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The Messiah at Twelve Years Old | Luke 2:41-52 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Well, we all know that it is a time of the year where we are
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  invited to turn our attention on the truth of the incarnation of
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  the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will seek to do that together by
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  exploring the early years of Jesus, but in particular a part
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  of those early years that is often overlooked.
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  We know that the Gospels tell us much about the birth of the
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  Messiah, and we know that the Gospels have much more to say
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  about his ministry. But there is one particular
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  incident that is provided to us that grants us a portrait of
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  Jesus between those two significant stages of his life.
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  It is Luke, the Gospel writer, who is inspired by the Holy
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  Spirit to grant us this site that is very brief, and because
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  of its brevity, some people are tempted to feel as though it is
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  inconsequential in our understanding of God's character
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  and nature, or perhaps little value in terms of God's
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  instruction for us. But we have been here enough to
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  know that that is not the case. There is obviously a purpose for
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  what Luke records about the young Jesus of Nazareth in the
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  text that we're going to look at this afternoon.
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  So I do invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 2 and verse
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  41, and we will read together until verse 52 as we consider
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  together the Messiah at 12 years old, Luke 241.
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  Here's what the Word of God reads.
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  Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
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  feast of the Passover, and when he was 12 years old they went up
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  according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as
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  they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in
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  Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but
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  supposing him to be in the group, they went a day's
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  journey. But then they began to search
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  for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
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  And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem,
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  searching for him. After three days they found him
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  in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and
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  asking them questions. And all who heard him were
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  amazed at his understanding and his answers.
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  And when his parents saw him, they were astonished.
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  And his mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us so?
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  Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great
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  distress. And he said to them, Why were
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  you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be
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  in my Father's house? And they did not understand the
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  saying that he spoke to them, And he went down with them, and
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  came to Nazareth, and was submissive to them.
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  And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
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  And Jesus increased in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor
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  with God and man. Lord, we ask in great humility,
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  Help us with these verses. We pray that there would be
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  nothing delivered in confusion or lack of clarity.
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  We pray that there would be precision.
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  We ask for power. We ask for our hearts to be
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  moved. Help us see Jesus only today.
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  And we pray these things in his name.
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  Amen. Luke is preparing to introduce
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  us to the boy Jesus. But before he does that, he
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  seeks to put the spotlight on the devoutness of his parents,
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  his earthly guardians. And he does this by telling us
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  that they went to Jerusalem to honor the feast of the Passover.
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  But he's more specific than that.
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  It's not that they just went to the Passover on this particular
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  year. Look back again at verse 41.
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  Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
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  feast of the Passover. And so we're supposed to hear
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  see something about their diligence and their commitment
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  to the law of God. Because the Old Testament tells
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  us that under the Mosaic covenant, every male Israelite
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  was to go and honor 3 specific feast, 3 separate times of the
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  year. And what's interesting here is
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  that, yes, they are obeying, but in a way that is a little bit
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  unusual. And the only way for you to know
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  that is when you look at one of the instructions about these
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  pilgrimages. So look at your Old Testament
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  with me in Exodus and verse 17 of chapter 23.
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  And notice this detail that I think some people miss Exodus 23
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  beginning in verse 17. It says here three times in the
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  year shall, and this is where you want to highlight it.
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  All your males appear before the Lord God, all your males.
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  And that is echoed in Deuteronomy 1616.
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  We learned that it was the males who are primarily responsible
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  for representing their families as they came to these yearly
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  conferences of worship. And it's not to say that women
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  could not accompany them, but they were not obliged to.
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  And if a wife did assist and attend these journeys with their
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  husbands, it highlighted something about their
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  exceptional devotion to the Lord.
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  Again, it was not mandatory for them to go, but if they did go,
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  then it said something about their hunger.
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  It says something about their worship.
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  It says something about their devotion to God.
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  And why I bring that up is because Mary is highlighted in
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  our main passage with this background that she didn't have
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  to go to the feast of the Passover.
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  She wanted to go, and right here already we have something as a
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  model for parents today. Do you know why?
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  Because as much as the Lord Jesus Christ possessed divine
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  wisdom and revelation from His human perspective, He grew up in
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  an environment where His spiritual intellectual growth
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  was nurtured and fostered by the faithfulness of His earthly
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  parents. Now if you're hesitant to
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  believe that, let me show you a couple of verses in the same
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  chapter that we read from right before the main text.
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  He says this in Luke 239. And when they had performed
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  everything according to the law of the Lord, speaking about
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  Joseph and Mary, again, when they had performed everything
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  according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee
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  to their own town of Nazareth. And then verse 40 And the child
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  grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and the favor of God
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  was upon him. So right after the comment of
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  Joseph and Mary, observing everything that was found in the
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  law of the Lord, we learn of Jesus growth.
