Get Out of Nazareth

Praise the Lord everybody. I bring you greetings in the name and service of the Lord God. On behalf of the Holy Temple Church family, I want to say thank you to everyone who is joining us online and to each of our members who are being a part of the service I say God Bless for your continued labor in this ministry. Amen. Listen, I want us to get to the Word of God because all power comes from the Word of God. For the grass withers and the flowers fade but the WORD of God shall stand forever. Amen. Labor to your feet for the reading of God’s Word. Amen. I will be reading two scriptures in rapid succession.

Give Scripture: Matthew 4:12-17 and John 1:46

Read Scripture: Matthew 4:12-17

Matthew 4:12–17 KJV 1900

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Read Scripture: John 1:46

John 1:46 KJV 1900

46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Give Subject: Get Out of Nazareth

Prayer

Introduction

It was late August in 1619 when a ship appeared on the horizon of the British colony located in Jamestown, Virginia. The ship was called the White Lion and on board was a cargo that would prove itself to be more valuable than the ship on which it sailed. The White Lion brought from the Western shores of Africa a group of approximately 20 Negroes acquired from another merchant ship by force. These individuals would eventually be listed for sale and traded like cattle on a public market. A good not produced, created, manufactured, or even paid for would be traded for ~$650 (approximately $15K in today’s money) and used to create more wealth for a people unwilling to do it for themselves.

Now, it is commonly accepted that slaves had arrived to the North American colonies much before 1619, but it exists as a date of record we have reflecting the beginning of an extensive trade that enriched many people and deprived others of their rights as human beings. This system of trade existed for nearly 200 years until the slave trade was abolished by the ancestors of the traders who had went on to form a government. The Founding Fathers and their descendants, who benefitted most from the institution of slavery, abolished the slave trade but only did so after ensuring the self-sustaining nature of the slave population. And with the population of slaves established, slavery continued with inhuman and unjust practices. Slaves were beaten, separated from their families, maimed, and even killed. They were called everything but a child of God… all done to strip them of their identities and culture. Things intended to break them and mold them into the likeness they would have them to take on. They were denied education, social structure, food, resources, and at times it seemed like their very humanity… But they held on.

Can you get through the unfamiliar to reach what God has for you?

Are you willing to live your life not knowing… for the sake of a faith walk?

Plane crash statistics may sound really good on the ground.... Their is only 1 in 11 Million chance a plane will crash.

But when you are up in the air and experiencing turbulence… can you say it with the same confidence?

Now remember, at this time the trade of slaves was illegal but not the institution itself , so slavery continued on until it was officially abolished in 1865. Many slaves moved on from their oppressive masters… working to be rid of the lifestyle forced on them without a sense of identity or culture, because they had been stripped of it. But, despite being free from the institution of slavery they were still bound by the attitudes that kept them enslaved in the first place. Attitudes of superiority and arrogance… These attitudes made it difficult to live, to learn, to grow, to have families or to do anything in society.

And so, it is estimated that for approximately 400 years, Africans were enslaved in the Americas.

An estimated 189 years unrecorded in the annals of history,

A further 168 years with the rule of the British crown,

And another 78 years under the Red, White, and Blue flag of the United States.

Right here, in the land of the free and the home of the brave… men, women, and children were robbed of freedom, robbed of choice, of identity, and even humanity.

Yet still, they were made free in a land created by their bondage but the struggle was not yet over.

They had to face the attitudes and perceptions of people whose mindsets were tainted by arrogance and stupidity. Despite being free, they were bound.

You know what that is like, when you have to put on a certain face or facade to fit into people’s preconceived notions.

In today’s vernacular we call that code-switching… yeah we have a fancy word for it now…but back then when the slaves were freed they had no word for it.

You see, code switching is when a person alternates between two or more cultures or presentations to better suit the context of the conversation or situation in which they find themselves.

Code switching requires you have awareness of a minimum of three things;

Your culture and background

The environment you are in

and where your culture/ or background does not fit into the current environment.

So when I walk into work I know that it is likely I should not walk in and say Praise the Lord because that is not perceived as professional and I may offend someone.

