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Mark 6:1 - 6  originally preached 8-14 2014

"Now He could do no mighty work there.......a low view of Jesus

1Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. 2When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He wondered at their unbelief.
      And He was going around the villages teaching.

This morning as we contemplate the dawning of 2026 in a couple of days I wanted to re-visit a passage of scripture that we taught 12 years ago in August of 2014.

It's good to return to things taught at the beginning and judge how we're doing.  Has there been a shift?  Would we see it any differently today than 12 1/2 years previous?  Here's what I wrote for that Sunday morning.  See if they still apply to us today.

These first 6 verses in Chapter 6 hit me like a bolt of lightning!  How many times have I read these verses, and thought to myself, yeah, I think I see what's going on here.  This is just Mary's kid right?

But as I approached it for this study I stopped to ponder more deeply and ask God, why is this here.  What's going on here.  What am I going to teach from this.  Am I going to give it a quick dust with a light brush.  A few light strokes and move on to something else.

Then the lightning bolt hit and now I wish I was a preacher.  I want to spend about 3 weeks here.  There is some bedrock truth here that can change a fellowhip forever.

Don't worry, I'm not a preacher and I'm not going to be able to spend 3 weeks here.  But I pray that the Holy Spirit will help me to show you some things that can make or break a fellowship.  The roots of every church that saw God do mighty things through them......are here.

You might caution me that I've not been around here long enough to start changing things.  I'll agree.  But the truths here are universal.  And when you understand what's being said here, you can look around America and see the wreckage.

2 Tim. 3:4,5  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Have you been in a church like that?  Everyone's walking around saying the right stuff, but God's not there.  

Like the church at Sardis;  "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

We've all been there.  First Dead church of such and such.  There's a sign out front with phone numbers and a pithy saying on the lettering board, but they're dead.

What happens is that folks can't really put their finger on what's wrong.  They just know it's dead, and worship is no fun.  Over time good christian folks get cranky.  Fingers start pointing.  Churches split.  Sometimes you end up with 2 dead churches then instead of one.

Mostly you run the pastor off.  Church is dead, it must be his fault, right.  I've seen that happen a half dozen times.  New pastor comes.......it's still dead.  Why??

Why doesn't God visit His church?  I'm not talking about wacko type churches, I'm talking about orthodox fundamentalist evangelical conservative, churches.  What makes the difference between a church where God is doing mighty works, and a church where He's mostly....not around?

These 6 verses have the key.  Do I have your attention?

1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 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! 3 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?" And they were offended at Him. 

They were offended at Him.  Who died and made you the 4rth person in the trinity?  That's the undercurrent here.  You're just ordinary.  You're Mary's kid, right?  The carpenter, right.

The problem here, now listen, because it's our problem today, the problem here is a low view of Jesus.

Now watch what happens;  4 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." 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief.

Did you see that.  There's a direct correlation between a low view of Jesus, and spiritual power.  

Let's expand this idea.  "In the beginning was the _ _ _ _"

Jesus is inseperable from this book.  This book is alive.  Jesus is the Logos.  The Logos is Jesus.  Guess what?  Do you see where I'm going.

A low view of scripture, a low view of the Word of God, is equivalent and equal to a low view of Jesus.

Now He could do no mighty work there.........

So what makes a church, a group of believers who will enjoy the presence of Almighty God in their midst, and see Him do mighty works??

Isa. 66:2 "For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Isaiah may have been the instrument that wrote it down, but, Jesus is the one who said it.  This is His message to Nazareth, and it's His message to US!

These homey's in Nazareth didn't tremble at His word.  They sniffed.  6 And He marveled because of their unbelief.

We've made it through chapter 5.  How many times did it say, "and they were amazed....."   Over and over.  Until we get to Nazareth, and here, Jesus is the one who is amazed.

There are only 2 times in the Gospels when it says Jesus was amazed.  Here, because of unbelief that has caused a low view that coupled with the evidence they have enjoyed, is nothing less than amazing. 

The other time is the Centurion.  He's a non jew.  And guess what, he has the highest view of Jesus.  People under me have to do what I say.  Likewise you have authority to command that my slave's illness depart.  He understood the vast authority of Jesus.  Jesus was amazed.

These truths are relevant to us.  Take a spiritual inventory.  What is it that we want to see in this fellowship.  I'm new here, so I dare not venture any guesses.  I can only speak for myself.

I want to see God do amazing things.  I want the people of Tonopah to be dumbfounded at what God is doing.  Here!  In this church!  Dumbfounded.  I want to read about this little fellowship in the christian blogosphere.  What's up in Tonopah Nevada.  God showed up there and turned the whole place upside down.  

