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Home, Cynical Home Msg 2020 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: If you have brought your Bible today, please turn to
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Speaker 1: the first book in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 13.
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Speaker 1: We're looking at the last six verses.
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Speaker 2: 53 through 58. Matthew 13, 53 through 58.
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Speaker 1: As is always true, our desire is to realize that
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Speaker 1: how relevant God's word is. God does not need any
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Speaker 1: of us to make it relevant.
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Speaker 2: It is relevant.
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Speaker 1: He uses some of us to help people realize just
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Speaker 1: how relevant it is.
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Speaker 2: In this case, we have an interesting vignette.
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Speaker 1: Very brief, just six verses in the life of Jesus
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Speaker 1: where we find him in an unusual place.
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Speaker 2: In his ministry. And that's the place where he was reared.
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Speaker 1: The place he would call his hometown.
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Speaker 2: Nazareth. Once you found Matthew 13. 53.
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Speaker 1: Please stand with one another. For the reading of God's word.
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Speaker 1: I'm reading from the New Living Translation. When Jesus had
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Speaker 1: finished telling these stories and illustrations. He left that part
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Speaker 1: of the country. He returned to Nazareth.
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Speaker 2: His hometown. When he taught there.
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Speaker 1: In the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, where does
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Speaker 1: he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?
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Speaker 1: Then they scoffed, he's just the carpenter's son. And we
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Speaker 1: know Mary, his mother, and his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon,
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Speaker 1: and Judas. All of his sisters live right here among us.
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Speaker 1: Where did he learn all these things? And they were
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Speaker 1: deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus
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Speaker 1: told them, a prophet is honored everywhere except in his
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Speaker 1: own hometown and among his own family.
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Speaker 2: And so he.
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Speaker 1: Did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
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Speaker 1: Our Father, we step aside from the busy activities of
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Speaker 1: our lives to be still, to be quiet, to listen
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Speaker 1: and to learn. Amen. Help us, our Father, as we
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Speaker 1: journey 20 centuries back to a scene that was familiar
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Speaker 1: to our Savior but is unfamiliar to most of us today.
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Speaker 1: May it be as though we were right there with him.
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Speaker 1: May we relive the account as though his hometown were
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Speaker 1: our hometown. May we feel the barbs that came from
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Speaker 1: those who thought they knew him, and though they had
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Speaker 1: spent 30 years alongside him, did not know him at all.
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Speaker 1: In the process, Father, I pray that you would guard
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Speaker 1: us from a perfunctory spirit where we are around the familiar,
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Speaker 1: but we lose the significance because of the familiarity which
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Speaker 1: has bred contempt. Encourage us, I pray, as we see
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Speaker 1: through this story and we learn from it lessons for life.
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Speaker 1: In the journey from earth to heaven, there are many
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Speaker 1: things we must learn, some of which are learned the
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Speaker 1: hard way. And I pray for those going through a
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Speaker 1: hard time. Some have loved ones.
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Speaker 2: Who are desperately ill.
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Speaker 1: Others have lost those that meant the most to them
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Speaker 1: in recent days. There are some who struggle with addictions.
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Speaker 1: They're going through a time of fractured relationships. And others
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Speaker 1: who simply have lost their zest for life. May we realize,
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Speaker 1: our Father, that your Son, Jesus, has the magnificent ability
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Speaker 1: of transferring his triumph to us. And his ability to
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Speaker 1: conquer can be ours as well. But remind us again
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Speaker 1: and again, Lord, that.
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Speaker 2: That's a process. And we learn some of life's best
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Speaker 2: lessons slowly. Slowly. and painfully.
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Speaker 1: Pain often plants the flag of reality in a fortress
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Speaker 1: of a rebel heart. So I pray today for those
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Speaker 1: who are rebels. I pray that you will break through,
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Speaker 1: get their attention, turn their hearts toward you. I pray
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Speaker 1: that Christians will not get in the way of this
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Speaker 1: that we'll be part of the answer rather than the problem,
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Speaker 1: that we'll know how to be a friend to those
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Speaker 1: who are awash. Give us patience, grace, understanding, forgiveness, mercy,
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Speaker 1: and a dozen other traits that don't come easily or
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Speaker 1: naturally as you minister through us to those who have
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Speaker 1: lost their way.
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Speaker 2: We are grateful, Father, for.
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Speaker 1: The change of seasons and the reality that nothing in
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Speaker 1: you changes. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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Speaker 1: You have no winter temperament or summer or spring or fall.
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Speaker 1: You are always the same. We never interrupt you. We
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Speaker 1: never catch you off guard. You're never surprised by what
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Speaker 1: we do. But you are sometimes grieved. I pray that
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Speaker 1: you will touch us in a deep way. Minister especially
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Speaker 1: to those who need encouragement. May we be reminded that
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Speaker 1: our help comes from the Lord. And really, Only from you.
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Speaker 1: That kind of help that is life changing. Because of
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Speaker 1: that transformation, we've learned.
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Speaker 2: To be generous.
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Speaker 1: And that's why today we give with such joy. And
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Speaker 1: we've learned that we are not the center of attention.
