Welcome to the new year.
I love the energy and optimism of the new year. Because no matter how old we get, every single one of us needs a new beginning, a fresh start, and another shot at doing the right things right. It doesn’t matter whether you are a new Christian or have been a Christian your whole life. We all have this sense that we can do things better. We all know thateven though we all sin and continually fall short of the glory of God, we can more perfectly love God and more perfectly love people. Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, the year 2006 is stocked full of possibilities. We can get some traction. We can turn the corner. We can grow. We can be changed. We can make a difference. The future does not have to be a dismal repetition of the past.
For this to happen we must begin the new year on the right foot by walkingwith Jesus Christ. No one has ever loved God and loved people more perfectly than Jesus Christ. If your ambition is to grow in your love for God and to grow in your love for people, there is no better place to fix your thoughts than on Christ’s life.
- 1 Peter 2:21 (NIV) says, "Christ suffered for you, leaving you anexample,that you should follow in his steps."
- Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) says about Jesus Christ that he is, "…the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being...”
- Colossians 1:19 (NIV) says, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Jesus Christ)."
Jesus Christ is who we are to strive to emulate.
No one has ever been more fully alive than Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is exactly who God wants us to become like in our characters, in our love, and in our spiritual souls. There is no greater New Year's resolution than to become more like Christ, following his example, and realizing your full God-given potential.
Over the next few months we are going to be spending quite a bit of time in the gospel of Luke. The goal is very simple. We want to truly meet Jesus. We want to see Jesus in all his fullness andsee Jesus as he really was, fully man, andsee him as he really is, fully God.
On the front of your bulletin you will find this week’s passage and next week’s passage. Let me encourage you to look those verses up in your Bibles and study them. Let me encourage you to work through the study guide in your Life Groups. The passages we are going to look at will change your life. They will help you become more like Jesus Christ in every way.
Focus in on Christ's young life.
So let’s talk about Jesus Christ. Our passages this morning come from Luke1 andLuke 2. In the first chapters of Luke we have a thorough, historical account of the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. Before he was even born, Jesus’ biological mother Mary and legal father Joseph both, "marveled" at what was said about him. They understood from angels and from the scriptures that Jesus was destined for great things. But it isn’t until Luke 2:41-52(NIV) that we begin to discover why everyone was so amazed by Jesus Christ. From the very start of his life people were amazed at how even as a child, Jesus could have so much zeal for the things of God.
In Luke 2:41-52, Jesus is just twelve years old. He is a boy at that awkward age of not quite being a man, but not quite being a child either. He was moving into puberty, his voice crackling, and struggling to fit into an adult world.
Luke 2:41-52(NIV) tells us,"Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.''Why were you searching for me?' he asked. 'Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?' But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
Environment isa critical key to spiritual formation.
As I read these verses, I was struck by a simple truth. Every new year we have all these great intentions. We have all these hopes and dreams, these goals and plans, and these heavenly aspirations to begin anew. But the simple truth is that great beginnings are never by accident. A critical key to spiritual formation, even for Jesus the Son of God, is environment. You know, it is one thing to want to deepen your love for God and love for people. It is quite another thing to put yourself in an environment where that is possible. Jesus was blessed with parents who routinely placed him in spiritually rich environments.
Jesus' family followed religious customs.
Luke 2:41 (NIV) indicates that Jesus’ family celebrated theFeast of the Passover every year. The week-long feast commemorated Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. During the feast the Jewswould offer sacrifices to God. They would eat unleavened bread. They would abstain from work. Every man, woman, and child would be taught the history of Israel. They were taught about creation, Adam’s sinful choice, the consequences of sin, God’s covenant relationship with his people, and about the promise of Christ.
Later in Luke 4:16 (NIV) we're give another clue about Jesus’ childhood. We're told how Jesus went to his childhood town of Nazareth, “where he had been brought up” and how, “on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.” The synagogue was a place of worship where people gathered to hear God’s word read. What we learn is that from childhood, Jesus’ life was filled with all sorts of customs like the Feast of the Passover andlike the weekly worship on the Sabbath in the synagogue. These customs played a vital role in his life. There were these environments that nourished Jesus’ faith at set intervals throughout the week and year. These customs and habitsmade him strong for those later years in life, when he would face so much opposition.
Jesus' pursuit of God.
As we read this story of Jesus at the temple, there is an unexpected twist. As Jesus’ parents return home from Jeruselem the boy Jesus stays behind in the city, amidst tens of thousands of pilgrims. Now you may find it odd that Jesus’ parents were unaware of his absence, but let me explain. In Jesus’ day families didn’t have minivans.Instead, they had large caravans containing hundreds of families. In these caravans the men would travel at the front while the women and children would travel at the back.
Jesus was twelve years old. He was at that age of transition, becoming a man, but still being a child. Joseph assumed Jesus was at the back of the caravan with his mom. Mary assumed Jesus was at the front of the caravan with his dad. It took them days to realize that Jesus was neither in the front nor the back, but nowhere to be found! So as mom and dad began hyperventilating, suffering heart attacks, amd thinking about how much trouble they were going to be in for misplacing the Son of God, Jesus is back in the city of Jerusalem, hanging out in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions. We are told that, “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” His parents were quite simply astonished!
It is remarkable that as a twelve year old, Jesus felt empowered to do such a thing. I wonder if Mary and Joseph encouraged Jesus to explore his faith like that athome? Obviously, the teachers in the temple courts welcomed the questions even of a twelve year old. I’ve often noticed that church services aren’t very conducive to asking questions. One of people’s greatest fears is public speaking. Who wants to stand up and risk asking a question? And who wants to hang around after church asking questions? "I don’t want to waste the pastor’s time. I might sound stupid to someone standing behind me waiting their turn. I don’t want to be embarrassed."
