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Luke 2:41-52 "Lost at Home" · Clifford Baptist

• 0:00
  Welcome to the January 11th sermon from Clifford Baptist Church, 635 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Luke chapter 2, verses 41 through 52. And the sermon is entitled Lost at Home, delivered today by Pastor Jeffrey Campbell. I'm grateful today to continue along in God's word and looking through the life of Jesus. We have witnessed him coming to this earth as the Son of God.
• 0:27
  And now today we pick up scripture in Luke chapter number two.
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  The only recorded scripture of Jesus childhood that we have is what we're going to work through today. So if you have your bibles, Luke chapter two. And we're going to begin with verse number 41 real quick. How many of you would consider yourself a good parent?
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  This is not boastful. Just raise your hand, put it back down.
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  Yeah, yeah. How many of you would consider yourself at times a bad parent?
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  I've seen some of the same hands there, right.
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  There are times and today in scripture you're going to see that. Sometimes we see the good and the bad come together and I don't know that we could ever label Mary and Joseph bad parents. I don't know that we could do that. But what we do know, they were just as human as you and I.
• 1:20
  They were just as sinful as you and I. So we know they were not perfect.
• 1:26
  Writing this sermon, it's amazing how God puts things together. I was sitting on my couch watching one of my favorite movies. For those that know me, I do not watch movies. Okay? I do not watch movies.
• 1:38
  I will watch them from my childhood. But if you say let's go to the movies. Nah, I'd rather go be with the cows or the pigs or something, you know, then go spend two hours at the movies.
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  But now if it's a football game like today.
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  Yeah. This afternoon I'm gonna be in front of that tv. Yeah, that's your pastor's heart.
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  But one of my favorite movies came on TV this Christmas and it's the story of an 18 year old boy named Kevin McAusley.
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  He gets punished and sent to his bedroom.
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  As his family is frantically getting ready to spend Christmas in Paris.
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  Guess what?
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  They leave Kevin behind.
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  Mid flight to Paris, Kate realizes that she left her son home alone. That is the title of the movie.
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  The fun part of the movie for me is Harry and Mar, two burglars that are trying to make their way into this home. And here is this little 8 year old boy with his antics and contraptions that deter their breaking into their home. They are met with Many traps that Kevin has set up. And the moral of the story? On Christmas Day, the family comes back together and they are reunited and it all happens again later in another movie, right?
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  Maybe you can relate to leaving your child at one time or another.
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  I remember my younger brother back in the day we went to the mall.
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  I've got a cousin here that might have been with us on that day. And my youngest brother got lost in one of those little round things where you hang all the clothes.
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  He hid there.
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  Nobody could find him. And I just remember the sheer terror on my mom trying to figure out where is my boy, what happened to my boy. I remember that. And I remember standing at the door of the store, like looking to make sure my little brother was not going to go out of that store.
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  But when my mom found me, that was a total different story.
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  We understand that there are times that we feel like we've done our job, we've been good parents. And there are times that we feel like we failed miserably.
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  And yet we realize in the working of it all, God uses even a situation that we're going to see today in the life of Jesus at 12 years old to teach us something.
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  Imagine now, I can't imagine Mary and Joseph losing the son of God.
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  But as Christians we have lost Jesus this morning. You may be guilty.
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  Maybe you can point to a time that you lost him. And I will tell you there were years I ran from Jesus.
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  I wanted to lose Jesus, but I couldn't thank God for his grace.
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  Can you get lost at home today?
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  I believe this story is going to teach us more than a movie about an 8 year old, but God's word about a 12 year old. His son being right where his family left him.
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  Let's go to Scripture Luke chapter number two, starting with verse number 41.
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  Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.
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  And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
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  And when they had fulfilled the days as they had returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and his mother knew not of it, but they supposing him to have been in the company went a day's journey and they saw him among their kinfolk and acquaintances.
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  Point number one today as we talk about being lost at home, I want you to see this. You can get lost in the people.
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  Jesus gets lost in the people.