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  And some translations don't just say that the child grew and
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  became strong, but add that he became strong in spirit.
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  Strong in spirit. Now here's what I want to say.
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  Parents, do not underestimate what your love for the Lord can
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  do for your little ones. Don't you ever doubt that.
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  And don't you ever, ever, ever think for a moment that there is
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  a greater investment that you can make in the lives of your
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  children than living sacrificially for the Lord.
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  Here's where the maps in our Bible help.
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  Sometimes to journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem was not a
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  small journey. It was a track of about 70 to 80
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  miles, which would take about three to four days to complete.
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  And yet we see these parents doing this faithfully year after
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  year. And in many cases, it is earthly
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  concerns, daily responsibilities, personal
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  projects, and other inconveniences that keep couples
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  from making worship their priority in their family.
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  And I want to share a promise to you from the Word of God that I
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  pray will stir your heart, especially if you can honestly
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  admit in this place that worshipping God has not been
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  your personal priority on an individual basis or in a
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  corporate level. If you look back at 2024, if you
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  can honestly say that's been me, the House of God has not been my
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  priority. Spending time with God has not
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  been my ultimate desire. And you might be able to list
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  all these different reasons. God gives a promise in the very
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  same book where you read that the male should appear before
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  the Lord 3 * a year. So I'm going to ask you to go
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  back to Exodus. It will be worth it because
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  there is a promise by way of principle that applies to us.
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  Look at Exodus 34 and look at verse 24 in this chapter.
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  God renews His covenant with Israel because they committed
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  idolatry by worshipping the false golden calf at the bottom
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  of the mountain. But notice this as He re
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  establishes this relationship in Exodus 3424.
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  He says For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge
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  your borders. No one shall covet your land
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  when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in
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  the year. Did you see the promise?
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  Think about it, if the males, the heads of the homes, were to
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  travel weeks at a time to go and stand before the Lord at the
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  House of God, a designated location where He was to be
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  worshipped, what would be one of their main concerns?
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  Leaving behind their families, leaving behind their properties,
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  not just to the threats of neighbors, but neighboring
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  nations and enemies who might harm their homes.
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  So what does the Lord say in this verse?
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  No one will covet your land. When you come to worship Me,
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  I'll take care of you. This is the lesson that when you
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  prioritize God and no matter what it demands of you, He will
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  provide for you and He will protect you better than you can
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  imagine and better than what you can fend for yourself.
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  No matter what that sacrifice looks like in your relationship
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  with Christ and honoring what He asked of you, it's not really a
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  sacrifice. It's always an investment, and
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  we see even a promise here. You go to Jerusalem to worship,
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  I'll take care of your home. I'll take care of your family.
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  Nothing, no one will touch you. But it's contingent upon setting
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  him first, living for him first, honoring him above everything
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  else. Mary and Joseph here are
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  honoring the Lord. But as faithful as they were,
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  they were not perfect. Someone like to think otherwise.
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  They were not perfect because Luke records 1 blunder made by
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  them in terms of their parenting at least.
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  So you have to understand that when Jerusalem was designated as
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  the place of worship and people would make pilgrimage to honor
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  these feasts, there was hundreds of thousands of people swarming
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  in those streets. And in many cases, when people
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  would come to Jerusalem, they would do so in large caravans,
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  large groups, because it just made the journey more pleasant
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  and made it more safe from bandits and robbers.
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  So as wonderful as that is, you can imagine the logistical
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  difficulties. Joseph and Mary came with a
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  group, and as they were making their way back to Nazareth, they
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  forgot Jesus. Now some use this reference as
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  an incident to try to put some kind of blame on the Lord Jesus,
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  and we'll get to why he stayed back in a moment.
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  But what I want you to focus on is what we see here in verse 43.
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  And when the feast was ended and as they were returning, the boy
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  Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
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  His parents did not know it. And what's even more staggering
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  is that after a full day's journey, they learned, where's
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  Jesus? Where's her son?
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  Where's the boy? A full day.
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  Can you imagine? And some people try to explain
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  this. Maybe Joseph thought that, you
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  know, they were separating. Mary was ahead or behind.
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  And she thought, OK, you thought she's he's with her or she
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  thought he's with him. We don't know.
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  A full day's journey. And even in this, we have some
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  practical instruction. You know why?
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  Because what Joseph and Mary did here physically is something
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  that you and I are capable of doing spiritually.
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  And what do you mean we too can lose focus on Jesus, can we not?
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  And I'm not speaking here about how we can be pulled away by the
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  seduction of of sin or the dazzle of worldly entertainment.
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  I'm speaking about how even in the midst of good things, we can
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  lose sight of Christ. What happened with Joseph and
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  Mary here? Were they on vacation when they
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  lost Jesus? No, no, they were honoring the
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  law of the Lord, and even in that pursuit they were
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  disconnected from Christ. I think this serves as a helpful
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  warning for each of us that we can become so preoccupied in
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  activities, even religious ones, that we become disconnected from
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  conscience fellowship with the Lord.
