This evening's service is with Pastor Deacon, filled with the Holy Spirit to preach to us with the word, and we thank you in Jesus' great name. Amen.
Sorry, I had to make some tea for obvious reasons, but I was already feeling better, so I think it's just allergies. I hope that's all it is.
But, you know, if you get sick after having been here today, it's probably my fault, so anyway.
I'll be back in 1 Peter 4, but if you would, go back to Mark 6. I'm going to continue on in Mark 6.
I'm going without a lid here, which is kind of dangerous with a hot liquid when you're preaching the way I preach.
Hopefully I don't walk away with any third-degree burns, but otherwise this thing's not going to cool off until I'm done preaching.
That would defeat the purpose. If you look there in Mark 6, and continue on to verse 4, from where we were this morning, it says,
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but is in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
And if you remember the preceding verses, you had his kinsmen, his countrymen, his family kind of doubting him, saying,
Is this not the carpenter, Mary's son, are not his brothers with us, and naming his brothers and his sisters?
And they're doubting Jesus, right? And Jesus, this is his commentary, this is his reply to them, and the fact that they're doubting him,
they're wondering at him, you know, where does he get this learning? How is he able to do these works?
We grew up with this guy. We watched him grow up, and he's just an ordinary man, right?
And he's saying in verse 4 that a prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
And it goes on, it says in verse 5,
And he could there do no mighty works, save that he had laid hands upon a few sick folk and healed them.
And he marveled because of their unbelief, and went round about the villages teaching.
So Jesus, you know, comes into Galilee, comes into his own country, and he hears the people that he doesn't know,
the people that are familiar with him, kind of doubting him and not having the faith.
And he says, hey, you know, a prophet's not without honor, save in his own country.
Meaning everywhere else he goes, he's honored, which has been the case in Jesus' ministry thus far.
When he's going into these other places around Judea, he's being received.
People are thronging him, they're following him, they want him to come and do their healings.
They believe, they're embracing him, so much so that he's even having a hard time moving about,
as we saw in chapter 5 last week.
But when he gets into his own country, when he gets around those people that are familiar with him,
those that know him, he makes this comment that a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country.
Meaning everywhere else he goes, he has honor. People elsewhere honor him.
And as a result, you know, he's not able to do mighty works.
If you look there in verse 5, it says, and he could there do no mighty work.
Now let me clarify the wording here a little bit, because people might read that and get the wrong idea.
That maybe, because it says there, he could there do no mighty work.
This isn't because his ability was limited for some reason.
It's not like he lost his divinity, his power to perform miracles.
Because as it goes on it says, he did lay his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them.
So there were some people there that he did heal.
But he did no mighty work, not because his ability was limited, but probably for a few reasons.
One, because the people that were there probably left and there was just nobody around.
That's why it was not a mighty work or a great work.
It wasn't something that was noteworthy, that spread abroad, that there was this great healing.
Yeah, there were a few sick folk that believed and he healed them, but everybody else probably scattered,
which kind of stands to reason.
I mean, why would you just stand around and watch a guy who you think is just some ordinary dude?
He's just, you know, there's nothing special about this guy.
You just go about your day. He's just another, you know, just another person we know.
He's just our neighbor. We're not going to stick around and hang out.
So I think that's probably why he could do no mighty work there, because there just simply wasn't anyone there.
If you go to Matthew 13, the parallel passage, you'll see this.
It says in Matthew 13, verse 57, and they were offended in him, but Jesus said unto them,
a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house.
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
They were unbelieving. They didn't have the faith.
And they, therefore, were not able to have Christ perform these many mighty works.
Doesn't say he didn't perform any works, but he did not many mighty works.
He didn't do a lot of them. They were limited.
There's just a few sick folk that got healed.
Why is that?
Well, it's their unbelief. They didn't believe it was Christ. They didn't believe it was Christ.
They weren't expecting anything spectacular from him, because they're just, well, we know who this is.
Jesus, it's the carpenter. It's the carpenter's son. It's Mary's son.
Nothing to see here, folks. And they left.
That's what I think took place.
And these people, they dismissed him, and as a result, they missed out, right?
They dismissed him, and they missed out.
Why would they dismiss him? Well, they were offended.
And this is something you see happen in Jesus' ministry.
They departed even as others did, because they were offended, as it says there in verse 57 of Matthew 13,
because of their unbelief.
So again, the problem is not that Jesus' power is limited.
The problem is not that he wasn't ready, willing, and able to do a great mighty work.
It's the problem is that the people were there, kind of dismissed him.
They just said, you know, there's nothing to see here. No big deal.
