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Hello [user:firstname | default:Beloved],
Mark 6:1-6 tells us about the Lord Jesus’ brief stay in Nazareth, His hometown. He, who performed many miracles in many countries, could not perform any miracles there, “except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” What was the reason for this? Familiarity quite simply! “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” said the inhabitants of Nazareth to themselves when they saw Jesus trying to minister. “So they were offended at him” (Mark 6:3).
Familiarity prevents many Christians from experiencing the glory of God. Because they had seen the Master since his childhood growing up among them, the Nazarenes did not believe in Him as the Son of God. For them, the Lord was just a child who had become a young man, not more than that. They received Him as the carpenter or a neighbor or James’ brother and not as a Prophet. This attitude prevented them from receiving their miracles, despite all the Lord’s good will!
Beware of familiarity, Beloved! It leads you to trivialize, to desecrate the presence of God! Familiarity is often due to proximity; it occurs when one is accustomed to a person, thing or place, etc. to the point that the respect and honor you owe him/it ends up taking a hit. If your closeness to your boss, pastor, leader, president, husband, wife, father or mother makes you forget who that person is, to the point that you no longer respect or honor them, you will unfortunately not benefit from the graces that God has placed in their lives. The same is true when one becomes familiar with the church, worship, God’s service to the point of trivializing them.
A son may, for example, have fun with his father, but this closeness must under no circumstances be a reason to disrespect him. If you consider your pastor a friend, God will not use him to bless you! You will only receive his friendship and not what the pastoral anointing can bring to you. If you are too familiar with your boss or supervisor, it can affect your work performance.
Familiarity leads Christians to neglect God’s work and as a result, they will not be blessed (Jeremiah 48:10). It is familiarity that leads some Christians to chew gum in the presence of God, to pick up the phone or to send text messages during prayer or worship. Would you have such an attitude if you were in the Presidential Palace, in front of the Head of State of your country? Why do you allow yourself to have such attitudes in the presence of the Lord?
Beloved, always have reverence for what is sacred. You must learn to always respect, value and honor what God calls sacred! Know this, the grace you receive from a person’s life is determined by the type of honor you give them. No matter how much time you spend with a person or how familiar you are with any institution or place considered sacred, never forget the position or sacredness that God gave them and honor them as such (1 Samuel 2:30). You will then see the glory of God manifested in your life.
May God bless you Beloved
Pastor Mohammed
Mark 6-1-6
” Then He went out from there and came to His own country (…). And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “ Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? (…) So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief (…) “.
Jeremiah 48:10
“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully,
And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.“
Matthew 10:41
“ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.”.
1 Samuel 2:30
“Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: (…) for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”
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