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Speaker 1: That your son is. That he has first place in everything.
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Speaker 1: And whatever crowns that may come our way. We will
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Speaker 1: crown him with many crowns. The lamb upon the throne.
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Speaker 1: Whom we worship and adore. To whom we give today.
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Speaker 1: And for his sake alone. We pray these things. Everyone said.
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Speaker 2: Amen.
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Speaker 1: There's something fulfilling about returning home. I suppose there's a
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Speaker 1: little salmon in all of us that on occasion we
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Speaker 1: just have to go back to our place of roots
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Speaker 1: and there relive some memories and revisit some familiar haunts
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Speaker 1: and reflect on those faces that represent our lives in
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Speaker 1: years gone by. We never get too old for this.
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Speaker 1: Even young and strong athletes who enter into the Olympics
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Speaker 1: and are blessed to win the bronze or the silver,
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Speaker 1: ideally the gold, shortly after that has occurred, They can't
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Speaker 1: wait to do what? Take them home.
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Speaker 2: Let the people at home rejoice.
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Speaker 1: With them as they have earned the honor of that medal.
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Speaker 1: Professional teams that win the championship in an away game
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Speaker 1: celebrate on the court or on the field, but there's
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Speaker 1: nothing like taking the trophy home and enjoying the parade
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Speaker 1: in the familiar streets. of that place they call home.
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Speaker 1: If you've gone through a lengthy illness in a hospital,
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Speaker 1: if you've endured years as an inmate in a prison,
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Speaker 1: when that time ends and you're back on your feet,
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Speaker 1: there are words that come almost to every individual In
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Speaker 1: that place.
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Speaker 2: Just take me home. Whether you're an astronaut. That's gone
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Speaker 2: to the moon. Or a soldier. That's lived through the combat.
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Speaker 2: Or a survivor. That had been lost at sea. And
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Speaker 2: is now rescued. There's no place. Like home. Something about it.
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Speaker 1: Brings back those nostalgic feelings that can't be reproduced anywhere else.
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Speaker 1: A number of years ago, our younger daughter and I
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Speaker 1: took a trip from Southern California to Houston.
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Speaker 2: We took our time.
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Speaker 1: We had a great father-daughter relationship in the car along
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Speaker 1: the way, spent the nights and Quietly went through the day, conversation.
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Speaker 1: I remember the last day after we had spent the
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Speaker 1: night in the hill country around Bernie, or perhaps Kerrville
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Speaker 1: it was, where we had breakfast. We struck out not
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Speaker 1: that many miles to Houston.
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Speaker 2: Actually, when we got to.
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Speaker 1: El Paso, we thought we were almost there. Boy, we
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Speaker 1: had a long ways to go after El Paso. Anyway,
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Speaker 1: we're on our way to Houston, our destination, and her
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Speaker 1: type AA father has one goal in mind, get to Houston,
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Speaker 1: leave here, go there. She's looking at a map, and
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Speaker 1: she says, Daddy, El Campo, which means nothing to you,
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Speaker 1: That's where I was born, and she remembered my talking
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Speaker 1: about it.
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Speaker 2: She said, let's go. We can only turn off.
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Speaker 1: We get down toward Highway 59. I said, honey, we're
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Speaker 1: going to Houston. She says, daddy, let's go down. It's
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Speaker 1: not that far away.
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Speaker 2: Look. She numbered up and figured out the miles. I said, okay, okay.
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Speaker 1: She turned on the charm, and we went to El Campo.
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Speaker 1: And I remember when we got to the city limits.
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Speaker 1: I hadn't been there since I was a kid.
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Speaker 2: City limits. City in quotes.
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Speaker 1: City limits. about 10,151. And she's very quiet as we
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Speaker 1: drive through the streets.
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Speaker 2: I try to find the Normanna Theater. It's not there anymore.
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Speaker 1: It was there when the Earth's crust cooled, but now
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Speaker 1: it's been that many years, it's been taken away. Floyd's
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Speaker 1: Theater wasn't there. Red Helmershack's Pharmacy wasn't there. I remember
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Speaker 1: Red Helmershack's Pharmacy. Marble counters, my brother, my sister, and
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Speaker 1: I stood on the counter in our silk pajamas, singing Heil, Heil,
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Speaker 1: right in the Fuhrer's face. It was one of the
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Speaker 1: great songs of yesteryear. We sang for a double-dip ice
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Speaker 1: cream cone. But Helmer Shack's pharmacy was gone. I said, well,
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Speaker 1: maybe there's one place that's still standing. So we took
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Speaker 1: a turn, and I did my best to navigate us
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Speaker 1: to where I thought it might be, and sure enough,
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Speaker 1: There it was. A little garage apartment, sort of leaning
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Speaker 1: as a result of the prevailing Gulf Coast winds. And
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Speaker 1: she said, what's this? And I said, well, Colleen, this
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Speaker 1: is where your daddy was born. Same bed where I
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Speaker 1: was conceived, I was born right there. My dad used
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Speaker 1: to say that. My mother never liked it that he
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Speaker 1: would tell people that. But it was true of all
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Speaker 1: three of us kids right there. And she sat there
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Speaker 1: in silence and looked and I saw the mist come
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Speaker 1: over her eyes.