And they just went about their business.
And no mighty work was done.
Why is it, though, we have to ask the question, and the answer is in the text,
why is it that these people were so ready and so quickly able to just dismiss Christ?
And say there's nothing to see here.
Nothing's going to happen. Nothing's going to go on.
Why were they so readily able to just dismiss Christ and, as a result, miss out?
They weren't there to see those few sick get healed.
Otherwise, they probably would have believed and said, oh, it turns out we were wrong.
I think they were gone.
I think they said, oh, this is just, you know, this is just a carpenter.
We know him.
Why did they dismiss him? Because they knew who he was.
Because, as the Proverb says, not a biblical Proverb, familiarity breeds contempt.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
In fact, if you Google that phrase, familiarity breeds contempt, it will, in its explanation on Google,
it'll point you to this passage.
Because that's what immediately came to my mind.
I said, well, familiarity breeds contempt.
These people are familiar with him. They're doubting him.
They might even have contempt for him because they're just comfortable with him.
They're not expecting anything. We know how he is.
So I looked that phrase up, and it's like, it's interesting, and it actually said, it's like in Mark 6.
It actually references this in an attempt to explain that Proverb.
So I think it's very applicable to the sermon here.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
That's why these people, when they came, that's the familiarity.
They express the familiarity.
Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son?
Don't we know all his brother? We know his brother in bright name.
And his sisters as well. We know who this is.
They were familiar with him, and they doubted, and they dismissed him.
And because of that, they left, and Jesus said, well, there's not much else I can do here.
And that's why he said that a prophet is not without honor,
save in his own country and in his own house.
Because familiarity breeds contempt.
What that means is that close association leads to a loss of respect.
And this is an important concept to understand.
Especially if you're in leadership of any sort.
If you're leading a home, if you're leading in business,
if you're leading in a church, if you're leading whatsoever,
you have to understand that the people that you're leading,
as they become familiar with you, as they become comfortable with you,
there's a tendency, there's just something about human nature
where they start to lose respect for you.
You know, for the first example, the one we see here in the text is amongst family members.
I mean, he's around probably cousins and nephews and nieces and brethren and sisters.
I mean, we know from the scripture that his own brethren didn't believe on him.
In fact, they kind of mocked him.
They said, no, man, do with anything secretly but openly.
Go up to the feast and present yourself to the Jews.
Amongst family members, we have to understand that familiarity breeds contempt.
And when I say amongst family members, I want to focus in particularly tonight
on the relationship between parents and children.
Because children can begin to have contempt for their parents
because they become familiar with them.
Let me just go ahead and break it to you, children,
if you haven't figured it out already, your parents aren't perfect.
Your parents are sinners just like you.
Your parents are going to make mistakes just like you.
Your parents aren't going to be as consistent as they should just like you.
And as you grow and mature and start to understand things
and you start to see inconsistencies or shortcomings
or maybe even to some degree hypocrisy in your parents,
you have to understand something.
That's not an excuse for you to then have contempt for them
or to disrespect them.
Because often that's how that contempt will show up in a child's life.
They'll begin to be disrespectful towards their parents.
They'll disobey. They'll be disrespectful.
They'll get an attitude.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
This can happen between parents and children.
And let me, I know we all know these passages.
But if you would, go to Ephesians chapter number 6.
Let me remind the children, this is why it has to be commanded in Scripture
because God knew that parents are going to be sinners and that children are sinners
and that in that relationship, as they grow together and as they get familiar one with another,
there is going to be conflict, there's going to be strife,
and it's possible that those children can actually have contempt for their parents
because of the situation, because of the fact that they're both sinners
and that parents aren't perfect.
This is why God commanded children to obey their parents.
This is why God commanded it.
And it's the fifth commandment, by the way.
And it comes before murder.
It comes right after, you know, the fourth one.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Then you have the fifth one.
Honor thy parents that thou mayest live long upon the earth.
Thou shalt not murder.
Would you say that remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy was a pretty important commandment?
I know it's not something we've necessarily observed today on the Sabbath day.
We celebrated the Lord's day, the first day of the week.
But wouldn't you say that's a pretty important commandment?
Wouldn't you say that any commandment that is on the Ten Commandments
is a pretty important commandment?
Look, the Ten Commandments aren't the only commandments,
but they are the commandments that when Moses went up in the mount,
God took the time to write down and put it in grave in stone with his own finger and say,
take this back down and tell them what I said.
That's a pretty important list, the Ten Commandments.
And right there, smack dab in the middle is, honor thy father and mother.
