A Heart Condition

Welcome to 2819 Church. Today, I want to do something a little different this morning. I've traveled this week to preach, and I've been through a tough week. This morning, the Spirit of God is leading me to do something interactive and different.

I feel like too often we run into rooms and run out. We hear a lot of sermons, but it doesn't really get time to sink into our hearts. This morning, I want us to pray together because we've been walking through the words of Jesus. I want us to take a moment before we move into next week and let His words get into our hearts through prayer.

I'm not bound by protocol or culture. I'm bound by the Holy Spirit. I'm going to be faithful to do what the Holy Spirit tells me to do, even if it makes people feel uncomfortable. We're trying to make disciples and not just church attenders. We're trying to make disciples and not just church people who come and hang out.

Matthew 13:53–58: Familiarity and Honor

Let's look at these final verses in Matthew 13. We're looking at verses 53–58. When Jesus finished these parables, He went away from there and came to His hometown. His hometown was Nazareth.

Our Lord was born in Bethlehem. His family took Him to Egypt when they were killing children, trying to find Him. When they left Egypt, they returned to a city called Nazareth. I've been there with my wife, Lena. Nazareth is in a remote part of Israel, surrounded by mountains, so far away from other cities that it was not even considered an important city. It was full of immorality and disconnected from the spiritual life of Israel. It was like the bottom of any city—the worst place.

Jesus went to His hometown Nazareth. He went up in the synagogue. It was His custom to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath, Saturday. He made a custom of going to the synagogue. There they read the scriptures, taught the scriptures, worshiped God, and taught children. He made a regular practice of being in the gathering of the saints. He didn't treat the gathering as common.

When He taught there, the people were astonished at His teaching. They said to themselves, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" They had heard the reports of His miracles. The locals were asking themselves, "Where did this man get this power? He was raised here. We know him. Where did he get this power? Where did he get this wisdom?"

On the surface, it looks like they're sincere. They want to know. But sometimes people will ask questions, and they're not really seeking for an answer. They're just seeking to be antagonistic. That's why you have to have discernment when you're talking to people. Sometimes people will ask you questions or say something to you on social media, and these questions are veiled in skepticism. They're not really seeking answers. They just want to fight. They just want to argue. That's why you have to know when to be silent and when to talk, when not to engage and when to pull away.

Verse 55 asks, "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? Are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Are not His sisters here with us?"

They're saying, "Look, we know his father, Joseph, the carpenter who died. We know his mother, Mary. We know his four brothers because Jesus was raised in a family. He was the oldest son. He had four brothers. Their names are right here. Two of them went on to write gospel letters—James and Jude. It's preserved for us in the New Testament. They did not believe in him until after he was resurrected. They thought he was out of his mind. When he was resurrected, they put their faith in him. James wrote the letter that bears his name. Jude wrote the letter that bears his name. He had at least two sisters or more.

The Damage of Familiarity

Verse 57 says, "They took offense at him." Why were they offended? They were offended because of familiarity. Jesus, and they had a low view of him because they knew him. It's like, "We knew you since you were a boy. We knew your family. There's nothing special about you. There's nothing special about your family. You didn't come from nobility. You didn't come from anything that was regal."

This reminds me of how people hold you to a season and something you used to be. They try to hold you to an old iteration of yourself. There are some people who can't respect the God in you. They can't respect the person you've become. So every time they talk to you or come around you, they try to handcuff you to what you used to be—handcuff you to a season. They see you with familiarity. And you know what familiarity does? It destroys honor. It destroys value. It diminishes proper esteem.

Don't we do the same thing? We do the same thing to the Lord, right? Because we see Him on bracelets and we see His name on t-shirts, we devalue His teaching. Some of us have been around church so long that you're familiar with Him. So somebody can read the scriptures and it's boring to you. You need to be entertained. You need to be moved emotionally. You need to feel goosebumps in a gathering. Why? Because of familiarity. Just the name of Jesus should make you feel some type of way.

Wherever there is dishonor, dishonor is a boomerang. You throw it out, it comes back to you. We throw out dishonor at the Lord and it comes back to us. It robs us of the best of what He wants us to have.

