Sermon Tone Analysis

While I was preparing for this morning’s message, I had a weird flash of insight.

I suddenly wondered what it must have been like to be one of the younger brothers or sisters of Jesus.

We know from the Gospels that Mary and Joseph had a number of children together.

There were four brothers.

Their names were James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas.

We know from the same passages that there were at least two sisters since the plural is used although their names are not given.

It was a typically large Jewish household.

Since the initial flash of insight, I’ve thought some more about what the family dynamics must have been like in that home.

First, I though about a few lines that you probably never heard in Jesus’ home when He was growing up:

* You probably never heard, /“But Jesus hit me first!”/

* You probably never heard, /“Jesus, now don’t you lie to me!”/

* You probably never heard, /“Simon, it’s too quiet in there.

God see what mischief your brother Jesus is getting into.”/

* You probably never heard, /“Jesus, You’ve go to the count of three ... 1 ... 2 ... “/

I also wondered if Mary ever held up Jesus as an example for the other children to follow.

Did Judas’ synagogue teacher every tell him, /“I remember your brother Jesus.

I hope you know the Torah as well as he did.”/

Did Mary ever tell James, /“Why can’t you be more like your brother, Jesus?”/ Whoa boy!

How do these sons of Abraham ever hope to measure up to the one who is the Son of God?

Now this may all seem like an exercise in theological silliness to you, but I share this silliness with you to make a point.

The goal of the believer is to, indeed, be conformed to the image of Christ.

As a Christian have you ever said to yourself: /“When I grow up, I want to be just like Jesus!”/ ILLUS.

When the wife of missionary Adoniram Judson told him that a newspaper article likened him to some of the apostles, Judson replied, /"I do not want to be like a Paul...or any mere man.

I want to be like Christ...I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints...Oh, to be more like Christ!"/

I want to preach this morning of growing in your faith.

As believers we are to increasingly reflect the Lord’s character in our lives.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this when he wrote to the Christians at Corinth:

2 Corinthians 3:18 /"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”/

In this, I believe the boyhood of Jesus has much to teach us about being transformed into His likeness.

!

I. THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS TEACHES US THAT SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS A NATURAL OCCURRENCE

{{{"

#. one of the chief characteristics of children is that they are always growing

#. /they are growing physically/

#. our text this morning says of Jesus, and the child grew v. 40

#.

I have no doubt that Joseph and Mary had as much trouble keeping Jesus in scandals as you do keeping your children in shoes

#. /they are growing mentally and intellectually/

#. v. 40 also says that Jesus was filled with wisdom

#. children’s minds soak up everything—good things and sometimes bad—but they are always learning

#. /they are growing emotionally/

#. v. 40 also says that Jesus waxed strong in spirit

#. they are learning how to express their feelings in appropriate ways

#. they also become aware of the ‘divine’

#. children are always growing

#.

Christians need to emulate this childlike attribute of growth

#. in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus extolled the virtues of children in our relationship to the Kingdom of God

* Matthew 18:2-4 /"And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."/

#.

I’m sure that one of the characteristics that Jesus was probably thinking of was constant growth

#.

there is never a time when the Child of God is to stop growing in the Lord and in the knowledge of His Word

#. if you are not growing in Christ, there are only two other possibilities ...

#. 1st, you’re still spiritually dead

#. the sad truth is that many professing Christians are merely practitioners of religious rites instead of disciples of the Christ

#. they are tares growing up among the wheat—they feign the real thing, but time reveals their true nature

#. 2nd, you’ve become spiritually stagnate

#. we all know what happens when water becomes stagnate

#. it becomes stale and bitter to the taste

#. it ceases to flow along its course and is idled in one spot

#. it begins to breed and grow nasty little things

#. if either of these two realities resemble your spiritual life, you need to make a decision to do something about it

}}}

!! A. WE DEVELOP SPIRITUALLY WHEN WE GROW IN WISDOM & SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE

{{{"

#. you can never have too much knowledge of God’s character, God’s Word, or God’s Ways

#. the word that is translated wisdom in this verse means a broad and full intelligence of diverse matters

#. we often hear Jesus referred to as a /simple carpenter/

#. by that, people often mean that He was /unschooled/ or /unlearned/

#. but there was nothing unschooled about Jesus’ intellect

#. in John 7:46 the crowds said of Jesus, /“No one ever spoke the way this man does.”/

#. when He taught in the local synagogues in His home town of Nazareth, the people were amazed at His knowledge and wisdom

* Matthew 13:54-55 /"He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son?

Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?"/

#. when Jesus was in Jerusalem, He regularly went to the Temple and taught the people

* John 7:14-15 /"But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.

15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”/

#. it is obvious from the Gospel accounts that Jesus the man, had a thorough knowledge of God, of the Scriptures, and of man’s nature

#. how do you grow in wisdom like Jesus did?

#. like Jesus, you acquire maturity in you faith as you attain a more thorough knowledge of the Scriptures

#. the Word of God is the very best place to find wisdom

* Proverbs 3:13-14 /"Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold."/

* ILLUS.

The Bible Version of the game, Trivial Pursuit, has a statement on the front of the box I really like.

It reads, /“The trivia that is not trivial.”/

#. a knowledge of God’s Word leads to wisdom and spiritual maturity

#. like Jesus, you acquire maturity as you experience the providence of God in the everyday affairs of life

#.

Jesus saw the hand of God the Father in every area of life

#.

God was more than a theological concept to Jesus—He was an intimate Father who takes great delight in guiding His Son’s life

#.

Jesus experienced God, because Jesus was a man of prayer—every decision He made, every step He took, every disciple He called, every word He said was a result of intimate conversation with God

#.

Jesus experienced God, because Jesus always sought to obey God

* John 5:19 /"Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."/

#. believers need to understand that a Sovereign God is providentially controlling the world and our lives

#. like Jesus, you acquire maturity as you understand the ways in which God works

#.

God’s ways are not our ways

* /"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,"/ (1 Corinthians 1:25-28, ESV)

#.

Jesus came to understand that the Father frequently works in opposition to the way men believe He ought to work

#. we need to understand that, too

#.

we develop spiritually when we grow in wisdom

}}}

!! B. WE DEVELOP SPIRITUALLY WHEN WE GROW IN STATURE

* John 5:19 /"Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."/

{{{"

#. the word stature refers to a maturity of character that makes you fit for a specific task

#. when the Bible says that Jesus grew in stature, it means that He developed a Godly character