You know, if God engraved that with his own finger, I'd say God takes it pretty seriously.
And I think the reason why God had to command it
is because he knows that familiarity breeds contempt
and that a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house.
That as children grow up and they start to see things and realize that their parents aren't perfect,
there's a tendency for them to have contempt in their heart
and begin to dishonor and disobey their parents
because they think they have an excuse.
Well, my parents aren't perfect. Why should I have to listen to them?
Because God said so.
Because God said so. Because God commanded it. End of story.
And whenever I have someone come to me, you know, if it's a parent-child relationship,
I'm always going to side with the parent.
Unless there's, I mean, there's going to have to be some very, very, very compelling evidence
to get me to side with the child.
And that's probably never going to happen.
If a wife comes to me and has some issue with her husband,
I'm going to in all likelihood, unless there's a very compelling reason not to,
going to side with the husband because I will always side with the authority in the situation.
Yeah, but they're not perfect. So what? Neither are you.
Yeah, but they did this. So what? Get over it.
Familiarity breeds contempt even amongst parents and children.
God commanded children to honor thy father and mother.
God does not take this lightly.
Anytime he's engraving it in stone and it's the fifth commandment out of ten,
and it's, you know, preamps murder and adultery and covetousness and theft,
I'd say it's pretty important.
Look at Ephesians chapter six, verse one.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
And it's in the Lord. It's not children obey your parents because, you know, the preacher said so.
It's not obey your parents because your parents said so.
It's obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Go to Colossians chapter number three.
Colossians chapter number three, where it's commanded again.
I'll continue to read to you from Ephesians six.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise.
It's the first commandment that has a promise attached to it.
Meaning that if you do this, you can be assured of something.
Right?
When you go through the ten commandments, those other commandments, there's nothing, you just do it because I said so.
That's it.
But when you get to the fifth commandment, honor thy father and mother, it is the first commandment,
although it's the fifth one, but it's the first one that actually has a promise attached to it.
Then if you do this, you'll get something in return.
It is the first commandment with promise, verse three, that it may be well with thee.
I'm reading from Ephesians six.
And that thou mayest live long on the earth.
That's the promise.
That if you obey your parents, and if you honor your parents, God will honor you.
And God will give you a long life.
And it will be well with you.
And look, I'm sure there's some kind of a supernatural element to that.
You know, maybe God will help stave off disease later in life.
Or maybe if you're the type of person that honors your parents, maybe those promises are just kind of inherent
because if you have parents that you honor, in all likelihood, you're going to have parents
that are going to teach you how to take care of yourself and maybe that's going to help you to live a long life.
I don't know, maybe it's a mixture of both.
Maybe you're going to have parents that say, hey, you know, don't stay out late.
Don't go running around.
Don't do drugs.
Don't drink alcohol.
Don't get involved in this stuff.
Don't look at that filth that are actually going to try to guide you in the way.
And if you honor them and you obey them, you know, that's going to stave off a lot of other things.
You're not going to suffer a lot of other things that other people in this world do because you honored them.
You know, that's probably part of it.
But I also believe that there's part of it where God's going to look down and say, oh, there's one that's obeying in the Lord.
There's one that's obeying and honoring their parents and that pleases me.
Look at Colossians 3, verse 20.
Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto your parents.
Is that what it says?
Now, look, it's well pleasing unto your parents.
When they say do this, you say, yes, sir, yes, ma'am, and you do it.
The first time.
Okay?
That's obedience.
Not when you have selective hearing.
Well, I know mom will say it at least three more times before she gets really mad.
You know, but here's the thing.
When you obey right away, who are you really pleasing?
What does it say?
Are you there in your Bible?
Hopefully you kids are opening up your Bibles and looking at them tonight.
I'm preaching to you.
Because the Bible is addressing you.
It's written.
It says children twice in Ephesians 6.
Children again, Colossians 3.
You know, the Apostle Paul wrote, let me write to the kids.
He said, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Unto God.
So, yeah, I do believe that there's another element here where if you obey your parents,
if you honor them, and you take heed to the advice and walk in the way that they're trying to guide you,
you know, you're probably going to go with a lot of the heartaches that a lot of people have to suffer in this life.
People who disobey their parents and blow off their preacher and do their thing and rebel.
You're going to avoid a lot of that.
But it also appears to me in Colossians 3 that God is going to take note and he's going to look down
and you're going to have his blessing on your life.
Which means the opposite is also true, isn't it?
It's not like, well, you know, obey your parents and that will be well pleasing to the Lord,
but if you don't, that's cool too.
God's fine with that.
You know, the promise is also that if you don't do this, God's going to cloud up and rain on you.
