God Is Love: So What

God Is Love: So What?

Intro.: Most of us think we know all about love.

1. We see it on TV, we read about it in books, we see it as couples hold hands walking down the street. We know what love is all about.

2. On the other hand, we also get lots of examples as to what love is not. The gossip column make sure that we know the mistakes that people make. We read of parents who try to control there kids lives, we see families splitting up. Yep, lots of instructions on how love is not supposed to work.

3. John also knows something love. It was John who took the time to remind us that “God so loved the world ...”

4. And, and now, John returns to the subject in his first epistle. 46 times he mentions love in this letter – he had heard about from Jesus, he had seen it lived out – and he wants to talk about it.

5. Turn with me to I John 4:7-12.

Read: I John 4:7-12

Pray

T.S.

1. Love – what we know – Three key facts

   1. Fact One – Love is from God

      1. In the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis One, the author makes it clear that we have been created in the image of God.

      2. In just a few minute we will look at that verse that tells us that God is love. But if God is love and we are created in His image – then our love comes from Him.

(Appl.) I suggested earlier that we have learned most of what we know about love from the media – TV, movies, books, news, - you get the idea. But those are not God's idea of love. If I really like to know about love, and love does come from God, then we need to let God teach us about love. Did you know that word “love” occurs 551 times in 505 verses? But, even more important, scripture is full of examples of God's love – God caring for His people and for individuals who have learned to depend on Him.

2. Fact Two – God is Love

(Ill.) One author has translated Ephesians 3:17-18 as, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Fully grasping the dimensions of God's love for us is not an easy thing to do. the Scriptures teach that we are to have a growing awareness of divine love. Love is the very heart and essence of God, not only for the lovely but for the worst of sinners. Christ did not die merely to display God’s love—He died because God is love (1 John 4:8). If the New Testament teaches us anything, it teaches us about God’s love in searching for lost men. Becoming a Christian in a very real sense is simply putting ourselves in the way of being found by God—to stop running from His loving pursuit.ⁱ

1. We have been redeemed but the very God who loves us more than we even love ourselves.

2. And if we do not know that love, then we do not know God. That is the real test as to whether we know God – do we love like he loves. John says it like this, “Anyone who does not love does not know God.”

3. Fact Three – God showed his love by sending His son.

   1. John 3:16 says “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”

   2. Now, some 60 years later, John writes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

   3. Somehow Christmas and Easter have become fun holidays – we use them as opportunities to tell those around us that we love them, but we must never forget that they are the very proof the Jesus loved us first.

   4. We sit halfway between the two holidays – as you begin to prepare for this Christmas, remember that it is not just a way for you to tell those around you that you love them, it is also a time to reflect on the fact that God loved us.

1. Love – what to do

   1. In today's passage there is one command – repeated twice.

   2. “Beloved, let us love one another. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

   3. I really like the way John said that. Did you notice all the exceptions that he gave –

      1. “... let us love one another, unless we have been insulted.”

      2. “... let us love one another, unless someone has hurt us.”

      3. “... let us love one another, except when we don't feel good.”

      4. “... let us love one another, unless you are not a pastor.”

      5. Wait – you do know that I made those all up.

      6. There are no exceptions … “we ought to love one another.”

   4. Now to be honest, I sometimes wish there were exceptions.

   5. But God did not give me any.

   6. You know what – regardless of what you do, regardless of what you say, regardless of what you think, God asks me to love you.

Conclusion: Let me conclude with a story:

When Scottish teenager George Matheson learned he was losing his eyesight, he determined to finish his studies at the University of Glasgow as quickly as possible. His blindness overtook him while he pursued graduate studies for Christian ministry, but his family rallied to his side. His sisters even learned Greek and Hebrew to help him in his assignments.

The real blow came later, when his fiancée determined she just couldn’t marry a blind man. Breaking the engagement, she returned his ring. George was devastated. Years later when he was a beloved pastor in Scotland, his sister became engaged, and the news opened old wounds in his heart. More mature now, he turned to God and out of the experience wrote a prayer that later some may know as a hymn. The words say:

O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thing ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.

Even when I don't feel like loving, God calls me to love. Am I willing?

Pray

iOsbeck, K. W. (1990). Amazing grace : 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions (44). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications.

Defining the Church

Defining the Church

Intro.: I learned to create computer programs too early.

