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[0:00] from Luke chapter 4 and reading from verse 31 down to the end of the chapter. This is after Jesus had gone to his hometown of Nazareth and was rejected and now he makes his way to Capernaum which is down by the Sea of Galilee.

[0:21] This would have been a journey going actually to the northeast from the hills of Nazareth to get to the seaside of Galilee. This town would have been, and the Sea of Galilee is 600 or 600 feet below sea level and Nazareth is about 1400 feet above sea level.

[0:41] So as you see there where it says in verse 31 and he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee in verse 31 and he was teaching them on the Sabbath.

[0:52] And they were astonished at his teaching for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon and he cried out with a loud voice, Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

[1:09] Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him.

[1:19] And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, What is this word?

[1:32] For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the report about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

[1:44] And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever and had left her.

[1:58] And immediately she rose and began to serve them. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him.

[2:10] And he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, You are the Son of God. But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

[2:25] And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them. But he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well.

[2:42] For I was sent for this purpose, and he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. Amen. And may God bless to us a reading of his own holy word.

[2:53] Our next item of passage that we read earlier, and the title of our sermon today is God's King. God's King Accepted or Rejected.

[3:03] And just as we see in the life of Jesus in the New Testament, we are also aware of the life of his ancestor David, where he himself was a king that was accepted and rejected.

[3:22] And we see that this is what happened to Jesus, finding that he went back to his own people in Nazareth, and the people there rejected him, questioning, although they marveled at his word.

[3:36] But then they questioned, is this not a Joseph's son? And remember, they went to cast him out. And this must have been quite something emotionally for Jesus, when you think of the town that you've been brought up in, and to be dealt by your own people, the people that he grew up with.

[3:56] And this is how they dealt with him, to cast him, and they tried to cast him over a hill. We do know that Nazareth is built on a kind of a hilly area, and that would have been possible for them to do that.

[4:13] But we know that Jesus walked from their midst. David, in the Old Testament, he had to run from his own family. It was actually Absalom, his son, that he, Absalom, was wanting to reign instead of David, and he got his own supporters, folk who had rejected David as king.

[4:34] And David, as we see in 1 Samuel, and into 2 Samuel, we see where David had to run away and escape. He had to leave Jerusalem in a hurry.

[4:45] He did so with some of his supporters, while Absalom was coming after him. So it is quite similar in that way, where God's king has been rejected in the Old Testament, and God's king is rejected in the New Testament.

[5:03] Nazareth did so. But the question has to be asked, how does this place God in that situation? Has God, although people rejected David in the Old Testament, and reject Jesus in the New Testament, where does David and Jesus stand in God's view?

[5:25] Well, they haven't lost their status. They were anointed by God as being God's king. David was in the Old Testament, whether you reject him or not, he is God's king in the Old Testament, and it is also true in the New Testament, whether we accept him or not.

[5:44] Yet, it is God, in his status before God today, he is God's anointed king. Now, think of our own nation, think of the United Kingdom today, and how very little has been done, or in regards to worshipping.

[6:04] And it's interesting coming, even driving through Dumfries today, and being able to see so much more when it's not raining, and not being dark as well. The amount of churches that are here, and I think we saw one was a cafe, and one is a gym, and then you come to our Church of Scotland up the road, and then you come to this one here, and you see so many people walking about so busy, but yet, they've rejected Jesus, God's king.

[6:36] Now, the status of Jesus before God hasn't changed. It's us that's changed. Shut all these buildings. We don't do God anymore.

[6:47] We are rejecting God. We don't want anything to do with it, with him. But the thing is, the problem is, for us, and for the United Kingdom, as a whole, and the world, is that, if it is true that he's God's king, and he is God's king, then we are his subjects, whether we like it or not.

[7:10] And one day, we will have to give an account, to that king. And, you need to ask the question too, as you read scripture, and think of this, did the whole Nazareth rejection experience, put Jesus off?

[7:26] No, it didn't. It didn't put him off, because we read here, okay, they don't want me in Nazareth, so I will go down, to the northeast, to the seaside, of the Sea of Galilee, I will go there, and we'll see, in a few moments, how they accepted, Jesus.