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  Which brings me to the next point, that we must make our
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  awareness of the Lord a daily habit.
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  They went one day without recognizing that Jesus was in
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  there, which I think in terms of principle, we each of us must
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  make it a daily habit to set the Lord always before us.
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  Can I give you a verse that infers that practice?
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  Go to the book of Hebrews chapter 3.
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  And I want you to look at this instruction that the Holy Spirit
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  gives to the church. Hebrews chapter 3, beginning in
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  verse 13. And it's really just this verse.
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  Notice what the Holy Spirit says to the believers.
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  Hebrews 313 But exhort one another every day, as long as it
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  is called today. That none of you may be hardened
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  by the deceitfulness of sin, Read it again.
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  But exhort one another every Sunday, every day, every day, as
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  long as it is called today. What's the insight here?
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  Here's what the insight is you and I need.
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  Not weekly, not monthly. Daily spiritual nourishment,
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  daily mutual encouragement. Because all it takes is one day
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  for your heart to become hard. 24 hours.
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  Have you ever been to a conference, like a church
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  conference, and you see people excited and filled with joy and
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  anticipation, and then all it takes is that midweek of the
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  same weekend where that conference was observed and
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  enjoyed, where things tend to go back the way they were?
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  That's not a phenomenon. That's something that the Bible
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  says can happen to each of us in one day.
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  My heart can be cold. My heart can become distracted,
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  deceived by sin overnight. And so there's something that
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  needs to happen every day. And notice what the author says.
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  As long as it is called today. In other words, you can't afford
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  to delay this. You have to implement it right
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  away. There's urgency here.
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  This needs to be honored. This is like almost emergency
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  protocol. And if you haven't been doing it
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  in this past year, begin the next year right.
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  Let the the the last couple of weeks of this year be this that
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  your heart comes into contact with the glory of Jesus.
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  We allow His word, His presence, to keep your heart soft where
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  you were intentional of encouraging others and allowing
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  others to encourage you. All it takes is one day for you
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  to lose sight of Jesus. So they go back because in verse
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  44 of Luke 2, they suppose that He was in the group.
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  They began to search for Him among the relatives and
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  acquaintances, and when they did not find in verse 45, they
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  returned to Jerusalem searching for them.
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  Now, Luke is not interested in providing us the intricate
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  movements of Christ during these three days.
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  We don't know where he slept during those three days.
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  We don't know who fed him. We don't know of all these other
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  potential interactions that he had with others.
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  But what we do know here is that there is a scene that He wants
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  us to look at. It's a scene that his parents
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  stumbled upon. After frantically looking for
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  him for hours, they finally decided to go to the temple and
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  what they saw there was absolutely astounding. 12 year
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  old Jesus sitting with the teachers of the law, the priest,
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  the scribes, asking them questions, probing and an even
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  receiving questions at some point and and giving answers or
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  clarifying their answers. Is that where you would think
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  you would find a 12 year old boy if you lost him for a few days?
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  This is the Son of God. You know Luke does something in
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  his gospel account that I discovered when looking at this
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  last night. Whenever I preach out of Luke 24
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  where Jesus after the resurrection walks with those
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  two on the road to Emmaus, I always am stirred because he
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  gives the most profound Old Testament Bible study about the
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  Messiah and where he is found in the Hebrew Scriptures.
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  And guess what? We don't get one insight in that
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  Bible study. That's at the end of the gospel,
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  Luke. And here we are at the beginning
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  of the gospel Luke, and you have 12 year old Jesus doing a Bible
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  study with a group of scholars. Luke doesn't tell us anything
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  either. Why?
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  Just personally venting doesn't do it in the beginning, doesn't
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  do it at the end. But one thing that we can say
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  safely as a guess is that some of these same teachers who were
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  amazed by this little boy would 18 years later, continue to be
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  confounded by him only to provoke a murderous hatred and
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  envy. And I believe there's something
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  else you to learn about Jesus for our own lives, because I've
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  already addressed parents. Now let me address those who are
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  younger in the room. And there's many of you.
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  I'm so glad that you're here in the main service.
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  And I hope that this tide doesn't intimidate you.
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  I hope you can hear me. And I want to speak as plainly
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  as possible. You see, 12 year old Jesus, yes,
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  the Son of God, yes, unique, yes, bestowed with a wisdom that
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  is unparalleled. But if we are called to follow
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  Jesus and what we see in the Gospels concerning his adult
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  life and his ministry, surely it applies here at 12 years old.
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  Here's what I will tell you. Don't waste your younger years.
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  Please don't waste your younger years.
