No Place Like Home

Intro:

In 1939 a famous musical bursted on the scene. L Frank Baum wrote a fabulous children’s novel. The story was full of mystic, magical moments, and mystery. So much so that MGM produced a movie of the novel. A farm girl and her dog Toto was on the run because Toto bit Mrs. Gulch and she ordered him to be euthanized. Dorothy with Toto ran into the farm house and a tornado struck the place lifting it to a fairytale land in which the house landed on a killed a wicked with which sparked a battle between Dorothy and the wicked witch of the west. Now after much fighting much fear and following the yellow brick road with a Scarecrow, Tinman, and a chicken lion she made it to the Wizard of Oz only to learn he didn’t know how to help her get home. After all was said and done she learned that if she tapped those shiny shoes that she took from a dead wicket witch and said There’s No Place like home! And poof she was back in Kansas because she believed that those shoes had power to do it! Can I say this church sometimes it just takes some imagination and a little faith to go places you have never been before. Thank God we don’t need shiny shoes a tin man, scare crow, lion, or a wizard all we need is God! Somebody tell your neighbor all you need is God!

Text Work:

In the pericope in which we are examining this morning, Jesus had just finished healing a woman with a twelve year issue of blood or well her faith made her whole, and raised a Jewish ruler of the synagogue’s daughter from the dead. Jesus’s fame through teaching, miracles, and actions were becoming a great buzz in the Galilean area in which he was from. In Chapter 6 Jesus arrives in his home town, and there is no place like home. I am thinking about this holiday weekend in which many people have family reunions and large family get togethers and many folks come back home. The smell of mommas scrambled eggs and ham. The smell of mommas cakes. The smell of Dad’s cologne or pipe. The scents and scenery of home can be peaceful. The tough thing is sometimes you have changed and moved into a different paradigm, but home is still stuck where it was when you left. Don’t get mad at me I am just the messenger. Jesus began to do what he was sent to do. He began teaching in the synagogues and people marvelled at his knowledge and ability to handle the word of God. His wisdom was supernatural and unworldly, and his miracles performed by his hands were undeniable. BUT there’s always a big ole Butt in the way church. Butt somebody couldn’t resolve within themselves that the Jesus that left the village around 12 years of age was not the same Jesus that came back. That’s an issue that I have seen many times in my life. People still call you junior and you’re 59yrs old. You are your name where you live now, but when you come home your still that little boy or girl they remembered from your childhood. People are reluctant to release you from your past. See these folks watched Jesus grow up. They didn’t know him as the miracle worker. They knew him as the carpenter’s son. They didn’t know him as a healer. They knew him as that little boy who played at the park with the other kids. They didn’t know him as the son of God they knew him as Joseph and Mary’s boy! And because they couldn’t get beyond his past they could not receive him in the present! Which brings me to a point church don’t let someone’s past cloud what God is showing right now. Don’t miss out on God’s anointing because you are finger pointing! You know You know they can remember your mess ups and love to bring up your failures because they can’t handle your successes. They can’t acknowledge your present greatness, because they are stuck on your past mistakes. Look at somebody and say don’t miss what God is doing in me!!!!!!

Jesus says that a prophet is without honor in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house. This hurt me church because one would think that this should be the place in which folks would be happy for you. This should be the place in which you should get support, but often times this is the place where you have the most haters! Can I preach it like I feel it this morning. It’s sad because most of the time the place you should feel most comfortable is a place of discomfort, doubt, debilitation, and damage! People say church hurt is the worse hurt and I know it to be true ask any pastor it’s the worst hurt, but there’s something about home hurt. The people who should know you. The people who should celebrate you. The people who should be the most excited for you, because they are apart of your story are the ones trying to bury you. I see it in business. You make one mistake and no one wants to do business with you any longer. I see it in schools. You mess up one time with one teacher and now all the teachers are saying you bad. I see it in the legal system you catch one charge, but straighten up and start doing right and every time you come home they pull you over and harass you. I saw it when African American soldiers went off to war and died for this country and fought for this country and come home to not be free in this country! I see it even in church the pastor preach ringing wet and shout till he lose his or her voice and no one even hardly musters an amen. Somebody else get up and they shout the house down, because the pastor didn’t pick who they wanted to be over the light bulbs! There’s something about home hurt church! Don’t say anything just look at your neighbor and nod your head like I know what he’s talking about!

Close:

Jesus being the Son of God. Jesus being the King of Glory. Jesus being the one who spoke in a heavenly board meeting and said prepare me a body and I will go down and redeem man back to you father. Jesus the one who had just stopped a woman who bled for 12 years and spent all of her money. Jesus who in the 4th Chapter was sleep in the lower part of the ship was awakened by scared disciples woke up rebuked the wind and said peace be still. Jesus who healed the paralyzed and turned water into wine. Jesus who cast out a legion of demons. Jesus who taught in the synagogues broke the law and healed a man on the sabbath. This same Jesus could not get his own folks, friends, and family to receive, because there was no place like home! The is no rejection like home rejection either. Whether it’s your hometown, neighborhood, homies, or just plain home it hurts, because the place you should flourish you have to fight! For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. I know some of you are like me and wonder why doesn’t it work. Why won’t they receive me. Why won’t they move beyond my past? I hate to inform you it’s because you are a direct threat to their comfort zone. But what I really love about this text is that Jesus said He couldn’t work great miracles there because of their unbelief, but he still laid hands on a few sick folks and healed them. This encouraged me church, because it says that even if they don’t believe in you does not stop what God is doing. Yes he couldn’t do big miracles because their unbelief blocked it. Truth be told that may be what’s holding up that job. That may be what’s holding up that husband or wife. That may be what’s holding up your next miracle is the fact that you need to get beyond your past and someone else’s past in order for God’s power to be released in those areas of your life.

I am closing, but what really messed me up is that verse 6 says Jesus marveled at their unbelief. He was like wow y’all can’t believe. Although we have all of these witnesses. We have all of these events. We have all of this credibility, and y’all still can’t believe. I do the same sometimes like wow after all we’ve done after all we’ve been through you still don’t believe? But guess what Jesus did He went He moved on and kept teaching those who were willing to listen and to learn in all of the villages of his home town. In other words he didn’t let their unbelief stop him from doing his assignment. So as we celebrate this holiday weekend let us remember there’s no place like home and make home a place of healing and restoration not a place of unrest and unbelief. God Bless you all and keep you all.