My Dear Friend,

As Luke's Gospel tells it, Jesus' ministry got off to a bad start. In fact, it almost ended before it began! Luke 4:16-30 tells the story.

When Jesus visited His hometown synagogue, read Isaiah 61 aloud, and then said the Messianic text was being fulfilled that very moment in Him, the local Jews were stunned. And confused.

You see, Jesus' words were so gracious, spiritual, and eloquent. And the Holy Spirit immediately bore witness to their spirits that He was speaking God's authentic Word. He was even so bold as to say it was God's appointed time, or season, to bless all Israel . . . through Him! Quoting Isaiah's prophecy, He called it, "The acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:19), or, "God's year to act!" (The Message).

Though Jesus' audience was perplexed and taken aback by it all, He was right. His message that day was biblical, accurate, inspired, and perfectly timed. And it would soon be confirmed by His heavenly Father's hand of power working one miraculous sign after another through Jesus.

Despite these compelling facts, the locals were unimpressed. "Is not this Joseph's son?" (Luke 4:22). Or, paraphrasing, "This is no prophet, He is just a carpenter, and the son of a carpenter. We know Him. He has made door and window frames, farm tools, and furniture for us. He has come and gone around us for years with not the slightest indication that He was anyone special." What had happened? How could they, having heard Jesus' heavenly words, not realize He was the Anointed of the Most High? How could they not heed the Spirit's witness?

It was a matter of head over heart. Their spirits received the witness of the Holy Spirit: "All spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth" (Luke 4:22, ESV). And for one fleeting moment, they wondered. And weighed the evidence. Was it possible, was their inner witness really accurate, could it be that the carpenter's son was God's Son incognito, Israel's long-awaited, extraordinary Messiah standing before their very eyes in very ordinary form?

Finally, their heads intervened. Within minutes their internal meditations changed radically. Their carnal reasoning - fallen human intellect unaided by the Holy Spirit - arose and took firm control of their decision-making process. They dismissed the witness of the Spirit, embraced what their sense knowledge observations told them, and concluded Jesus was just another local boy. With some extreme ambition perhaps, but nothing more than just another local product.

Immediately, sensing a change in the atmosphere, Jesus spoke up, warning them of the dire consequences of rejecting a messenger of God (Luke 4:23-28). And after He spoke up, they rose up, quickly attempting to execute Him for the capital crime of prophesying falsely in Yahweh's name: "Filled with wrath . . . they led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong" (Luke 4:28-29). Suddenly, Jesus' local ministry launch day looked like His last day!

At this point Luke adds a most interesting, really amazing, notation: "But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way" (Luke 4:30). That Jesus was able to quietly pass through a raging mob hell-bent on violently abusing Him was nothing less than a miracle. They intended to shut Him down then and there, and without divine aid implicitly rescuing Him, they would have done it. But the Father had other plans. So, Jesus' ministry launch was still on "go."

As the invisible but invincible power of God restrained them from laying hands on Jesus, He "went his way" with a steady, quiet determination to his next stop, the nearby city of Capernaum. There, a safe distance from His detractors, Jesus set up His headquarters. Almost immediately, His wondrous teaching, preaching, healing and deliverance ministries began to flow. And thrive. With divine power! He "taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine; for his word was with power" (Luke 4:31-32). Soon the steady flow of inspiring preaching, impactful teaching, and miraculous signs attested convincingly to His heavenly calling and Messianic identity. As His fame grew daily, all the foment He left behind in Nazareth faded into the distant recesses of his memory. Soon it seemed as if it never happened. It was powerless now and He was powerful. And unstoppable. My point?

The locals tried their best to stop Jesus, even with violent intentions, but He simply and quietly "went his way" with God and His divinely assigned gifts and ministry. The locals' unbelief stopped Him from helping them, it is true, but it had not the slightest effect on the primary work He was called to do. There is an important lesson here for us.

Anyone anywhere at any time who is called, prepared, and anointed of God to Christian ministry will experience a spiritual parallel to what Jesus' experienced in Nazareth. They, too, will meet strong opposition. Perhaps not physically violent, but hostile in spirit. Why? Christ is living in them . . . again. And if they obey and trust God, Christ's life in them will follow a similar path to the one Luke describes.

For example, when you start your divinely appointed work, someone somewhere will find some reason to oppose you. They may not like your education or primary message. They may object to your demeanor or speech. Your doctrines or spiritual experiences may differ from theirs. Or your methods of ministry may be unorthodox and objectionable in their view. They may oppose you for ministering to an individual, group, or church they don't want you to help. Sinners rarely like it when other sinners are being converted and converts are being discipled!

So they will do their best to do their worst to you! They will commit themselves to shutting you down. Close every door they possibly can. Misrepresent and malign you every chance they get. Mock your credentials, or lack thereof. Belittle all your efforts. Contradict your message. Cast doubt on your motives in ministry. All this is very likely to cause your family and friends to look askance at you and quietly walk away, as did the Nazarenes, murmuring, "He's just another carpenter's son (or daughter), he's no true minister."