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  This is a special window of time, young people, where your
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  minds are fresh and your energy is at its peak and you're able
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  to absorb and retain in a way that you won't be able to in the
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  years to come. Do you know what you find Jesus
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  doing here? Asking questions from his
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  humanity, Seeking to grow and learn?
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  Yes, confounding, but also receiving.
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  You know, I've talked to many people who've obviously been
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  saved and the common regret that I hear from people and I hope it
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  doesn't eat them up too much. But one of the things that I
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  hear over and over from people is I wish I was saved earlier.
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  I wish I was saved when I was younger.
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  There's so much to know. There's there's only so much
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  time I have left to be able to share about Jesus, to be able to
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  serve Jesus in this life. This is a thought that in a good
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  way haunts me all the time. You know what it is that as
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  glorious as heaven will be, as wonderful as eternity will be?
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  As much as I am looking forward to a time where the even the
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  presence of sin will be a far memory, I only have this life to
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  glorify God in a unique way that I can't in heaven.
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  Only in this life can I say no to temptation and glorify God in
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  my nose, because I won't be tempted in heaven.
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  Only in heaven will. Only on earth will I be able to
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  evangelize and tell people about Christ, because there's going to
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  be no lost people in heaven. Only on earth will I be able to
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  pray prayers and see God's mighty hand intervene in my
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  life, in my family's life, in my city, in my nation.
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  Only now, because there'll be no need to pray.
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  Everything will be consummated at that point.
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  Here's Jesus, 12 years old, maximizing the opportunity while
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  being in Jerusalem to grow. I pray that you would be the
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  same. I'm not saying don't be a kid.
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  Be a kid, enjoy activities, enjoy hobbies, but develop a
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  foundation. Now.
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  You know, there are some preachers that I heard from who
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  said that what they preach in their 60s and in the latter
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  portions of their life are things that they learned in
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  their 20s and 30s because life only gets busier and more
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  responsibilities are added. And so I heard one man say it's,
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  it's, it's helpful to to gather in and create a reservoir now
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  and build on that as you age. If God were to give you more
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  life. They were amazed.
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  And as exhilarating as this site must have been, the maternal
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  instincts of Mary kicked in. Son, why have you treated us so?
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  Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great
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  distress. Now Mary's line of questioning
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  should prompt us to ask our own Is Jesus wrong here for staying
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  behind in Jerusalem? Is he being insensitive?
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  Or worse, is there a streak of sinfulness in his adolescence?
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  Some would be brave enough to claim so.
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  Thankfully, you and I don't have to speculate in our defense of
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  the perfection of the Savior, because Luke tells us here
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  plainly that that is not so. And there are three points to
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  make about how Jesus here is perfectly righteous.
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  He was perfectly righteous in his 30s, and he was perfectly
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  righteous at his 12th year. First, Mary doesn't accuse Jesus
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  of being disobedient. She's merely expressing how his
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  actions made her and her husband feel.
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  So that that's just the first point.
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  The second one is that Luke actually goes out of his way in
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  the same text to tell us the posture of the boy Jesus before
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  and after this particular moment.
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  Look here at verse 52 or 51 rather of Luke of Luke chapter
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  2. Notice what he says.
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  And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was
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  submissive to them. He was submissive to them.
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  He did honor them. He did respect Him.
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  Lastly, and this is the most important point, Jesus response
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  to Mary was a profound recognition of His divine
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  mission and His identity as the Son of God.
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  So let me try to break this down as solely as possible so that
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  nobody misses it. Jesus had an awareness, some
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  would say that this is where he received the complete awareness
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  of who he was and His divinity. And this awareness did not
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  diminish his respect for those who God had chosen to be His
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  guardians, but it does under score his primary allegiance.
• 24:06
  And his primary allegiance was to the Father.
• 24:11
  In other words, Jesus staying at the temple was not an act of
• 24:15
  carelessness. It was not an act of defiance,
• 24:17
  but rather of obedience to the will of God, which made him
• 24:21
  staying at the temple necessary for his preparation for the
• 24:25
  ministry. And so when you look at this,
• 24:29
  you realize, yes, this is a unique moment, but also
• 24:33
  foreshadow something that we're going to see over and over in
• 24:35
  the life of Christ, things that he will teach and things that he
• 24:39
  will do. And what is that?
• 24:41
  That his obedience to the will of the Father supersedes any
• 24:46
  social expectation and any family relationship that might
• 24:50
  seek to hinder him from doing what God called him to do.
• 24:56
  And he gently, even at the age of 12, he gently reminds Mary of
• 25:02
  that, saying how? Because remember she says,
• 25:06
  behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great
• 25:10
  distress. And look how he answers in verse
• 25:13
  49. And he said to them, why were
• 25:14
  you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be
• 25:16
  in my Father's house? In other words, yes, I am
• 25:23
  subject to you as earthly guardians, but can I remind you
• 25:27
  that I am ultimately the Son of God?