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  We understand as we began that Jesus had faithful earthly parents, God given parents in Mary and Joseph. And I want to say this There are some children in this room and maybe us older children can be reminded that God has gifted you the parents that you had.
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  There are things maybe in my teenage years that I wanted to change about my mom and daddy. And I didn't agree with everything they did, but praise God, because of them, I am where I am today.
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  So teenagers and young people, listen when you understand and recognize the parents that God has given you as God sent. It's amazing how that affects the outlook that you have on the rest of your life.
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  There is no greater joy in my life than to be around my family, the people that God has given me.
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  I love my family.
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  But what we see also here is this, parents, we're not going to be perfect.
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  And we see Mary and Joseph doing the good and godly thing they are doing. They are devout believers. They are doing the right thing. Every year they are doing what they are supposed to according to God's word and that is to go and celebrate the feast of the Passover. Now listen, Mary, the women were not supposed to go. They didn't have to go. But this shows you how tight knit Mary and Joseph were and how devout they were in raising their son to know the Lord.
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  As Joseph makes that pilgrimage, Mary goes with them and they're taking their family to Jerusalem as they celebrate this feast of the Passover.
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  Now I want to tell you, it's not like, hey guys, get in the car, buckle up, we're going to town. That's not the way they did it.
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  So here's how it worked. They would get a group that would go a caravan of travelers and the ladies would be in the front, the ladies would lead the way. And as those ladies would march along, the men would follow behind for means of protection. And whatever men do, you know, whatever they're supposed to be doing, but they're following behind to make sure everybody makes it there okay? And somewhere in between the front and the back, that's where you find the children.
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  They're doing their thing. They're running and playing tag and they're chasing after each other. But the caravan is moving along to Jerusalem. We see on this day's journey as they leave Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph do not realize that their 12 year old is not with them.
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  Uh oh.
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  I think that's what you say, right? Uh oh.
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  And then frantic and panic set in.
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  They start to search the caravan and they start to ask, is he with another child? Is he hiding with another family? Is he walking away from the caravan? This 12 year old is not with them. But they have been traveling all day.
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  And just like normal people, Mary thinks Joseph has Jesus and Joseph thinks Mary has Jesus. And guess what?
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  Nobody had Jesus.
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  So we see the good work that they're doing. They're going to Jerusalem, they're obeying the law, they're doing the right things. In the midst of doing the right things, guess what?
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  Oh gosh, I'm a horrible parent.
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  I want to tell you parents something today.
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  I'm no expert on parenting.
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  I got two teenagers and it don't get any easier. I just want you to know that.
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  And what I'm told as they get older, it doesn't get any easier. Amen.
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  Once you are a parent, you're always a parent. And you're going to second guess and you're going to question and your mind's going to run. Did I do enough? Listen, the greatest responsibility that we have as parents is to make sure our children know Jesus.
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  Now you cannot make them, you cannot force them, but it is your responsibility, your God given task to make sure your children know Jesus.
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  And what better place to do that? In the local church.
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  And that's what Mary and Joseph were doing. They were going to Jerusalem, they were going to the temple. They were hanging out with godly people that were doing the same thing. And guess what? We realized this.
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  We messed up.
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  As we see Mary and Joseph begin to backtrack, there's a key word in verse number 44, I want us to look at that word is this.
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  But they supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
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  When we look at what we are supposed to do, what is presumed, what we think, they thought this Jesus is with us.
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  But listen, thinking and knowing are two different things.
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  And I want you to understand this today, church is this. Jesus is not with us simply because we go to church.
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  Jesus is not our Lord simply because we are a good and moral person.
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  Jesus is with us when we make that decision to surrender our lives and to invite him into our life, to be a part of that, to surrender our hearts to him, to have a relationship with Him.
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  That's when you have Jesus within you. And so I don't want to discourage you today and I don't want to sow seeds of doubt.
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  There are a lot of people in this world that think they're okay, that think Jesus is with them and Jesus is not.
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  We have lost Jesus as a collective church in America.
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  And you know where we have lost Him?
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  Right where we left him, we have left.