I think somewhere in Second Corinthians 5, Paul talks about how we used to see the Lord through the eyes of the flesh, in a worldly way. When you see Jesus as being diminished—when you see Him as only a prophet or only a man—you rob yourself of what belongs to you. To them, He's not the Son of God; He's just a carpenter's son. If you only see a carpenter, he might build you a table. But if you see the Son of God, he might build you a transformed life. Is He just a carpenter or is He the Son of God?

Verse 57 says, "They were offended at him." Sometimes there are offenses that we commit and we have to repent for that. And sometimes people are offended not because of anything you've done. They're offended because of their mischaracterization and misunderstanding of who you really are.

The Power of Faith and Unbelief

Jesus says to them, "A prophet is without honor except in his hometown and in his own household, and he did not do mighty works there because of their unbelief." We see the damage of familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt. It breeds dishonor.

The Lord has taught us in His word that there are some things and some people we should honor. He's taught us in His word we should honor Him. We should honor the kingdom and everything that is sacred. The scripture teaches us that we should honor elderly people and not disrespect them. The scripture teaches us we should honor parents, even if they abandoned you, even if they were addicted, because it just says honor your parents, for this is right. Just honor them. The scripture teaches you should honor teachers who teach well and live well. You should honor elders who teach well and live well. The scripture teaches us we should honor one another. Romans says to outdo one another in honor. The scripture teaches us we should honor marriage and not try to destroy the marriage of other people. Honor marriage. Stay away from somebody's spouse. Stop lusting after them when they don't belong to you.

Because of their familiarity, he couldn't do a lot of work there. Imagine the Son of God is present and he's handcuffed by unbelief. This unbelief is powerful. It limits what God can do in our lives. Faith is powerful, but unbelief is powerful.

A Call to Pray: Examine Your Heart

Now I want us to pray. Listen to me carefully. We have about 10 more minutes together. Here is what I want us to pray about. I want us to pray about these seven parables. As we pray, I want you to search your heart.

The first thing I want us to pray about: If you need to get out of your chair, if you need to close your eyes, if you need to bow your head, do that. I want us for the next few moments to examine our hearts. The first parable was about different types of hearts. I want us to pray about the first three because I know it's in the room.

There are hearts that are hardened. That is, when you hear preaching, you have places in your life you don't let the word go there. Areas in our lives where we fight God. You know it. You know where you fight Him. You don't want to give. You're scared to give. You think every preacher is going to take your money. You're scared to serve. You're scared to be faithful. You're scared to forgive somebody that you need to forgive.

There are hearts that are shallow. You know all the areas in your life that lack depth in your walk with God.

There are hearts that are worldly. You know all the areas in your life that are worldly. You love worldly things more than Christ. You love the things of the world. And nobody confronts you about that. You know why? Because fake preachers keep you comfortable in sin. When the scripture says anybody who loves the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

One of the things I pray over you all the time is that you would hate the things of the world. You would hate sin. You will hate lawlessness. You will hate debauchery. You will hate everything that is anti-Christ because the scripture says, "Anyone who loves the world, you make yourself an enemy of God." And you wonder why He won't answer your prayers. Because of all those idols you have in your heart. You love people in the world more than you love Christ. You will stand in line for a concert, for a rapper, but won't come early for church.

I want us to pray about the condition of our hearts. If you don't have anything to pray about, you're a liar. We're taking this moment and we're praying about the condition of our hearts. If you need to get up, if you need to walk the room, if you need to get in the aisle, I want you to pray about your heart. Ask God to search your heart.

Are there things in your heart that are not like Him? Is there anything in my heart that is not right? Is there anybody I'm holding in unforgiveness? Where is my heart shallow? Where do I need more depth? Where am I running from You? Why don't I like the scriptures? Why don't I like to give? Why am I not generous? Why am I afraid to tithe and give offerings? Why do I see money as something to hoard? Why do I keep racking up debt and buying things I can't afford? Why do I judge people all the time? Why am I critical? Why am I hypersensitive?

Pray about the issues of your heart. Something is going to change for us as a church in this moment. If you're watching online, you pray too. Ask God to give you a heart that is receptive to teaching, receptive to the scriptures, receptive to the Holy Spirit. We want receptive hearts, humble hearts, pure hearts, consecrated hearts. Or pray for someone else. Pray for your parent, your brother, your sister. Pray for people you know have messed up hearts.

