Sermon for 31 January 2010 entitled The Truth of Rejection; Subtitled The Rejection of Truth

Good Morning! I trust once again that all of you had a wonderful week walking and talking with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Can You believe that we are in the last day of this first month of this New Year. Time seems to just fly, doesn’t?

We have another very powerful Text to examine this morning, but first, Our Old Testament reading which comes from the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah this morning. Jeremiah 1:4-10. Jeremiah 1:4-10. Please listen very carefully to the words written by this Powerful Old Testament Prophet. Jeremiah 1:4-10...

-4. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
-5. Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
-6. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
-7. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
-8. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
-9. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

What a very powerful passage of Scripture. What happened to the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah? Jeremiah experienced what is known as a Theophany. A Theophany of the Lord. The Bible says…The Word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.

The Word Theophany means a temporary physical manifestation or appearance of God to a person. In this case, The Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah. So, When we read…The Word of the Lord came unto me saying…literally means that the Word of the Lord appeared physically for a moment of time.

And, The Word knew Jeremiah, sanctified him, and ordained him a prophet to the nations before he was even formed in the womb of his mother. But, Jeremiah says…Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak. I am but a child. But, The Word responded by saying…Say not, I am a child.

Questions: Who is The Word? And, Who is The Word with? According to John 1:1 In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.

Therefore, When The Word of the Lord appeared to Jeremiah, God the Father, The Word, and the Holy Spirit appeared. 1 John 5:7. All three persons of the Godhead appeared to Jeremiah. The very same situation occurred to Abraham in the plains of Mamre in Genesis Chapter 18.

God touched Jeremiah. Specifically, God touched the mouth of Jeremiah with His hand and gave unto him a very powerful mission. Jeremiah’s mission was God set him over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The Mission God gave to Jeremiah was so powerful and unique that God forbade him to marry, Jeremiah 16:1-2, so that he could focus on preaching only the Judgments of God against the Nations including the Nation of Israel.

Questions: What has God called you to do? Are you operating in God’s calling for your life? Or, Are You like many people in the Christian Church today just like the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah, saying Ah, Lord God, I cannot speak?

A Word of encouragement. Instead of telling God why you can’t do something, Step out in faith and say With God, All things are possible. Matthew 19:26. Just simply say Send me, Father! Send me!

The Title of my message this morning is The Truth of Rejection! The Truth of Rejection. Subtitled…The Rejection of Truth. Our New Testament reading comes from The Gospel of Luke Chapter 4:21-30. Luke 4:21-30. If You have your Bibles with you this morning, please follow along as the Text is read. Luke 4:21-30...

21. And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22. 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?
23. 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.
24. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
25. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land.
26. But unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
28. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29. 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.
30. But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

Here ends the reading of God’s Holy Word and may God add His Blessing on this reading this morning. Let us bow our heads for a word of prayer. Father in Heaven, We are so thankful today. We are thankful for you Holy Word.

We are thankful for your presence here with us and everyday of our lives. Father, Help us understand the powerful Truths that we hear today and keep them in our hearts. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

First of all, Let us get a little background information on our Text this morning. Jesus Christ is teaching in the Synagogue of Nazareth where he grew up as a child. And, Jesus Christ introduces himself by reading from The Book of Isaiah in what we know today as Chapter 61 verses 1-2 and only a part of verse 2. Jesus did not read the entire verse of verse 2. He cut the reading short.

Before We get into our Text this morning, I want to show you something about Isaiah 61:2. Of all the verses in the Bible, There is only one verse, in my opinion, that paints a picture of what God has intended to do with the inhabitants of this earth. Isaiah 61:2 is a brief snapshot of God’s plan for mankind.

Isaiah 61:2 says…To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.

The Acceptable year of the Lord began with Christ’s earthly ministry in 27 AD and will come to an end when the Church Age ends by the Rapture. Acts 15:17 and Revelation 4:1. Therefore, The Acceptable year of the Lord is 1983 years and counting. Reference--2010 AD - 27 AD = 1983 years.

The Day of Vengeance of our God points to the Tribulation period that will begin after the Church Age has ended. The Tribulation period lasts for 7 years according to Daniel 9:24. And, The Law of Moses will be practiced once again during this Tribulation period by the Seed of Jacob multiplied as the dust of the earth. Scripture references are Daniel 9:27, Malachi 4:4-6, Acts 15:16, and Romans 11:8.

