Luke 4:14-37 MSG

Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone’s acclaim and pleasure. He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s year to act!” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.” All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But they also said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since he was a youngster?” He answered, “I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, ‘Doctor, go heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum.’ Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during that three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.” That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw him out, banishing him from the village, then took him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw him to his doom, but he gave them the slip and was on his way. He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed—his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to. In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, “Ho! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to. You’re the Holy One of God and you’ve come to destroy us!” Jesus shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn’t hurt him. That set everyone back on their heels, whispering and wondering, “What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?” Jesus was the talk of the town.

We as soldiers for Christ are rejected in our own Hometown. Why? Because we walk with Christ. His mission is ours. We are often times defined by the people who know us through our past. Defined by what our parents or family have done. We stand like Christ did ready to bring the Gospel but are shut down because we are the “Carpenters Child”. Held to what others know of us not what Christ knows of us. See Jesus was there ready to free the people of Nazareth spiritually. What is our Nazareth? Who or what is ready to reject us?

Overcoming rejection.

1 Be confident in your identity in Christ. This is the enemies biggest tool. If he can make us loose our Christ like identity, he can kill our vision.

2 show love
By showing love we are putting on Christ. This is our greatest weapon. With love we can destroy the devils strongholds.

3 Speak with conviction.
When we speak with conviction we show just how strong we are in Christ.

4 Pray
Pray with out ceasing. This is our open conversation with The Father.

Love you all
Jake Dickinson 2013.

With Christmas here I think of why Christ really come. As a child the full meaning of Christmas was not as revilent to me as were the cool things I would recieve. But we all grow up hearing “it is better to give than to recieve. Christ gave the ultimate gift through his death he gave the world the ability to have a relationship with our father. This Christmas we should remember to thank God for The gift of Christ. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year

Roman 1:5-6  5 “We received Grace and apostle to call people from among all gentile to obedience that come from faith. 6. and you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ!” 

 1. Grace is obtain through Jesus who died on the cross. It is His dying on the cross that released G-ds Grace to us.

     a. Grace  defined: 1. unmerited divine assistance given to human for their                  regeneration or sanctification.

2. a virtue coming from G-d

3. a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace.

4. mercy, approval, favor.

5. temporary exemption.

so in short grace calls us to repentance. It is through grace G-d can use us for his purpose. let G-d unleash his favor (Grace) upon us. 

2. Obedience comes from Faith. Our in G-d can bring trust and obedience. If we trust in G-ds grace our faith in that G-d what He has called us to is going to be good for us. That when He moves us we through our trust will move along with Him and go without our fear getting in the way. 

Going Blind into the fight of our faith or any fight is and can be deadly world sight is important but just as important is our spiritual sight. As a christian our fight is not only with this culture but also in the spiritual world. Faith in G-d is key to our fight. G-d never lets us go unarmed by keeping our sights on the reality of heaven (Colossians 3:1). we can be reassured that our fight is already won. though our bodies fail our spirit can over come the flesh.G-d though discipline is educating us (Hebrews 12:4-11 msg.) for the long distance race. Like Jesus we must finished the race evin if we finish last because we had to fight our way through it. Our eyes must be on the ultimate prize … JESUS and life with him.

Jake Dickinson