Good morning, brothers and sisters. It is wonderful to be able to open the Word of God before you today.
I am pleased to acknowledge that we have gotten to the end of chapter 2 in Luke, and we have a passage today that Luke has given us that's not given anywhere else in the scriptures, in the gospels, and an episode in the life of Jesus when he was becoming a young man, when he was 12 years old. We're in Luke 2.
We'll look at verse 40 to 52. If you look at verse 40 and verse 52, you really see two bookends, two bookends that hold the passage together. If you recall in verse 40, the child, that is Jesus, the child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. And when we get to verse 52, and Jesus kept increasing in wisdom.
We have two bookends of the real humanity of Jesus. Last week, we looked at the humanity of Jesus and how important it is for us to understand both the humanity and the deity of Christ and how that tension that's held between the two in scriptures, but how important this is to err in either one of these can lead us into heresy. and a real wrong understanding of what God has done. Let's read the passage together, or you can read along as I read. Hear the word of the Lord.
The child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he became 12, they went up there according to the custom of the feast.
And as they were returning after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of it, but supposed him to be in the caravan and went a day's journey. And they began looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for him. Then after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When they saw him, they were astonished.
And his mother said to him, son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you. And he said to them, why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my father's house? But they did not understand the statement which he had made to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth And he continued in subjection to them. And his mother treasured up all of these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.
Amen. This is the reading of the word of God this morning. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for Your word. Your word that reveals to us your son, that reveals to us yourself. I pray that we would receive it as such, as the word of God. And Lord, that you would implant it upon our hearts. Lord, that you would do heart surgery upon us. That you would expose us. And Lord, you would draw us to yourself. by your grace alone and through your son alone. In his name I pray, amen. Well, there's much to learn in this passage. There's much to be drawn out and I will warn you, I will not get all of it. Show you things in the scriptures that are maybe even not spoke about today.
But what we have here and it's interesting as we heard from brother Bob as he was. about the Passover and actually the three feasts that every male was required to go to in the Old Testament. Now, I did not plan for us to be in Deuteronomy 16 to end this passage where Jesus is going to the Passover as prescribed, but it so happens in God's providence. As we looked at the providence of God in Genesis in our Sunday school, how God has so worked that we read from that passage today to where we are today in the New Testament. No coincidences, but I hope that that prepared you and maybe you need to go back and look at that again this evening in Deuteronomy 16. So Jesus is going to Jerusalem.
Before I even get to the setting here, I do want to acknowledge some things that we think about, especially, I think, young people who are here today. If you are 12 years old, or you are nearing 12 years old, or a young person not yet to that, or an old person who has been 12, have I put everybody in the category? This is much applicable for us, I think, because several things are acknowledged here.
First of all, at the end of the passage, Recall, he says, he went with them to Nazareth, so that's where he grew up, and he continued in subjection to his parents. Children, Jesus was subjective, was subject to his parents. He was underneath them, understanding that God had placed them in this position of authority. Mom and dad are placed there by God. And he says he was in subjection to them. He continued, that means always, that he was in subjection before, during this passage, and after.
He honored his father and mother according to the fifth commandment and all of the commandments Jesus followed. So this is an example for you children and us adults too that God, Jesus was particularly interested in following all of what God has said, following his parents in this also. We have much to learn from the pious parents, you who are parents, you who maybe will be parents or have been and are grandparents now. There is an example here before us, and the example, many examples, but one that came to mind for me was the devoutness, the pious nature of the parents. They knew that these feasts were commanded by God and that the worship of God was important. And their children, Jesus being one of them, saw the importance in the parents and how the parents were attentive.
They weren't inconvenienced. I mentioned someone else who had visited before, and they said, well, it's so far out there where you are in Arlington. I was like, it's 10 miles. It's not very far. Are you walking? Well, no, I have a car. It's not very far.