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Speaker 2: I was home.
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Speaker 1: We turned and went down a couple of blocks and
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Speaker 1: came to a rather big white two-story house where my
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Speaker 1: grandmother and granddaddy had lived all of my childhood growing up.
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Speaker 1: A big porch out front and a swing on the porch.
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Speaker 1: And I pulled up and I said, this is where
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Speaker 1: granddaddy Lundy and mama Lundy lived. Where your daddy, your
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Speaker 1: aunt and uncle played on that front porch. If you'd
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Speaker 1: listen closely, you could almost here are the kids running
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Speaker 1: up and down the porch.
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Speaker 2: And as she looked and I looked.
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Speaker 1: It occurred to me that the words of the great
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Speaker 1: theologian Waylon Jennings fit that scene. Splintered wood, rusty chains,
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Speaker 1: this old front porch swing remains a pendulum of memories.
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Speaker 1: swinging back and forth on a summer breeze, singing old
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Speaker 1: church hymns and nursery rhymes from the days way back
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Speaker 1: before my time, with a little child upon my knee
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Speaker 1: singing every sweet word back to me. Look how far
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Speaker 1: I had to come to get back where I started from,
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Speaker 1: the child's wisdom passing time, singing old church hymns, Nursery rhymes.
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Speaker 2: Nothing quite like home. Maybe Jesus felt the urge at
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Speaker 2: this tough.
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Speaker 1: Time in his life and ministry. Oh, he's a grown
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Speaker 1: man in his early 30s. But life is now lived
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Speaker 1: at a non-stop Double time level.
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Speaker 2: The pressure isn't going away.
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Speaker 1: The crowds of his followers, they're enlarging. And he is
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Speaker 1: doing a wonderful work among them.
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Speaker 2: He is healing the sick. Even a.
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Speaker 1: Paralyzed hand, he gave life to it. And those with demons,
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Speaker 1: he delivers them. And those who are hungry, he feeds them.
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Speaker 1: His ministry is just packed with people. And he sees
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Speaker 1: in their faces their need for rest. He says to
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Speaker 1: them on one occasion, come to me all who are
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Speaker 1: weary and heavy laden. laden, you who are burdened and
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Speaker 1: I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
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Speaker 1: and learn from me for I am meek and lowly
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Speaker 1: in heart.
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Speaker 2: You shall find rest for your souls.
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Speaker 1: My yoke is easy. My burden is light. And how
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Speaker 1: they must have come. Sometimes by the thousands. And if
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Speaker 1: you've ever ministered to people in large numbers and you've
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Speaker 1: done it day after day, Week after week, you know
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Speaker 1: the meaning of the word exhaustion.
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Speaker 2: It's draining.
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Speaker 1: And you love the people, and yet those needs never end.
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Speaker 1: And those expectations are always greater than the ability to supply.
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Speaker 1: Except in his case, he could meet whatever the need.
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Speaker 1: But it drained him of his energy. Now on top
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Speaker 1: of all of that, there were those who despised him.
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Speaker 2: Never doubted.
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Speaker 1: Even when he has done no wrong, they found wrong.
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Speaker 1: When he and his disciples ate grain on the Sabbath,
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Speaker 1: they found fault in that, though it wasn't breaking the law.
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Speaker 1: And he confronted them and he refused to be intimidated
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Speaker 1: by them. That also is energy draining.
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Speaker 2: And then they'd had enough.
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Speaker 1: According to Matthew 12 and verse 14, they called a
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Speaker 1: meeting and they plotted how to kill him.
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Speaker 2: I don't know if you have ever been stalked. But
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Speaker 2: I know what it's like. Some of you may. I
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Speaker 2: don't know that anyone ever wanted to kill me. But
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Speaker 2: they did him.
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Speaker 1: That's pressure. Every move he made, they worked it against him.
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Speaker 1: Every motive they questioned him. Every action they criticized.
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Speaker 2: More and more energy drain. More and more.
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Speaker 1: He cast out their demons and along came the Pharisees.
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Speaker 1: He's doing that in the power of Satan how blasphemous.
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Speaker 2: But they never let up.
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Speaker 1: Finally he may have sighed around sunset one evening and thought.
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Speaker 2: I think I'll go home for a while.
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Speaker 1: In fact, that seems to be the way we get
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Speaker 1: into the story at the end of Matthew 13.
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Speaker 2: When Jesus had finished telling the stories and illustrations, he
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Speaker 2: left that part of the country and he returned to Nazareth, hometown.
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Speaker 2: Let's stop there.
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Speaker 1: Sounds pretty idyllic to most of us who live in
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Speaker 1: a busy city where there's traffic and traffic lights, where
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Speaker 1: there are deadlines and demands that seem never to end.