And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall also much be required.
If you know this, if you've heard this, if you heard this preaching and you understand this,
and then you go out and disobey and dishonor and rebel and do all those things you know you're not supposed to be doing,
just mark it down. God's going to get you. God will get you.
And look, it gets out of hand sometimes with kids and their parents.
I mean, I remember even as a child hearing about children suing their parents
or calling the authority on their own parents. Who's ever heard of something like that?
Yeah, hands all around the room. It's not a new thing.
Look, that's wicked as hell.
That is wicked as hell.
Look, go to 1 Corinthians 6. The Bible commands that we don't even take one another, fellow church members, to court for any reason.
Now look, I understand that, you know, if someone comes in here having committed murder,
we're going to turn you over to the authorities.
If someone comes in here and has committed some kind of deviant crime,
you know, you're out. Where are you going? I'm just kidding.
Well, I'm out. I'm just kidding.
No one's killed anybody that I know of, right?
Obviously, you know, at some point we turn that stuff over. I'm not saying we cover up gross sin.
But look, someone, you know, some fellow brother or sister in Christ defrods you,
takes money, runs into your car in the park, you know, whatever, these petty crimes.
The Bible says you should settle that here and not go before the unbelievers.
That it should be settled within the church.
Obviously, things that have a capital punishment attached to them, yeah, we're going to,
because we don't harbor reprobates here, okay?
If someone turns, if it's filed out, someone's a child predator or a pedophile,
like they're a reprobate, they're not even a child of God,
yeah, we're going to turn that person over to the authorities.
We don't cover that stuff up, like some churches do.
I don't want to go off on that.
What I'm getting at, though, is that we're not even supposed to sue one another.
We're not even supposed to take each other, grown adults, to court.
Look at 1 Corinthians 6, verse 1.
Dare any of you having a matter against another go to law before the unjust and not before the saints?
Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?
And if the world shall be judged by you, are you yet unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Look, you do some work or something for a brother or sister in Christ,
and they're not going to pay you, they're defrauding you.
Like, let's get together and talk about that.
We can work that out.
We can bring that kind of stuff before that. We can settle that here.
You don't have to go take them to some civil court.
Goes on, verse 3.
Know ye not that we shall judge the angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?
If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life,
and set them to judge who are the least esteemed in the church,
it'd be better to take the person with the least amount of wisdom,
the lowest esteemed person in this church,
and let them decide what's right than to go before the unbelievers.
Because newsflash, when you go into a courtroom,
you're not probably dealing with a Christian.
You're probably not going to be dealing with a spirit-filled, you know, individual
who's going to pass righteous judgment, who knows the word of God and knows what's right.
They're going to judge according to their own law.
And you think this is a lot of rules? You should see their books.
They fill up entire rooms with their laws.
He says in verse 5, I speak to your shame. Is it so that there's not a wise man among you?
No, not one that shall not be able to judge between his brethren.
But brother, go to law with brother and that before the unbelievers?
I mean, what's the problem Paul has here?
Is that brethren are taking each other to court before unbelievers.
Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you because you go to law one with another.
Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
He's saying it'd be better for you to be ripped off than for you to take your brother to court.
That's what Paul's saying.
And this is about adults. This is about grown men and women.
He's saying it's a shame for you to do it.
How much more so when a child would be willing to take their own parent to court?
It's wicked.
Call the authorities on their own parents. It's wicked.
He's saying nay, do wrong and do fraud and that your brethren.
So that's one example.
If you would go over back to where we started this evening in 1 Peter chapter number 4.
Let me get a sip of this before it goes cold.
In 1 Peter chapter number 4.
People sometimes they go without the honor or the respect that they deserve from other people.
Because other people become familiar with them for that one reason.
They get casual, they get to know them and it's like they just lose respect for that person.
And this can happen in a family.
This can happen between children and parents.
And that's why I think God put that stipulation there, put that commandment for children to obey your parents.
How about amongst believers?
If you're a believer, especially if you're someone who gets saved later on in life, you're probably going to experience this.
Look at verse 3 of 1 Peter 4.
For the time of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles.
He's saying, you know, we've spent enough time living like the unsaved heathen of this world.
When we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.
He said you've had your fill of sin.
There's been time enough for that.
You've spent too much time already doing those things.
Don't do that anymore.
Don't do that anymore, right?
But here's the thing.
When you stop doing that stuff, when you start running with that crowd, when you stop showing up at that party,
when you quit the drinking, when you quit the smoking, when you're not going out to the bar,
when you're not going to the reveling and the banqueting and taking part in all the lasciviousness,
all those old friends aren't going to slap you on the back and say, attaboy.