1. When I learned to program, all programs were composed of three kinds of building blocks.

2. But starting ten to fifteen years ago a new paradigm was developed to define program. The new paradigm is called object oriented programming.

3. In OOP, everything is considered an object. An object has to thing associated with it – attributes and methods. Attributes describe the object – color, make, model, size, speed, cost. Methods let the object do something – left turn, right turn, stop, accelerate, turn lights on, might be the methods associated with a car.

4. I wondered what attributes we might use to describe the church.

5. I would like to look at a passage that suggests two attributes that define the church.

Read: I Peter 3:8-12 Pray

Trans:One of the issues addressed in this passage is the problem of evil.

1. Why hasn't God dealt with the problem of evil. Why do so many bad things happen?

2. We assume that God would come in and change it all at once.

3. But why couldn't God decide to take care of evil over time as we know it – knowing that the problem will be done at the end of time. I mean why couldn't He?

4. Of course that is what He did. He takes on evil, person by person, and changes our lives. It will not be finished until the day we enter heaven – but it will be done.

5. God has dealt with evil – in his way, not ours.

T.S. I would like to look at two attributes that help define the Christian church.

1. Attitude One: Unity

   1. Peter begins the paragraph with these words, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another”

   2. Sometimes scripture catches me by surprise – this is one of them. You see, I thought I had turned to the wrong book of the Bible. Peter's words sound a great deal like those of Paul in his letter to the Philippians:

      If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

   3. They are saying much the same thing – except they are saying it very different audiences. Paul writes to an established church, with leaders in place. A healthy church – needing, not to be corrected, but encouraged. Peter writes to a group of believers that have been forced from their home. They live away from friends. They live away from family. And yet they still had their faith. And the command – whether an established church or a struggling church – the call to unity is the same.

   4. But how do we show unity? Peter used two words to describe this – he said be humble and compassionate. Now most of us know what that means. But if we limit it to that – we have missed the point. What Peter wants his readers to know is that Christianity is not merely knowing about God, it is not just about having the right theology. More importantly, Christianity is about living our faith. Christianity is about reflecting Christ to the world around us.

(Ill.) Most of you know that last fall Sandra and I bought a new car. We have three mirrors up front. Each of the two visors have mirror on them – except that they are basically unusable unless I turn them down. And then there is the rear view mirror that is always there. It is always reflecting what is behind the car. We are all mirrors – we all are reflecting something. What kind of mirror is your life? Does your faith only work when you lower your viser? Does your faith only reflect Christ when you choose to put on your “Christian” faith. Or are you like that rear view mirror and let your faith always reflect your Lord and Savior. Humility and compassion are part of that reflection. But everything you say, everything you do becomes a reflection Christ's presence in your life.

5. As a church we are united – as a united church we are called to reflect Christ in all we do.

1. Attitude Two: Love

   1. Unity is part of what drives the church. But Peter moves onto a second attitude that defines the believer's life: love.

   2. The English has three words to express “love as brothers”. Now the Greek is not so wordy – it uses a single word: philadelphoi. As you may guess – it is the very word from which Philadelphia is derived. The “city of brotherly love” - we are to love each others as brothers.

   3. That means we are to be “tenderhearted” (that's Peter's word), caring, and courteous – those are the positive traits.

   4. But he also calls the church to avoid some things. Too often I hear people quote the biblical rule of an “eye for an eye”. It is an Old Testament quotation from Exodus 21. It certainly seems like a valid reason for getting revenge. But Peter reverses those rules. No longer is it an eye for an eye, but rather we are to told to not

      1. return evil for evil or

      2. returning reviling for reviling (NKJV) – I like the way the New Living Translation put it; do not return “insult for insults”.

      3. One translation sums it up by saying, “Don’t be hateful and insult people just because they are hateful and insult you.”

   5. Peter even takes it another step. “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

• Eugene Peterson created a unique translation for his church that would capture the original excitement and intensity of the scriptures when they first read the New Testament. Dr. Peterson's translation is called The Message and he translates this passage saying "we must be a blessing to get a blessing" (The Message)

(Appl.) Bob Dylan had a song back in the sixties that had a line that said, “...the times are a changing...” When we become members of the church – not the Garland United Methodist Church, not any Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, or Catholic church – when we become a member of Christ's church, we find that “...the times are a changing...”. We will see the world differently, we will face the world differently. No longer will we live by “an eye for an eye” but we “will be a blessing to get a blessing”.