Or if I go to a job interview, it is best for everyone if I do not go with a Temptations style fro, but instead I should get a haircut, perm, relaxer, or straighten my hair so as to not be a distraction to certain people.

If you call your phone company to ask for an extension you have to speak one octave up and put chipper in your voice so you sound like your voice is from among those in the Mountains of Caucuses so you have a better chance at getting an extension.

Or when you name your children you have to choose ambiguous names because we can give Madison a job but I am not sure about Daquvion because he may be a bit urban or uneducated.

And when you sit back and ask yourself why do we do these things, well its because

God is not politically correct because his Word calls a spade a spade… and so praise the lord may offend some people

And while your Afro is moisturized and well-kept… because the sulfate bonds in your hair are not broken and its got different curls and waves to it, people stare and become distracted by the natural state of someone’s hair.

Then your phone company may feel threatened if you do not conjugate your verbs properly… so you have to change your voice and your tone just to get through a phone call without it being escalated.

And of course because your child’s name is not “common” the teacher can’t say it... despite it being 100% phonetic (it sounds like it’s spelled) but they can pronounce phoebe with no problem.

That said, know you are not fooling anybody with the life you live because code switching is not just about black and white or slave and free.

But some of us are code-switching in our marriages, in our friendships, in our churches, on our jobs, in our schools, and even try code switching with God.

You try to put on a facade and present one thing outwardly but hide your true feelings inwardly.

You thought you were free from the hurt your family caused you but really you traded one bondage for another.

You thought you were free from what people said about your on your job but you really just traded one bondage for another.

You thought you had gotten over your Church hurt but really you just traded one bondage for another.

You put up a front and never allow anybody to see who you really are… who God called you to be.

Instead of not talking to your mother… you just stopped bring your wife around her.

You stopped ignoring your coworkers… but you also made sure you ate lunch by yourself.

You kept on singing in your church… but you left the choir and joined the praise team.

You switched up your code… you changed your system… you altered your MO (Modus Operandi) but you never really got over what happened you just did what you could to survive until change happened.

And so many of us live in this place called Nazareth, and living there mandates that we use code-switching just to survive and it all started with our ancestors.

They fought, they bled, they worked, and even died from the end of that institution even to now… just to rid themselves of the attitudes and perceptions people have of them.

And now, 2 generations after their freedom, we are still standing not much more free than we were in their time.

And while all of us have not crossed every T and dotted every I, we have worked to improve our own selves for the sake of other people’s perception or desires.

Whether they are people of a different race, different religion, different culture, or different ideology.

We are still stuck in Nazareth and many of us have traded the real bonds of slavery for the bondage of Nazareth.

So you may now ask yourself...

What is Nazareth, and How do I get out?

Have you ever been stuck in Nazareth before?

We see in the text that Jesus himself has been stuck in Nazareth.

Matthew 4:12-17

In the verses of this text, we see that Jesus has received word of John the Baptist’s imprisonment and at that Word… He departed Galilee.

Now, this is free but for some of you their is somebody waiting in the wings for you to step off the season and the minute you do God is going to open up the new work he has for his people.

I have sat back watching as our Generals in the faith are stepping aside in ministry and I have wondered God what is this and how shall we continue on…

But I heard God say right here that John the Baptist had to step aside to make way for the next phases of the prophesied Word of God.

I’m not telling anybody to go off and die, but I can tell you that sometimes you are the only thing standing in the way of God doing his next work...

And one word of caution… move or be moved.

But to those who may be wondering when is it my turn… when will I get my chance… No take backs.

You have been crying ready for years and now we get to see if you are really ready.

And so Christ gets word of John the Baptist’s imprisonment and when he does he leaves Galilee.

Now Nazareth is a place WITHIN Galilee so Christ takes leave of Nazareth but he would return not once but twice and was rejected both times.

Luke 4:16-30

When Christ preached to them concerning their responsibility to spread the love and message, both of God and Christ, they grew angry at him and from that moment forward Christ never again preached concerning the Gentiles.

Isn’t it amazing when you do your job that people will often get angry at you.

He was in service and they asked him to read scripture… And he read a passage that explained their assignment on the Earth.

Yet, they grew angry and rioted against the Man of God when he then began to preach concerning the things in the Word of God.

