Worship: Don't Leave Church Without It (Luke 2:39-52)

WORSHIP: DON'T LEAVE CHURCH WITHOUT IT (LUKE 2:39-52)
I was a teenager when the Billy Graham crusade came to Singapore in 1978. The older leaders and advisers to the young people drove seven hours, taking us students in several cars across the border to attend the event. We were ecstatic. For many of us, it was the first time entering the country. We had to obtain our passport, get parents’ permission and sleep in churches to save money.

Thousands and thousands of people turned out on the opening night. We were told to stick to one another. At the end of the first night, like other attendees, we left the stadium hurriedly and returned to our host church around 10 p.m. The excitement, joy and chattiness of the 30 or so boys and girls that night was shattered when someone asked, “Where is Lee? Did anybody see him? Whose car was he in?” Lee was only 14, the youngest in the group and everybody’s favorite mascot.

There was no way in the world the leaders could return to fight stadium traffic. Further, they did not know Singapore well enough, so notifying the authorities was a real possibility. We were worried for Lee, for the leaders and the church. An hour or so later, Lee burst into the scene and all our fears were gone.

I interrogated him, “Where did you go?” but Lee was defiant, “You have the nerve to ask, of all people你還好講! I kept my eyes on your shoes, your pants and your every stride in the mad rush of the crowd. I was sure that I could not go wrong. After following you for a while, I looked up and noticed it was not you! I was behind the wrong person. So I sat on the curb until a taxi driver pitied me and offered me a free ride.” At least he was smart enough to remember our foreign residence!

When Jesus was 12 years old, a puzzling, an inconceivable and an unexplainable thing happened. His parents looked in vain for him on the way home to Nazareth from Jerusalem. How could it happen? Losing your kid in the mall? Forgetting where you parked your car? Leaving your house with water boiling on the stove? It happens more often than you think.

Have you ever lost your way or lost the Lord on the way to church? How about to fellowship and in service? How can we guard ourselves from a fruitless, an unproductive and a wasted time of worship at church?

Worship is a Growing Relationship: Look to Him
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. 41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. (Lk 2:39-43)

A typical American family was driving home from church one Sunday. Dad was fussing about the sermon being too long and sort of boring. Mom said she thought the organist played too loudly during the second hymn they sang. Sister, who was a music major in college, said she thought the soloist sang about a half note off key during most of her song. Grandma said she couldn't hear very well - since they were sitting toward the back.

As the family pulled in the driveway, little Willie, who had listened to all of this, started to fuss about the woman who sat in front of him with that big hat. Then he paused, nudged his dad, and said, “But, Dad, you gotta admit, it was a pretty good show for a nickel!” (Charles Swindoll, Growing Deeper)

What is worship? How do you know you have been to worship and not merely been to church? The word “worship” is derived from the word “worth-ship,” suggesting that God alone is worthy and deserving of our worship and praise.

Worship is a growing and genuine relationship, not a stagnant or stale one. It comes with a response. A worshipper is an active participant, not a passive observer. When worship is not a growing experience, it becomes a ritual, an exercise, a routine.

Like many worshippers today, Joseph and Mary, sincere, simple and spiritual as they were, made the fundamental mistake in worship: they lost the Lord! They lost touch with Jesus, lost sight and lost track of Him. Their eyes were fixed on other things such as the rituals in religion, the throng of people, the priests at work, the activities, the festivities and all that jazz. Their eyes wandered off the center to the sideshow, majoring in the minor, substituting the essentials for the non-essentials. They had fun but not focus, and they were at attendance but not at attention.

Joseph and Mary were not irreligious or irresponsible; they were merely distracted. It can happen to us because it happened to one of the nicest and sweetest couples in the Bible. Joseph was a righteous man (Matt 1:19) and Mary was highly favored! (Luke 1:28) After all, they had not done anything wrong, which is precisely the problem with churchgoers who come to church merely out of duty, obligation and routine. They had performed everything according to the law at Jesus' dedication (2:39) and visited the temple at Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover (2:41). For all their attention to detail, it all fell apart on a trip to Jerusalem. Again, they were there according to the custom of the feast (2:42) and had spent the full number of days there (2:43). Still, they lost Jesus.