Conclusion: Two attributes that can define us a believers.

1. Unity defines how we relate to each other Love defines how we relate to our world

2. And none of this is new – Peter quotes Psalm 34:

“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

4. Whether we are church of 5000 or a church or 10; whether we are a two year old church or a 200 year old church, these two attributes must define who we are.

Pray

Jesus Loved His People

Jesus Loves His People

Intro.: As we move through lent, our theme has been to learn to love like Jesus loved.

1. We began by noting that Jesus loved the scripture.

2. Then we looked Jesus' love for children

3. Last week we looked at His love for his friends

4. This week we will look at Jesus love for His own people

5. It seems to me that love is often expressed by looking at the contrasts in a persons life – such is the case in today's passage.

Read: Luke 19:28-48

Pray

Trans: During the next few minutes, I want to look at three contrast evident in Jesus' love for his people.

1. The contrast between Jesus' acceptance and rejection

   1. Jesus knew this day was coming. He spent time planning it with His disciples – giving them explicit direction so that it would go well.

   2. And the people responded to Him. The Jews on the route put their cloaks on the ground to create "red carpet" if you would. Their words "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord ... Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

   3. This was Palm Sunday – it was a wonderful day.

   4. But it would be only a week later that it would change. Instead of cloaks on the ground, there would be a crown of thorns. Instead of praising God, the chants would become "Crucify Him, Crucify Him."

   5. Though they honored him, they did not understand. "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes."

(Ill.) I suspect that many of them were like the well known writer Samuel Clemens – or Mark Twain. One day Mark Twain took his little daughter on his knee and told her all about the rulers and other prominent men whom he had met in his travels. She listened attentively. When he had finished, she said, “Daddy, you know everybody but God, don’t you?” Mark Twain was certainly an intelligent person. Yet he rejected God.¹

6. They knew what was expected, they knew many prominent people, but they did not know the one who mattered.

(Appl.) I have been lucky to meet a great many important people in my life – people who have become leaders in the church, people who have been published, either in the church or in my other discipline. But you know something, regardless of how many people I have met or I know, regardless of who I know, it makes absolutely no difference if I don't know Jesus. It makes no difference how many important and powerful people you know, unless you know Jesus. Do you know Jesus?

7. Jesus loved His people, but these same people could not decide whether to accept Him or to reject Him. It is a choice we have to make everyday for ourselves.

2. The contrast between Jesus' compassion and anger

   1. We tend to think put life into boxes. Something is either good or bad. Someone is good or bad.

   2. Some people live their lives like this – they are either so full of anger, that it enters into every relationship that they have. It shows at work and it shows at home. It shows in the sports they play. But there are others who live their lives on the other side of the coin. They are always trying to be nice – they are treat everyone as if they could do nothing wrong. They have never gotten angry – and they are proud of it.

   3. But if we look at Jesus, we learn pretty quickly that healthy living is some place between these two extremes.

   4. Jesus came to a place that overlooked the city of Jerusalem. There in the distance he could see the beautiful building that served as the Jewish temple. In the foreground he could see the homes and businesses that make up the city. And he begins to get choked up.

(Ill.) It happens to many of us. We are living our normal everyday lives – and then something crosses our lives and we find ourselves all choked up. It might be show on TV or in conversation with a friend. And all we can do is sit back and let the pain pass. It happened this week as I was getting dressed for work. Family Life Radio starting playing the Song "In Christ Alone" as performed by the group Avalon:

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings came

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand²

and all I could do was give myself a few minutes to cry.

5. All Jesus could do was cry. He saw a city that should have known the truth, but they did not. The things they valued in their faith would be gone in 40 years – The Jews revolted against the Romans in 66 AD and four years later the Roman army marched into Jerusalem and tore their temple down. Jesus showed his compassion as He wept over its coming destruction and their rejection of His message..

6. But Jesus' love was also demonstrated in His anger. A short while later he enters the Temple and finds businesses making money as people came to worship.

(Ill.) There was a similar point in the history of the Methodist Church 150 years ago. At that point one of the ways that the church reached its financial goals was to rent pew space. But there were pastors who found that offensive and the chose to leave the church and form the Free Methodist Church. Don't get me wrong, there were other issues as well, but this was one of the key issues that drove the beginnings of this new denomination. And maybe they were right – at least at that time, the Methodist Church no longer rent its pews.