And Jerusalem to Nazareth was not a jump and a skip. And they didn't have cars, kids. They walked everywhere they went. They were not inconvenienced by the hard travels to go worship. They were poor. They didn't have the finest chariots. No, they walked. They weren't inconvenienced by their poverty. They weren't inconvenienced by sickness. No doubt, they were sick at times. No doubt, they were down on their back. No doubt, they didn't let that deter. the worship, they were going, they didn't let the distance of the trial, of the travel, it was arduous, it was three days traveling.
Now here's the distance, so I did some mathematics, we looked at from Nazareth to Jerusalem is the same distance as Finley, that big town up to the north, to Columbus. and they walked. Now here it's flat. I mean, you can just, there's no, I mean, a few little hills, but there it was not. So Nazareth, they would come down to the Jordan Valley about a thousand feet. And then when they got to the bottom of the Jordan Valley and came up, it was 2,500 feet. So kids, can y'all add up that? 3,500 feet elevation, walking.
Okay, so it's a pretty good hike, about 80 miles, 90 miles. The temperature, so this would have been in the spring, early spring, so the temperatures would have been in the 30s at night. You guys don't like sleeping out at night in the 30s, do you? Well, Mary and Joseph didn't have a problem. Jesus, that's what they did. Now, not only that, but it got up into about 85 in the day as they were walking 90, 80 miles.
My friend, actually, you know Ted Winton, who came and preached here months ago. He did a trip in Israel and backpacked through there, and he did this, and he said he was in pretty good shape on this. this long journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem, and it wore him out. He said he was not in the shape that he thought he was. That's just a little helpful understanding of what was going on here.
But they went up to Jerusalem every year, every year, and all the feasts, the three feasts we read about in Deuteronomy, every one. And this was a week-long festival, seven days, you heard that, seven days eating the unleavened bread, seven days at the booths, seven days at the Passover, three days traveling, three days back, okay? So they had to put their work on hold because worship was more important. and they go to Jerusalem, they go up to Jerusalem.
He's 12 years old. I can't help 12 years old, going up to the Passover, the Passover Jesus, the foreshadowing here of Jesus who would be the Passover what? Lamb. Who is our Passover? 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about. He is going up to the Passover. and we're going to see many things of what was happening here, but he's learning from the teachers, and he's probably hearing Isaiah read, and he's hearing about the Passover lamb, and he's hearing about, and he's understanding what's happening, and who he is, and what he came to do. So here, Jesus is at Jerusalem. He's 12 years old again. Let's look at the passage. I want to break our passage down a little bit as to help us. I want us to look at forgetting Jesus, seeking after Jesus, and finding Jesus. Our title of our sermon is Forgetting Jesus.
This lost child, this lost treasure, You have children, to lose a child for a few minutes can be very nerve-wracking. In the store, wherever you are, what happened? Did someone take them? Are they alive? But three days, have any of you lost your child for three days? And to think these parents were responsible to upbring, to watch over the Son of God. We've lost the Son of God. Here they are, and they're saying, where is our son? Is he lost? He's not in our company. Jesus' presence was not among them. And they forgot Jesus.
There's two aspects, two parties in this passage that I want us to focus on. One being Jesus, of course. Shame on us if we don't focus on the Son of God, the main character of the entire Bible. But I also want us to focus on those who are near to Jesus, those who love Jesus. And right in this passage, it would be the parents that we're looking at.
But I want us to apply these things in a broader sense. And so Jesus, just for a moment, he was right where he was. He had not gone anywhere, he was there. Jesus is where he is. Well, the parents are the one that had gone away, the ones who were supposedly near, the ones that were lovers of Jesus.
And I want us to see this as a more common experience for all of us, the experience of the parents than you might think. You might say, well, Jesus is not my child. How can I relate to this? Well, I hope that we'll see from the passage that it's very relatable to every single one of us. Some have experienced this for yourself, forgetting Jesus. For a time, maybe three days, maybe three weeks, maybe longer.
Some have said we have lost Jesus. in our hymn that we sang just a moment ago, actually another hymn that William Cooper wrote, it says, Where is the blessedness I knew when I first saw the Lord? He says, I find an aching void, a void that this world can never fill. You might cry out at these times of, oh, that I knew where I might find him. My beloved, where is he? Where is the one my soul loveth? And for a season, we might feel distant, apart from the Savior.
