Being About the Father's Business

Introduction:

One of my favorite moments in Jesus’ life is when He was 12 years old and He was found by His parents in the temple asking questions with the teachers of the law.

I’ve always been drawn to that account and have been amazed at Jesus’ clear understanding that He had a mission: to be about His Father’s business.

From an early age, He had a deep understanding of what His life was to be about, serving God.

Reports say the most successful people are those who wake up early and accomplish the menial, busy tasks first thing in the morning. I would think the same is true about life in general—those who start at an early age end up being the most successful (Tiger Woods at age 2 appearing on TV showing off his putting/golf skills; superstar athletes who start at the age of 3, 4, 5, etc.).

For Jesus, the Son of God, His mission was much more important than playing a sport. He came here to offer His life as a ransom for many in obedience to the Father in heaven. But from a very early age, He began living in a way that would be consistent with that mission and purpose.

How many of us can say we started serving God at that early of an age?

Kids, how many of you are thinking about serving God right now?

Godly Children are Raised by Godly Parents

vv 41-42

the whole family went to Jerusalem for the Passover; not one parent staying home with the “trouble child”; worship was a family event

“Now His parents...” - the scene opens with Jesus’ parents -

They went to the Feast of Passover every year. They traveled from Nazareth in the northern part of the land of Canaan to go to Jerusalem.

Inconvenience of travel, amount of time traveling, etc. would have been a hardship, especially for a poor carpenter family.

Jesus went to the Passover with His family every year. “and when He became twelve...”

This wasn’t a new tradition Mary & Joseph were beginning. This was already routine for them.

Worship is intended to be a family event. The whole family went to Jerusalem for the Passover.

It is highly likely that Jesus has other brothers and sisters by this point because this is the last time that we read of Joseph being alive in the life of Jesus - ; ;

Nazareth was about 80 miles away from Jerusalem — 5 or 10 miles to come to church isn’t asking too much, is it?

Joseph and Mary didn’t decide to keep one of their boys home, the “troubled child;” they brought their family to worship the God of salvation and deliverance!

Parents, if you want your children to be raised knowing the Lord and being active members of the local church. If you want your children to grow up to be kind, considerate human beings, bring them to Bible class. Bring them to worship.

Sometimes children get fussy and are a handful, but be glad that you have them to keep your hands full! Sometimes children need to be taken out for an attitude adjustment or just to get them settled in, but bring them out to worship God.

Statistics show that if you want your children to be committed to the Lord, then it begins with the head of the home—fathers.

Based on experience, it seems women are more spiritually-minded than most men. There are some really good men who serve God, but for every good man there are probably about 3 good women too.

But for our families, if we want our children to become godly adults, then it needs to begin with the example of a godly mother AND godly father!

Social scientists are seeing alarming numbers from “fatherless” homes (maybe a man in the house, but an absentee-father): [https://thefatherlessgeneration.wordpress.com/statistics]

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes

90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes

85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes

Children with no fathers are twice as likely to drop out of school, while those with involved fathers are 40% less likely to repeat a grade in school

Children without fathers enter chemical abuse centers at ten times the average rate

85% of youths in prison come from homes with no fathers

53% of daughters who grow up without a father are more likely to marry as teenagers, 7 times more likely to have a child before the age of 20, 165% more likely to have a child out of wedlock, and 92% more likely to get a divorce

I would argue that this is primarily a spiritual problem with some terrible societal consequences—we need godly parents, but we especially need godly men in the home.

Parents can sometimes think if they get their children to church on Sunday and Wednesday then maybe that’s enough religion for them and they’ll learn and make good decisions…nope; it’s the parents job to teach and enforce spirituality in the home. The church can aid you in that, but if your children begin to rebel or become disinterested in the church, it’s not the church’s fault.

Your children need to see you living and practicing what you say you believe.

