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Psalm 146 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them– the LORD, who remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
Luke 4:14-30 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 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. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 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 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 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. 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ” 24 “I tell you the truth,” 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.” 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 down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
It’s Right in Front of You
Ever go looking for something only to find it’s right in front of you? I was in my sewing room the other day and I was looking for my scissors. I searched all over the room, under piles of fabric, even looking places I never would have put them. I gave up, went back to where I was working in the first place and there they were. They were right in front of me. We often miss what it right in front of us.
We often miss the blessings that are right in front of us. I raised five children. They are all grown now, some in their forties. As I look back on those times I think I missed a lot of opportunities with them, I missed the blessing they were because five children are a bit overwhelming.
Some of you have walked your little ones to school and wondered what happened to your baby? How many parents have bid good-bye to their child as they moved off to college wishing they had enjoyed the time they had together more fully? How many children have bid a parent farewell in a cemetery wishing they had taken more time to get to know them? We often miss what is right in front of us.
This morning we are going to go with Jesus to a normal worship service that is transformed by the King of Kings. But we are also going to see something more. In fact, it may be something you never thought about before. Jesus is going to try to keep us from living lives of regret.
Following Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness he returned to the Galilee in the power of the spirit and he began preaching and teaching in all the synagogues. He became known throughout the area and everyone praised him. Then Jesus came back to his hometown, to Nazareth.
The local synagogue was the place for prayer, the reading of Scripture, and instruction, not very different from our churches today. It was common for any visiting rabbis to be invited to teach.
Jesus, as the visiting Rabbi, was invited to speak. He was given the scroll and He unrolled it. When he came to Isaiah 61:1-2 he read the passage. We don’t know if he chose the text or whether this was, in God’s providence, the text of the day. It was a passage often applied to the anticipated Messiah.
Jesus read, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
In this passage the Messiah is described as one who would help people in trouble, would set free those who were imprisoned in various ways, and would mend those who were broken.
Jesus rolled the scroll back up and then sat down. We are used to teachers who stand at the front of the classroom and pastors who stand in the pulpit raised above the congregation. In Jesus’ day it was the custom for the teacher to sit down. We are told all eyes were fastened upon Him. Everyone waited for His teaching on the passage. Jesus let the silence build some suspense and then he said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, in other words he said, “This passage was talking about me.” Jesus was saying the time of the promised renewal had come. There may have been more to his message, but all we know is that Jesus was claiming to be the One that Isaiah was pointing to.
The first reaction of the crowd is that they spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from his mouth. In other words they were impressed with him as a speaker. They agreed that He spoke with power and authority . . . BUT, then they dismissed his words because they knew him. They knew the parents of Jesus. They had watched Him grow up. They knew He had, up until just recently, been making his living as a carpenter. What in the world could he have to teach them?
Jesus knew what they were thinking so he confronted their thoughts: Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ” 24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
The people thought, “If Jesus was such a hot-shot he should do some miracles and then maybe they would believe.’ Jesus refused. He knew that people who come only for the show eventually get bored and move on.
Instead Jesus declared: “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Jesus is stating a general principle that he illustrated with the lives of Elijah and Elisha. These two prophets performed some of their greatest miracles outside of Israel because the people of Israel had rejected them.
Don’t miss this simple principle Jesus is giving us: We often miss the blessings and the way of God because we don’t see what is right in front of us. It is only in Heaven where we will truly learn how many opportunities were squandered, blessings were overlooked, lessons were ignored, and special people were missed even though they were right in front of us.
So, let’s ask the obvious question: why do we so often miss the way of God that is right in front of us? Here are three reasons.
First, we miss what is right in front of us because we don’t want to see it. Sometimes we don’t want to see something because if we see it we will have to DO something. Just as some people refuse to see abusive behaviors because they don’t want to have to address them, so people often refuse to see that Jesus is really God because then they will have to either stand with Him or stand against Him. It is easier to simply pretend that we don’t see what is there right before us.
Second, sometimes we miss what is front of us because we are too close to see it. How many husbands or wives do not appreciate their partners until after their partner has died? How many parents do not appreciate their children until they have left home?