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  We are leaving the church house, we are leaving the place of God. And I know you don't have to sit in church to be a believer, but listen, you should be in church with other believers. That way the caravan moves together.
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  Is it true today two things that number one, Jesus is still lost amongst the billions of people in this world.
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  Eight billion people, and Jesus is lost.
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  The second warning is this.
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  Don't you get lost among the people.
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  And what that means is this.
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  It's so easy to come into a place of God and to slide in and to slide out. I almost went down right there. Y' all seen that, didn't you?
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  It's so easy to slide in and slide out.
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  And listen, if you do that, you lose the caravan.
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  The caravan is following after Jesus. And if you're not moving with the caravan, you will get lost.
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  And so here is the warning today when we look at Jesus and we look at our relationship, the warning for us personally is this, do not get lost in the people and do not lose Jesus as your Lord.
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  I love scripture that tells us that we can know.
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  Because remember, it's one thing to think and it's another thing to know these things I've written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe on the name of the son of God.
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  First John, chapter 5, verse number 13 tells us this. You can know you have Jesus.
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  Today a word of warning. Don't leave without knowing Jesus.
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  Knowing you have Jesus.
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  So we see Jesus gets lost amongst the people. And I believe that still happens today.
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  Look at verse 45.
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  They turned back again to Jerusalem seeking him.
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  And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.
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  And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
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  Verse number 48. And when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said unto him, son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
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  Point number two today is this.
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  He was left in the place so lost amongst the people. But Jesus was left in the place so knowing the parents have figured out no one has Jesus. There's a 12 year old missing.
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  They turn around and they begin their journey back to Jerusalem. Now remember, we're told it's a day's journey. They walk, they travel a day's journey. So that means what it's going to take A day's journey to get back.
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  And then they got to spend some time looking for him as they get to Jerusalem. So it took them three days and they find Jesus in the temple. And what is he doing? He is talking to the religious leaders of the day. Now that's not normally where you would find a 12 year old boy, but that's where Jesus is.
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  And I don't want to misconstrue this. I think he was talking, I think he was asking questions, I don't know that he was challenging, I don't know that he was debating, I don't want to use those words. But what the Bible says this is. He was asking those questions. He was learning more about what happens and what they believe.
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  This temple, as Mary and Joseph make their way back and they find Jesus in the temple in the place of worship with the religious leaders as Jesus is talking matters of religion. Verse 46 tells us that the 12 year old Jesus is among those that have PhD.
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  Look at verse 46.
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  And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctor, both hearing them and asking them questions. These are people that are very knowledgeable in religion, in the scripture. They are people that are much more smarter than a 12 year ordinary 12 year old. But Jesus is no ordinary 12 year old.
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  And they are amazed at what they find.
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  They are amazed that they find their 12 year old son in the temple discussing the matters of faith with the religious leaders of the day.
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  And their question is simply this Jesus, why did you do this to us?
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  I don't think my mama told my brother that when she found him.
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  All I remember is she called him up and away they went.
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  Why did you do this to us?
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  The Bible tells us that they were full of sorrow and question and they had been through so much stress in these three days that their son had probably caused this.
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  Let me ask you this.
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  As you desperately search for Jesus, I can look back on a time that I was looking for Jesus and it was full of stressful times.
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  This morning you might be here for the first time or the 500th time.
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  And here's what I want you to know.
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  If you are looking for Jesus, it's not always easy.
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  Things are going to happen, stress is going to rise. And what we see here, as many of us, as we think about our relationship with Jesus, do exactly what Mary and Joseph did. They left Jesus or they found Jesus where they left him. Let me put it that way.
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  They found Jesus exactly where they left Him. There's a lot of younger people and even people that have been in the faith a while.
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  They're doing this thing, what's called deconstructing their faith.
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  This is real.
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  And what they are doing, they are walking away from the church and the faith that they've always known and the hopes of looking from something true and genuine.
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  And I want to say this.
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  If you are here today searching for Jesus, he probably is right where you left him.
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  And so if you've left the church, if you've left the people of God, if you've left the place of God, if you've left the work of God, listen, Jesus hasn't left you, but he's waiting on you right where you left him.
