Opening illustration: "A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning they were eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." But sure enough, the man came over to their table."Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma," they answered."Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary," he replied."Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really good story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down. The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great. Just what I need -- another preacher story! "The man started, "See that mountain over there?" He pointed out the restaurant window. "Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up because every place he went, he was always asked the same question: ’Hey, boy, who’s your daddy?’ Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question: ’Who’s your daddy?’ He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ’Son, who’s your daddy?’ The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ’Who’s your daddy?’ The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy: ’Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.’ With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ’Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance -- go and claim it. ’With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ’Who’s your daddy?’ he’d just tell them, ’I’m a child of God. ’The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn’t that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story. As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!" And he walked away. The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked, "Do you know that man who was just sitting at our table?" The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!"
Let us turn to Luke 2 and catch up with Jesus’ story about His Daddy!
Introduction: According to God’s law, it was mandatory for every Jewish male (after becoming an adult) to go to Jerusalem thrice a year for the great festivals. In spring the Passover followed by the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread ~ Passover being the most important one of all. According to Jewish laws and traditions any male after the age of 12 was considered and adult, thus Jesus had to attend these feasts but did not spend much time with his parents during the feasts. Most of them who traveled long distances, would do so in caravans for the mere fact to be protected from robbers who road jacked many lonely travelers during that time. It was customary for women and kids to travel in the front of the caravan and the men at the back. A 12-year boy could have traveled either way. Apparently Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph and Joseph thought he was with Mary. What really happened was that Jesus stayed back in Jerusalem and was absorbed in discussions with the Jewish religious leaders. The temple courts were famous throughout Judea as a place of learning. In Acts 22 we learn that Paul also studied at these places. At the time of the Passover the greatest of rabbis of the land would assemble to teach and discuss the great truths among themselves. The coming Messiah would no doubt have been a popular discussion topic, for everyone was expecting Him soon. Jesus would have been eager to listen and to ask probing questions. It was not his youth, but the depth of his wisdom, that astounded these teachers.
In this passage we see that Joseph and Mary are quite anxious or so to speak in anguish to have not seen Jesus for days, not really know what happened to him. Though they knew that He was God’s Son, they were unaware of what it entailed and the objectives of His mission. Apparently His mission would pierce their hearts like a sword ~ this is something they would not be able to handle.
Process of understanding ‘who is your Daddy?’
1. His parents … PLIGHT ~ UNAWARE … ASSUMPTIONS … WRONG PLACES (vs. 41 – 45)
• Jesus parents were only carrying out the religious rituals, whereas Jesus was much beyond that … it was all about learning, knowing and developing a relationship with His Father.
• His parents were making assumptions about his whereabouts and were unsure of where he really was. If they had developed a good communication and relationship with Jesus, this misunderstanding would not have occurred.
• If they had spent time with Jesus and known His heart, they would have known where He is and would not be searching for Him in the wrong places. [Caused them to locate him after 7 days]
• Let us not assume wrong things and be unaware of our kids … time to develop a relationship with them.
• If we have a good and Godly relationship with our kids, we won’t have to know their whereabouts, we will know where they are … even if we don’t ask them, and they’ll tell you with that sense of responsibility of the accountability of their lives.
Illustration: We know a family who had been searching in vain for their teenage son (+ 18) for a number of months. Finally they located him in Colorado Springs and went down to see him. He was unrecognizable ~ hair knotted and not washed for months, unkempt beard, and disgusting odor reeked from his body. He had been living with other teenagers in some shack in the woods. It was evident that he had been on drugs, alcohol and you name it … If the parents had developed a relationship with him, either he would not go in that direction or they would know where to find him. They just didn’t know him even though he was born and raised in their home. Finally they took him to the hotel where they were residing, gave him a good bath and stayed with him for a couple of days and left him at the shack again … what could they really do now … absolutely nothing, except pray for his life!
2. Your father and I … SEEK ~ RE-DISCOVER … DISCERN … CALLING (vs. 46 – 48)
• Mary had to let go of her child and let him become a man, God’s Son, the Messiah.