Always these times, if you think back on your own life, always these times seem longer, much too long. Three days, we say, how long was this three days for the parents? Well, it was three 24-hour days, right? But how long were those days? How much sleep was gotten in those days? They must have been the longest three days that Mary had ever experienced. Although I say that there would be three days to experience, it must have been much longer. Oh, how great is our need to experience the Lord's daily presence, moment by moment presence.
It is the difference between feeling all alone and in company, in pleasant company, in secure company. It is the difference between being exposed to everything that could happen wrong and secured. It is the difference between misery and comfort and consolation. It is the difference between being downcast and, oh my soul, and that being of joy unspeakable.
What I'm speaking about is the presence of Jesus, the presence of the Spirit of God Himself. And so first we come, I keep saying first because there's another first, but follow me here. Jesus is, let's look at something about Jesus first of all. I'm gonna go back and forth. To Jesus himself, I want you to know that souls are very precious and dear to him. You who love Jesus, you are precious to him. He is near to the brokenhearted, always. So let's get that established.
Secondly, Jesus is never lost. We are. He's not confused. He doesn't need MapQuest. He is very understanding of where he is in time and space. It's us who keep wandering astray. But I want us to know that those who are at times lost, or those at times who are moving away from, not near, that because of God's said love, His covenant love, that you will never be lost forever if you are in Him. It will be for a time, and it might seem long, but it will never be forever. And thirdly, the feeling of forgetting Jesus is not foreign to the child of God. The things that you experience when you feel away from God, your pastors experience.
Other strong believers have experienced. And so it's not foreign to us, so we need to understand that. That'll be of help to us when we're in that darkened place. The strongest of saints have sometimes had to endure what seemed to be the hiding of God's countenance, the hiding of His face, or as we sang about the providence of God, the dark providences, to walk or maybe to slog through dark and rocky paths.
It seemed like there's very little of the sun's shining. It seems to be so dark, the clouds seem to be so low at times, when we feel that God's presence is somehow not near. And who among us, who have walked with the Lord for any period of time, have not at times felt this very thing? And wondering, where is God? And being feeling as if the Lord is hiding his face, that we're in this deep and dark canyon. And we wonder how long, how many days, it's been one day, it's been two, it's been three days. Has God left me? We cry out. No. Remind yourself. No, he has not. His covenant love, this is said, will not allow him to do so. The nature of his very self will not allow him. And so take that out of your mind right away. He has not left you.
He is not gone. Even in the storms of life, it is according to God's sovereign plan. The greatest storm you go through is not outside of God's control. He is there. God is still there. God is now here. You can tell yourself that. You can remind yourself, dear child, that the rescue of God is coming. It's on the way. You might not know when, but it is coming.
His mission cannot fail. He has it all under control. I started to say, even when you don't, but you never do. But He does. We have trust in Him. Let's look for a moment at the parents. If you're not a parent, don't shy away from this because it applies to you. The parents are those who love Jesus, if you're a Christian. Those who love the Savior, we'll call them Jesus's people.
Where were they during this time? What is the setting? Where were they? That's a simple question, right? But think about what's happening here. So they're at the feast at Jerusalem. This is a big deal. This three times a year, this is a huge deal. They looked forward for 11 months, 12 months until this would happen again. They're at the temple. This is where God's presence is. This is where God does miraculous things in his people. And what are they doing? Worship. They're there attending to the ordinances of God, how God speaks to his people, how God deals with hearts and souls. And I want us to note that seldom shall the believer forget Jesus there. You're at church now, we're talking about Jesus. Hopefully, you're not forgetting yet. He's still in our mind, in our presence. But sometime, even in our worship, this can happen.
Whether it be the reason for maybe formalism, I'm just checking the box. Hypocrisy, even idolatry. Thinking about other things. Here, but not here. Irreverence. Coming before God, as the people are gathered and we're worshiping, opening the Word of God, and it's open in your lap and irreverence. Our mind goes here. Our mind goes there. What is my child doing? What does tomorrow's work look like?