And they may persist in trying to throw you off the brow of the city where you live. How? They will do something, anything, to silence your message, arrest your influence, and bring your budding ministry to a sudden halt. Permanently! And it's possible, depending on the culture you live in, that you may face physical violence, as Jesus did. How should you respond?

Go your way! With God. In God. Trusting the inherent power of His Word that never returns to Him without results (Isaiah 55:8-11). Relying on the Holy Spirit's perfect guidance. Believing God's invisible invincible power will restrain your adversaries from reaching you, as it did Jesus' opponents.

With this simple but sufficient faith, you continue in your calling. In your ministry. Using, growing, and honing your ministry gift. Seeking God's presence every day. Praising and worshiping Him in private and in public Christian gatherings. Unintimidated by intimidating circumstances. Not embittered by bitter critics. Studying your Bible from cover to cover. Praying without ceasing, and also "in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). Speaking every time God - to the chagrin of your "Nazarenes" - opens a door of ministry. Serving in the ministry Jesus sets before you in your "Capernaum," or new, divinely chosen base of ministry. Though simple, this is the great, biblical secret of maintaining dynamic ministry in the face of demonic opposition.

Yes, every day, just go your way as God opens the way before you. You will experience many mundane days, when it seems nothing is happening. But don't quit, persist! And soon more doors and windows of opportunity will begin opening, one here, and another there.

It is crucially important that you don't allow yourself to get drawn into petty retaliation with those who continue stubbornly trying to shut you down. And don't expect them to give up easily. Every day the sun comes up, they will rise up - to bring you down. So, accept this as God's challenge to make you stronger in spirit, more gracious in conflicts, wiser in perplexities, quicker in discernment, and growing in His power. Forgive your antagonists every day and ask God to forgive them. Forgiveness fortifies you with Christlike strength that makes it easy to rise above the tactics of your un-Christlike adversaries. Try as they may, they will never reach your inner man. Your soul, your spiritual core, will remain strong, close to God, unvexed, surprisingly peaceful, increasingly content, and always moving forward in knowing Christ more intimately and serving Him more effectively.

Pray He will give your "Nazarenes" repentance before they go too far to recover themselves (1 John 5:16b). And never respond to their evil with evil of your own. Why? So that God, in His time and way, may pour coals of hot conviction on their consciences that, one day, will lead them to acknowledge they were wrong, that your call and ministry is indeed of the Lord (Romans 12:17-21).

This happened in Jesus' life. When the Holy Spirit fell in the Upper Room, Mary and Jesus' four brothers, who had been quite hostile toward His ministry (John 7:1-5) and on one occasion tried to get Him to abandon it (Mark 3:21, 31-32), were all present, subdued, and believing in the brother they had formerly disbelieved and mocked (Acts 1:14).

And by the time your formerly hostile friends, family, and critics, now subdued, join you in your "Upper Room" of reconciliation, you will care little, if at all, about personal vindication. Why? By accepting their rejection (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and going your way in God, you have been humbled. Your pride no longer stands up to demand that you be understood, defended, justified! All that matters now is one thing: pleasing the Lord, helping His precious people, and finishing your course of ministry with joy! Every day you seek the Father's "well done," not news that your critics have been undone. And each new morning, you continue following Jesus' footsteps, going on to your next "Capernaum." And the next. And the next. May I testify?

When my ministry began nearly 40 years ago, it was viciously opposed by unreasonable, implacable opponents. And they persisted for years. But by God's grace, I learned this lesson I'm passing on to you.

Nearly 30 years ago, another major assault was directed at me from a very close source, one that nearly brought me down. But, again, I just followed Jesus' simple example and went my way.

Today, by God's grace, and the sweet assistance of a group of extraordinarily faithful helpers in ministry, I'm walking steadily forward, from one Capernaum, to another, and yet another. I'm free and moving unhindered in my divinely assigned kingdom work. And I can barely remember those low, dark days when unreasonable opponents and hateful liars tried to shut me down. Neither God nor His invisible, invincible power has ever failed me. Not one day. Nor will He fail you.

So, why not let Jesus' way be your way? As He passed through the midst of His opponents and went His way, why not pass through those who denounce and belittle you and go your way? This day. With Christ. Strengthened by His Word. Led by His Holy Spirit. Insulated by His amazing power. Refreshed daily in His reviving presence. Growing in the grace of forgiveness. With your eyes fixed on the God who has called you. Blind to your detractors frowns. Deaf to their pitiless misrepresentations of you. Mutely unwilling to open your mouth to argue your case to those who are too stubborn to even listen.

And as you go your way, remember Jesus' words and let them speak blessed, deep reassurance to your heart: "No prophet is accepted in his own country" (Luke 4:24). And rejoice! You are in good company! Better to be rejected with the true prophets than accepted with the false.

Going my way,

Dr. Greg Hinnant

GREG HINNANT MINISTRIES