[7:44] They accepted him there. And you know, this is something, that we need to remember, as his children. We might see others, rejecting Jesus round about, but, should that put us off?

[7:59] Should it put us off? Of course not. Because we believe, as well, in God's, anointed king. And we know, that, and you know, that if you're in Christ, that you've got the victory, in him.

[8:12] Yeah, things are pretty dire, in Britain today, as we see, people rejecting Jesus. But that doesn't mean, that your king, is rejected by God, or by you.

[8:24] So, we should be uplifted, at the thought, of that, whatever, others are doing. Yes, we get knocked back, and certainly, people, don't want anything, to do with him.

[8:36] But what you know, is concrete. It is something, that you know, to be the truth. Although others, are rejecting him, you know that, God isn't rejecting him. And you know yourselves, that, you haven't rejected him.

[8:50] So what do you do? You keep on going. Although things, might look dire, yet you keep on going. And I'm not saying, that things are dire, because you see, God's light, shining, in people's lives.

[9:05] And when we see that, it gives us a boost, when you meet, other Christians. Just like it is, for us to come here, and to worship, with you. We enjoy that. So, what does a person, of faith do?

[9:18] What does a person, who's got faith, in Jesus Christ do? Well, that person, is not governed, by his emotions, or feelings. And either, they should be.

[9:30] You know, it's interesting, our three boys, and I share that with many, three of them, came to faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the three of them, at different times, came to us, and said, I don't feel, like a Christian, anymore.

[9:46] And, I said, okay, let's sit down, and talk about, so what is it to feel, to be a Christian? What does it feel like? So, when they really spoke about it, but surely, it's all to do, with faith.

[10:00] It is your faith, in Jesus, that's important. It doesn't really matter, how we feel, at this moment, because, I was even thinking of that, even coming here today, you might have felt, rotten, coming to church, this morning, and you're thinking, this is the last place, I want to go to, but I'll go, for the sake of someone else, I'll go, to keep the peace, I'll go and do that.

[10:21] You might feel rotten, but does that change, the status, of a Christian? No. It is your faith, in Christ, that counts. Not your emotions, not your feelings.

[10:34] You see, there's so many, different influences. I see we deal, friendly with a lady, who does work, with Stouris, that's working with people, with addictions, in Glasgow, of drink, and drugs, and all sort of addictions.

[10:49] These people, are being led away, to go, let's go to this church, and you'll hear prophecy, let's go here, and you'll hear, all the laying on of hands, and doing all of these, fancy stuff, they're going up and down the aisles, with flags, and everything.

[11:04] And I'm kind of thinking, I came off the building site, by the way, and if I was going to take my mates, to something like that, they would run a mile, to be honest. Let's do, Jesus, simply, as the Bible tells him, because people, people, that is what they need, to hear the gospel, of Jesus Christ, plainly, to know that Jesus, came to die, for sinners, and that there's hope, for people, today, plainly, nothing fancy, if they want, later on, they can look into, these things, but we're not going to discuss, these things, right now, because there's more important, things, right now, and that is the faith, so that this light, is shining on, in your heart, first and foremost, the light, of the gospel.

[11:52] You see, the problem, if we're driven, by emotions, is that by the time, Wednesday comes round, you're as flat, as a pancake, sorry, Tuesday's, pancake Tuesday, so, you're as flat, as that, you see, you're depending, on your emotions, well, if it was to do, with our emotions, we'd be poor, our faith, is what we depend on, whether you feel good, or don't feel good, your status, before God, is like Christ, it doesn't, doesn't change, if you are, a Christian, you see, the point is this, for the believer, you believe, that the Bible, is the Lord's word, and that you personally, met, the Lord, of the word, that is what a believer is, you ground, your foundation, on that, I build, my house, on that, it is the solid rock, of Christ, that we build it on, there are some, you see, that claim, that the Bible, is God's word, but they don't know, the Lord, of the Bible, personally, they haven't got, this personal relation, with them, yes, you might know it, but the problem, within, is that, we are building, our houses, on sand, our foundation, and when the storms, of life comes, and when everything, comes, and it's just, going to simply, blow that foundation, away, there's nothing, there, it's like, placing, our, faith, in our, emotions, rather than, in Christ, well, what is important, is to know, the Jesus, of the word, personally, and that is, where the church, comes to, to help us, disciple people, to know that, and so that, we grow together, okay, so going back then, to Luke chapter 4, you might be thinking, that's a long introduction,