And we come in a way that's not in reverence to him, and we forget for a time Jesus. But it is still seldom, we're at the house of God, and think of a funeral, when we go to a funeral, it's seldom you forget about Jesus at a funeral, because you think of your own death, you're going to meet God, now conversely at a wedding, it's probably easy to forget Jesus at a wedding, where everybody's celebrating, and woo-hoo, and the bride, God has brought them together, we shouldn't have forgot Jesus, but maybe at those times of joy and festival times, we're more apt to forget Jesus, but seldom at a house of mourning, seldom at the bedside of a dying saint are we likely to forget Jesus, but maybe at the feast. maybe after the feast, maybe after the great workings of God, and we hear a sermon from somewhere, and we feel the presence of God, and we know God is working in us, and we're on this spiritual high, or maybe we've gone to a conference or something like this, and then we put our guard down, and all of a sudden we've forgotten Jesus. We were up there on the high point, But all of a sudden, we start to take a nosedive. And so I pray that this reality would shake us to realize this thing about our own life when we're on the highs to beware, be careful.
Actually, as I was reading some of Charles Spurgeon, and I'll quote what he said, he said, take heed in the time of your joy. That is, be careful in the time of your joy, believer. You are safer in the season of sorrow. Think about that. You're safer in the season of sorrow. Now you might not like it, but to look back and you'll see the closeness and nearness of God. Storms, he says, storms afford the safest sailing for a Christian. Storms. Calms are for him more terrible than the whirlwinds. Do you see what he's saying?
In your troubles, believer, God is especially near to you, close to you, brothers and sisters. And so be careful at the spiritual high points of your life. We love those, but that's when you need to be careful. That's when you need to be a little bit on guard, when you're experiencing the closeness of God in corporate worship, and then Monday comes around. and you start to get frustrated by this and that, and all of a sudden, where did those feelings you had, where did those spiritual highs go?
It's here that we're vulnerable to forgetting Jesus. Even his own mother forgot Jesus, right after the feast. The feast that pointed to the son, her son, And right after that, I'm sure they're skipping down the hillside. And all of a sudden, where is Jesus? Joseph, where is, Mary, I thought you had him.
Well, we gotta go find Jesus. Up the hill, Jerusalem's steep. I've been there. Let's turn around. Let's go find him. And that brings us to the next point, seeking after Jesus. They seek after Jesus, no doubt frantically, as any parent would. First they become aware. You who have drifted, first you become aware. That's the first thing. Until you're aware, you're just keeping on going. They would have gone all the way to Nazareth if they hadn't become aware. He's not near to us. And so they go and they seek. They start the search. Oh, we have lost the Son of God, they must have said.
And oh, where is the One I love? Where is this 12-year-old boy? Not any 12-year-old boy. Where is Jesus? And they start the search. They go and they must have asked, have you seen Him? Have you seen Him? And I ask you, when you have departed, Become aware.
Do you start the search immediately? Or do you keep going down that path, not worried about the distance that's happening? Not worrying about the separation, thinking, well, I'm just going about my life. Or do you start the search? Do you get diligent about it? Where do you look? So now you've started to search, where do you look? Where do you go? Do you go to the places of your leisure? You go to the places of your enjoyment? Is that where you look? Do you go in places of sin?
Jesus is not to be found there. Well, do you go and you look for where Jesus can do something for me? You know, I'm doing my plan and Lord bless me in this effort. Do you go looking for him there? He won't be found there. That's not where Jesus is. Do you set your mind on things above? Do you start to look more inward Start going in the right direction. Or, do you go where the lusts of your heart are? Thinking he might be there. Going where the pride of life might lead you, thinking Jesus might be found there. Or worldly desires. Jesus won't be found there either. Seek Him, but seek Him rightly. When we think about, when we're on the search and we're seeking after, we know there's distance.