See, you have religious people who know Church but do not know the word. Read it.

He read the scripture that tells us to preach to the captives, the sick, brokenhearted, etc. and nobody said anything.

But as soon as he talked about the brokenhearted it became a difficult thing.

Let me say it this way… everybody is a Christian until you have to be a Christian.

Being saved is more than sitting in pews and singing songs… but everyone ignores all of these things in large part because they do not know their word.

And so the reactions of the Nazarites is not very different from that of the modern day church.

We can pay light bills for church members… but ask to pay people’s light bills outside the church.

We can give out groceries to the community… but only if you come to our seminar about the church.

You can use our facilities for a funeral… but its $100 if you are not a member.

And so we got members who are stuck in Nazareth and never realize that a whole world exists outside of Nazareth that we are called to.

Matthew 13:54-58

Then he went back to preach, teach, and heal and they went to ridicule him because of his lineage… They essentially said because we know him and are familiar with him he can’t be anybody.

God can use anybody to be a blessing to his Kingdom but you are so busy putting God in a box that you overlook his servants because they do not look like YOU want them to.

If God can use a donkey to talk to Balaam, surely he can use a former prostitute to minister to God’s people.

He can use a smoker.

He can use a drinker.

And see, it would not be so bad if we were like the Nazarites… they said your momma live down the street and your brother cuts my grass, and you daddy built my table and they used it as an excuse to stifle him because of what they KNEW about what his current situation was.

But we are worse… because we dog people out over what they used to be.

We hold grudges and are known not to let people live past their mistakes, their pitfalls, and their issues.

And so you got people who not only are stuck in Nazareth but they try to keep you stuck in Nazareth… you spent a little time there and now they do not want to let you go...

Some of them are scared of what and who you may become.

You won’t be a better preacher than me.

You won’t be a better pastor than me.

You won’t be a better missionary than me.

You won’t be a better deacon than me...

And so they try tying you down to Nazareth to keep you from setting the bar too high.

And so, Christ leaves Nazareth and in so doing… he fulfills the prophesy of the Prophet Isaiah who prophesied the lands in which Christ would dwell and where he would pass through in his walk.

Let me just say this… God has already ordered your steps and if you just take the step of following his will… you can make it to your next destination.

So then we move on to verse 16… Which provides the crux of our Word on today and I want us to do some study here.

Matthew 4:16 KJV 1900

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Christ coming into the fullness of his ministry was not just a good moment for him.

We look at the coming of Christ into the fullness of his Earthly ministry and we see a gift… rightfully so.

He is gifting us with his presence, the Word is putting on flesh and dwelling with us.

It was and is a special time in the history of mankind.

And yet, we never consider that which we considered a gift was really like a curse to him.

For Christ, as God clothed in flesh, would even be brought to the point where he had to pray the cup pass from him… eventually.

See he was God enough to see with his omniscient eye what his fate was…

But he was human enough that he wanted to turn from the very thing he saw.

He was God enough to let his omnipotent blood run from his veins with the power to free billions of people...

But he was human enough that he at least thought about turning from that very power he had.

He was God enough that his omnipresence felt the movements of Judas and the troops as they came to claim him...

But he was human enough that he prayed God stay their hand that he not endure the pain they would ultimately bring him.

Christ coming was a gift to us but a death walk for him…

He was a gift, but when he came no one was prepared to receive him.

The Jews had spent thousands of years waiting on Christ to come to them… Fourty and Two generations they waited on he who would bruise the heel of the serpent.

And I have to imagine their were times they thought someone had bore him.

Perhaps they thought Moses was the Messiah...

Maybe they thought it to be Samuel...

Or even Sampson.

But the Christ did not come through any of these men who would go on to live spectacular lives, even in their youth.

But instead he came to the world in a manager in the back of a stable rejected even from hotels and resting places in the area.

On the run from his home and hidden away in the very land that betrayed his people… Jesus came almost as a secret.

And so because they had grown tired of subservience to Rome… they gave up the search for the Christ and when he finally came his own received him not.

This same Christ who was royalty.. was princely.. was all powerful… all knowing… present everywhere… and was clothed in unimaginable glory.... put on a sack of meat and came down into the Earth to give a free gift… a free reward to people who did not want him there.... Sounds familiar doesn’t it.

