“For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.”

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When you grew up, you became who they tried to teach you to be. But that’s a problem, because they themselves still haven’t broken free. You were their peer, their student, their sibling, their child… They taught you, why would they listen to you teach them?

This is the very reason Jesus said what He said.

When you teach the way Jesus and His disciples and His apostles taught, you teach boldly, with a certain authority… sometimes to those who had authority over you at some point in your life. More often than not, this doesn’t go well, because they still see you as the child you once were, not as the disciple God has made you to be.

This is also why Jesus says, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) Now, before you jump on the word “hate,” did you know the original word was “miséō” in Greek? Why does that matter? Let’s look at the English definitions: to hate or detest, to reject, to love less. So what is Jesus actually saying? If you love anyone (including yourself) more than you love God, you can’t be His disciple. If you care about anyone’s feelings (including your own) more than you care about the words of God, you can’t be His disciple.

Teaching those who taught you is never easy. Loving those who rejected you is never easy. Surrendering your life for a life with God is never easy.

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Read that last part one more time: “few there be that find it.”

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Matthew 23:3

“All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.”

You grew up to be who they tried to teach you be: be honest, don’t steal, don’t be greedy, avoid vanity, treat others the way you want to be treated, love everyone, put God’s will first.

The problem is, they themselves don’t do these things, and when you bring the truth to light, the Spirit condemns them which makes them feel judged. To be a true disciple of Jesus, you have to be okay with being the one they blame for the judgement they feel.

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Think about Moses, he had to face the brother he had grown up with to free the people he used to help rule. The final plague took the life of who was basically Moses’ nephew because Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to God’s words.

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What happens and how others feel when you choose to follow God is not your weight to carry. You have no control over either one. You do have control over you. So take control. Find God’s path, repent, plant some seeds, and maybe teach others to do the same.

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One day, those trumpets will sound…

The race will be over…

When that day comes, will you be standing with the sheep or the goats?

Matthew 25:31-46

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

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Matthew 24:12-14

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Keep teaching.

Keep preaching.

When you stand with God, you will never fall.

God’s way is always the right way.