• 25:30
  This is profound. I am the Son of God and my
• 25:36
  allegiance is ultimately to Him. And even if you look at this
• 25:40
  from a cultural standpoint, the age of 12 was the pivotal point
• 25:43
  where a Jewish boy will become a man.
• 25:45
  That's from the cultural standpoint.
• 25:46
  So the fact that it's happening at 12 is significant even from
• 25:49
  that lens. But theologically, what we're
• 25:52
  seeing here is that Jesus is preparing Mary specifically for
• 25:58
  what's to come in a few short years, that he's going to
• 26:00
  separate and he's going to ultimately fulfill what God had
• 26:03
  sent him into the world to do. I must be about my father's
• 26:07
  house, some transitions. I must be about my father's
• 26:09
  business. And we see here that although
• 26:14
  there is a theological answer, there is also, as I've been
• 26:16
  doing throughout this study, a practical inspiration.
• 26:21
  What was Mary's mistake here? Mary's mistake was that she
• 26:25
  misunderstood the meaning of Jesus's actions.
• 26:28
  Don't mind the rumbling, You'll go away in a minute.
• 26:32
  Mary misunderstood Jesus's actions.
• 26:37
  And if we're not careful, we too can fall into the same trap of
• 26:41
  failing to understand what Christ is doing in times of
• 26:45
  distress. And maybe even in your own way,
• 26:49
  telling the Lord, why are you treating me as such?
• 26:56
  Why are you doing this? Why are you not doing this?
• 27:05
  You see Mary's misinterpretation as a tendency We all share in
• 27:08
  our human frailty. What is that?
• 27:10
  Especially when you're confronted with challenges or
• 27:12
  unmet expectations, things that are ruffled, things that kind of
• 27:18
  take you by surprise. Why?
• 27:22
  When in fact, God is doing exactly what he needs to do in
• 27:26
  perfect wisdom. So do you know how you and I can
• 27:31
  avoid that mistake? A mistake of looking at the Lord
• 27:34
  and, and, and putting him in a place of being questioned, which
• 27:39
  will honestly only add more turmoil to your trials and your
• 27:42
  test. The way you can limit that is by
• 27:48
  being more deeply acquainted with who God is.
• 27:54
  We're not told exactly how Mary came to this, but you can just
• 27:58
  imagine over the years how though she was visited by angels
• 28:03
  and she received prophetic utterances and she was visited
• 28:07
  by these amazing characters in the Bible at the birth of this
• 28:11
  boy. As the years went on, she
• 28:14
  perhaps didn't fully understand the significance of his destiny.
• 28:19
  That's why she can come to this place and say, why are you doing
• 28:22
  this? If you want to be more confident
• 28:26
  in God's ways, be more familiar with who he is, and there'll be
• 28:33
  less questions and more worship. I want to look more at what
• 28:39
  Jesus says in verse 49. And he said to them, why were
• 28:43
  you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be
• 28:46
  in my father's house? Wow, your father and I have been
• 28:52
  looking for you, but didn't you know that I would be in my
• 28:54
  father's house? You know what makes us even more
• 28:59
  impactful? These are the first recorded
• 29:02
  words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the first, the first in his life
• 29:08
  that's been given to us, and the first in the Gospel of Luke.
• 29:10
  And what makes us even more special is when you consider the
• 29:14
  last recorded words of Jesus before his death.
• 29:19
  It's in the Gospel of Luke. Go to Luke 23 and look here with
• 29:24
  me at verse 46. Then Jesus calling out with a
• 29:38
  loud voice said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
• 29:43
  And having said this, he breathed his last.
• 29:46
  What a glorious observation. Do you know why?
• 29:50
  Because between the first recorded words of Jesus and his
• 29:54
  last before his death, he emphasized his relationship with
• 29:58
  the Father. Father, do you not know that I
• 30:02
  must be in my Father's house? And there he is before he gives
• 30:04
  his final sigh. Father, into your hands I commit
• 30:09
  my spirit. I mean, this is awesome for many
• 30:14
  reasons, but the the principle that grips me the most is that
• 30:17
  from first to last, Jesus's life was defined by joyful obedience
• 30:23
  to the will of God. From first to last, everything
• 30:28
  was framed by this ultimate desire.
• 30:31
  I want to obey, live, love the Father.
• 30:39
  And some of you here have experienced the saving power of
• 30:42
  the gospel and have proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord.
• 30:46
  This might have happened at a young age, others in the prime
• 30:48
  of your life, and some others may be at the midpoint of your
• 30:52
  life, whether it was 12/22 or 52.
• 30:56
  Can I ask you something, please? Is the desire to live for God
• 31:03
  strong today as it was when you first start walking with him?