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Speaker 1: Going back home sounds like a great idea. What you
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Speaker 1: may not know is that it's about 38, 40 miles
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Speaker 1: away from there, and in the terrain it is uphill,
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Speaker 1: And it is a rugged road. You wonder what he
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Speaker 1: and the disciples talked about along the way. And out
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Speaker 1: under the night, they spent under the stars. You wonder
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Speaker 1: what he told them as they were going to sleep.
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Speaker 1: In the back of your Bible, you will find a
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Speaker 1: map that's marked Ministry of Jesus.
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Speaker 2: The ministry of Jesus.
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Speaker 1: You're at the right map when your map shows two
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Speaker 1: bodies of water aside from the great sea on the left,
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Speaker 1: the Mediterranean. When you're into Israel, you will see to
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Speaker 1: the north the Sea of Galilee, oval-shaped. And from there,
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Speaker 1: the trickling river Jordan down into the larger sea, the
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Speaker 1: Dead Sea that goes nowhere, which is why it has
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Speaker 1: its name. back to Galilee, look in the northern shore
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Speaker 1: of Galilee and put your finger on Capernaum. No doubt
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Speaker 1: that's where he is at the end of Matthew 13
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Speaker 1: when he decides to leave and go outside the region. Now,
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Speaker 1: trace your way with your finger to the northwest. For
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Speaker 1: you who are geographically challenged, down a little and to
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Speaker 1: the left. And you will see in the lower Galilean region, Nazareth.
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Speaker 2: Ah, there it is. As obscure as El Campo in Texas.
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Speaker 2: But there it was. Home. When I come to a
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Speaker 2: moment like this, I.
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Speaker 1: Think it's helpful to pause and let my mind run free.
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Speaker 1: We think of our Savior, and certainly we should, as
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Speaker 1: undiminished deity, and he was that without question.
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Speaker 2: But we tend to discount that he was also true humanity.
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Speaker 2: Feelings you have, he had. Longings that you have, he had.
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Speaker 1: The exhaustion you feel after a full day or a
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Speaker 1: packed week or a series of weeks, he too felt exhaustion.
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Speaker 1: So he took the journey. They walked, of course, about
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Speaker 1: a two-day walk, until they finally came to.
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Speaker 2: That little sign that says Nazareth.
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Speaker 1: Maybe it didn't mean as much to the disciples as
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Speaker 1: it did to him because it was there he had
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Speaker 1: spent almost 30 years of his life working in Joseph's
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Speaker 1: carpenter shop. It was there he went to school in
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Speaker 1: the synagogue. It was there he met the neighbors and
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Speaker 1: they knew him. It was there Mary had her other children,
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Speaker 1: four boys, And a number of girls. We're not told
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Speaker 1: how many or ever told their names. It's a big family.
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Speaker 1: They lived in this little place. And all the things
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Speaker 1: you went through, he went through. It was there he
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Speaker 1: played with his buddies. It was there that his mom
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Speaker 1: called him to supper. It was there his dad whistled
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Speaker 1: when it got dark. It was there that he earned
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Speaker 1: a living. I'm sure built fine furniture and very comfortable
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Speaker 1: yoke for oxen. Perhaps even cabinets. It's where his brothers
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Speaker 1: and sisters lived. I'm taking my time here because I
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Speaker 1: want you to feel what the people of Nazareth felt.
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Speaker 1: It's easy to forget old Nazareth. And it's easy to
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Speaker 1: forget all of the memories that surrounded him there. Several
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Speaker 1: years ago, I was buying a car. And while the
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Speaker 1: paperwork was being done, I sat in the little office
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Speaker 1: of the salesman. I've never known him before and haven't
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Speaker 1: seen him since. But while we were together, you strike
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Speaker 1: up a conversation, as all of you know. And we
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Speaker 1: got on the subject of.
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Speaker 2: Where we were reared. I said to him, where were you?
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Speaker 2: I knew he was from another country, and he said, actually,
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Speaker 2: I'm from the Middle East. I said, are you really?
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Speaker 1: I'm intrigued by that. Where in particular? He said, well,
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Speaker 1: I'm from a little town called Nazareth.
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Speaker 2: Really? I go, have you ever.
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Speaker 1: Seen the J & J carpenter shop when you were
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Speaker 1: in Nazareth there? No, he said, I never have. You
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Speaker 1: ever see a name carved into a tree named Jesus?
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Speaker 1: You ever see, he said, named what?
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Speaker 2: Never heard of him.
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Speaker 1: So we had a chance to get a little better acquainted.
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Speaker 1: It was a great talk we had, very unguarded, as
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Speaker 1: he learned a great deal about the one who also.
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Speaker 2: Was reared where he was reared. It's there.
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Speaker 1: Jesus formed his earliest impressions about life. It was there
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Speaker 1: life made up its mind for him. So he returned
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Speaker 1: to Nazareth, his hometown. You know what's interesting is that
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Speaker 1: the synagogue where he went all of his growing up years,
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Speaker 1: still there, except in those days he was a part
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Speaker 1: of the congregation. But it's not uncommon to this day,
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Speaker 1: when a guest is fairly well known, that the rabbi
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Speaker 1: will invite the person that's known to speak to the congregation,
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Speaker 1: to be the guest preacher, if you will, that day. So,
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Speaker 1: that happened.
