Lost In The Shuffle

It is as if Christ is saying, “I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN, BUT YOU WENT ABOUT THIS THE WRONG WAY, AND MADE IT MUCH HARDER THAN IT NEEDED TO BE.”

• This raises the question of whether there is a right way and wrong way to find Christ again

• Is it possible to be looking for him, and not find him, because we are looking in all the wrong places?

• Yes, it is

• If fact, there are false tracks and dead-ends that we might take

• We find Him pointing us back towards himself

• We find him pointing us to get back to being about our Father’s business

• Not get back in the Choir

• Not get back on the Usher Ministry

• Not attend Sunday School and Bible Study

• All that will come later

• But the first step is to get back in right relationship with Chirst

It took Mary and Joseph three (3) days -- and I am sure there were a couple of times when their hearts were filled with Fear – Despair - Worry. And I’m sure the devil was whispering in their ear the whole time: “Oh you’re terrible parents.” “you’re never going to find Jesus.” “You might as well give up.”

• But they were persistent

• They didn’t give up

• And I understand; we live in an “instant age”

• We want everything right now

• But the Bible says we are to WAIT UPON THE LORD

After three days they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. Jesus was in the temple, asking the teachers questions.

• But understand these were not the kind of questions you might ask someone if you wanted to know an answer to something

• These were the kind of probing questions a professor might ask his students

• Be assured, Jesus was the teacher here

Did you notice Mary and Joseph’s reaction to Jesus’ answer? “But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” Does that surprise you? I know how they felt, don’t you? Aren’t there things in the Bible that you read and you think --

• I don’t understand

• I don’t understand how that’s possible

• I don’t understand how this is good for me

• I don’t understand why you would ask me to do this

• God. I just don’t understand

But here’s the thing. God doesn’t ever ask us to understand.

• He simply asks us to believe what He says

• Why would we believe what God says when we can’t even understand it?

• Because our God does the impossible and the improbable

--Though Christians and others may have lost Jesus - the good news that "God never loses sight of us"

--The message of Christmas is God is with us

--We are the one who was lost, not God

--And Jesus said He has come to seek and save that which is lost

--Let's not lose Jesus at Christmas

--Let’s make sure He does not get LOST IN THE SHUFFLE