• 31:09
  Because here is my model. Here's my example.
• 31:12
  Jesus at 12 said, Father, my father, and Jesus at the prime
• 31:18
  of his life while being executed could say, Father, I hope that's
• 31:25
  your ambition. If that ambition has been
• 31:28
  weakened, may reawaken with a new force in this new year.
• 31:34
  Finish strong. I I wonder how many of us in
• 31:37
  this place have it as our goal to finish well, to finish well.
• 31:42
  There was an old preacher who was a friend of mine who's in
• 31:44
  heaven today, and whenever I would ask him, how can I be
• 31:47
  praying for you? Do you know what he would say?
• 31:49
  Pray that I would die climbing. It's a very imaginative way of
• 31:54
  saying I want to finish. Well, it inspired me at least.
• 32:02
  Father at the start, Father when he finished what happens?
• 32:12
  Look at verse 50 of Luke 2 and they did not understand the
• 32:14
  saying that he spoke to them. They didn't fully make sense.
• 32:19
  They couldn't put the pieces together.
• 32:23
  And here's what's so moving about this is because I can't
• 32:27
  help but think how the Lord was misunderstood at all points of
• 32:29
  his life in ministry. Here he is at 12 saying why are
• 32:34
  you why are you surprised? I'm supposed to be in my
• 32:36
  father's house and his parents didn't get it.
• 32:39
  And and how much throughout his ministry in the Gospels do we
• 32:41
  see people not getting it? Even those who are under his
• 32:44
  apprenticeship, even those who were being trained to be
• 32:46
  apostles, they didn't get so many things.
• 32:49
  You say why you bring that? I'm bringing that up because
• 32:52
  despite the lack of awareness and the inability to catch up,
• 32:59
  he loves, He's committed, he's steadfast, he's so patient.
• 33:08
  He loved Joseph and Mary even in this.
• 33:13
  Jesus who knew more about himself than these parents,
• 33:17
  Jesus who was more aware of God's will than these earthly
• 33:21
  guardians. And yet he still loved them,
• 33:25
  saying, how did he love them? Because 51 says he went down
• 33:30
  with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.
• 33:34
  It's very hard for some people to submit to others whom they
• 33:38
  believed to be more experienced or more knowledgeable, more
• 33:43
  powerful. That was not Jesus.
• 33:46
  He had profound insight, and yet he understood that this is a
• 33:51
  part of the will of God, that I will honor and respect those who
• 33:54
  are in authority over me, and so I will submit to them and
• 33:57
  listen. This kind of steadfast love that
• 33:59
  Christ shows for imperfect people applies to all of us
• 34:02
  today. Most of us are slow in learning,
• 34:06
  including the preacher. And yet Christ loves, and he
• 34:14
  stays, and he goes with us, and he leads us, and he nudges us,
• 34:18
  and he protects us and He provides for us.
• 34:23
  We would all be in trouble if we had to have consistent as in our
• 34:25
  spiritual learning. What a powerful example this
• 34:32
  sets for each of us as we intermingle with one another,
• 34:35
  and especially if we have people in our lives that are over us
• 34:39
  and we're challenged in our flesh to honor them the way that
• 34:43
  God calls us to honor them. So both young and old here.
• 34:46
  You might even have parents that are limited in their thinking,
• 34:49
  limited in their ways of dealing with situations.
• 34:52
  Look at your example in Jesus and seek him for the strength to
• 34:56
  be able to worship God in the place of submission, mutual
• 35:03
  respect. That might be true for our
• 35:06
  spiritual leaders as well. Or any kind of authority, any
• 35:09
  kind of relationship for that matter.
• 35:13
  Christ even at 12 was far superior and he still submitted
• 35:19
  Humility, kindness and patience. This is the master.
• 35:23
  I I want to be like Jesus. Who knew that a 12 year old
• 35:28
  could inspire? He's the Messiah, and not just
• 35:34
  that. I see his patients in another
• 35:36
  way. He was patient with his parents,
• 35:38
  yes, but he was also patient with the will of God.
• 35:42
  Think about it, at 12 years old, he understands I am the Son of
• 35:46
  the Father in heaven. He's comprehending his divine
• 35:50
  mission. He's growing into that.
• 35:53
  The awareness is there. And yet what He waits 18 years
• 35:59
  before he starts his public ministry?
• 36:01
  Imagine the temptation of being a 12 year old prodigy going on
• 36:05
  those preaching crusades and confounding these.
• 36:08
  Oh, you would, surely you would get a bigger crowd, the 12 year
• 36:12
  old out there preaching, doing miracles.
• 36:16
  He didn't. Year by year he goes by and he
• 36:21
  grows, he matures, he goes to school, he submits his parents
• 36:25
  perfect without sin. Until God said now is the time.