To comfort all that mourn points to the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ here on this earth that will occur for 1000 years. Isaiah 11:1-10, Daniel 7:13-14, and Revelation 20:4. Jesus Christ will sit on His Throne in Jerusalem and rule the Nations and the 12 Disciples of Jesus Christ will sit on 12 thrones judging the Nation of Israel. Matthew 19:28. This information brings us up to our Text this morning beginning with verse 21...

21. And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.

That is to say the Scripture of Isaiah 61:1 and only a part of verse 2.

22. 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?

Do you see the picture here? Jesus is standing in the Synagogue of Nazareth reading from the Book of Isaiah, and all of the Jews in Church that day bare witness of what Jesus proclaimed and then, They wondered at the gracious words that He read and spoke.

Then, Their wonderment turned to confusion and then quickly turned into doubt because of familiarity. They knew Joseph, Christ’s earthly father by adoption, and they all knew Jesus. So, At this point, The Truth of Rejection begins with 1) Familiarity, 2) followed by wonder, 3) which is followed by confusion, and 4) which is then followed by doubt. Do you see the progression here?

23. 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.

What Jesus says here is what is known as a forward looking statement that points to the cross and what the Jewish people would say to him in the future as he hung on the cross. In our Text here, The Greek Word therapeuo (pronounced ther - ap - yoo - o) means to heal. This verse in our Text points to Matthew 27:42.

Looking at Matthew 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

The Greek Word sozo (pronounced sode’ zo) used for saved in Matthew 27:42 also means to heal. Do you see this powerful picture? Jesus knows what is happening and going to happen because He planned His mission before the foundation of the World.

24. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
25. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land.
26. But unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

What is happening here? Jesus Christ is telling all the Jewish people here in Nazareth who He truly is. Jesus is giving very specific examples of His knowledge of past Jewish History. And, When He does, He stands on the Holy Word of God. Now, Let us see what happens next.

28. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29. 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.

Wait a minute. What did the Jewish people do? They heard Jesus Christ while He stood in the Synagogue and proclaimed who He truly was and is and what He was sent to do. They heard powerful words of Truth. They knew Jesus Christ, familiarity, They wondered about what they had heard, They got confused, They doubted what Jesus Christ proclaimed in their ears…

Then, They got very angry at Jesus Christ. So, Angry that they forced Him out of the Synagogue and the city and took Him to the hill that their city was built on to throw Him off of the cliff head first to kill Him. The Truth of Rejection.

The Rejection of Truth will always follow this progression. Please listen very carefully…Familiarity, wonder, confusion, doubt, anger, and then followed by words of death and or the attempt of the act thereof depending on the circumstances. This is the progression of the Rejection of Truth and this progression can occur very quickly.

Questions: Have you ever experienced this in your life? What did you do? Did You react in the flesh by the progression just mentioned? Or, Did You respond in the spirit with Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, and patience? Just to mention a few. Let us now take a look at what Jesus Christ did.

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

Finally, Do you see this powerful picture? But he…But Christ, passing through the midst of them went his way. What did Christ do? He did not condemn them. He did not yell at them. He did not have a temper tantrum. He did not say that they would all die and go to hell before He left.

Instead, Jesus Christ responded in the spirit and did not say a word but passed through the midst of them and went on his way. Jesus Christ set for all of us a very powerful example of how to recognize The Truth of Rejection and how to handle The Rejection of Truth.

The only way a Christian can respond the way that Jesus Christ did to his own people is to shun the flesh and walk in the spirit on a daily basis. That is to Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus Christ. Otherwise, No one will be able to tell the difference between you and the world.

I encourage you to Deny Yourself and Let Your light Shine for Jesus Christ. I say Blessed be the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us bow our heads for a word of prayer. Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Holy Name. Thank you for another opportunity to hear Your Holy Word that strengthens our Faith, draws us into a closer relationship with you, and lights our path in a world that does not know you.

Help us to ponder in our hearts these Powerful Truths today and allow them to help us be a witness without fear for Jesus Christ. We thank you Father for hearing and answering our prayer in the Name that is above all Names, The Precious Name of Jesus Christ, and everybody said, Amen and Amen.


Dr. Michael Dickson, Th.D.