16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
23He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
The word “deficit” has become a commonplace term that most anyone in any arena of life has come to understand due to the global financial crisis on our planet today! This economic disaster or “deficit” -( lack of; less than the total amount it should be)did not happen overnight, it was brought on by a selfish attitude overall and a chain of unwise decisions over many years. The same has happened in the Church world today, just as it did in the times of Christ. Many have decided not to believe and trust fully in God, and the life of Faith in Him that He has called all His people to live out each and everyday of their lives. As a result, due to their unbelief,some have slipped into short seasons of doubt(Faith Recession), or long term seasons of doubt (Faith Depression).Which puts us in a huge Faith Deficit!
The same account of the text in Luke chapter four is also found in (Mark 6:1-6)-it says, “1Then He went out from there and came to His own country,2And 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! 3Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?” “And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him! 4But Jesus said to them, ” A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5Now He could do no mighty works there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He marveled because of their UNBELIEF. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
One of the biggest traps for a Christian today is to doubt the ability that the Lord has to do many miraculous things in our life. When this is the choice that we make in that particular moment we are operating “in the red” which is a poor spiritua-economic state to be in! In essence we have begin to walk by what we can see and have forgotten that a life of faith is to be lived by trusting and believing 100% in the God that we have pledged our heart and life to! We have been encouraged in God’s Word to “walk or live by faith and not by sight!-(2 Corinthians 5:7)
However through many situations, issues, and circumstances that life throws our way we decide to not believe in the ONE-Jesus Christ, the Son of God that has all the answers and solutions to all of our personal problems as well as all the problems of the world today. Let’s all begin to BELIEVE more in the ONE who has given eternal life to all that have called on His Name and has cried out for forgiveness of sin, to be set free from death, hell, and the grave!
Get out of your Spiritual Faith “Deficit”- Believe in the Position, the Purpose, and the Power of Jesus Christ!
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