• 36:29
  The Father said now is the time. Oh, he was in step with the will
• 36:34
  of God. How I want to be like Jesus,
• 36:38
  patient with people, patient with God's plan for my life.
• 36:45
  So let me end here. What is the purpose of Luke
• 36:51
  including this story in his Gospel account?
• 36:54
  I think there are three quick summaries that we can make.
• 36:56
  One is to show that Jesus was truly human.
• 37:01
  All right, so look at verse 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom
• 37:06
  and in stature and in favor with God and man.
• 37:09
  So he was really human, though without sin.
• 37:12
  He grew, He was hungry, he went to bed, he experienced
• 37:16
  temptation. He was truly human.
• 37:20
  And we're reminded of that. And that's important for a
• 37:22
  reason I'm going to get to. But not only was he truly human,
• 37:25
  but he was aware at a very early stage of his life of his
• 37:30
  divinity that he was the Son of God.
• 37:34
  So this wasn't something that his followers later on conjured
• 37:37
  up about his identity, nor is it something that he accepted
• 37:42
  because of the claims of the crowd who were longing for a
• 37:47
  Messiah and decided to just put that on him.
• 37:50
  And that's something that he worked with.
• 37:52
  No, Jesus knew he was the Son of God many years even before he
• 37:55
  ministered as the Son of God. And lastly, a.
• 38:00
  Question after the question why Luke included this?
• 38:03
  Have you ever wondered why the plan for our salvation could
• 38:07
  have been a much quicker ordeal? Send the sun into the world and
• 38:13
  let the next day come by where he is crucified.
• 38:16
  Let him shed his blood, conquer the grave, resurrect, ascend,
• 38:21
  and purchase our salvation. If you've ever thought that.
• 38:27
  Then I say respectfully. Then you have an incomplete
• 38:30
  understanding of what our salvation entails.
• 38:34
  His death is paramount. It is necessary, but so was his
• 38:37
  life. So was his life, because what
• 38:41
  the Bible teaches here is not that we have our debt paid by
• 38:46
  His death, it's that also we receive His perfection because
• 38:50
  of how He lived. So in Jesus, who lived a perfect
• 38:55
  life even from the age of 12, by honoring the law, by submitting
• 39:00
  to the will of God, by resisting temptation, by conquering all
• 39:04
  these things before He conquered death.
• 39:06
  What happens now is that when you believe on the Lord Jesus
• 39:09
  Christ, you know what takes place.
• 39:11
  He takes your guilt and He gives you His perfection.
• 39:15
  His life was necessary to accumulate the righteousness
• 39:19
  that would be ascribed unto you and placed into your account.
• 39:25
  That is the divine exchange of the gospel.
• 39:27
  That is the beauty of this message, that in a way God
• 39:31
  treated Jesus, not that he sinned, but as a sin bearer.
• 39:37
  And in turn he looks at you and treats you like Jesus as though
• 39:42
  you have never sinned. That's where we find the
• 39:46
  confidence in our faith and the understanding of the gospel.
• 39:52
  You know, I wasn't planning to end this way, but allow me to.
• 39:56
  Just before the service, there's a prayer that I like to pray
• 39:59
  from the book of Isaiah. I don't need to share that part,
• 40:01
  but I thought after looking at that verse to just kind of read
• 40:04
  on because it deals with the Messiah.
• 40:06
  And here's our final text in Isaiah 50.
• 40:08
  Look at verse 9. This deals with.
• 40:19
  Messiah. This deals with Jesus Christ 700
• 40:21
  years before His entrance into the world, and there's all these
• 40:24
  wonderful prophecies of what He would be like and what He would
• 40:26
  do and what He would accomplish. But let's hear.
• 40:28
  Let's begin here at verse 7. Actually, just to prove it,
• 40:31
  let's look at verse 5. Get to get the context.
• 40:34
  So you're convinced, at least I hope, if this is foreign to you,
• 40:36
  that this is about Messiah. Isaiah 50, verse 5.
• 40:39
  The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious.
• 40:43
  I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who
• 40:47
  strike and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard.
• 40:52
  I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
• 40:54
  That's talking about the suffering, the torture that
• 40:57
  Christ experienced. But it doesn't end here.
• 40:58
  He goes on. Messiah says, but the Lord God
• 41:02
  helps me, therefore I have not been disgraced.
• 41:04
  Therefore I have set my face like Flint, and I know that I
• 41:07
  shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near.
• 41:12
  Who will contend with me. Let us stand up together.
• 41:15
  Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.
• 41:18
  And this is the part that struck me, verse 9.
• 41:21
  Behold, the Lord God helps me, who will declare me guilty?
• 41:26
  Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment.
• 41:28
  The moth will eat them up. You see what Messiah is.