Are you giving up sin at this point? Are you mortifying? That means killing sin that's in you, the remaining sin. That you're asking God, expose this, show me my sin, see if there be any wicked way in me. And going to Him for forgiveness, confession and faith.
Or conversely, have you been giving up the things of God? Have you been giving up the things, giving up prayer? It's been a long time since I talked to the Lord. It's been hours, it's been days, it's been weeks. Neglecting the scriptures, God's word. How will you find him if you're not hearing, hearing in his word? forsaking the assembling together. Corporate worship, as is the habit of some. Well, you will remain lost. You will remain without the nearness of Jesus, if that be you.
I'm reminded of John Bunyan in his great book, Pilgrim's Progress. And you remember, Christian is going through the pilgrimage, and he's off the narrow path. But where does he go? He starts to seek a place of ease, a place of comfort. Well, you won't find him there. If you have lost Jesus, if you've lost your way, you need to get back on the path, get back on the way. You will find him there on his way. Finding Jesus, if you search for him, you will find him. And that brings us to finding Jesus.
When did they find him? After three days. Lost by his loved ones for three days. Thought to be as good as dead for three days. And then they find him. The joy that they find him. They find him on the third day. He's not dead, but he is alive. Where is he? Before I get to where he is, During the search, they continued on the search until they found him. They did not give up. They did not procrastinate and say, well, let's go do our job. We'll come back and find him. He'll show up one of these days. They didn't do that. They didn't look for one day and say, well, we tried. No, they, until they found him. Diligence.
And here they find him, and where do they find him? Searched and then found. They find him in the temple. It's where he was, it's where he is. It's who he is. He was there where God was working. He was in the presence of God. He was there where he was supposed to be. What was he doing?
What was he doing at the age of 12? You who are young, you who are 7 and 8 and 10, what is this 12 year old doing? He's there in the temple and he's learning. He's listening, asking questions, catechizing, where people would ask questions and you would answer with another question, and you're learning in the Jewish way. And he's desiring to learn of the Word of God.
But I want you to know, as a 12-year-old boy, you who are around that age, at 12, Jesus knew who He was, and what He was about, and who His Father was. reasonable age for you to start to know who God is and to follow Him. It's a reasonable age for you to be paying attention to the Word of God taught, to the Word of God preached, to be engaged in the prayers of the saints as you hear your parents praying in the congregation, as you see what your parents are doing. You are growing into a young man, a young woman, And it's important that you take note of what Jesus was doing, to be learning of the most important things in life. You who are young and you who are old are not exempt, you can ask the question to your own self, do you hunger and thirst for the things of God? Is it important to you, young person?
Or are you just checking the box, making mom and dad happy, just doing drug here and drug home? Or are you careful? Do you desire to be with the people of God? Is there another place you'd rather be now? I pray it's not. Are you learning from the scriptures? I know your parents, I know they're teaching you, but are you learning, desiring to learn? Give me more. Don't stop preaching, keep going. Right? Do you have that encouragement?
Are you just like looking at your watch, thinking, when is this guy going to be quiet? Are you engaged in the prayers of his people? Or are you just zoning out, thinking of childish things? Or when people pray, and you hear people pray in the congregation, do you pray with them? Are you attentive to the preaching of the word? Is it food and nourishment to your soul? Or is it just sound like background noise.
We were all at one point disinterested. But when God takes hold of our heart, we become interested. All of you have earthly fathers. All of you do. But how many of you know, savingly know, your heavenly father? Know him intimately. If you have an earthly father only, you shall die. But if you have been born again, if you have a heavenly father, you shall live eternally. You shall live forever. Forever in the presence of God. The Bible tells us this. You will live eternally.
And so the question is, have your eyes been opened to believe? Have you been born again? You must be born again. We pray that you will be born again, and maybe some question it, even at this, maybe some of you young people are questioning, well, I don't even know, how would I even know? Well, there are some clear signs to know these things. You'll see the transformation in your own life.
