Luke 4:22-32 – Sovereignty and Perseverance

It is so easy to take for granted things that are familiar to us. The people of Nazareth have known Jesus for 30 years. Because they are so used to Him, they refuse to believe what He has to say. We can get used to owning Bibles, we can get used to hearing God’s Word preached, we can get used to meeting freely together with other Christians in worship, and we can stop listening because we are taking all these things for granted. We should constantly be reminding ourself of what a great privilege and blessing it is to have God’s Word, to have a faithful minister, to have the freedom to meet for worship, and we should drink in all we can of these blessings.

The men of Nazareth hate the idea that God can do whatever He wants. They think God is obliged to work miracles among them, and when Christ reminds them that God does whatever He chooses, they are furious. This at least rouses them from their indifference. If Christ hadn’t miraculously saved Himself, they would have killed Him. God’s sovereignty to do whatever He wants infuriates men and women who believe God owes them something. But like it or not, the Bible clearly teaches that God owes no man anything. He is free to do whatever He wishes, and because He is God, whatever He chooses to do is also good.

Even though Christ is violently rejected at Nazareth, He doesn’t give up. He goes on to preach in another place. Whatever the work God has called you to do for His kingdom, you should patiently continue in it and not give up because you have no success. Often there is more going on in the hearts of people than we are ever aware of. We may be preparing the ground for a great harvest to come later. If nothing else, our perseverance shows men that we are persuaded that we have truth on our side.

Questions
1. How can we avoid taking spiritual things for granted?
2. Does God owe men anything?
3. Why should we persevere in doing the Lord’s work?

Prayer Points
1. Pray for Christians being persecuted in other countries.
2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
3. Pray for family matters.