Luke 4:31-44 // Power and Purpose // Part 1 (12:30 pm)

But I wanna bring some tension into the space right now because a lot of people are okay with Jesus being a teacher. They're just not okay with him being Lord. Because a teacher offers guidance and it's your choice, your decision if you adhere to it or not. But the Lord requires submission, no drop down choice. Our responsibility as believers and followers of Jesus is to become under the authority of his lordship because even Judas called him rabbi, translation, teacher, But never really truly surrendered to his lordship. And if we're not careful we'll do the exact same thing. [01:02:52] (46 seconds)  #JesusIsLord

Because celebration will keep you stuck if you don't have conviction. And that's this moment because the crowd said stay. You catch? The crowd said stay. If you could put yourself in those shoes, how often do we like the attention and the applause of man? The crowd said stay but God said go. And Jesus chose assignment over attachments. So let me say it like this, you can be fruitful and still be out of position. You can be effective and still be out of alignment. And some of us are holding on to places God graced us for a season but he's no longer calling us to stay in because time with God would do this. [01:23:18] (61 seconds)  #AssignmentOverApplause

So here we see Jesus went to a solitary place. Others may refer to this as a secret place because public power is only sustained by private presence. And if Jesus needed it, what makes you think we don't? That our lives behind closed doors are just that much more important than our lives before man. And it's in those private moments where we establish the relationship with ourselves and the father. And so what you you pour out publicly must be refilled privately. So after demonstrating authority, after healing everyone that came, Jesus goes to be with the father. [01:18:49] (56 seconds)  #PrivatePresence

Do you all catch that? After she was healed she got up and served because healing isn't just relief, it's restoration to purpose. That Jesus takes the time to heal and to deliver us so that we are presented to the world with a testimony. A testimony that would allow for others to hear our story and say that could only be Jesus. And then because of your life lived before man others will be drawn to his light. And as a result this reciprocated process of life change happens when we understand that it wasn't about relief because he doesn't heal you for you to go back. [01:15:18] (50 seconds)  #HealedToServe

See Jesus is in the synagogue because Jesus stays in the church. Today's modern church and a man starts responding. Verse 33 tells us that this man is present in the church and he has an unclean spirit that has him bound. And here's a hard truth, you could sit in sacred spaces and still be spiritually bound. Anything in you that resists the authority of Jesus will eventually be revealed in the presence of Jesus. Because when Jesus is present things don't stay hidden, they come out. [01:06:56] (39 seconds)  #PresenceReveals

So we'll quote him to validate our position or we'll post him for likes to build build our brand or reference him so others would know that we're Christian ish. But the truth of the matter, we have no true responsibility in allowing for him to be our Lord. We waste the true authority of Jesus for just personal gain. So we've established something that Jesus doesn't just teach with authority, he is the authority. And but here's what we need to understand is that when real authority shows up it doesn't just inform you, it confronts what cannot stay. Because the presence of Jesus does not coexist with anything that opposes him. [01:03:38] (54 seconds)  #AuthorityConfronts

And it says so Jesus, when Jesus says I must, he's saying I'm not driven by applause. I am not anchored in comfort. I am moving where I'm sent. And this is where mama Chris words hit different from last week. She said that I go with no reserve. I go where God can use me. One of our mission partners Lily Fields says something that we cannot miss either. She talked about how obedience to God doesn't always look loud. Sometimes it looks like leaving was working to follow what God whispered. [01:22:39] (39 seconds)  #ObedienceOverComfort

Now when I was reading this in my mind I was really translating this moment as this, everything that you have been waiting for, everything that you have been anticipating, everything that you have been praying about, I'm him. Scripture fulfilled. And at first scripture says that the people were amazed by these words until familiarity started talking. Wait, isn't this Joseph's son? And just like that, amazement turned into offense because people will celebrate you until you don't fit the version of you they're comfortable with. Or in other words, some people are so familiar with you that they really never recognize what God is doing through you. And the unfortunate part is is that it be your own people. [00:58:33] (61 seconds)  #FamiliarityBreedsOffense