LOSING JESUS
Luke 2:41-52
INTRO. Many think the underprivileged child is the one who does not have the right kind of education or food or clothing...or perhaps one from a broken home or one whose father has been killed or imprisoned. But the true underprivileged child is the one raised in a Godless home, a home where Christ is not known or welcome.
Now, Jesus was raised in a godly home. Joseph and Mary loved and served God. They read Scripture, attended the synagogue and prayed. Once a year they went to Jerusalem for the great Feast of Passover and when Jesus was 12 years old they took him with them. As they left the city he remained behind. They began to look for him among relatives, then worried, returned to the city and after 3 days they found him in the Temple. (Vs. 48-49)
I. NOTICE THAT AT ONE POINT THEY HAD CHRIST WITH THEM.
A. Mary and Joseph had experienced His miraculous birth. Then there were the years spent in Egypt. Then the time in Nazareth where "the child grew, waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him." We know that He made the trip with them to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast and possibly His own Bar-Mitzvah. In fact, if someone had asked, "Do you have a son?" They would have answered, "Yes, we have Jesus."
B. We may also have Jesus. That is to say that we have been granted the privilege of His company in every aspect of life. We may have Him in salvation.
1. There is no reason for a man to remain in his lost condition. (II Pet. 3:9) -- "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
2. God has made provision for every sinner to be saved. For almost 2,000 years since Christ hung on the cross, the appeal has gone out; "Believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
3. (Illus.) -- A young man I witnessed to at my kitchen table. I asked, "Are you ready to accept Christ as your personal Saviour?" He said, "Yes I am." With that he bowed his head and asked Jesus into his heart. He was later baptized and joined the church. It’s as easy as that. No matter who you are, Jesus has said, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
4. I do not believe that any person ever comes to a point in which it is impossible for them to call out to Christ and receive eternal salvation, HOWEVER, each passing moment of rejection makes true acceptance more unlikely.
C. We may have Him in our daily walk of life.
1. In this life of trials and problems we need someone bigger than us to walk beside us. This is the blessing of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Bible says "Enoch walked with God." They walked so close and so often that one day God just said, "Enoch, we are closer to Heaven than earth, come on to Heaven with me." "And Enoch was not for God took him."
3. It is hard and sad to try to brave the storms of life without Jesus.
D. We may have Him at the end of life. You may think you do not need Him now. You are healthy, young and strong but it will not always be that way.
1. When death knocks at your door who will be there to help you then? "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me."
2. A dying Christian may shout to the stars, rivers, and mountains, "When you are all gone I will still be living."
II. THEY LOST CHRIST.
A. When they left Jerusalem they left Jesus behind. That happens to many people today. Thank God He does not loose us. When He saves us it is forever.
1. (Jn. 5:24) -- "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
2. John 10:27-29
B. He will never lose contact with us but it is possible for us to lose contact with Him. Remember Mary and Joseph. They had not lost their love for Him; they had not lost their faith; they had not lost their relationship with Jesus; but they certainly lost their fellowship with Him. One way is through indifference. If many church members spoke out as their lives do they would say, "I don’t care."
1. They don’t say it out loud but they say it to the world by the way they live.
2. Seldom attend church, pray, read the Bible. They show little interest in giving their children a Christian education, the financial interest of the church or lost souls.
3. If you are indifferent to these things you have lost touch with Christ.
C. We can lose touch with Him through neglect of duty.
1. It was the duty of Mary and Joseph to look after their 12 year old boy. They neglected their duty and lost Jesus.
2. When people worked a 6 day week they complained they had no time for church. Now we have a 5 day week and more time for the world but no more time for God. Soon we will have a 4 or even 3 day week and still have no time for God.
3. It is a matter of love. As sinners we love the temporary joys of this life more than we love Christ.
4. It is our duty to support the work of the church whether it is missions, evangelism, Sunday School, prayer meeting, or anything else.
5. These are the sweet things of a Christian life. Give God a little of your time, talent and tithe and He will bless you in 10,000 ways. Neglect Him and you lose.
D. We lose Him when we get too busy with other things.
1. The hurry scurry of getting ready to return to Nazareth. Mary and Joseph got so carried away with other things and so busy getting ready to go home they lost Jesus.
2. This is true even today. People are just too busy for Christ.
E. We lose touch with Him when we fail to ask for forgiveness of our sins. You lose touch when hatred replaces love in your heart, when the temper rules your mind, when your tongue would rather gossip than pray.
III. THEY LOOKED FOR HIM AMONG THEIR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES.
A. When they realized that they had lost touch with Jesus they made the same poor assumption that so many backslidden Christians make today. That is, they began looking for Jesus in places that they thought He ought to be. (Vs. 44) -- "and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance."
B. Many today assume that they will find Jesus in religion. But man’s idea of religion and God’s idea are not the same.
C. Many today assume that they will find Jesus in drastic social reform. Thus, they become much more involved in their movements to change the politics of the world than they ever did in reaching lost souls for Christ.
D. Many assume that they will find Jesus in their own personal opinions and prejudices. They believe that God is only what they want Him to be, so they never look any farther than their own selfish desires.
IV. THEY FOUND JESUS!
A. Before we get too far into this point, I want you to notice the very human response of Joseph and Mary found here (vs. 48b).
1. They wanted to blame their loss on Him!!
2. This fact holds true, "human nature has not changed since the fall of Adam."
3. After Adam had eaten of the forbidden fruit, the Lord asked him why he had done it. Adam replied by blaming God for his temptation and ultimate downfall, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat." (Gen. 3:12)
4. When confronted with their sinful state, most backsliders are much more likely to blame God, church, pastor, deacons, etc. for their condition than they are to blame themselves.
B. They found Jesus in the Temple carrying out the business of God.
1. If you have lost touch with Christ you will find Him again in Christian service.
2. The Lord’s House is the best place to get back in touch with Jesus. In spite of what some people say, you can not worship anywhere the way you can worship in church. This is "Beth-el" (the house of God). This is exactly where you should expect to find God.
C. They found Him about the Father’s business. You are always guaranteed to find Jesus in the midst of sanctified service
CONCLU. Being a parent myself, I think it is safe to assume that, after finding Jesus, Mary and Joseph were very happy to have Him back with them again. I have yet to see a lost man saved who wasn’t happy about finding Jesus. And I have yet to see a Christian about the master’s business who wasn’t happy about his relationship with Jesus.