Jesus did not do his parents a favor, too. My wife asked me why Jesus did not tell his parents where he was. It was not the 12-year old youngster’s responsibility to find them, but it was theirs to find Him. Further, he did not stray from where he was; they did. Of course, He did not hide from them, nor did he mean to test, tease or torture them.

The problem was in verse 44 - “thinking” or “suppose” in Greek. The gospels record five occurrences of this word, of which this word is its first. A lot of people seem to make needless suppositions and wild guesses of who Jesus was and why he came. When Jesus began his ministry at about thirty years old, people “thought” he was the son of Joseph (Luke 3:23). Jesus warns, “Do not ‘think’ that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt 5:17) and “Do not ‘suppose’ that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt 10:34). In Jesus’ parable of the laborers in the vineyard, those who were hired first ‘expected’ to receive more, but each one of them also received a denarius (Matt 20:10).

The suppositions never end. They guessed he was in the company of travelers (v 44), “joint-journeymen/-travelers” (sun-odia) in Greek, the acquaintances, maybe people from the same caravan, community or city. Failing to find him there, they were sure to find him among relatives and friends (2:44), but he was not among family members, work colleagues or neighborhood buddies. Friends are people who know Jesus personally, maybe youth his age, his playmates. The problem is not that they never tried seeking him - they looked hard and they searched far and wide – for three long days (v 46). The Greek word is ana-zeteo (looking) – seek out. The problem was losing him, missing and neglecting him in the first place.

Worship is a Knowing Relationship– Learn from Him
45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. (Lk 2:44-47)

Ronald Reagan had a classic answer for reporters who relentlessly asked him at the height of his success, “Why did you leave your former political party (Democratic Party)?” How did Reagan respond? At the 1988 Republican National Convention he gave this never-to-be-forgotten statement that is included in Reagan lore. He remarked, “That party changed - and it will never be the same. They left me; I didn't leave them.”
http://www.reagansheritage.org/html/reagan_rnc_88.shtml

Here are some quotes on worship:
“Ignorant worship is like throwing darts at a bull’s eye while blindfolded--sure you might hit the mark but more than likely you will do a lot of damage.” (Grady Scott)
People “assume worship is like watching a movie; it’s something I critique afterward.” (John Ortberg)
Robert Webber says that worship is not “something done to us or for us, but by us.”
“Worship is not like going to a self-help group or a therapy session.”
“Worship is not for some pragmatic or utilitarian purpose.”
“Worship is not about you or me, it is about God.”
“Worship is not a spectator sport, it is not entertainment.”
“Worship is not a fad. It’s a genuine movement of God to bring us closer to Him.”
“True worship is the adoring response of all that the believer is - mind, emotions, will and body - to all that God is and says and does.” (Warren Wiersbe)

The second element in worship is the communion and interaction of worshippers with the Creator. Worship is a knowing relationship. It is not a dumb-down session, a time of fun to empty the mind, but a time to know God better, fuller and richer.

Many churches put the pastor’s outlines on the bulletin or on power-point because they want churchgoers to be participants and not mere parishioners, worshippers and not well-wishers. Christian worship is not meaningless repetition of “Hare Rama, Hare Krishna” and other pointless Eastern chants. Christian worship is meant to be informative, instructional and interaction-al. It permeates one’s mind, involves one’s thinking and challenges one’s intellect. The problem is that we hear plenty of sermons, know the Bible well and can even predict the next point. This is where we are in trouble.

When Jesus’ parents realized Jesus was not in the company of travelers, relatives and friends, they frantically returned to the scene and spot of the last sighting of the missing child. Well, at least Joseph and Mary had the sense to turn back. Jesus was not hard to find. No apologies to people who are sick in their stomach of church and fellowship, maybe the hypocrisy or conflicts, but where do you think Jesus was found? The place you lose Him in the first place is the place to find Him. It seems that the church is the likely place to lose people, yet is the same place to find Jesus.

Even when they returned to Jerusalem (v 45), the parents still could not figure out where Jesus was. How long did it take them to find him in the city or downtown? No less time than the search among acquaintances, family and friends. Only on the third day they found him because it never occurred to them or crossed their mind that the temple was the place to look. They would be arrested, prosecuted and jailed today!