I don't know everything, but from these 6 verses, I know this.  If God is going to do mighty works, it'll be because we have a HIGH view of Jesus.  

How do we get a high view of Jesus?  Isaiah couldn't have said it any plainer.

But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.  Humble.  Repentent.  Submission to His word.  The word tremble is about authority.

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Let me take a minute or two and share some things from my past.  You may be thinking; you're talking pretty big here Jim, have you ever seen anything like this in action?

As a matter of fact, yes.  I prayed to receive Christ on August 26th, 1970 with a man named John MacArthur.  I was 18, he was 31.  

We liked John, but we had no idea what God was going to accomplish through him in the last 42 (56) years.  He has been the voice and action of this principle for 42 (56) years, and still going strong.

And God has taken the words of this faithful servant lifting up His word and the impact has literally gone around the world.  Only recently has it begun to dawn on me the extent of the legacy of this one servant who has tirelessly and doggedly taught the scripture....one verse at a time.  Last year some time, in his 42nd year, he officially completed the entire new testament.  Every verse.

The principal is right here in these 6 verses.    A low view = no power.  A high view and God will open doors that we never even dreamed of.

Eph. 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,

If you had known John in 1971 and asked him to think outside the box beyond all that he could ask or think.........he'd be the first to tell you he never even dreamed of anything like what God has done. did

He'll recount that a few weeks after he got to Grace church, a couple of families got mad and left, and he was praying they wouldn't have to board the place up because of him.

So what about you, Jim??  You can read about me in Exodus.  ???

What does a "high view" of Jesus look like?  Let's do a whirlwind review of the first 5 chapters of Mark that got us to this point and see.....

1:15 the time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand.......

The authority to reign of God is at hand.  The authority to reign of Satan is put on notice.  The authority to reign of God is in your midst.  

Lets look at the authority of Jesus.  

Authority given by His father's voice at His baptism.

Authority to defeat Satan in the temptation in the wilderness for 40 days.

Authority over men, to call men out of their old life to come follow Him.  Disciples called.

Authority in His teaching in the synagogue.  He taught with the authority of author not commentator or student.  I wrote the book, here's what it means.

Authority over demons 1:24  Authority over diseases. First, Simon's mother in law, then thousands healed.

Authority to forgive sins.  Ch 2 the paralytic.  Remember him.  They lowered him down through the roof.  He was trembling.  "Your sins are forgiven"

Authority over the Sabbath.  Lord of the sabbath.  "The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath."  This is where the jews minds go snap and they begin to plot His destruction.  Didn't even make it out of chapter 2.

In chapters 3 and 4 we have authority explained in parables.  Then we have this latest group of miracles that we finished last week, and they show us a different slant.  Obedience to authority.  Obedience to the creator's voice.

The wind and the waves - obey
The demons - obey
Disease - obeys
Death - obeys

Everything in the universe must obey the voice of Jesus.  Except people.  We think it's optional.

We have this strange veil of unbelief that we don't see this clearly.  Everything in the universe obeys His voice.

After all these miracles before all these thousands, He goes into Jairus house and they laugh at Him.  They laugh at the creator of the universe.

Then He goes up to Nazareth and they basically say - Who do you think you are?  A low view of Jesus.  So low it's amazing.  You'd have to be blind to end up here.

So what does a high view of Jesus look like?  Here is the view of Jesus that we need to adopt.  Worship.  Worship.

Everything in the universe obeys His voice.  We need to get on our faces in worship before Him and obey His voice.  John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commanments.

That brings me to my second part.  A high view of scripture.  In Hebrews 10:7 it says, In the roll of the book, it is written of me.......THE WHOLE BOOK!

What's our view of scripture?  Do we have a high view?  It all goes back to that same word.  Authority.  What do we believe about the Bible.

These days if you state that you believe in verbal plenary inspiration of the very words of scripture in their original languages......you're a knucle dragging neanderthal.

Do we believe we have to do what this book says?  Jesus is the logos.  The word.  The Word is Jesus.  Jesus has all authority.  What about this book?

Authority is where the rubber meets the road.  This is a huge topic because people, christians say all kinds of things about this book, and then ignore it.  It isn't about what we say we believe, it's about what we do.  Authority.  Do I really have to do what this book says??  

How do I end up with a low view of scripture?  Let me count the ways.

We don't have time to count the ways.  The entire study of church history through the centuries is littered with all the different ways Satan has done his damage control by getting "so called" christians to take a low view of scripture.

Here's a couple of our current ones.  