When I lived in Waynesboro I was shocked to learn that most of the people who lived there had never seen the ocean. They had never been to a zoo or a museum. I took my children to the zoo and all the museums in Philadelphia. We made many trips to the shore. These things were a blessing that was right in front of me but I had never seen them as blessings because they were so normal to me.
The problem with the people of Nazareth was that they were too close to the situation. In Mark we are told the people grumbled: “Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” They knew him as the carpenter’s son and couldn’t see beyond this. They had already put Him in a box; they had labeled him; and they couldn’t see beyond what they believed Him to be. There is a warning here for all of us: we must never underestimate what God can do in the life of someone. We should never write someone off or conclude that they will never amount to anything. God can change anyone.
Third, we sometimes miss what is in right in front of us because we are looking past it. Have you ever been out shopping and while you were thinking about what you were going to do next you walked right by your best friend or neighbor? You missed them because you were looking past them. I have a funny story about this. I was walking down the street with my two daughters and I was so excited to see a friend across the street that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking. I walked straight into a Stop sign. Ouch! My daughters thought it was hysterical.
In our desire to see the world “out there” we sometimes miss our chance to show kindness to our next door neighbor.
Ultimately it boils down to this: If we are truly going to see the blessings, opportunities, lessons, and warnings of God we must be always tuned to the whisper and guidance of the Holy Spirit. If our attention is anyplace other than here we may be in trouble.
So what does this mean to us? I have four thoughts for us.
First, draw comfort and realize that if we have missed opportunities, lessons, blessings, and warnings in life, we are part of a very large club. This has happened to all of us. Instead of regretting what we have missed we can ask God to refocus our attention on His direction and leading in your life.
Second, Pay Attention. Open your eyes to what is in front of you, God may be working, teaching, providing an opportunity, or extending a blessing. Be alert for people you may have overlooked (especially notice children and older people), family members you may have taken for granted, acts of kindness you can extend to a stranger and blessings you may take for granted.
Third, Take His Hand. One of the areas where we are most prone to look past what is right before us is in the area of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Deep down most people want to be right with God. They want to have a personal and vital relationship with Him. But many think there is no way they can ever be good enough to come close to God. It’s easy to be discouraged. But when this happens you are missing what is right in front of you!
If we will turn to Jesus, be honest about our failures, desire to turn from our sinful ways, and put our confidence in what He has done for us, then He will change our life. When Jesus died on the cross He died to pay for our sins. He died so we could have a relationship with God. He died so we could be made new. It is so plain that most people look right past it.
Please, heed His invitation today. You can begin by saying, “Jesus, I know that I need to change a lot of things in my life. I know that I’ve done things that aren’t pleasing to you, but I also know that you offer forgiveness, and I want to ask you to forgive me today. I want to start living my life for you from this point forward.” He extends His hand offering forgiveness and a new beginning. It’s right in front you….take it.
Finally, Get in Gear. We are great at gathering information; not so good at doing something with that information. I encourage you this morning to deliberately work to see what is right in front of you.
I want to let people know that I notice them. I encourage you to do the same. I encourage you to dare to engage others in conversation. Ask a question. Say hello. Watch and see what God does. God may open a door for you to bless that person. I went to the grocery store the other day when it was very cold out. There was an employee getting all the carts from where people left them and putting them next to the store. I stopped and said, “thank you for getting the carts for us.” It was a very small thing but I hope it brightened his day.
One more thing, don’t overlook what God can do through this church. I want to encourage you to really believe that God can and pray that God will use this church to make a difference in surrounding communities; that he can work through us to impact the world around us. Think of what this church has already done through the Learning Center. Who knows what God has in store for us. Let’s believe that God can use us. The key is not to believe in our potential or our strength but to remember God’s strength. As God took 12 common men, the disciples, and used them to change the world, so God can take our small church and use us to impact our community and our world. Our God is a great, powerful, wise, and resourceful God. He will lead us on a great adventure that will be filled with wonderful surprises if we will follow where He leads us. The way to begin is to start by loving the people and taking advantage of the opportunities, lessons, and adventures that are right in front of us.