• 41:32
  Saying he's not just describing the fact that he will indeed be
• 41:35
  tortured, he will be punished, but in his punishment is there
• 41:40
  no indication that he was wrong, but he did anything to actually
• 41:44
  receive that punishment justly? He voluntarily received.
• 41:49
  Yes, God's punishment, but from a human standpoint he was free.
• 41:53
  There was nothing that they could pin on him.
• 41:55
  So he says here in verse 9, behold, the Lord God helps me
• 41:57
  who will declare me guilty, and even before that, who is my
• 42:02
  adversary? Let him come near to me.
• 42:04
  Does does that language sound familiar to you?
• 42:08
  On your own time. Look it up in Romans chapter 8,
• 42:11
  where Paul makes allusions to these words where he says, who
• 42:16
  shall condemn the elect? Who can condemn those who
• 42:22
  belong? It is God who justifies.
• 42:26
  So even Paul, obviously a scholar familiar with the Old
• 42:29
  Testament, makes allusions to these words.
• 42:31
  I believe. And here's what's so beautiful.
• 42:34
  It began with Messiah saying, who can declare me guilty?
• 42:37
  And then Paul borrows such words for the Christian.
• 42:40
  Why? Because the Christian when he
• 42:42
  puts his faith is in Christ. So when Messiah says, who can
• 42:46
  declare me guilty because of his perfection?
• 42:49
  Now the Christian can say, who can declare me guilty because of
• 42:52
  his perfection? That has been imputed to you by
• 42:55
  faith. Do you see that this is the
• 42:59
  Christmas message that God has given us His inexpressible gift
• 43:04
  and it is free and it is available to any person in this
• 43:07
  room that if you realize that you are a Sinner, that you have
• 43:11
  dishonored, violated God's law, that can all change Your status
• 43:15
  from guilty to innocent can take place this afternoon.
• 43:19
  Your eternal standing before God can be shifted when you
• 43:22
  understand what the Savior has done for you.
• 43:24
  And what does that look like? It looks like you acknowledging
• 43:27
  that you are a Sinner and recognizing that He is your sole
• 43:30
  Savior and that you would receive His righteousness.
• 43:33
  I believe that apart from you, I'm damned, that I need your
• 43:38
  perfection if I'm to stand before God with confidence.
• 43:40
  And I need you to take care of this debt lest I pay it myself.
• 43:44
  And Christ willingly, willingly wants to make that transaction
• 43:50
  with you. You just have to believe it.
• 43:53
  He extends that gift to you on December 15th of 2024.
• 43:57
  I hope you would take it. If you've never received it, I
• 43:59
  hope you would not reject that. I hope you would not swat his
• 44:01
  hand away. I hope today that you would put
• 44:03
  your hand in hand with the living Christ because the one
• 44:06
  that I preach about, who was at one point 12 years old, is alive
• 44:11
  today. He died, He was buried, he
• 44:16
  raised. And as Pastor Mark opened the
• 44:18
  service. He's coming back and he's going
• 44:21
  to redeem those who put their faith in Him in their lifetime.
• 44:24
  Would you do it today, believer? I hope that.
• 44:28
  You feel a great. Confidence surging up in you
• 44:30
  once more that it's because of what Christ has done in this
• 44:34
  rescue mission of coming into this world on your behalf that
• 44:38
  you should be joyful. Let's rejoice together.
• 44:55
  Indeed, Lord, we see that. Even in this text of the boy
• 44:58
  Jesus at 12 years old. You have provided for us A.
• 45:04
  Banquet. Thank you for showing us.
• 45:07
  Just a glimpse of the extent of his sacrifice of subjecting
• 45:12
  himself to the limitations of humanity in order to redeem
• 45:17
  humanity. Lord, today we we feel the joy
• 45:21
  of our salvation. If it's not true for anyone
• 45:24
  here, may they taste it for the first time.
• 45:27
  And for those who have tasted in it, may there be a freedom in
• 45:31
  their hearts to know that they can make a fresh commitment to
• 45:34
  you If they have not been as zealous as they should have
• 45:37
  been, if they have missed the mark, if they, like the story
• 45:42
  has told us, have walked ahead of Jesus or have delayed where
• 45:48
  Christ has went ahead. We pray that if it's been a day,
• 45:52
  a week, a month, a year where closeness with Christ has not
• 45:55
  been enjoyed and realized, that today would be the turning
• 45:57
  point. Only your Spirit can do that.
• 46:00
  So we rejoice in you, Lord, we pray that there be rejoicing in
• 46:02
  heaven because of repentance in this house, and we give you
• 46:05
  glory and thanks that the confidence of our salvation is
• 46:08
  in Christ alone. In Jesus name we pray.
• 46:11
  Amen. If the praise team can join us
• 46:13
  and help us glorify the Son of God who became a man so that men
• 46:20
  could become born again.