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Speaker 2: No doubt word had traveled.
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Speaker 1: His name was by now a household name all over
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Speaker 1: what they called then the Romans called Palestine. Israelites hate
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Speaker 1: it when we call their country Palestine.
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Speaker 2: It's Israel. But his name was known all over Israel.
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Speaker 2: And of all things, this man comes back. But remember,
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Speaker 2: their memory.
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Speaker 1: It's not of the great crowds and all the significant
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Speaker 1: words that he had spoken that their memory is 30
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Speaker 1: years of growing up. They remember when he played on
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Speaker 1: the Nazareth Neanderthal soccer team. They played the Cana Cougars
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Speaker 1: and beat them and won the trophy.
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Speaker 2: They remember that.
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Speaker 1: He's just another guy who happened to somehow gate of
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Speaker 1: following and a hearing 40 miles away and beyond.
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Speaker 2: This is in Nazareth.
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Speaker 1: So word traveled among the community and did you hear
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Speaker 1: that Mary's son is going to preach?
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Speaker 2: No doubt Joseph is dead, never mentioned in his adult life.
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Speaker 1: So Mary gathers the family and no doubt many of
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Speaker 1: them were married by now And having grown up with Jesus,
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Speaker 1: they had the standard brother opinion and sister opinion.
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Speaker 2: And there he stood.
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Speaker 1: They'd had their meals with him for almost 30 years.
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Speaker 1: They'd seen his work, conversed, argued, had the standard relationship
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Speaker 1: you have. But now he's standing in the synagogue.
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Speaker 2: And he speaks with such wisdom and authority. It says,
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Speaker 2: look at it, they were amazed.
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Speaker 1: The Greek word means to be filled with such amazement
30:30
Speaker 1: that one is overwhelmed.
30:33
Speaker 2: Whoa! They were blown away. He never talked like this
30:40
Speaker 2: when he was having supper with us. We don't remember.
30:44
Speaker 1: Speeches that he gave or great works he did. And
30:50
Speaker 1: so they naturally ask, Where does he get his wisdom?
30:57
Speaker 1: The power to do miracles. They even scoffed and said,
31:04
Speaker 1: he's just a carpenter's son.
31:07
Speaker 2: By the way, Joseph had nothing to do with his conception. But,
31:12
Speaker 2: of course, they thought Joseph was his daddy.
31:20
Speaker 1: And we know Mary, his mother, and we know all
31:23
Speaker 1: the brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas.
31:28
Speaker 2: By the way, none of them believe in him. And
31:32
Speaker 2: we know all of his sisters. I mean, come on.
31:38
Speaker 1: And then we read they were deeply scandalizzo, scandalized. I
31:47
Speaker 1: like the way Eugene Peterson captures the essence of all this.
31:52
Speaker 2: Who does he think he is? They got their noses
31:54
Speaker 2: all out of joint. Yeah. Just like you would if
31:59
Speaker 2: it were your brother or my brother. Just who does
32:06
Speaker 2: he think he is talking like this? Frankly, They didn't
32:17
Speaker 2: really have a clue. A.T.
32:21
Speaker 1: Robertson, in his fine word pictures in the New Testament, writes,
32:27
Speaker 1: What the people of Nazareth could not comprehend was how
32:32
Speaker 1: one with the origin and environment of Jesus here in
32:35
Speaker 1: Nazareth could possess the wisdom which he appeared to have
32:40
Speaker 1: in his teachings. That has often puzzled people how a
32:45
Speaker 1: boy whom they knew could become the man he apparently
32:49
Speaker 1: is after leaving home. They stumbled at him. Good rendering
32:56
Speaker 1: of scandalizo. Caused to stumble. They stumbled over his words.
33:02
Speaker 1: Moffat renders that they were repelled by him. Weymouth renders
33:07
Speaker 1: it they turned against him. Robertson adds, it was unpardonable
33:13
Speaker 1: for Jesus not to be commonplace like themselves.
33:18
Speaker 2: Who does he think he is?
33:22
Speaker 1: For what it's worth, and it will mean more to
33:25
Speaker 1: some of you than others, the most difficult people to
33:29
Speaker 1: convince of your faith in Jesus is your own family.
33:36
Speaker 1: Don't answer out loud, but how many of you have
33:39
Speaker 1: attempted to tell them of how your life has been changed.
33:44
Speaker 2: Through the power of Jesus Christ. Who do you think
33:50
Speaker 2: you are telling me this?
33:57
Speaker 1: It's not that they desired to be offensive or to
34:02
Speaker 1: appear inhospitable.
34:04
Speaker 2: It's just.
34:06
Speaker 1: Beyond their ability to comprehend it. I love scenes like
34:12
Speaker 1: this because it breaks it all down into a way
34:16
Speaker 1: that everybody can get it.
34:20
Speaker 2: They were.
34:23
Speaker 1: Offended by him. And we read they refused to believe
34:28
Speaker 1: in him. There it is.