Growing Up Like Jesus

Sometimes we have a difficult time imagining what it must have been like to be Jesus as a child. Legends and myths have been told about how Jesus did strange things (miracles) without knowing how He was doing them. But what the Bible indicates is that Jesus had a perfectly normal childhood:

Kids, have you ever done anything without permission? It’s not like you did something really bad, but you just didn’t ask to do it? Maybe a situation where you knew what you wanted to do/needed to do, but you just didn’t let anyone else in on your plan (me mowing the yard for dad and cutting the grass too short)

kids, have you ever done anything without permission? nothing really bad, but you just didn’t ask to do it? you knew what you wanted to do/needed to do, but you just didn’t let anyone else in on your plan - cf. vv 43-45

Seems like Jesus did the same kind of thing! -

Luke is the only author in the New Testament who describes Jesus’ youth and coming of age.

we all grow up. Even Jesus grew up! We grow up like Jesus grew up; Jesus grew up like we grow up!

We all grow up. Even Jesus grew up! We grow up like Jesus grew up; Jesus grew up like we grow up!

He was in subjection to His parents - v. 51

First, Jesus was in subjection to His parents - ;

We may think our parents or grandparents don’t understand what we are going through since they didn’t have iPhones, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

But all of those social media apps, your parents/grandparents faced the same exact problems just packaged a little bit differently.

Obey your parents. Listen to them. Your parents want what is best for you and even if that means they get on to you, they are doing it for your good.

Secondly, Jesus grew up in other ways -

Wisdom — education and learning was important; spiritual wisdom/experience as well as secular experience/education. Jesus learned to be a carpenter, so He learned a trade and skill ()

Stature - Jesus got taller, got bigger, stronger, faster. He grew up how you and I do.

Favor with God - He focused on serving God, as is evident in this account. He sought to please God.

Favor with men - Jesus was kind, considerate, and helpful to other people. He was attentive to the things they said and their needs. People liked Him. He had friends and relationships with people.

kids, have you ever done anything without permission? nothing really bad, but you just didn’t ask to do it? you knew what you wanted to do/needed to do, but you just didn’t let anyone else in on your plan

Verse 52

wisdom

stature

favor with God

favor with people

Be Busy in the House of God

listening and asking questions - vv 46-47

never too young (or too old) to ask questions and learn

godly examples of young people in the Bible:

Jesus, Daniel (prayer), Joseph (worked diligently), David (faith and courage, defeated Goliath, anointed as king of Israel), Josiah (king at 8 years old and one of the best kings in Judah)

When Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, He was not running away from His parents nor was He going on a rebellious streak. They found Him in the temple -

He was there for 3 days - v. 46

He was with the teachers of the law - v. 46

He was listening to them and asking them questions - v. 46

When Mary begins questioning Him, He says He must have been about His Father’s business -

You’re never too young (or too old) to ask questions and learn God’s word

Read your Bible class lessons; don’t lose your book, study your questions and answer them—come ready to discuss and ask questions with your Bible class teacher

Take notes during the sermons; ask the preacher questions

If you have questions about the plan of salvation and how to become a Christian, ask your parents/grandparents/preacher

There are a lot of examples in the Bible of young people who were obedient to God:

Jesus

Daniel was known as a man of prayer; you can PRAY!

Joseph was known as a man who worked hard and was reliable; WORK HARD! Be RELIABLE! [be on time, do things on time]

David was a man of great faith and courage to defeat Goliath; BE BRAVE!

Josiah was 8 years old when he became king and one of the best kings in Judah; BE GOOD!

If you will PRAY, be RELIABLE, be BRAVE, and be GOOD, then you will have a successful school year and a successful life!

Conclusion:

We live in a complicated world, where there are distractions all around us. Serving God is just not as important to the younger generation, it appears.

While we may think we have advanced beyond anything we can read about in the Bible, nothing has really changed.

Children, you are growing up just like Jesus did. When you begin to wonder how Jesus grew up, it wasn’t all that different from you. He made it His life’s purpose to obey God—have you made that decision to obey God? It’s not too early, you’re not too young to make that choice.

Parents, we wonder how are we going to be able to fight off the devil and all the worldly influences that are easily accessible to our children, right at their fingertips. Make YOUR commitment to being a good father, a good mother, and raise your children with the right priorities.

As Joshua said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Will you serve the Lord today?