Sadly, the temple was the last place to look and the first place to dismiss or overlook. We knock our churches because of its lack of facilities, programs and staff, but worship is very basic. Look at Jesus. He has no company but his dialogue with the teachers. Unfortunately, the church is in every corner of the street but not in the corner of one’s heart and mind, never mind the center. Prominent, but most taken for granted.

Note the purpose Jesus was there. What was he doing there? Listening and asking (v 46). I notice that people from the East are poor in asking questions, but people in the West are poor in listening.

By the age of twelve, Jesus was keenly aware of His unique relationship with the Father and the need to build a personal relationship with God and to draw near to God in worship. God is not a stranger, but His father (v 49).

Jesus was sitting comfortably among older adults, between learned people, challenging teachers and students of the law, hearing, listening and understanding what was said and conveyed. He was asking them questions, having a conversation, fellowshipping with them, drawing their understanding and increasing their comprehension. He was having a blast, the time of his life.

The teachers of the law were amazed or astonished (v 47) but not offended or insulted at the interrogation and cross-examination from someone as young as him. “Understanding” (v 47) is also translated as “intelligence” (1 Cor 1:19) and insight (2 Tim 2:7) in the Bible. In answering, one has to speak up, not necessarily speak out. It is not a desire to be heard but a desire to hear, to study, listen and learn.

Worship is a Showing Relationship: Live for Him
48 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.” 49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. 51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:48-52)

There was a story about two men who met on the street. One said to the other, “Have you heard about Harry? He embezzled the company out of half a million dollars.” The other man said, “That's terrible; I never did trust Harry.”

The first man said, “Not only that, he left town and he took Tom's wife with him.” The other man said, “That's awful; Harry has always been a ne'er do well.”

The first man said, “Not only that, he stole a car to make his getaway.” The other man said, “That's scandalous; I always did think Harry had a bad streak in him.”

The first man said, “Not only that, they think he was drunk when he pulled out of town.” The other man said, “Harry's no good. But what really bothers me is, who's going to teach his Sunday School Class this week?”

Finally, the outcome of worship is a showing relationship. Its outcome is transparency, trustworthiness and testimony. Jesus' subjection to his parents is a natural part of worship. Some criticized Jesus' response to his mom (v 49). I disagree. Jesus' questions were not designed to embarrass. His answer was a reminder of His nature, his place and his mission – who He is, where He belongs and what He loves doing. These critics fail to see verse 51: “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” Jesus is never arrogant. He obeyed and respected his parents, never considered them uninformed, old-fashioned or grumpy old people – the same “obey” word describes wives’ submitting to their husbands (Eph 5:22) and young men to those who are older.
(1 Peter 5:5)

What is this showing relationship? Verse 52 reveals that it includes mental, physical, spiritual and social growth. Jesus is not a nerd or a jock. His growth is rounded and holistic. Biblical wisdom is more than mere knowledge and insight; it is practical lifestyle, common sense and skilled application. “Stature” is age and maturity, not just physical and bodily growth, but personal and mental development. It is the same word for the blind man who is “of age” to speak for himself (John 9:21, 23) and the church’s need to measure up to the “whole” or “stature” of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).

The final word used - “favor” - is grace (charis) before God and man. The phrase “Enter to worship, Depart to serve” is a testimony to the outcome of worship. A worshipper relates to God and man. Worship ends with a meaningful relationship with God and others.

John Macarthur says, “If our corporate worship isn't the expression of our individual worshipping lives, it is unacceptable. If you think you can live any way you want and then go to church on Sunday morning and turn on worship with the saints, you're wrong.” (Lutzer quotes MacArthur 91)

The word “grew” (pro-kopto) is “to drive forward, to advance (in amount, to grow; in time, to be well along).” (Strong’s) It means to increase, proceed and improve.

Conclusion: Do you spend time in worship, prayer and study daily, or do you depend on Sunday worship, service and sermon to give you a jolt and charge your batteries? Has worship transformed your relationship with others – how you view and treat others? Do you come to worship with a proper attitude? Are you reverent and respectful? Are you loud or quiet when worship time begins? Do you take notes or do you pass notes? Worse, do you snooze or doodle? Are you living for Jesus, listening and looking to Him? Are you SPIES - spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially growing?