34:33
Speaker 2: By the way, that didn't last forever.
34:36
Speaker 1: Weren't we encouraged by that? Jude, named earlier, is the
34:40
Speaker 1: one who, Judas, who wrote the book of Jude just
34:43
Speaker 1: before the end of our Bible, just before Revelation. Not
34:48
Speaker 1: only did he believe in him, but wrote a letter.
34:52
Speaker 1: And James did as well, and he didn't believe until
34:58
Speaker 1: the resurrection. And then when he believed, he really did,
35:02
Speaker 1: went full bore and became a leader in the early
35:06
Speaker 1: first century church.
35:08
Speaker 2: So they came around. It gives us hope, doesn't it?
35:13
Speaker 2: Doesn't it give you a little encouragement?
35:15
Speaker 1: You who have tried to reach your brothers and sisters
35:19
Speaker 1: and moms and dads and family members to no avail.
35:24
Speaker 1: Let me give you a little illustration that I hope
35:27
Speaker 1: you won't forget.
35:29
Speaker 2: It helps me. Witnessing to those.
35:33
Speaker 1: Who aren't ready to receive it is a lot like
35:36
Speaker 1: tossing a log onto a frozen lake. It hits the ice,
35:44
Speaker 1: bounces around, then lies there. More snow, more ice, more.
35:51
Speaker 2: Sleet sits on top of the lake.
35:56
Speaker 1: Until one day, The sun begins to shine and the
36:02
Speaker 1: weather turns warm and.
36:04
Speaker 2: The lake thaws and the log sinks in. Do not
36:13
Speaker 2: think that because you have spoken of Christ and it
36:17
Speaker 2: wasn't received that it will never be meaningful to them.
36:22
Speaker 1: Your words, no doubt, will never be forgotten. Our brains
36:28
Speaker 1: have a way of creasing them into the cells and
36:33
Speaker 1: sometime at life's most difficult turning points, we remember things
36:39
Speaker 1: that we were told. Pain will bring thoughts to us, loss,
36:49
Speaker 1: lengthy illnesses, near death struggles. Many a person I talk
36:57
Speaker 1: to will tell me before we later bury him or her,
37:03
Speaker 1: it was not until recently I realized what my daughter
37:07
Speaker 1: had in mind or what my cousin meant when he
37:13
Speaker 1: said to me, told me of Jesus.
37:16
Speaker 2: I now see it. But for right now, nobody sees it.
37:24
Speaker 2: Who knows? Maybe some of them got up and walked out.
37:30
Speaker 2: You know why it's hard to believe?
37:31
Speaker 1: Because you would think, for the privilege of being able
37:34
Speaker 1: to hear Jesus teach, I mean, how long a line
37:37
Speaker 1: would you stand in?
37:40
Speaker 2: But they wouldn't.
37:44
Speaker 1: In fact, we read this after they didn't believe in him.
37:48
Speaker 1: Then Jesus told them, look at this, a prophet is
37:54
Speaker 1: honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his
38:00
Speaker 1: own family. The sentence literally reads, a prophet is not
38:08
Speaker 1: dishonored except in his native town and in his house,
38:13
Speaker 1: which probably means household, family. And with that reproof, we
38:23
Speaker 1: read something else that's eloquent. The very last sentence in
38:28
Speaker 1: the chapter. And so he did only a few miracles
38:32
Speaker 1: there because of their unbelief. Your Bible will read.
38:38
Speaker 2: A similar way. What shut it down? Well, their response.
38:49
Speaker 1: He read on their faces and may be heard in
38:51
Speaker 1: the murmurings They want nothing to do with what I
38:55
Speaker 1: have to say. I'll say more about it in a moment,
38:59
Speaker 1: but I'll tell you, audience reaction means an enormous amount
39:03
Speaker 1: to someone communicating truth. And he's very sensitive, and he
39:10
Speaker 1: realizes though his home, those from his family.
39:17
Speaker 2: Had little interest in what he had to say.
39:24
Speaker 1: There's a couple of applications I want to draw from
39:27
Speaker 1: this simple vignette you've been so patient to listen as
39:32
Speaker 1: we've worked our way through it. Here's the first thought
39:36
Speaker 1: I want to leave with you. We should never overestimate
39:42
Speaker 1: the importance of family and friends. We should never overestimate
39:50
Speaker 1: the importance of family and friends. And you won't often
39:54
Speaker 1: hear words like that from me because I'm such a
39:56
Speaker 1: family man. But I've learned that family members are not
40:01
Speaker 1: always right. And I've learned that family responses are not
40:07
Speaker 1: always the ones I need to rely on. If I
40:10
Speaker 1: am committed to following the Lord Jesus, if we often
40:14
Speaker 1: say hook, line, and sinker, If I am fully committed
40:18
Speaker 1: to him, then the advice of others, including even family members,
40:23
Speaker 1: means less than the direction Jesus is leading. The old
40:30
Speaker 1: Aesop's fable comes to pass again. Familiarity breeds contempt. Now,
40:39
Speaker 1: in this case, we have a classic.
40:42
Speaker 2: Illustration.