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  Mary and Joseph came to worship, but they leave the place of worship in a mess because of what their son has done.
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  Does that relate to any of us?
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  You come to church and something happens on the way, or something happens on the way home. And guess what?
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  We shouldn't have even gone to church today.
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  Listen, your situation may not be the same as mine or what we're talking about today.
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  Jesus got left in the place where he was about his Father's business.
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  I'm not going to toot Clifford Baptist Church's horn here.
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  But if you want to follow Jesus, get around people that are following Jesus, and that's where you will find him.
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  You don't have to get off by yourself. You don't have to get away from everybody. You don't have to go out in the wilderness. You get around people that are faithful, people that are driven. These are not perfect people, but they're faithful and they're looking to Jesus, desperately searching for him.
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  And that's where you will find him.
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  There's one verse in Scripture that makes me scratch my head at times.
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  John, chapter 6, verse 66.
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  As Jesus was teaching through some hard things, that verse tells us this. From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.
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  Here's what that verse says, Church.
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  There were some people even early on that left Jesus.
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  I don't see this as bad parenting, and I don't see Jesus as a bad kid.
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  But here's what I do see.
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  Are we guilty of walking away from Jesus?
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  Maybe it wasn't intentional.
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  Maybe it is a slow fade. Maybe you're not where you used to be.
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  Here's the call.
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  Come back to him. Go back and find him and work on that relationship.
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  You and I must walk with Jesus if we want anybody else in this world to Walk with and follow us.
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  So today Mary and Joseph didn't intentionally leave their son. And I don't think their son intentionally tried to give their parents a heart attack.
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  But how was our country, how is our community leaving Jesus?
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  That's a concern.
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  As we look at this 12 year old boy, there's one more point that I want to make.
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  Look at verses 49 through 52.
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  And he said unto them, how is it that you sought me? Wish ye not that I must be about my Father's business.
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  And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
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  And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
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  And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
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  Point number three.
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  We find him longing for a purpose.
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  We find Jesus longing for a purpose.
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  The central verse to our scripture today comes when Jesus asked his mom two questions. Not only why are you looking for me?
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  But didn't you know that I was about my Father's business?
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  Didn't you know that I would be in my Father's house?
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  Now this is not Jesus being smart with his mother.
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  But what Jesus is saying is, I'm not lost.
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  I never left home.
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  Because home was with his heavenly Father.
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  I'm not lost.
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  You should have known where you would find me.
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  You were told how special of a child I would be. You were told what I would do when I grow up. You were told by angels and shepherds. And I know it's been 12 years, but now I began my purpose.
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  I'm about my Father's business.
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  I want you to notice something in verse number 48.
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  It says, when they saw him and they were amazed.
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  And his mother said unto him, now this is Mary talking. Now he says this, son, why hast thou dealt with us? Behold, thy Father and I have sought thee. Sorry.
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  You see what Mary says. Your earthly father and I had been looking all over. You've got us worried.
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  But in verse number 49, he says this, I must be about my Father's business.
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  Jesus is beginning to draw the line.
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  And it's amazing, it happens at 12 years old, that Jesus has a purpose.
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  He asked questions and he heard answers. He stated Scripture to the smartest of the religious leaders of the day.
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  But now he is showing that he is not only the son of Mary and Joseph, but he is the Son of God.
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  This is scripture here. And these are the first words of Jesus that we have. He is identifying himself as the Son of God.
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  And what's his only plan? What's his only goal? What's his only purpose?
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  My Father's business.
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  I'm about my Father's business.
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  As we close down this section of scripture today, I want you to see this.
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  Jesus is clearly telling and teaching his parents that God has great plans for me, more than you even realize. They are left amazed. They understand not what you spoke. That's what verse says. And then they take him home. And I love verse 51. It says this, that he was subject unto them.
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  Here's what that means. He continued to obey his earthly parents.
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  He did not revolt. He did not go his own way.
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  He continued to obey and respect his earthly parents. But verse number 52 says this. Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
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  There are four things in that one verse that Jesus did. As he grew, he grew in wisdom.