You'll have a love for the things of God, not because just your parents tell you to, but you'll have a desire. You'll have a, communion and prayer with God, not because your parents says you better pray before you go to bed, but because you want to. You're drawn to, you desire to, you have a love for Jesus, your Savior. Yes, he's my parents, Lord, but he becomes my Lord, my Savior. Most importantly, when we think about how we can know, it's the witness of the Holy Spirit in your own soul telling you you are a child of God. Hearing the Spirit of God and having Him work in your own life, and not only the witness of the Holy Spirit in your life, but you become a witness with your mouth.
You want to tell people about God. I don't have to sit there and tell you, hey, you need to start telling people about Jesus. You want to. The woman at the well, she went and told everyone, let me tell you about a man who knew everything about me. She didn't have a systematic theology. She didn't have an evangelism presentation worked out. She went and told people about Jesus.
And when the Lord saves you, you do this. You can't help it, whether it be your parents or your friends or somebody. Go tell the pastor, yes, you want to tell about the Lord with your witness, with your mouth. You desire to obey God, not because mom and dad said to, because you want to. You've been given a new heart. You want to please even your parents and other people around you, not because of fear of punishment, because you desire to love Christ, to glorify God. As I said before, it becomes that you're not following your parents, God, but you're following your God, your Savior. It's the same God, but now it's mine. I believe. You come to that point. Jesus declared, when he asked his mother, he said, it's interesting how he answered, why were you looking for me? What? Could you imagine the parents? Is that your question? Why were you looking for me?
I'm just here doing my, the Greek is, I'm here in my father's. We put the word house or business in there to make sense of the passage, but he said, I'm just about my father's. Well, we were looking for, he noticed that the mother says, me and your father, you know you're in trouble when mom says, me and your father's coming home, me and your father are gonna deal with you, that's amplified. Well, Mary's seeming to say that, like, me and your father have been looking for you, frantically. Said, I was just here, I'm about, you mentioned my earthly father, I'm about my heavenly father.
He's acknowledging and knowing for sure that His Father is God, that His business must be about His Father. And can you, man, woman, boy or girl, say that you must be about my heavenly Father's business? Whatever you do, is it to the Lord or is it just your business, your stuff? Or are you about God's business? Is that the most important thing for you? Is there anything you'd rather be doing than the business of God, what He's called you to? And yes, it may be in your vocation. Yes, it may be in the family, in many different aspects, but are you doing it unto the Lord? Is that who you care to please most?
Not the boss, but my heavenly, my judge, my God, my savior, my Lord, Jesus the Christ. Even here in the gathered saints, many of us have tasted this. It's almost as a taste of heaven to be gathered, to be singing praises to God, to be praying to our God, to be hearing His Word and hearing it preached. And it's a joyous occasion to be in the gathered body. And when you come to have Him as your Lord, you understand these things. And it actually grows. You get excited, well, I can't wait till next Sunday.
But as we think about this text, and as we consider the prospect of forgetting Jesus, I want to leave us with some things. Whenever a Christian falls away, I'm not saying we don't fall away eternally, but when there's a departure, when there's a declension, a declining in our spiritual walk, It's always because Jesus is not in the company. You're going along your own way, and everybody's with you, and I've got my Christian friends, but Jesus is not there. The Spirit of God is not in what you're doing, and we forget Jesus. Think about this, friends. When there is a lack of love, in your relationships, when there is quarreling and arguing and backbiting and envying, it's because we have forgotten Jesus every time.
You may ask yourself, if Jesus was right here next to me, would I be doing this? And if you can say yes, then keep on, brother. But if not, then you need to turn away. You need to turn back. You need to repent and find Jesus again. Find his way. If Jesus were in your presence, you would not have gone that way that you went last night, last week, the wrong way. You would not have taken offense so easily at someone that said something that you were so offended by and you became bitter. You would not have been so unforgiving in that time that someone wronged you. If you had not forgot Jesus, you would not have remained bitter Maybe even became wrathful in your anger if you had not forgot Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, when the shepherd is forgotten, the sheep can sometimes begin to devour each other and separate and unity is all distorted because we forget Jesus. Hearts become cold. The time in the Word becomes lessened and prayer is absent and these things snowball and they don't get better unless we go for the search, unless we realize what's happening. When worldly passions prevail, when praise is paused and prayers are put off, there's a separation happening. And that nearness that we so desperately need becomes absent.