And so Christ steps onto the scene and when he does… he brings with him light… Hence the verse says and the people which sat in darkness saw great light.

The light was not literal but it was a proverbial light that awakened their eyes and their being to the coming Christ.

Can I tell you something....

If you can leave Nazareth God has a people who are waiting on you.

If you can forget what people think.

Ignore what people have to say.

Overlook the times people talked about you.

Cast aside the times people used you.

IF YOU CAN JUST GET OUT OF NAZARETH God has a prepared place and a prepared people waiting just for you.

You have been waiting for validation from the people of Nazareth but you got to get out of Nazareth. Amen

GET OUT OF NAZARETH… I have to draw to my close.

Conclusion

As I close out this message I want to end where it started...

Have you ever been stuck in Nazareth before?

You may ask yourself… what is Nazareth?

At this point, I hope you realize by now that Nazareth (in the most literal sense) is a place located in Galilee…

And so, it would be right near impossible for you to be in Nazareth.

No by beloved brothers and sister… I do not want you to book a flight out of Nazareth on this Sunday morning…

No, for the purposes of the Word for this morning… Nazareth is not a place.

Nazareth is an attitude.

Nazareth is a spirit.

Nazareth is a mindset.

Nazareth is everybody who told you that you would never be nothing.

Nazareth is anybody who ever told you that you would not leave your small town.

Nazareth is any banker who ever said unqualified.

Nazareth is every man who told you that you were worthless.

Nazareth is every woman who ever mistreated you.

Nazareth is every job that said you were unqualified.

Nazareth is anything that tries to set itself against the will that God has for your life.

Nazareth is anyone who tries to push against God taking you to your next level.

And children of God, you have to get out of Nazareth because if you never leave Nazareth your ministry will never grow.

If you never leave Nazareth your Church will never expand.

If you never leave Nazareth you will always be the borrower and never the lender.

If you never leave Nazareth you will always be below and never above.

Nazareth is holding you back from what God called you to be and because of your familiarity, you are allowing yourself to indirectly oppose the will and purpose of God in your life.

You are your own worst enemy.

Because you can never preach to the world if you never leave your living room.

you can never sing for the President if you hide your voice in the shower.

You can never open a business if you only dedicate yourself to your 9-5 job.

Don’t anybody get it twisted...

Nazareth was important because Nazareth humbled you.

Nazareth gave you strength.

Nazareth gave you skill

It gave you the skill of patience.

It gave you the skill of obedience.

If gave you the virtue of humility.

Because, my dear brothers and sisters...

If you can preach to people who never want to hear you, it makes it easy to preach to those clamoring for you.

If you take enough time developing your skill in Nazareth, it makes you better prepared for what comes next.

The Question is asked, can anything good come out of Nazareth.... And many times we look at our situations and wonder.

God how can you use me.

Can anything good come out of Roger.

Can anything good come out of Holy Temple.

Can anything good come off Huffine Mill road

Can anything good come out of Greensboro

And you spend so much time talking yourself out of what God called you to do. But I challenge you to receive the promises of God

For the bible says that the people of Israel sat in darkness. They sat in waiting, with expectation on their lips and anxiety on their heart… They waited in the dark for a light… any light to come out from among them… They waited in Nazareth.

And Child of God, I know you have been waiting in Nazareth… You may have waited in Nazareth for 400 years like my dead black brothers and sisters… you may have waited in Nazareth for thousands of years like my Jewish brothers and sisters… you may have waited in Nazareth for a generation like young black boys and girls around the country… you may have been waiting in Nazareth for the past 400 days as we waited out COVID… But the scriptures tells us that Jesus came and he brought light to the darkness.

And I hear that scripture in my spirit that says WEEPING… might endure for a night but JOY… cometh in the morning…

Nazareth may endure for a night… but Capernaum cometh in the morning.

Broke may endure for a night… but wealth is coming in the morning.

Racism may endure for a night… but equity is coming in the morning.

Sickness may endure for a night… but healing is coming in the morning.

Bondage may endure for a night… but freedom is coming in the morning.

God is calling for all of us to GET OUT OF NAZARETH.