What's it say in verse 4?
Wherein they think it's strange that you run not with them.
What do you mean you're not coming out?
It's Friday night.
What do you mean you're not going to be up until 2 or 3 in the morning boozing with the rest of us?
What do you mean you're not going to smoke this?
What do you mean?
You're saved? You're a Christian?
That's weird, man.
They think it's strange, right?
You're going to be a downer.
You're going to be a buzzkill, right?
That's what they're going to think of you.
You know what they're doing is they're familiar with you.
They know what you were like when you wrought the will of the Gentiles in times past.
Get off this Jesus thing.
We know who you are.
Are you telling me you're a Bible believer now?
There's no respect there. Why?
Because they know you.
You know, you have the same thing with your family.
Maybe it is your parents. I don't know.
Well, you know, you're on some bandwagon.
You're just on some kick.
Get over it. How much longer are you going to be on this Jesus trip?
Why are you going to church again?
Weren't you just there this morning?
Weren't you just there twice on Sunday?
Why do you keep bringing up the Bible?
You know, they're not going to get all glad for you.
They're not going to respect you.
In fact, you're not going to have any honor in your own country and in your own house.
Why? Because they're familiar with you.
And familiarity breeds contempt.
They think it's strange you not run with them.
Verse four, to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.
Does that sound like respect?
When people are speaking evil of you, that's the complete opposite.
They're talking trash.
Verse five, who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
You know, they're still going to have to answer to God.
Go to Matthew chapter number 10, Matthew chapter number 10.
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3, all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Now, in all likelihood, that doesn't mean that you and I are going to be shackled and thrown in prison or fed to the lions or something.
There's a very slim chance of that happening.
You know, we're going to have to go die for Christ.
But, you know, there's a very strong likelihood.
In fact, the Bible guarantees that if you live godly in Christ Jesus, you shall suffer persecution.
I'm just saying that what I'm trying to say, rather, is that in all likelihood, that's going to come in the form of reviling.
People speaking evil of you.
And it's probably going to come from people that are familiar with you.
It's probably going to come from people that are close to you.
It's probably going to come, perhaps, even from your own family and friends and co-workers that think it's strange that you don't run the same excess of riot with them.
And this is what Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 10, verse 34.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth.
What?
I came not to send peace, but a sword.
I didn't come to bring everybody together.
I brought a sword.
What does a sword do?
It divides. It cleaves asunder.
For I am come, verse 35, to send a man at variance, meaning at odds, with his father.
And the daughter against her mother.
And the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Why would a man's foes be they of his own household?
Because a prophet is not without honor.
Save in his own country and in his own house.
Because familiarity breeds contempt.
You go tell some stranger, hey, I got saved. I'm a Christian.
You know, I'm turning my life around. I'm living for Jesus now.
They'll go, good, good for you.
Or, wow, big deal, and just go along with their life.
Who is that guy?
Right?
Go tell that to the people in your own household.
Go tell that to the people that know you.
You know, they'll probably have a negative response.
They might even speak evil of you.
You know, family is our closest of associations.
It is.
And I know this is true because even after years of having not seen my younger sibling,
and then seeing her, even recently, having a visit with her,
it was like we were kids again.
It was like a very familiar situation.
I told this to my kids the other day.
Your siblings will know you better than anybody else in your entire life.
Treat your siblings well.
Because they'll remember it.
And they'll know you better than anybody else because you guys have shared the same experiences.
You've gone through the same things for the most part.
Or they were there watching you go through it and vice versa.
And your family is one of your closest associations.
Why?
Because they're the most familiar with you.
And that's true of all of your immediate family, for the most part.
But the irony is that those might be the same people from which persecution comes.
Because they're familiar with you and they know how you used to be.
So I'm just trying to give examples of this.
Jesus experienced this.
When he went onto his own and his own received him not, when he went back into Galilee,
then you thought everyone would be like, oh Jesus, you're back.
They're like, what is this we're hearing about miracles?
What is all this preaching you're doing?
What are you doing out there?
What's going on with this guy?
Isn't he the carpenter?
Don't we know him? Don't we know what he's like?
This doesn't fit. Something's off.
Nothing to see here.
And they dismissed him.
They walked away because they were familiar with him.
This could happen amongst a family.
This could happen even in a church.
Amongst leadership.
Go to Matthew 16.
Jesus experienced this too.
Matthew chapter number 16.
He had 12 disciples and as they got familiar with him,
some of them got a little bit bolder with him, didn't they?