The thing I love about Jesus here is that he seized an opportunity and he took a risk. He found a safe environment in which to ask questions, to explore a new dimension of his faith, and to test his knowledge. What I wouldn’t pay to hear the questions he asked. I know that Jesus is the Son of God. But what if he didn’t get the opportunity to ask questions? What if the teachers brushed him off? What if he got his knuckles cracked with a ruler and was told, "Don’t ask those kind of questions?" At a young age, Jesus needed customs to nourish his faith. He needed a safe environment to grow deeper. But there is more.
Jesus was surrounded by supportive relationships.
In Luke 2:48-49 (NIV) Jesus' mother Mary asked him why he treated them like this. You can just hear her nowsaying, "Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." But Jesus asks, "Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?" The Bible says that his parents did not understand what he was saying. Despite the misunderstanding, and there is no blame being assigned here, Jesus returns to Nazareth with his parents and was obedient to them. Luke 2:51-52 (NIV) says, "...But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
You get the sense that Jesus was surrounded by supportive relationships. Mary and Joseph are certainly taken back by Jesus’ growth, butwouldn’t you be if you were in their shoes? But at the end of the day they were extremely supportive. As Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, we're told he grew in favor with God and men. Not only did his parents affirm him, but his family affirmed him. His culture affirmed him. He got high fives! He got hundreds of "at-a-boy’s." In his culture, Jesus’ obedience to God was seen as virtuous. We know that God chose Mary and Joseph because of their messianic lineage. But perhaps they were chosen for other reasons as well, like for the environment they could provide for Jesus Christ! As a child, Jesus benefited from the customs, a safe environment that welcomed exploration, and from the network of supportive relationships throughout his culture.
I think it is foolish to move forward into a new year without spending some serious time thinking about the kind of environment we should be putting ourselves into. And if you are parents, you should also be thinking of the environments that you should be putting your children into. In your bulletin there is a simple outline listing three questions every one of us should be thinking about as we begin a new year.
First, what customs will you embrace in this new year?
Jesus lived in a culture that overwhelmingly supported his faith. Yet, he found it necessary to build customs into his daily routine. It was his custom to go to the synagogue every Sabbath. It was his custom to celebrate the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem every year.
Nowadays we live in a culture that scorns our faith. How much more important is it that we carve moments into our routine for worshiping God, for studying God’s word, for praying, for fasting, for memorizing scripture, for celebrating God’s goodness, for teaching the good news of Christ to others, for passing our faith to the next generation, and for commemorating the Lord’s Supper?
Attending church is a custom. Attending Bible fellowships is a custom. Attending a Life Group is a custom. Children attending Pioneer Club is a custom. Where would we be without these customs? What customs do you need to build into your life this year, in order to grow spiritually?
Second, what pursuit will energize you in this new year?
Jesus lived in a culture that enriched his spiritual passions. He didn’t have an X-Box, satellite HDTV, the internet, colorful magazines, fine dining, sports leagues, endless opportunities to recreate, or electricity and light bulbs to keep him up working and exhausted all hours of the day.
Our culture very much distracts and erodes our spiritual fervor. We don’t have time to pursue God. We don’t have energy to pursue God. The clock is ticking. People are waiting. The phone is ringing. The e-mail is chiming. The television is blaring. We say, "Forget God. Who has time for Bible study? For worship? For seeking and finding? For investigating, pursuing, praying, memorizing, or whatever." What opportunity do we need to seize in order to pursue God? What caravan do we need to miss?
Third, whose favor will you gain in this new year?
The people in Jesus’ day, in his culture, mostly affirmed his growth and progress. To grow in favor with God was to grow in favor with men, and vice-versa. It wasn’t until Jesus claimed to be the Son of God that the people turned on him and eventually crucified him. The Jews didn’t understand their own scriptures and prophets. Our culture very much devalues our Christian growth and progress. The other day a repairman come to my house. We immediately struck up conversation, but then he asked, "What do you do for a living?" As soon as I told him what I did for a living, the conversation was over. He wasn’t interested.
Like Jesus, we ultimately have a choice to make. Whose favor are we seeking? Are we seeking the favor of men or the favor of God? We cannot always simultaneouslygrow in the favor of Godand of men in our culture. Our culture is becoming increasingly secular. We have to make a choice. We have to choose tolive for God or live for men. There is no more important time than now to surround ourselves with a network of people who encourage our growth and progress in the faith. As a child, Jesus had his family and his community. As an adult, he had his twelve disciples. When the world scorns your faith, what group of peoplebecome your refuge? Who do you turn to? Who are your twelve?
The key to spiritual formation is a nurturing environment.
In your bulletin, there is information about Life Groups. Life Groups are your lifeline. They are the environment you need in order to thrive in your love for God and for people. Life Groups gather every week for the purposes of Learning, Inspiration, Fellowship and Encouragement (L.I.F.E.). They are a custom for many people in our church. They are a place where people pursue a deeper relationship with Christ. The groups create an environment where people grow in favorwith God and with one another. We have four Life Groups starting in the next two weeks. Why not sign up? There is a detailed description in your bulletin and on our website about what the groups do.
Next Sunday at 3:00 PM, we have a class beginning called "Questions About Baptism." Many of you have questions about whether to be immersed in Christ. Maybe you come from a tradition where you were sprinkled, or one that didn’t even practice baptism. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about baptism.
Next Sunday at 4:30 PM, we have another class beginning called "Discover Your Spiritual Gifts." Dozens of people have already gone through this class. You will learn so much about yourself in this class, and about how God has wired you up to serve him. Read about it in your bulletin. There are sign-up sheets for both classes in the back of the auditorium.
The key to spiritual formation in 2006 is environment. What environment will you place yourself into?