[13:43] Luke chapter 4, from the outset, in the Luke, in Luke's gospel, Luke wants to establish, Jesus as king, as God's king, and when the king, is king, he has authority, and his word, has authority, just as Israel's history, this is what it was like, is what the king said, is what the nation did, and as God's king, Jesus, is lord, over all, so the proper response, to Jesus, is to submit, to Jesus, and to his word, and to follow him, give yourself up, to Jesus, and into, to be part, and to belong, to his kingdom, Luke doesn't want, anyone to be mistaken, of who Jesus is, even though, he was rejected, by his own people, no, he puts that in, this is how some people, they don't want, anything to do with Jesus, but I want you, to remain positive, to have a positive reaction, just like the folk, in Capernaum, had, as we read, verse 31, and he went down, to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he was teaching them, on the Sabbath day, just the same thing, as he did, in Nazareth, he does, in, in, in Capernaum, and it's interesting, the difference, between the two places, although there were still, towns, two towns, in Galilee, yet, there is a difference, here, and what we notice, is the positive, in a, what positive note, that we have, in regards to this, and in, where we say, and they were astonished, at his teaching, for his word, possessed, authority, so when Jesus spoke, they were touched, by what he said, and they said, this means, something, and he's carrying, authority, by what he is saying, here, so he speaks there, just us,

[15:40] God blesses, and he does so, in churches, as well, where we hear God's word, being preached, we find, that there's authority, not in the preacher, but in the word, that is being preached, that is what's important, for us, to recognize, the authority, and then we see, as we read, that not only, is important, in the synagogue, it is important, in private homes, where we see, that Jesus had authority, and over, Peter's mother-in-law, and that is important, as well, authority, in the church, and authority, in our home, so if we have, a positive reaction, then to the message, it will affect us, in the public meeting, but what happens, is this, that you put your trust, in Jesus, here, you take that Jesus, home with you, to be with you, just as Jesus, went home with Peter, and now, obviously, he would have seen, that this woman, was sick, because, as we know, historians tell us, that there was only, one big room, so you can imagine, if Jesus walking in there, into Peter's home, over in that corner, would have been, his mother-in-law, there was only the one room, he couldn't miss her, well what's wrong with her,

[16:52] I didn't see her, at the synagogue, she's got high fever, can you do something, about it, we could come to church, and not invite Jesus, back to our homes, and say, no I only do Jesus, in this building, and I leave him there, I don't take him home, you see, what Jesus can do, when he welcome, when we welcome him, into our home, look at, verses 31, and 32, in chapter 4, again, let's read them again, and he went down, to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he was teaching them, on the Sabbath, and they were astonished, at his teaching, for his word, possessed, authority, he spoke, as one, sent, by God, who knew, what he was talking about, and he would have taught, not just, things that we want, to hear, no, he teaches, the whole counsel, of God, he doesn't, offer, helpful hints, for happy living, that's not, what he's doing, and what is interesting, have you noticed, what Jesus, he doesn't come in, politically, and say, this is how, we're going to change,

[18:07] Galilee, and Judea, we're going to change, the whole area, no, he deals, with individuals, have you noticed that, and it is the individuals, who change, the environment, and culture, round, about them, he preaches, the truth, of scripture, lovingly, and he was calling, people, to obey, the word, we notice, later on, what Jesus said, where it says, in Luke 4, 43, and 44, look what it says there, 43, but he said to them, I must preach, the good news, of the kingdom of God, to the other towns, as well, for I was sent, for this purpose, and he was preaching, in the synagogues, of Judea, so he taught, and preached the gospel, in Galilee, and he did exactly, the same thing, in Judea, what, do we do, we keep on, preaching, the gospel, and, how do you preach, the gospel, without starting, at a starting point, to preach, the kingdom of God, you need to start, at the beginning, and Jesus needs, would have started, at the beginning, by telling them, that you need, to be saved, you are, hell bound, sinners, that need, a savior, that's the gospel, we need to hear that, to be saved, can you imagine, going to the doctor, and the doctor, doesn't do, any inquiries, he doesn't ask you, any questions, as to what you're feeling, your problems are, the doctor just comes, and gives you, usually that cheap penicillin, that they give, first and foremost, and just go home, and take, take that course, no, he inquires, about what you need, he investigates, what the problem is, and when he tells you, what the problem is, he says, this is the cure, that is what, the gospel preaching is, this is the starting point, we are sinners, that need,