Some of them got a little too familiar with him
and got pretty bold and started telling him how it's going to be.
In Matthew chapter 16, they say, what are you talking about? Verse 21.
From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples
that he must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders
and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed
and be raised again the third day.
Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him.
Let that sink in.
Think about that.
Think about taking the Lord Jesus Christ aside and saying, not so, Lord.
No, no, no, no.
You might say that's what's going to happen, but we're not going to let that happen.
And doing that in such a way that it was to be described as rebuking him.
It wasn't that they came to Peter came and said, I'm confused.
Can you clear this up for me?
Can you help me understand what you mean by that?
No, he said, you rebuked him.
Not so. Not going to happen.
No one's taking you. You're not dying.
He's rebuking God. He's rebuking the Lord Jesus Christ.
I mean, how do you get so bold?
How does a person get so bold that they could take someone like the Lord Jesus Christ
and rebuke him to his face and just vehemently disagree with him?
How does that happen?
Familiarity.
Familiarity breeds contempt and it makes people bold.
That's why your, you know, sweet little baby can grow up and get real sassy.
Right? Because they're familiar.
And they get bold.
Say, I know you. I know you're like, I know what I can get away with.
And they want to test the waters.
It happened in Jesus' ministry.
People got familiar with him.
You know, Peter did a little walking on the water with Jesus.
And all of a sudden, he's kind of feeling his Wheaties.
So, I mean, me and Jesus, you know, the other disciples, they were back in the boat,
but we were out on the sea in Galilee walking.
That happens in Mark 6.
That comes before what we're reading right now in Matthew.
I was out there with Jesus. You know, me and you, we were on the water.
Remember, I cried out, you saved me?
I got a little pull with Jesus, and I'm going to tell him how it is.
Because I'm familiar with him.
People get comfortable with leadership,
and respect starts to go out the window.
He began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee.
But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan.
Thou art an offense unto me. Ouch.
That had to smart.
That probably stung a little bit.
When Jesus is calling Peter, Satan, maybe he was the first pope.
Stupid joke.
For thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
So he gets rebuked right back, and put right back in his place.
And look, I don't want to be one of these preachers that gripes at people for being people.
It's just part of the ministry.
But I've experienced some very much more milder, subtle examples of this in my ministry.
In my time of ministering.
And I hesitate to even express any of this because the people that will feel bad about it are the ones that shouldn't.
But I've noticed this, and I was warned about this.
That if you don't let your hair down around church people too much, if you get a little too familiar, a little too casual with them,
they're going to lose respect for you.
Because familiarity breeds contempt.
It's just something about human nature.
And let me just say that that makes leadership hard.
That's one of the hardest things.
Because I like to let my hair down.
To use the expression.
I like to be comfortable, I like to joke around, I like to just be one of the guys.
I like to do it.
But it's a bit mean.
Nothing serious.
I hesitate to even bring any specifics up.
Because it's not that big of a deal.
And I don't even know if it's the case, honestly.
That there is anybody out there that would have contempt for me.
I would be surprised.
But can I just say sometimes I see things and I wonder, I at least wonder.
Is this going on because they don't respect me?
Do they not respect me because I haven't commanded respect?
You can't demand it, you need to command it.
You can't just walk in and say, respect me.
I'm the deacon here.
I get that I have to command that, I have to earn respect from people.
But sometimes I wonder, and it would surprise me if it was the case, if anybody felt that way.
But sometimes I see things and I just wonder, is this because I've lost respect?
And I have to ask, why? Why have I lost respect?
Maybe it's, you know, it's probably my fault.
You say, what's some examples?
And since it's already getting awkward.
Here's one.
And this, look, this used to be a bigger deal to me.
I've gotten over it. It still irritates the daylights out of me.
Calling me by my first name.
Corbin.
You know, it's deacon.
And I'm assuming everybody here one day would like it to be pastor.
You know, that's a big one right there.
If you're struggling with deacon, how are you going to handle pastor?
Right?
And look, people do this, and I get it, sometimes people just, they fall into old habits.
They just, you know, they just get, but where does, how does that happen?
They get familiar. They get casual.
They just, oh, we're just riding the church band with Corbin.
And I'm still deacon, you know.
And look, if people do this, I don't jump down their throat.
Not anymore.
I don't know that I ever have.
I think I've done it once.
And you know what, it was just such an uncomfortable situation.
I said, you know what, I'll just, just note it.
Note to self.
And maybe they just, it's just a slip, okay.
And look, it doesn't have to be deacon.
Brother.
Right?
And look, I extend that same courtesy to all, everybody else.