(religious) Liberalism.  We're modern.  The folks who wrote these things down didn't have science.  All the miracles are bunk.  Beginning with the creation.  Bunk.  We're modern.  We know better now.  This stuff was written by knuckle draggers who lived in superstitious flights of fancy that no modern mind can accept.  Jesus was just a nice man, who let things around him get out of control.  He couldn't bring the political kingdom that the jews wanted, and they killed him.  But he lived a nice life.  We should be nicer.

[  Notice the authority shift.  The literal book has no authority over men, men have authority to decide what stays and what goes, in the book.  We're smarter than the original authors.  It was written by men and we know more now, so we need to re-write the book from our modern point of view.  ]

Ultra-dispensationalism.  This one dichotomises and divides up the bible so that the dispensation of grace starts with Paul.  Jesus was offering the kingdom to the Jews.  That failed.  God turned to the gentiles with a different gospel of grace.  Therefore, you don't need to heed anything in the old testament.  It's not for you.  Sermon on the mount.  gone.  not for you.  Everything Jesus said.  Kingdom babble, meant for a different age.  It's not for you.  Law and grace.  Chuck the law.  We're not under law.  We're under grace.  Lordship of Christ, Saviourship of Christ.  Dichotomize those.  We'll take the fire insurance, thank you very much, but we'll leave the lordship for another day.  That was "kingdom talk".

Don't get me wrong.  I'm a dispensationalist.  But only so far as it is helpful in rightly dividing the word of God.  And it is helpful because without the dispensational view, you're taking a different low view of scripture and spiritualizing God's entire dealing with the Jews.  The church becomes spiritual israel.  All of God's concrete promises to His people for the yet future, gone.  Spiritualized away.  Millenium?  What millenium.  It came and went.  A literal Kingdom with literal jews - gone.  Another low view.

And our current favorite that has caused the church in our day to be the lukewarm church of Revelation 3......easy believism.  I've already touched on it above.  This one is unique to the USA in origin.  You can accept Jesus as saviour, but you don't have to change anything.  You don't have to make Him your Lord.  Save that for later.  Or maybe even never.  

Here's how this works.  [Consider the nonsense of this]  There are two great Kingdoms raging at battle in this world.  Satan's kingdom.  God's kingdom.  Like 2 gigantic armies in mortal conflict.  Before you're a christian, you're in Satan's kingdom fighting against God.  You can join God's kingdom, but you don't have to move out of Satan's kingdom at all.  Just keep on doing what you were doing.  As long as you made some sort of benign mental asscent that there is a jesus.....that's believing!  That's it.  You believed.  Don't let anyone tell you that wasn't good enough.  You're saved.  You signed a card in 1956.  You're saved.  Go on home and watch a dirty movie.  Do whatever you please.  You're saved!

Obedience to the creator of the universe who has gained ALL authority over the kingdoms of satan is optional??

If you're new, I hope I'm not terrifying you.  You're thinking holy smoke, this is a tightrope walk, this book.

A couple of verses to encourage you.  

2 Timothy 2:15.  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman unashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  Sorry, I learned it in KJV.

Yes, some diligence is required.  But a second, to encourage you more.

John 14:15 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;"

It's not that tough.  The indwelling Holy Spirit is our helper.  Approach this book with a high view.  It is alive.  It was spoken by the very voice that spoke the worlds into existence.  With a high view, approach it trembling, You won't go wrong.  Ask questions.  

A high view of the Bible, the whole Bible, is a high view of Jesus.  And  a high view of Jesus is where spiritual power comes to a fellowship.  

Here's something to think about.  Sola Scriptura.  There's a whole bunch of Sola's if you go back and study the reformation.  But it was that one that got the train back on the track.  Sola Scriptura.  Only the Bible.  Authority!  Our authority is the Word of God, not 1600 years of men's errors.  Martin Luther took a high view of scripture, and....pinch yourself.  Here we are.  That one man's high view caused the reformation.

This'll be fun.
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So, 12 1/2 years later, how're we doing.  Do we, as a fellowship of christians together, tremble at the authority of this book?  Do we study it because we want to honor it's author, the Logos, the living word, by first understanding it, and then obeying what it says?

Are we people of the Book?  The single sole book.  Sola Scriptura.  Authority is based solely in this book.  It alone is God's written word, His revelation to man.  

Are we committed to study it together, and then do what this book says?  We saw visible blessings in 2025.  

Our passage in Mark this morning is a warning to all christians.  A low view of Jesus drains out all of the power of God that can cause amazing things to happen.  

A high view of Jesus that honors and obeys and worships Him as rightful owner of every created thing, you included, is the source of miracles.  Yes, I believe in miracles.  When Jesus regenerates lives from death to life, that's the one miracle I'm after.  The miracles I long to see, in 2026, are changed lives as we honor the Lord Jesus, as Lord, and obey this word.