[20:09] Christ, Christ, but there's a cure, and the cure, is Jesus Christ, to our problem, that is what he's doing here, and that is where, the hope, of the gospel, lies, in Jesus, and if not, if we don't go, without him, we usually go, and do what the doctor, tells us, will we not do, what God's king, tells us to do, to put our trust, in him, when the gospel message, does, what it does, is, it strips us bare, to see our need, of a savior, and then, we come running, to him, coming to Jesus, and Jesus is willing, to accept us, because he died, for sinners, like us, on the cross of Calvary, and God accepts, that, in our place, what happens, is when your eyes, are opened, to God's word, then we too, will be astonished, at his preaching, because we realize, that his word, carries authority, it carries authority, notice what it says,

[21:20] Luke 4, 33, 43, Luke 4, 43, where it says, but he said to them, I must preach, the good news, of the kingdom, of God, to other towns, as well, I'm not just going, to keep it for here, everyone needs, to hear this, because it is important, for them, to hear this, he was exactly, going to do the same thing, in Judea, verse 44, and he was preaching, in the synagogues, of Judea, as well, there's a huge, there is a huge, emphasis, on the preaching, of the word, by Jesus, it's Jesus, who said it, now, some in our day, would claim, that preaching, is an outdated, it, it is an outdated, mode, of worship, however, we find here, that Jesus, sees the importance, of it, and the apostle Paul, says in Romans 1, 16, for I am not ashamed, of the gospel, for it is the power, of God, for salvation, to everyone, who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greeks, the Gentiles, like us, so as you speak, to your families, and share the gospel, with others, what you're doing, is sharing the good news, of Jesus Christ, and as you come, to church here, it is your, it is our prayer, that you hear, the gospel, preached, you know, there's a danger, of going down, a line, because of my emotions, if I'm feeling down,

[22:53] I'm not seeing much, happening, just to bring that, in here, and tell the people, what they know, already, what we should be doing, is being positive, about God's word, because, Jesus was, he's just been rejected, in Nazareth, and he comes to the next town, and does the same thing, for it is the power, of God, to salvation, the preaching, of God's word, that is exactly, what he did, in Nazareth, that is what he did, here, in Capernaum, and what he's going to do, in other places, now the Bible, is where, is where we read, and preach from, so we need to keep, in mind, what the scriptures, are there for, we read, in 2nd Timothy, 3, 16, all scripture, is breathed out, by God, and profitable, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training, in righteousness, now, none of these things, is going to harm us, they're not going to harm us, no, they're not going to harm us, in any way, what is important, is that we are, subjects, under Christ, under his word, and that is what keeps us, we look at, for example, the word reproof, that means, to convince, or to expose, something, so when you read,

[24:21] God's word, you read there, that you're a sinner, needing Christ, as a savior, what is that, that's barely, stripping us, bare, and as exposing us, to our need, of the gospel, it's interesting, I was reading the other day, in the history of, the Scottish church, Don McLeod's book, in regards to that, and there was this guy, and I think it was down, the borders here, the guy, that what spoke to him, was this, that someone said to him, asked him the question, are you, fit, to die, are you, fit, to die, what a question, you're thinking, man, you can't do anything, when you're about to die, because you're so ill, you're just about to pass, but being fit, is being ready, in Christ, and that is so important, for us, and for people, to do that, all scripture, is breathed out, by God, all scripture, is inspired, when God is spoken about, in God's word, it is spoken about, in the masculine, have you noticed, what the Church of England, are asking, asking the question, but God said,