7. Jesus' reaction is very pictorial – he comes in and starts turning the tables over and driving those profiteers out of the temple. Worship and business were not to be mixed.

8. Jesus was able to mix compassion and anger even as He loved his people.

(Appl.) Jesus was able to find the balance in his own life. We too must find the balance in our lives – if anger is a problem in your life – get help. If you are a softy, if you are a wimp, get help. Find the balance that will allow you serve God with all that you are.

3. The contrast between Jesus' loving His people and loving the World

   1. There is one more contrast here.

   2. Jesus loved his people – but we must never forget that he also loves the world.

   3. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

   4. Or Matthew, which ends with Jesus' command, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ina the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'”

   5. Jesus had no problem loving His people and loving the world.

   6. I expect that each of us has those things that we find important – that we treasure. But remember, at the same time we are called to love those things that God loved.

   7. Ultimately, God's priorities must be our's. What God loves, we must also loved.

   8. And "God so loved the world ..." So must we.

Pray

1AMG Bible Illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers.

2http://www.fln.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=597

Jesus Loves Children

Jesus Loves Children

Intro.: One of the things that I discovered as I worked on my counseling degree a number of years ago was that I had lost the memory of a great deal of my childhood.

1. Yet every so often something pops to the surface.

2. Do you remember of the first poems you may have learned?

3. I can remember two of the first poems I ever heard – I expect that they may be in your memory as well

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails,
And puppy dog tails,
That's what little boys are made of. ¹

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of. ²

4. Somehow, what we learn in childhood sticks with us.

5. Today we recognize that Jesus loved children – even though others missed that point. I want to look at the four major people or groups of people in Mark 10:13-16.

Read: Mark 10:13-16

Pray

Trans: Our passage today is written as Jesus begins His final journey to Jerusalem.

1. Jerusalem was a central point of Jesus life – both as a child, as we saw last week, and as an adult.

2. The next chapter begins with the Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem – the major event of Palm Sunday.

3. But even as Jesus moves toward the worst week of His life, He keeps his focus on ministry.

   We need to look at four people of note in Mark 10:13-16.

1. Look at the children

(Ill.) Friday nights I usually eat dinner alone. On Fridays Sandra works till 9 and I will stop and get something to eat. This past Friday was no different – I decided to eat at the small Chinese restaurant in North Chili. Sandra and I have gotten to know the owners. Though they are from China, they now make their home in the Rochester area.

They have two very active kids – I would guess 2nd grade and Kindergarten. As I entered the owner was waiting on another customer, but I waved to the kids – who waved back.

After placing my order, I took my seat. The two kids came up to the table. The older asked me if they could sing me a song. The younger one asked me to tie his shoelace. As I finished tying the shoelace, the older boy came back with a book – they were going to sing "Skip to My Lou" to me. First the older one sang a verse, then the younger one, then the older one, and then the younger one. And then the most amazing thing happened, the older one pointed to me and said "your turn." So we sat there and sang four more verses of "Skip to My Lou." We finished about the time my food arrived and they were told to let me eat in peace. Though I was able to eat without any direct disruption of my dinner, the kids did play dodgeball with a crumbled menu for the next 30 minutes.

1. I found the evening's entertainment to be a stress reliever. The kids were rambunctious. But they were being normal kids.

2. Probably no different than the kids around Jesus that day.

3. Children are dependent on their parents. Children are in need of our care.

(Appl.) In some ways, we all are like those children. We are weak. We will fail. We can begin to grow when when we are able to recognize those weaknesses. As long as we see our strength, it becomes difficult to trust God. Once we see our own weaknesses, we are ready to trust God.

2. Look at the people

   1. While scripture tells us that it was children (Luke says babies) that were being brought to Jesus, it tell us nothing about the people.

(Ill.) The Greek only says "brought children" – the ending of the verb forces us to read the text as "They brought children .." - it was of course people who did it, but we are given no details about who they are.

2. These children would not have seen Jesus if someone had not taken them to Jesus – and though we do not know who they are, they were the vehicle by which these children would come to Christ.

3. Look at the disciples

   1. But there is someone else there as well – the disciples.

   2. They have now been with Jesus for most of three years – you would think that they would have a pretty good idea about what was important to Jesus.