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  That's godly wisdom.
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  That's understanding that God has a plan and a purpose for your life. That's understanding what his calling was and what his purpose was. He's growing into that. He's gaining wisdom.
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  The second area that he was growing in, he was growing in stature.
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  This means age.
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  He was growing up this 12 year old boy. We will not pick him up until he is an adult next week when he's growing up in wisdom and in age.
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  But we also would see in verse number 52 that he's gaining favor in two areas.
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  And these are important.
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  He's gaining favor with God and he's gaining favor with me.
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  I believe as people of God, we must have a relationship with God, gain favor there.
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  But we must also have a relationship with our fellow man.
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  And seeing this growth in Jesus life, here's what it challenges me as your pastor today.
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  There's areas of growth for all of us.
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  For me, first, you don't grow by.
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  You don't grow in the Lord. By running around and continuing to do the things that you need to do, you grow in the Lord and His will and his purpose for your life by being about his business, by being in his place and by being around his people.
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  That's how you grow.
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  I gave you three words last week. Do you remember those words?
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  Know, grow and go.
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  And that's the goal here.
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  Friends, today I pray that you know Jesus Christ.
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  I pray that you know him as your Savior, that you have a relationship with him and that that relationship is growing.
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  That you feel like you're growing in wisdom and in knowledge. That you feel like you're growing in favor with God and what in Understanding what His purpose is for your life.
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  Believer today.
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  Do you long for Jesus?
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  I believe at 43 years old, I long for Jesus more today than ever in my life.
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  And my prayer is this. As you get older and you grow, that should be the picture. Because that's the picture that Jesus gives us.
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  He's not only growing in age, he's growing closer to his heavenly Father, to God Almighty.
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  And that should be our goal.
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  Today.
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  Maybe you're sitting there feeling like you have lost or left Jesus.
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  Maybe you used to be strong and you used to walk with the Lord, but you know you've left him.
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  There's a term that we have for that. It's called backsliding.
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  As I told you at the beginning of this sermon, I ran for a year of my life from God. I knew what he wanted me to do and I ran directly the opposite direction. I know what it's like to backslide.
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  Here's what you need to know.
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  You can't run away from Jesus.
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  You can't lose Jesus.
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  You can't trick him. You can't divert.
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  You can't.
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  And I'm grateful that I believe that Jesus pursues the one that needs him the most. He leaves the 99 to pursue the 1. That's what the Bible teaches us.
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  And today, if you feel lost, Jesus is pursuing you.
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  And my prayer. As we look at this scripture today, though we may leave him and we may lose him. We never truly could do that if we are a child of God.
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  Do you feel like you need something more out of this relationship that you long for?
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  Here's my advice to you today. Go back to where you left it.
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  Go back to reading your Bible. Go back to being around godly people. Go back to talking to the Lord and develop that relationship like it should be that one today.
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  I love you and I say this in love. If you are here without Jesus, Jesus is not lost.
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  You are.
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  I don't say that in a condemning way. I say that with love because there's one that will find you.
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  I believe that he pursues us with his love.
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  He laid his life down on a cross for our sin to forgive us today.
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  If you need Jesus, please don't leave him in this place and not take him with you as we come before the Lord.
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  I'm thankful for a 12 year old boy.
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  Don't you sit here today and say children can't teach me anything. Jesus has taught me a lot this week that I need to grow, that I need to be about my Father's business and as a church and as believers we need to walk this walk together.
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  Let's pray Father thank you for your word.
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  Lord in a crowd this size. Lord, you know each heart that amazes me.
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  Lord. You know the ones that are pursuing you with all their heart and you know the ones that are trying to hide and get away from you as far away as they can.
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  God, I just pray that you meet each one according to your will for that one that's walking this old world that needs you.
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  Holy Spirit, I pray that you begin that work.
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  God, we trust you with a moment of invitation that will call believers to be about their Father's business that will call the lost home to Jesus God. Today we pray that your Holy Spirit work in Jesus name.
• 34:07
  Amen. Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11am for more information about our church please call our church office at 434-94-605 55.