Miss, missus, mister, brother, you know.
You know, you say, why the formality?
To maintain a level of respect.
Because this is a, this is an organization that has a job to do.
There has to be a chain of command.
Here's another one.
Mistaking me for your mother.
What do you mean by that?
Let me explain.
I'm so glad you asked.
Leaving messes for me to clean up.
Now look, I don't know, and I'm not saying,
and look, especially the moms with little kids
and stuff like that, don't feel like I'm expecting
to break the vacuum out and clean up all the crumbs
or whatever.
That's not what I'm saying.
And I'm not saying that every little kid
gets left behind, it's, it's, I necessarily know
for certain it's because people just think
I'm their maid.
But sometimes I wonder when, when the sugar is just,
and I know this is petty, and I know this is just
me griping a little bit.
But I gotta make applications.
When the sugar packets are just,
it gets strewn all over the coffee.
I get that, you know, some of you single guys,
you don't see the messes you make.
You don't see the messes you make.
I'm the same way, even as a married man.
But sometimes I just can't help but wonder,
it's like, did they do that just because
they're just kind of a messy person?
Which, I'm that way, I get it.
Or did they see it and go, oh, Deacon will get that.
After all, that's what he's here for.
When they pour the creamer into their coffee
and dribble creamer all over the countertop,
first thing on a Sunday morning,
after I just got done cleaning it,
can't this place be a mess?
After I just got done cleaning it,
can't this place stay clean for five minutes?
And I can't help but wonder,
is it because they're just kind of messy?
Which I'm fine with.
Or is it because they go, oh, Deacon will clean that up.
I don't know.
When they leave trash in the church van,
now this one gets me.
And this is a lesson I had to learn.
And it was my pastor that taught me this.
We left a job and we went back to his house
for me to get in his vehicle
because we had been up there in the morning
and he bought me dinner on the way back, Burger King.
And I had the bag and everything else.
And I got out of his car
and I was just leaving my trash behind me.
And he said, Corbin.
I said, yeah, he says, I don't want your trash.
Thanks.
I said, oh.
And I never did that again.
Not consciously.
And so sometimes when I see people
that just leave water bottles crushed up
and stuffed in the church van seats
and they just make a mess back there,
sometimes I wonder, is it just because they're messy
or is it because they think I'm their mother
that somehow Deacon, you know,
if you go back to the Greek, translates made.
It doesn't.
Right?
And again, I don't know if anyone's
got that attitude out there.
I'm not going to tell you
that I'm not going to break out the heat lamp
and the lie detector and start grilling people on it,
try to get to the bottom of it.
But I am saying this,
that if you do have that kind of an attitude,
oh, Deacon can get it.
Deacon can mop that up.
Deacon can take care of that.
That's what he's here for.
You're getting too familiar with me.
And it's not that big of a deal now,
but familiarity breeds contempt
and it could turn into a bigger deal later.
You know, that root of bitterness
could spring up in a person's heart
and it could blow up.
One last one before I go, okay?
One last example before I move on.
And again, you're bringing this all up
because it's a problem?
Not really.
It's not a big problem here.
Let's keep it that way.
This next one has, in the past,
thankfully it hasn't been in the last year or so,
giving me or my family the cold shoulder.
That one really irritates me.
Treating me poorly, you know,
how about this one rolling your eyes
at the sermon?
You guys would be shocked
at some of the things I've seen.
Say, who would do that?
No.
Yeah.
Tonight I'm preaching on,
can you at least bake it?
Can you at least bake it?
Can you at least just fake it?
I mean, you came all the way down here.
You know, can you just fake interest?
Can you feign it?
Can you at least roll your eyes internally?
Here's another one.
Looking at your smartphone while I'm preaching.
That one really bugs me.
Especially when you're showing the guy next to you
and he's going,
I mean, I'm like this close to calling it out
when I see it.
That's like, why are you here?
What'd you come here for?
To just ignore me?
It's like, you could have done that from home.
I'd say some gas.
Trust me, people do it all the time.
You know, giving me the cold shoulder
or my family, you know.
And you know what?
Again, I hesitate to bring this stuff up
because the people that feel bad shouldn't.
It's good people that are gonna start feeling bad.
It's like, no, not the problem.
And this really isn't even a problem.
It has been in the past.
In fact, you know, I think most people,
I would say right now, as far as this goes,
it's pretty good.
I'm very thankful for the people
that are kind to my children and kind to my wife.
In fact, I'm convinced that's the only reason
why a lot of people tolerate me.
Well, he's got a nice wife.
His kids are nice.