Your heart may be dark. It may be wicked. It may be worldly. You have idols in there. There are things in there you love more than Jesus. Confess your sin. Repent. Ask God to give you a new heart. Ask God for a surrendered heart, a pure heart, a consecrated heart.

The scripture says from the abundance of the heart your mouth speaks. All the issues of life come from the heart. Some of your issues will go away if you get a transformed heart. Some of your marriage issues will go away if you get a transformed heart. Some of your family issues will change if people get a transformed heart. It's the heart.

There are things in there that are so sinful and so dark. It's blocking you from the best that God has for you. It's blocking you from going to another level. It's blocking you from favor and open doors. There are things in there you want that God does not want for you. Some of you, your dreams are an idol. Your vision is an idol. You need God's will.

Why don't you surrender everything and say, "God, I just want Your will. Whatever my life is supposed to be, I just want Your will." You get one life. One. You want to make it count for the Lord.

Prayer Against Evil and for the Gospel

While you're praying, I want you to pray about evil in the world. Pray for the spread of the gospel. Pray for the planting of churches. Pray for pastors who God has called. Pray for ministry to grow. We pray in these last days that the spread of the gospel will reach all the world. We're praying because there are weeds. There are sons of the devil trying to stop what God is doing. Pray against evil. Pray against attacks in your mind, in your heart, in your family.

You've been under attack. Fight it now in prayer. Everyone that's been under attack, fight it right now in prayer. Pray for your marriage. Pray for your house. Pray against the devil. Pray against every demonic force that's coming against you. No weapon formed against you will prosper.

We're living in the last days. We have to pray against evil. Pray for the spread of the gospel. Pray for the work of Jesus to be established in other nations where people are bound by strongholds and false religions and lies. You have brothers and sisters being persecuted outside this country by demonic forces. They're being put to death. They're being killed. They're being raped. They're being molested. They are fighting for their life against demonic forces. Come on, let's pray against evil in the world. Pray against wickedness against God's people. Pray against the sons of the devil. Pray for salvation.

Somebody wages war in the unseen realm. It's the parable of the leaven, the parable of the mustard seed. Pray for the spread of the gospel. Pray for the work of Jesus to grow in your heart, in our nation, in this city, in the world. Pray for the growth.

It's the parable of the net. We know people who are going to hell. Pray for every unsaved person that you know. Call them by name. Your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, your cousins. Pray for everybody you know who's headed to hell.

It's the parable of the treasure. It's the parable of great pearls. Pray that we will see the kingdom as valuable. Pray we would exalt Jesus above everything in this life. Pray that you would love Jesus more than anything in this life. Pray that Jesus will be exalted on the throne of your heart. Pray that we will love nothing more than Jesus in this life.

Jesus, be exalted. Jesus, I'm going to love You more than everything in this life. Jesus, You are my priority. Jesus, You are my heart's desire. Jesus, You are everything that I want. Jesus, You are more valuable than everything I have.

Closing Prayer

Father, we exalt Your name. We thank You and we glorify You. Father, we leave this place but never Your presence. We thank You, Lord, that we're leaving changed and lighter in the name of Jesus. We thank You, Lord, for touching our minds, for touching our hearts, for touching our bodies in the name of Jesus.

Help us to run from sin. Help us, Lord, to hate sin. Help us to desire Your presence in the name of Jesus. We want to encounter the living God. Help us not to put people in Your place. From this day forward, may we know and recognize the true and living God.

I speak peace in your mind. I speak healing in your body. May you walk in the fullness of who God has called you to be. I come against lies of the enemy and tormenting thoughts. I pray that on the altar we will leave every troubling thought in the name of Jesus. Heal our homes in the name of Jesus. I pray, Lord, that the peace of God will dwell in the homes of Your children. When they unlock the door, may the presence of God consume them.

We desire You. We love You, Lord. We grab hold of what You've done today, and our lives will never be the same. We'll think of You more. We'll honor You more. Father, help us to hold dear to the scriptures. Help us to deny worldly worship. Lord, we long to be in Your presence. Father, give us wisdom. Father, help us to govern our days that You have given us. No one will sit in Your place. We give You the glory. We give You the honor. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.