

And power to call the angels to his beck and call

And that he had overcome the devil in the wilderness.

And that he was from old from everlasting

That he was alpha and omega

They were just fond of him.

But what difference did it make ? nothing

IF you go to Lobelville Tn

On the way into the down that has no traffic light

You will see a sign behind the road that says welcome to Lobelville Tn home of Kirk Haston first round nba draft pick .

Does that make any difference for the resident of lobelville ?

No but they are so fond of him.

I am from lobelville home of kirk hastings nba draft pick he was a baller with over 26 games average of 1.27 points per game

They were fixated on him

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Look at his miracles

Big bug eyed

But they looked at him like simon the sorcerer how can I do that

Like a kid at a magician

And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Many christians are like that

Ku mascot

He could sing he could dance

Everyone loved having him at the wedding.

They went crazy

The kids were fixated on him

Everyone loved him

One of the favorite parts everyone said about the wedding was that jay was there

They were excited about him being at the wedding it was special because jay was there.

But who was he no one ever knew

I thought how would it be to be a big deal to everyone but affect no one

To be a big deal to everyone but to know no one.

That is how america treats Jesus

That is how you and I have treated Jesus and hopefully we stop treating him.

Do not just be familiar fond and fixated on him.

Does this represent the relationship you have with him?

Atrophy he Rejected Luke 4:28

Atrophy is when something starts out strong but becomes destroyed

Is is wasting away

If you don't exercise your muscles will atrophy.

It seemed like they loved him but that soon went away

It seemed like they thought he was the greatest thing scince sliced bread but it turns out it disappeared

The enthusiasm the praise the familiarity the fondness and the fixation all went away and they became hostile.

Religion turns to Resentment

And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

They went there every sabbath

They had a custom they heard the word of God read every weak

They had many religious duties they would fulfill

They would hear every week we are waiting for the messiah to come

They knew were he would come from

But when he came they said we will not have him

They were filled with wrath

The danger in becoming familiar with Jesus

It was custom to go there

Here God was there for years sabbath after sabbath

Go through all the motions

If that is you it will eventually turn to wrath

You will get mad at God

You will say who does he think he is talking to me like this

People get better or they get worse

If this is just religion to you

If Jesus is just your mascot than you will eventually get mad at him.

You are saying your the messiah

Than why are we still in the position we are in

Why are we still being oppressed by the Romans

Who does God think he is to tell me what to do

If you go set an apartment on fire and then go knock on the door and warn them it is going to burn are you the hero or the villain.

God is an insecure bully in the sky that demands that everyone worship him.

I have heard people say that that grew up in church that are very familiar with all of this

They said the verses as a child

They grew up on the church pew

They were preachers kids and grew up with Jesus.

But God did not live up to their false expectations and did not give them what they thought he should and became bitter against him.

IF Jesus is not real to you and he is like the young man that my wife met at walmart are you a christian yes what does that mean? it means you are a follower of Jesus christ. No I am not that but I go and do and say I am his but I am not

The worse assaults I have heard on the character of God came from familiar people whose admiration atrophied.

They began to resent him

If you are a fake christian just wait till God crosses you

What till he says or does something you do not approve of.

Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. When you read their books or hear their debates, it’s hard to say they do not believe in God. Hitchens in particular calls himself an “anti-theist” and God a cosmic dictator in a “celestial North Korea.” their attitude seems to be, “There is no God and I hate Him

They stop believing in him and get angry at him

I have seen it happen over and over

This familiarity religion atrophies into anger

My own kin have gotten angry at me for brainwashing children and in their words taking advantage of weak minded people.

Robert Ingersoll was born in Dresden, Yates County, New York. His father, John Ingersoll, was an abolitionist-sympathizing Congregationalist preacher, whose radical opinions caused him and his family to relocate frequently. For a time, Rev. John Ingersoll substituted as preacher for American revivalist Charles G. Finneywhile Finney was on a tour of Europe. Upon Finney's return, Rev. Ingersoll remained for a few months as co-pastor/associate pastor with Finney. The elder Ingersoll's later pastoral experiences influenced young Robert negatively, however

On one occasion, Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, the agnostic lecturer of the last century, was announced to give an address on Hell. He declared he would prove conclusively that hell was a wild dream of some scheming theologians who invented it to terrify people. As he was launching into his subject, a half-drunken man arose in the audience and exclaimed: “Make it strong, Bob. There’s a lot of us poor fellows depending on you. If you are wrong, we are all lost. So be sure you prove it clear and plain.” ‘If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”

Religion Turns to Rejection

And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

The only reason their town was famous was jesus now they wanted to get rid of the one who put it on the map

They wanted to get rid of the one that put them on the map

They wanted separation of Church and state

No religious person is going to let Jesus rule their city

He might ruin all their rituals

He might change things

He might upset the money changers

If you are an admirer and wonder what it would take for you to reject him

You will reject him when he wants to change something you do not want to change

You will reject him when his way runs contrary to your way

You will reject him when it threatens the city you have built

In 1960, Murray filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore City Public School System (Murray v. Curlett), naming her son William as plaintiff. She challenged the city school system's practice of requiring students to participate in Bible readings at the city's public schools. She said her son's refusal to participate had resulted in bullying by classmates and that administrators condoned this behavior.[6] After consolidation with Abington School District v. Schempp, the lawsuit was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1963.