But there's hope. There's hope. We just need to go search for Him, and we can find Him in the places that He has so told us to go look for Him, in the Scriptures, in prayer, amongst God's people, that we should seek Him earnestly. So brothers and sisters today, have you remained near to Jesus?
I'm not saying perpetually, I know that we get drifted. But have you at times supposed him to be in the company and then realized maybe it was last week that he wasn't in the company? You had forgot. You've gone off your own direction when you had that argument and that dispute. When you quarreled with someone, maybe even quarreled over a scriptural doctrine, but forgot Jesus. Oh, I've seen that happen too. We can get so wrapped up into what I think and what's best for me, and we forget Jesus. We need humility. We need humility. We need compassion to rule our spirits. We need Jesus to be near to us by his spirit. And so let us seek always to set the Lord Jesus before us, to cling close to him.
He is not far away. We drift, but he does not. to say in our own hearts, in our own prayer life, Jesus, you lead the way and I will follow. That's how you stay close. When we get in trouble as we say, Jesus, I'm going this way, come on, come with me. No, Jesus leads, the shepherd leads and the sheep follow. Follow where he's going, follow where he tells you.
Hope for the nearness of Jesus for each of you. I pray for that nearness to grow in you. And what a blessed experience it is for us to experience that nearness by His Spirit in us. Oh, it's a beautiful thing. Imagine the smoothness of the change of walking from this life to the next if you were walking with Jesus. It'll just be a smooth transition. It'll be as if grabbing one hand and then grabbing the other, that nearness to Christ.
He desires us to be close to Him. And Jesus has sent His Spirit in the heart of every believer, so He is even presently in our company. He is presently with us. We desperately need Jesus in our company, to have His presence among us in our family, in my family, in the church, in your family, in your business, in your leisure, in your recreation. In every waking moment, you need His nearness. You need to be near to Him in our storms and in our sunshine, days of sunshine, in our trials and also in our joys, in our sorrows, wherever we need the nearness of Christ. We need Him. We need God with us. His name, Emmanuel. And the Spirit of Christ and the Word of Christ tells us that He is, that God is with us.
Let's pray. Jesus, I pray that you would keep us ever and always near to you. Lord, we know that you are not far. that you have not left us, but you are always close and near. Forgive us, Lord, when we try to go a different way, our own way, when we forget you and we think of ourselves. Oh, for us to forget self and hold on to Jesus, cling to him. When we do stray, Lord, lead us back to the foot of the cross. Lead us back to the Savior again. We find comfort there. There is solace there. He is our refuge. He is our strength.
Lord, I thank you that you are such a gracious Savior, that you will never leave us long. And even though the three days of absence can seem like an eternity, Lord, you rose from the grave on the third day. You defeated death. You have sent your spirit into our hearts and brought us to yourself, and your word says you will never leave us nor forsake us. You will always be with us.
Lord, I thank you for this nearness. I pray that others who have not experienced this nearness would do so, would call upon the name of Jesus and be saved. Oh Lord, I pray that for each one hearing today. Lead us in your way, I pray. In Christ's name, amen.
Before we sing our last song, there was a narrative that I read. Stonewall Jackson, great general. There was a story where, it's a true story. His wife, Ellie, had given birth to a stillborn son. And she suffered an uncontrollable hemorrhage. And in a brief time on a Sunday afternoon, Jackson's whole world caved in and he was utterly crushed.
The next day he wrote his sister Laura and he told her that he thought he could submit to anything if God strengthened him for it. But he made no attempt to cover up his sad despair. But then there in the middle of his note that he wrote, he said this, oh my sister, would that you could have him for your God. To his unbelieving sister, would that you could have him for your God. In the sadness and despair, that's what he wrote. Because he understood the nearness of Jesus. Amen.