   3. But, even though they should have known, they did not. I don't know why they took this stance.

      1. It may be that they saw their goal as protecting Jesus from these abusive children.

      2. Or it could be that they saw Jesus' time as too valuable – and they did not have the time.

      3. Or it could be that they were using that classical excuse, "We did it that way before."

      4. I don't know why they decided to interfere.

   4. But as I studied this passage, I was amazed that it was not the apostles who got it; it was the very anonymous "people" that brought the Children.

(Ill.) Perhaps they saw life like the poet Billie Crawford:

Some would gather money

Along the path of life;

Some would gather roses

And rest from worldly strife.

But I would gather children

From among the thorns of sin;

I would seek a golden curl

And a freckled, toothless grin.

For money cannot enter

In that land of endless day,

And the roses that are gathered

Soon will wilt along the way.

But, oh, the laughing children,

As I cross the Sunset Sea;

As the gates swing wide to Heaven,

I can take them in with me!³

5. Are we willing to bring people to Jesus? As an individual are you willing to bring people to Jesus? As a church are we willing to bring people to Jesus?

4. Look at Jesus

   1. Having said all this, it is important to note that the real focus of this passage is on Jesus.

   2. Jesus makes three key statements:

      1. He wants children to be part of His church. "Let the little children come to me."

      2. The kingdom of God was designed for children. "do not hinder the children, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

      3. We must understand ourselves as children – "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it."

   3. Today has been about children – from the beach balls, to my encounter with two children at the Chinese restaurant, and our encounter with Jesus

   4. Jesus wants to meet you – he wants to meet you as a child.

   5. Are you willing to meet him today.

Conclusion: Sing Jesus Loves Me

Pray

1http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/boys.asp

2http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/girls.asp

3Green, M. P. (1989). Illustrations for Bilical Preaching : Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor's illustration file.). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Jesus Loved God

Jesus Loved God

Intro.:

Gustave Dore was an European artist who lived during the middle of the 19^th century. His art, much of it being religious, survives primarily as black and white engravings

As Gustave Dore was putting the finishing touches on the face of Christ in one of his paintings, an admiring friend stepped quietly into the studio. She looked with bated breath upon the painting.

Dore sensed her presence and said graciously, “Pardon, madam, I did not know you were here.”

She answered, “Monsieur Dore, you must love Him very much to be able to paint Him thus!”

“Love Him, madam?” exclaimed Dore, “I do love Him, but if I loved Him better I would paint Him better!”

If we loved Christ better, we would indeed serve Him better. ¹

During the next few minutes I want to look at the one who loved God the most – Jesus Christ.

Read: Luke 2:41-52

Pray

Trans: The passage can be divided into four movements, four sections, that help us understand Jesus' love for God.

1. Jesus' Atmosphere

   1. The passage that we are looking at is unusual – it is the only passage in the New Testament that gives us glimpse at Jesus' childhood.

   2. I am a bit surprised though. You see if God had commissioned me to write a story about Jesus' childhood, I would not have been so silly as to include an incident where Jesus managed to scare the wits out of His parents.

   3. I mean, since Jesus was perfect, and I don't think any of us doubt that, I would want to show those who had never met him what a perfect child was like. Instead Luke chooses one incident that makes it appear that Jesus is a normal child. A child that sometimes did things his own way instead of his parents way.

   4. Jesus certainly knew what was expected of Him – His parents had been going to Jerusalem for years to celebrate the Feast of the Passover

(Ill.) Passover was one of the earliest feasts celebrated by the Israelites. It was a celebration of God's work in bring His people out of Egypt – specifically a reminder of the mercy God showed those who followed His instructions and painted lamb's blood on the door posts. For over 1400 years it had been one of the high points of the religious year for the faithful Jew. And it had been the practice of Jesus' family to make the trip to Jerusalem each Spring.

(Ill.) Many of us have regular plans for the holidays. Let me tell you of two of ours. We have dear friends in Kearney, NE. I have told you of Franklin Saltzgaber before – he was one of those prayer partners who met with me at a time when I was struggling with my Christian life. Franklin and Linda had another practice that made them special to us. Every Christmas, they opened their home to those who had no family in the area. Except for our kids, we had no family in the area – and Franklin and Linda invited us to join them for Christmas dinner. And they continued to do so ever after we moved away from Kearney. For ten years we became part of their family. More recently, we have established a new tradition – one which you have been part of – our annual trip to the United Methodist Congress on Evangelism. Family traditions are not new – and Jesus' family had them too.