• Fearful that she hadn’t been careful enough with this God-given child, she searched frantically for Him.
• Apparently Mary and Joseph were looking for a boy, not the young man who was in the temple astounding the religious leaders with His questions.
• It is hard to let go of people or projects we have nurtured.
• It is both sweet and painful to see our children as adults, our students as teachers, our subordinates as managers, our inspirations as institutions.
• When the time comes to step back and let go, we must do so in spite of the hurt. Then our protégés can exercise their wings, take flight, and soar to the heights God intended for them.
• Sometimes we get the shock of our lives when we see our kids doing which we never anticipated or imagined for the simple reason that we really never saw them growing up to be matured but to remain as our teddy bears.
• If we have intimate relationships with our children, we’ll know what they are up to and what their intents are and above all what God is calling them to do …
• As parents if we are in the Lord, we have an opportunity to help our kids discern God’s call upon their lives and even protect it with our lives.
• Apparently if we are not in the Lord our ways will be of the world and the flesh. We will be unable to have a good relationship with our Godly children and never discover and discern what God’s Call is for them and there is a possibility of us leading them astray.
• As Godly parents it is very important for us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit at every moment of our life and be able to exemplify Christ through our lives as well us mentor our children in Godly ways.
• We have to be cautious that we are not standing in the way of the Lord for their lives.
Illustration: (i) I know a mom who denies God’s call upon her teenage boy and is constantly trying to lure him by feeding his flesh with earthly things so that he is satisfied with the things of the world and would not focus and pursue God’s call upon his life. She has been going to extents like getting young girls to her home so that her son would fall prey to them … thinking that he would applaud her for such acts for satisfying his flesh. If any of us are in such a state we stand on very dangerous ground … Let us learn to be sensitive to God and what He desires of our children.
(ii) A girl in Massachusetts who never went home till her parents had finished their drinking and wallowing around in sin … she would come and spend that time with us or …
Note: I have seen parents getting upset if their kids are sold out for Christ or they have adopted a sinful lifestyle. They are never satisfied either way. Apparently they want them to be lukewarm and have one foot in the world and the other at church … How pathetic they can be? Be glad that your child is saved and is all out for what God has called him / her to be than who has adopted the sinful lifestyle … time to pray for them. Probably now it is a time for kids to pray for their parents.
3. My FATHER’S … BUSINESS ~ WISDOM … CROSS … SALVATION (vs. 49 – 52)
• As Mary and Joseph were aware of Jesus being God’s child, Jesus assumed that they knew and understood His passion and therefore would know His whereabouts. Apparently they didn’t understand the mission He was on.
• Jesus’ parents didn’t understand what He meant about His Father’s house. They didn’t realize that He was making a distinction between His earthly father and heavenly Father. Jesus knew He had a unique relationship with God.
• To understand the unique calling of our children takes not only effort but our relationship with God.
• Jesus already knew His Call ~ Suffering, Cross and Salvation. His parents would not be able to grasp and grapple with it. They would be utterly broken and shattered.
• It is very important for us to understand ‘Our Father’s Business’ for our Godly kids. If we don’t, we’ll always be in contention with them as the importance they give to their heavenly Father would be more what they give us … more than what we will anticipate and at times may get hurt.
Illustration: Parents, who assume their kid to be a televangelist, but get an unpleasant shock of their lives when they are told that he /she is called to be an evangelist in a third-world country. Do you know ‘Your Father’s Business’ for your kids? Time to find out …
Application: Who is your Daddy?
For each one of us to understand who our Daddy is, we must surpass the hoops Mary and Joseph had to undergo.
• We would learn to understand our kids and search for them in the right places ~ for that we need to develop a good and strong relationship with them.
• We must seek God’s leading for their call ~ exemplify Christ through our lives so that we can mentor and assist them in discerning their call.
• We must know our Father’s business in their lives ~ encourage our kids for God’s mission and call upon their lives. Even at time it may discourage you.
• This will keep your kids strong and encouraged.