We'll put up with him, right?
You know, it's stuff that I've been thinking about,
you know, and the text was kind of there
for me tonight to kind of just
have a little bit of a family meeting,
as I was saying.
And you say, does this stuff actually happen?
Does this stuff really go on in a church
with people like you?
Do people really do that to a preacher,
to a pastor, to a deacon?
Oh, yeah.
They did it to Jesus.
Look at verse six of Mark six.
And he marveled because of their unbelief.
He saw what happened, how they just dismissed him,
and he was like, Jesus marveled,
meaning he was amazed with great amazement, right?
He was like, wow, really?
I mean, Jesus marveled at it.
He just couldn't believe it.
I can't believe you guys are being like this right now.
Out of all the people in the world
that I expect to throw their arms wide open
and embrace me and receive me,
it would have been my own.
It would have been my own countrymen.
It would have been my own kinsmen.
It would have been my own family.
But you know what?
The irony is that it's the people
that are most familiar with you
that tend to have the most contempt.
Strange, but true.
And he went round about the villages teaching.
He didn't let it stop him, right?
You can't let this kind of stuff discourage you.
Parents, don't get discouraged
when the kids get a little sassy, right?
Just bring them to church
and I'll rip their face off, right?
But you know, people's attitudes
really can be shocking.
I mean, he's just marveled at it, you know?
And that's the thing about ministry
and that, you know, when we're dealing with people,
it can be shocking how people treat one another
even within a ministry, even within a family.
And I know I got to close, but
I guess I'll just close on that thought, you know?
It's been awkward enough tonight, right?
And again, I don't want to give everyone
the wrong impression, okay?
I'm not up here, you know,
hopefully that didn't come across
as like a bunch of bitter resentment or something.
It's honestly not there.
But sometimes I just, I do wonder sometimes
is the reason why maybe the respect wanes sometimes
or are things being done because there isn't respect
or things are not being done
because there's a lack of respect,
you know, how much of the blame do I shoulder for that?
And sometimes I do wonder about it, right?
But, you know, it's something that's to be expected.
And if Jesus had to put up with it the way he did,
like it should not surprise any of us
when it appears in our own life.
You know, yeah, we might marvel at it
and say, wow, I can't believe my kids
would talk to me like that.
I can't believe they would cop an attitude like that.
Well, it's because, you know,
that's human nature.
As we grow more familiar with one another,
we tend to lose respect for one another
and just kind of treat each other more poorly.
It's ironic, I know.
So that being the case,
let's just stay on guard with it.
Let's just understand that's the way it is.
And, you know, as a church family,
we'll keep that in mind.
And you kids at home, keep that in mind.
You know, that's why you're commanded
to honor and obey your parents.
Because there's something that's in all of us
that tends to give us, you know,
that makes us think that we can get away
with not doing that.
I know that was kind of a word salad right there,
but you get what I'm saying.
There's something in each and every one of us
that is just willing to be disrespectful
with the people that we should have
the most respect for.
And let me just say, you know,
I'm not saying that we should be disrespectful
with the people that we should have
the most respect for.
And let me just say this.
When some, when you see a kid,
when you see a child who can be disrespectful
to a complete stranger,
you can imagine it's probably 10 times worse at home.
Because kids know how to put on a show, don't they?
They know how to say yes ma'am
and yes sir out in public, right?
They know how to behave in public sometimes.
But it's another story at home
because familiarity breeds contempt.
But when you see that it's gotten to the place
where even in public, to complete strangers,
there's just no respect whatsoever,
man, I feel really bad for that home
because it's got to be 10 times worse
for it to get to that point.
And I know I'm kind of ranting and rambling tonight,
but you know, that's kind of what was in the text.
Jesus comes onto his own.
He comes there and they're just like,
whatever Jesus, we know what you're really like.
We know you're just the carpet.
We know you're just the carpenter.
This is weird. What are you doing?
What's this ministry thing?
And Jesus is like, well, you know,
a prophet is now without honor,
saving his own country among his own kin
and in his own house.
It's just the way it is.
Let's go ahead and close in the word of prayer.
Dear Lord, again, thank you for the Bible.
Lord, thank you for this church.
Thank you for the people that are here.
Thank you for your great church members
and Lord, thank you for the years
that you've given us together so far
one with another, alongside each other
and what we've been able to accomplish
over the years.
And Lord, I pray you'd help us
to continue to have fervent love
one for another as the years go on
and help us to continue to serve you
and to see great things done
through this church and to your honor
and your glory, we ask in your name, amen.
All right, we'll go ahead and sing
one more song before we are dismissed.