40:46
Speaker 1: He was shut down because of their unbelief. And he
40:52
Speaker 1: then reproved them, which included a reproof to his own family.
40:59
Speaker 1: Here I come for whatever reasons I had in mind,
41:03
Speaker 1: and I find the axiom. Here again, a prophet is
41:08
Speaker 1: without honor in his own hometown.
41:16
Speaker 2: Here's a second. We should never underestimate the importance of
41:24
Speaker 2: others' response.
41:30
Speaker 1: Their response to Jesus hindered him from saying anything else.
41:35
Speaker 1: I think he may have entered his message before he
41:37
Speaker 1: planned to. He certainly stopped doing great works among them.
41:48
Speaker 1: We should never underestimate the importance of others' responses. This
41:53
Speaker 1: gives me a chance to do something I rarely do,
41:56
Speaker 1: and I want to do it today. I want to
42:00
Speaker 1: talk to you about you, the congregation of Stonebriar Community Church.
42:08
Speaker 1: You know me well enough to know that I'm not
42:10
Speaker 1: going to blow smoke here, okay? But I have to
42:14
Speaker 1: tell you, you're the best. When it comes to responses.
42:21
Speaker 1: I've never preached before a gathering more receptive. When it's serious,
42:27
Speaker 1: you're as silent as a tomb.
42:30
Speaker 2: That's good. You're not fiddling around. You're not rustling around.
42:35
Speaker 2: You're riveted.
42:38
Speaker 1: That's a great response. Not to me, but to the
42:41
Speaker 1: truth you're hearing. When something is funny, you laugh.
42:46
Speaker 2: I've been in churches where I've said something that was
42:49
Speaker 2: meant to be funny. It's like, okay, I'll learn that.
42:56
Speaker 2: When am I going to go there?
42:57
Speaker 1: You're not like that at all. You're very spontaneous. In fact,
43:00
Speaker 1: that list of faces that you looked at earlier, those
43:04
Speaker 1: guest preachers, every one of them loves to come back
43:07
Speaker 1: to this place to preach.
43:08
Speaker 2: You know why? You.
43:12
Speaker 1: I've had a number of them say I've never had
43:14
Speaker 1: a congregation like that. I mean, Chuck, they've got, they
43:18
Speaker 1: bring their Bibles. I think, what do you think they're
43:21
Speaker 1: going to bring? Time magazine? Sure, they're going to bring
43:25
Speaker 1: their Bible. And he said, you know, when I say
43:29
Speaker 1: something from the scriptures, like, oh, and I say, turn here.
43:34
Speaker 2: Well, not all. Some are, you turn, I'll just listen.
43:39
Speaker 2: But most of you turn. You know why? You're responsive.
43:45
Speaker 2: Stay that way.
43:49
Speaker 1: It is contagious. It gives energy to the one who
43:55
Speaker 1: is pouring out his soul. William Barclay addresses this in
44:00
Speaker 1: a beautiful way, and I share his words with you.
44:06
Speaker 1: He writes, the prophet, as so often happens, had no
44:10
Speaker 1: honor in his own country, and their attitude to him
44:14
Speaker 1: raised a barrier. which made it impossible for Jesus to
44:21
Speaker 1: have any effect upon them.
44:24
Speaker 2: And he goes on. There's a great lesson here.
44:30
Speaker 1: In any church service, the congregation preaches more than half
44:35
Speaker 1: the sermon.
44:37
Speaker 2: Do you know that?
44:39
Speaker 1: No wonder you're tired when the message is over. You
44:41
Speaker 1: preached half the sermon with me. Every congregation preaches half
44:46
Speaker 1: the sermon. The congregation brings an atmosphere with it. That
44:52
Speaker 1: atmosphere is either a barrier through which the preacher's word
44:57
Speaker 1: cannot penetrate or else it is such an expectancy that
45:03
Speaker 1: even the poorest sermon becomes a living flame.
45:09
Speaker 2: You're a model of that. That's cultivated. Cultivated.
45:13
Speaker 1: Over the years, we learn to listen. We learn to
45:20
Speaker 1: value prepared messages. We learn to observe insightful comments and
45:28
Speaker 1: make them on our own as we go back to
45:31
Speaker 1: the biblical text and draw from it truth for our lives.
45:36
Speaker 1: That's why when you go home, the sermon still lives.
45:40
Speaker 1: And you can return to Matthew 13, 53 to 58,
45:44
Speaker 1: and relive the scene at Nazareth. Because you've gone home
45:48
Speaker 1: with him. You've walked those 40 miles. You've slept under
45:53
Speaker 1: the stars. You've stood before family that's frowning at him.
45:59
Speaker 1: And I think some of that came from Mary as well.
46:04
Speaker 2: Who is he? I changed his diapers. I've seen him
46:13
Speaker 2: grow up.
46:14
Speaker 1: That's why I love the song, Mary, did you know?
46:19
Speaker 1: And there's that line in there, he will soon deliver you, Mary.
46:24
Speaker 1: He will soon deliver you.