[25:36] God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, he's unchangeable, in his being, power, everything about God, and his justice, goodness and truth, everything, that's what the Bible says, but we're not happy, with that, we want to change things, folk were saying, the other day, is to do with culture, we change that, God came, as a man, in Christ, to become, one of us, he was male, God, loves, all, male, and female, but what God says, about himself, we should not change, what it says, all scripture, is breathed out, by God, it is inspired, when we submit, to the authority, of God's word, then notice, what happens, that the man of God, may be complete, equipped, for every good work,

[26:37] God, so, how, are you, are you, completing yourself, no, you look at yourself, and you think, I'm not, I'm not able, to do this, I am the last, to be able, to do this, because I can't do it, but notice, where you're equipped in, the man of God, may be complete, why, you're equipped, in God's word, that's our rule, to direct us, and to help us, in our lives, Can you imagine God going to the trouble of saving us and then saying, just get on with your life now.

[27:07] I'm just going to leave you to get on with it. He doesn't do that. He encourages those and he is with us along the way. I will never leave nor forsake you.

[27:19] And he encourages us and he gives to us as well. He helps us. Well, there are some who think that. But I remember a friend of mine and it was through road to recovery as well in regards to, he said, you know, Kenny, I can see myself trusting Jesus, but I don't think I would last more than three weeks.

[27:42] And I was saying to him, you're right. You probably won't last more than three weeks because you're putting the strength of your salvation in yourself. It is God who keeps us.

[27:54] I will not leave you nor forsake you. He is with us for the long haul. You see, we think that we might fall away. I remember when I worked in, I'm a joiner to trade and I worked in the oil yards in the Cromartie Firth and the Murray Firth and did that on and off for 10 years.

[28:15] And I remember having lunch some days with a guy, Ian Patterson. And he was a brother of David Patterson who was the minister in Perth at one time.

[28:26] Fine man and who had gone to glory. And Ian himself now has gone to glory. And I remember just as I was at that summer, I was going to go off to college, the future of college. And I remember saying to him, Ian, I've got about six Sundays of sermons and after that I'm in trouble.

[28:45] This is what a bank of sermons I had about six weeks. And he laughed and said, Kenny, there's an ocean load of sermons in God's word.

[28:56] An ocean load of sermons. And he was right. The king of kings, Jesus saw the need to preach the good news of the kingdom of God.

[29:09] May we see that that is vital as well. And that we will be influenced by it. That we would be astonished by it.

[29:21] And that we would come under its authority. It's interesting the way we view ourselves. It's just, I read a story the other day. A little boy who loved his mother's strawberry jam.

[29:36] And she put it on the top shelf asking him not to touch it. She popped out to our neighbours for a minute or two. And I'm sure, if you know your own heart, you know the wee boy's heart.

[29:49] The outcome, the boy couldn't resist. She asked him, did you eat the jam? And said she looked. And he looked her straight in the eye and said, no, I didn't.

[30:01] And then she asked him again. So he dropped his eyes to the waistline. And he said, no, I didn't. And then the third time, he dropped his eyes to her shoe line.

[30:12] And he said, no, I didn't. And then the fourth time, she asked him again. But when he looked the fourth time, he saw a spot of jam on his shirt.

[30:24] And he realised that he was caught out. You see, sometimes when we come under the gospel, we're plugged in. But we're thinking, this is not for me.

[30:36] It's for the person next to me or someone else. Well, it's not speaking to me. It's for them. They need to hear this. Do you see your need?

[30:48] Do we see our need of Jesus this morning? He's offered to us freely in the gospel. Well, the question is, will you accept him? Will we accept Jesus?

[31:00] Jesus, will we accept him to have authority over our lives? That means everything in regards to sitting at the Lord's table.

[31:12] If you love me, keep my commandments. Why do some stay away? Because he's asking us to sit at his table.

[31:26] Will we allow him to have authority over our lives? Well, if we will, he will bring order where there was chaos. He will bring calm where there was a storm.

[31:40] And even where there will be storms, you will not be alone. He will be with you in the storms as we go through them. And Paul speaks about a peace that Jesus gives that passes all understanding.

[31:58] Have you experienced that peace in your own life? Well, it's Jesus who offers. He's the one that offers that peace to us.

[32:12] May God bless his word. We are going to conclude by singing. God bless his way. God bless you every week.

[32:32]  God bless you every week.