5. And Jesus's family's tradition laid the foundation for Jesus' growth. Year after year they made this trip to Jerusalem.

6. It was this atmosphere that allowed Jesus to develop His love of God.

2. Jesus is Absent

   1. Though the annual trip to Jerusalem was not unusual, the trip home was not.

   2. His parents had every reason to expect that Jesus would return with them.

   3. But, like many 12 year old boys and girls, He had a mind of his own.

   4. Mary and Joseph thought they had it under control – Jesus was most likely with the friends and relatives that had made the annual journey with them.

   5. But when Jesus started missing meals, they began to worry, and started asking around – and when they could not find Jesus, they went back to Jerusalem.

(Ill.) Perhaps they were like the mother I heard about recently who mother attended a service in a the large and crowded auditorium of a large megachurch with her little daughter, Mary. In some manner the two became separated.

The mother sent a note to the platform which was read aloud: “If there is a little girl named Mary Moore in the audience, who is lost, will she please raise her hand so her mother can find her.” No little girl raised her hand so the mother had the police searching the city for the child. Still not finding her, the mother came back and stood at the door of the auditorium as the people filed out. Among the last of them was Mary.

Her mother snatched her up, crying, “Where were you, Mary?”

“On the front row,” replied the little one.

“Didn’t you hear the man read the notice, ‘If there is a little girl named Mary Moore in the audience, who is lost, will she please raise her hand so her mother can find her?’“

“Yes,” said Mary, “I heard it.”

“Then why didn’t you raise your hand?”

“Why, Mother, it couldn’t have meant me,” said Mary, “for I wasn’t lost. I knew where I was.”²

6. It is pretty obvious why Mary and Joseph went back – it was the only place where Jesus could be. But I do wonder why it took them three days to find Jesus in the Temple. I mean they knew more about Jesus than anyone, at that point. And yet it took them three days to find Jesus at the temple.

(Appl.) If the two people who knew Jesus best, the two people who knew more about where His heart lay took three days to find Jesus, should we be surprised that it sometimes takes us time to understand what Jesus wants of us?

3. Jesus' Answers

   1. It did take three days – but they found Him.

   2. He was in the temple – and He certainly was surprised it took them so long to find Him. Jesus expected that His parents would know where to find Him, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Didn't you know that I would be home?

   3. But two things hit me as interesting – First, Jesus was sitting with the most scholarly Jews in Jerusalem. His parents found Him "sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions." Even at this point, He was a serious student – listening to his teachers and asking them questions. It would have been fun to sit there with Jesus and listen in on those three days of conversations.

   4. But there was something else – look at the next verse. "Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." Here is the other reason I would have like to be in that temple – to hear what answers Jesus was providing

(Ill.) Ronald Reagan once pointed out that "the answer to each problem is to be found in the simple words of Jesus of Nazareth, who urged us to love one another."³

5. Here's the kicker – Jesus loved God. He spent his time learning more about Him and sharing what He knew. It was the focus of His discussions.

(Appl.) How often is Jesus the focus or our discussions?

4. Jesus' Advances

   1. But even at twelve, Jesus was not done growing. In the last verse of passage this morning, we a wonderful picture of the growth that Jesus experienced, even as His love of God grew.

   2. "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Jesus was not static – he grew. If you look closely at this passage you will see that Jesus grew mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.

   3. If Jesus grew, it makes sense that we also need to grow.

(Appl.) There is another lesson here – we have to let others grow as well. It is too easy to fall into the trap of expecting other Christians to be here (hands up high) and then being disappointed when we find they are someplace down here (move hands down). If Jesus grew and he was the only one to ever make it here, we need to let others be down here. And sometimes that is hard – life would be so much better if everyone were perfect. It would not even be so bad if everyone were perfect except me or you. But then it doesn't work that way. All of us are in here in the middle some where – and it is only when we let both ourselves and those around us live where God knows we live that we can be most happy.

Conclusion: Jesus did love God. If we are going to love like Jesus loved, we too need to love God.

Pray

1Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

2AMG Bible Illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers.

3Federer, W. J. (2001). Great Quotations : A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Quotations Influencing Early and Modern World History Referenced according to their Sources in Literature, Memoirs, Letters, Governmental Documents, Speeches, Charters, Court Decisions and Constitutions. St. Louis, MO: AmeriSearch.