46:27
Speaker 2: One day in her life, she realized, I've given birth
46:32
Speaker 2: to my Savior, my Lord. What a response. What a
46:37
Speaker 2: humbling response. Or humble response. Never lose your love for
46:47
Speaker 2: gatherings like this. It's like a magnet. I'm serious.
46:55
Speaker 1: Though I'm away for a little while, I'll tell you,
46:59
Speaker 1: isn't a Sunday that comes that I don't think, that
47:02
Speaker 1: gummit Steve gets to preach instead of me. Well, I mean,
47:05
Speaker 1: not exactly like that, but I have thoughts like they
47:08
Speaker 1: have the joy of standing with this congregation today.
47:13
Speaker 2: And delivering their souls and having that appreciated. Appreciated.
47:18
Speaker 1: I can't tell you what that means. The late Howie
47:22
Speaker 1: Hendricks used to say to me when we talked about
47:25
Speaker 1: various students, some of whom were losing heart for their studies,
47:31
Speaker 1: I asked Prof, why would that be? I mean, I'm
47:35
Speaker 1: the kind of guy that's on the edge of his seat.
47:38
Speaker 1: I never wanted the Prof to go home. I wanted more.
47:43
Speaker 1: But some didn't. And he said, you know, before we're
47:45
Speaker 1: too critical, they probably don't have anybody at home encouraging them.
47:50
Speaker 2: Very insightful.
47:53
Speaker 1: If you're going to give yourself to the truth of
47:56
Speaker 1: the scriptures, it needs to be appreciated. And you do
48:01
Speaker 1: a marvelous job of that.
48:04
Speaker 2: I mean that with my whole heart.
48:09
Speaker 1: Now let me say to you who still can't quite
48:11
Speaker 1: find yourself able to respond like this? Maybe it's because
48:21
Speaker 1: you've never realized the power of the cross.
48:26
Speaker 2: And what was accomplished there.
48:32
Speaker 1: I heard recently of a man who had heard the
48:33
Speaker 1: message of Christ. It was presented to him very carefully,
48:38
Speaker 1: very thoughtfully and appropriately.
48:43
Speaker 2: And he died without Jesus. He now knows. But it's
48:51
Speaker 2: too late. The power of the cross.
48:58
Speaker 1: If you haven't the ability to respond in a way
49:01
Speaker 1: that's grateful.
49:03
Speaker 2: And excited, it.
49:07
Speaker 1: May be that you just never met the one who
49:11
Speaker 1: wrote the story. or the one who went home to Nazareth.
49:19
Speaker 1: I'd love for you to meet him today.
49:23
Speaker 2: Bow with me, will you? Just sit very quietly.
49:31
Speaker 1: One of Jesus' disciples once wrote, he came unto his own,
49:36
Speaker 1: but his own did not receive him. Interesting nuance in
49:42
Speaker 1: that statement John wrote. It could be rendered, he came
49:47
Speaker 1: to his own things, but his own ones did not
49:54
Speaker 1: receive him.
49:56
Speaker 2: That's what it means.
49:58
Speaker 1: He saw the hills and the lakes, he saw the
50:01
Speaker 1: great sea, all of which he had made on this planet,
50:05
Speaker 1: and all of it received him. And continued to obey
50:10
Speaker 1: him even when he said, peace, be still, stop. And
50:14
Speaker 1: the waves stopped. And the storm went away. But not
50:19
Speaker 1: even his own household welcomed him. They were offended by him.
50:32
Speaker 1: If you've never met the Lord Jesus, your offense may
50:36
Speaker 1: be brought on by a misunderstanding. He's not just another
50:42
Speaker 1: hometown boy, grown up good.
50:45
Speaker 2: He's the master. He's the savior. He who has the
50:54
Speaker 2: son has the life. S-O-N. He who does not have
51:00
Speaker 2: the son of God does not have the life. Trust
51:06
Speaker 2: the Son. Release your grip. Set aside your resistance. And
51:17
Speaker 2: humbly take Him. Do it now. You may not have tomorrow.
51:29
Speaker 2: Do it now.
51:32
Speaker 1: Thank you, Father, for this nostalgic journey back to a
51:35
Speaker 1: place that most will never visit, except in the mind.
51:41
Speaker 1: Thank you for the opportunity to relive the scene. And
51:48
Speaker 1: can it be that we should gain an interest in
51:52
Speaker 1: the Savior's blood?
51:53
Speaker 2: Died he for me. Died he for me.
52:00
Speaker 1: Who knew no sin. Thank you, Father, for the Savior.
52:05
Speaker 1: Thank you that he died for us. We love you, Father,
52:12
Speaker 1: and we worship your Son, Jesus. In his name, we
52:18
Speaker 1: worship you and praise you.
52:22
Speaker 2: All his people said, Amen.
52:27
Speaker 3: The preceding message, Home, Cynical Home, was copyrighted in 2016
52:32
Speaker 3: and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021
52:38
Speaker 3: by Charles R.
52:39
Speaker 2: Swindoll, Inc.
52:40
Speaker 3: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
52:44
Speaker 3: commercial use is strictly prohibited.