Back up a little

At the age of four, Madalyn was baptized into her father's Presbyterian church

But she much disliked her father she married and separated joined the military in 1945 at the end of ww2 while posted to a cryptography position in Italy, she began a relationship with officer William J. Murray, Jr., a married Roman Catholic. He refused to divorce his wife. Mays divorced Roths and adopted the name Madalyn Murray. She gave birth to her son with officer Murray after returning to Ohio, and named the boy William J. Murray III (nicknamed "Bill").

She moved with Bill to Baltimore, Maryland. On November 16, 1954, she gave birth to her second son, Jon Garth Murray, fathered by her boyfriend Michael Fiorillo.[8] Their relationship ended, and it is believed that the boy, known as Garth, never met his father.

It was rumored that Murray sought to defect to the Soviet Union at their embassy in Paris in 1960, but that the Soviets denied her entry.[9][10] Murray with her sons returned to Baltimore in 1960 to live with her mother and brother Irv at their house in the Loch Raven neighborhood.[11] In 1960 she filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore Public School System, naming her son William J. Murray III as plaintiff. She said that its practices of mandatory prayer and required reading of the Bible were unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court upheld her position by a ruling in 1963.

Because of hostility in Baltimore against her family related to this case, Murray left Maryland with her sons in 1963 and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii.[12] She had allegedly assaulted five Baltimore City Police Department officers who tried to retrieve her son Bill's girlfriend Susan from her house; she was a minor and had run away from home. Susan gave birth to Bill's daughter, whom she named Robin. Murray later adopted Robin.[13]

Her son William J. Murray became a Christian in 1980 and later a Baptist minister, publishing a memoir in 1982 about his spiritual journey. Murray O'Hair commented, "One could call this a postnatal abortion on the part of a mother, I guess; I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times ... he is beyond human forgiveness." He became a Baptist minister

He and his mother Madalyn Murray O'Hair were estranged by his action, as he was from his daughter and brother, who shared his mother's household and were deeply involved with the American Atheists organization. O'Hair had legally adopted Robin. She was legally both her uncle Garth's niece and half-sister.

In 1995, his mother, daughter Robin, and half-brother Jon disappeared from their home and office. It was learned that they were kidnapped, held for about a month, and subject to extortion of $600,000 before they were killed in a remote area outside Austin, Texas. Their bodies were not found until January 2001.[4] The plot was led by David Roland Waters, an ex-convict and former employee of the American Atheists, who had been fired for theft of $54,000; and two accomplices.

She said christians were the ones going to kill her and it ended up being the athiests.

My Life Without God. Harvest House Publishers, 1982 ISBN 0-7369-0315-1.

The Church Is Not for Perfect People Harvest House Publishers, 1987 ISBN 0-89081-602-6

Let Us Pray: A Plea for Prayer in Our Schools

https://www.religiousfreedomcoalition.org/

What is that religion turns to rejection.

Lets overthrow God

Let us build a tower to heaven

Religion Turns to Ruin

But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

He just left

You just heard about a life without God

Do you want him to do nothing in your life ?

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

What a waste a whole city full of people that had a greater opportunity than anywhere else and all they serve as a good bad example.

He could do no mighty work.

Why religion without a relationship

Why doctrines for the commandments of men

They may as well been catholic

They may as well been muslim

Or jewish or baptist or anything that respects God but does not require real change.

Just cold dead religion the same as you can find at the masonic lodge

Is that you ?

Can GOd do a mighty work with you?

Action He Requires Luke 4:23,18

Admission

And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

No one can get help till they realize there is a problem

I hope your admiration of Jesus does not get in the way of you seeing you need him

I hope being raised by Jesus Listen if you were raised in a christians home

If you were raised in church I Hope growing up with Jesus does not lead to you not being able to see you need him

We need the gospel we are poor

We are broken hearted we have been bruised by sin

We need healing we are bruised

We need freedom we are captives to sin and self

We are addicted

We are blind

We are prisoners

I pray that admission can lead to acceptance

Acceptance

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

Not just believe but accept that he is the Lord he is in charge he is the answer

This is not just a cute little service

This is were we accept him

We do not fight him we do not argue with him

2Co_6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Adoration

But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Not just being astonished

Not just admiring him

But adore if you love him you will honor him and you will listen to him and you will follow him

What does it mean to honor Christ?

It means he is more than a mascot to you

Think about it he is more that a t-shirt you wear

A poster you put up

A mascot is someone you see at the game but do not know you do not have breakfast with him you do not talk about the deep issues of life with him.

A mascot is someone you identify with but it is not something you follow

A mascot entertains you but you do not worship him

A mascot is not someone you look to for help or answers or hope

A mascot is not something that alters you plans in life

A mascot is not even a player in the game he doesn't call the plays

Jesus is so much more than that

He is a saviour , a friend , a companion , someone you would die for someone you would live for someone you couldn't live without ,

He is the most important not the least important,