I had to be in my Father’s house

Luke 2:41-52

Key Verse 2:49 

““Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

Good morning? I don’t know what to say this morning. The title of today’s message is “I had to be in my Father’s house”, and the key verse is verse 49. Can we read this verse together? ““Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Let’s pray.

Today we don’t have an introduction of the message. Message is very simple. Basically when Jesus was twelve years old he went to the temple at the time of the Passover. And he stayed in temple for 3 days and Jesus’ parents took him back. And basically that is the story. When they found him Jesus’ mother asked him, ““Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” And the boy Jesus responded saying, “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (v.49)

And that’s it. He went down to Nazareth with them and he was obedient to them. Nothing. Nothing more. So according to today’s passage, there are two things special about Jesus. Two things special about Jesus. What are the two things special about Jesus? Any volunteers? Okay. Sarah (Larsen)! “His father is God.” Good thing.  Bingo. Can anyone try to two things not just one? Msn Philip! “He studied the Bible hard.” (Laughter) There is one more. That’s true. Msn Petra said, “He has his heavenly Father and earthly father.” True. That’s close. I would like to try to one more person, for more specific and concrete answer. (Someone said,) “He had a clear identity as the Son of God.” That’s true. (Someone said something). What is it? “Wisdom.” Another person said “He is God”. Yes, he is God. Okay. Do you want to try? Sarah’s mom. “He listened to his mother and he was obedient to his mother.” Very true. (laughter). What is special about Jesus is ‘there is no special about Jesus’. That is special about Jesus. We have four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For Jesus’ life from the age 1 to age 30, there is nothing there except today’s few sentences. 

When Jesus was born there was a lot of revelations. Angels’ message to shepherds; Magi from the East visiting; testimony of Simeon; testimony of Anna; testimony of Zechariah; and many others. So much revelation was there that Jesus’ mother had treasured them in her heart and pondered them in her heart. But from the age of 1 to 12 nothing was there. Jesus was not special at all. And that is Jesus’ special. Jesus was not special at all. In today’s event, he said, “I had to be in my Father’s house.” “Didn’t you know?” and then he just followed his parents and was obedient to them for another 18 years up to the age of 30. So if you see Jesus’ entire life from the age one to thirty, what is special? Nothing is special. That is special. 

What does it mean? He became a perfectly man. He became exactly like you and me. That’s why when Jesus said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Jesus’ parents did not understand what he was saying. They got such a huge revelation about baby Jesus, but for 12 years Jesus did not demonstrate anything special at all. He was exactly like any other boy. So when Jesus said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” they said, “What is he talking about?” They were clueless. After that he did not make a big thing. He just followed them and was obedient to them for another 18 years. 

Jesus became a fully man. That is special thing about Jesus. He became a man like you, exactly same like you and me. Do you like it? Do you like he became exactly like you and me? Of course! 

What does it mean? It means two things. First, he understands our agony. He understands our troubles. He understands how we are frustrated with our weaknesses and sins. He understands how hard it is to get a job and work hard. He was the Son of God. So if he wanted he could become like a little Samuel as we studied the book of 1 Samuel. He could be devoted to the priest and he could live in his Father’s house from his young age. He said, “This is my Father’s house.” As the Son of God he had more right than anyone else to live in his Father’s house; in his Father’s house on a full time basis. But he didn’t do that. He lived as a layman like you and me. Layman. He lived as a carpenter. He had a job. He understands how hard to work in our job. He understand how hard it is to try to perform and please our bosses and take care of people under us. It is not easy to get a job and it is not easy to bring bread to the table. It’s not easy to have financial security. He knows all of them for sure. 

He became exactly like us. He became a fully man. So when he was crucified on the cross, he was crucified as a man, human beings like you and me. That’s why his death on the cross can replace our own death. 

Does he understand our temptation? Of course! Hebrew 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” 

Do you believe he was tempted in every way just we are? He was tempted in every way just we are. So he knows how temptation is strong, how temptation is terrible, how temptation is troublesome for us. Yet, he did not sin. Is this microphone still working? Okay. 

So there is nothing special about Jesus became he became a fully man. It shows he understands us, our needs, our agony, and weaknesses. That’s why he decided to be crucified. He decided to sacrifice to take our sins. 

There is another meaning in ‘Jesus became fully man like you and me.” It means he came down to our place and hold our hands and leads us step by step to our Father in heaven. “Step by step”. It is a personal service. One of the reasons I like our ministry is ‘personal help’ from our one to one bible teachers. I also looked for a church. Even in Gardena, I looked for it. I thought all churches are open like UBF chapters in Korea. But they are all closed during week days. On Wednesday night they open I went to one. But the preacher was not interested in preaching. He talked about engagement of his son and talked about how to get a better car for him. I like our ministry because our spiritual seniors who know the bible more personally can help us step by step, teaching us how to apply the spiritual truth to our practical life and leading us to our heavenly Father. 

So Jesus became the way. He came down to us. He spoke our language. He ate our own food. He knows our customs. He knows how to interact with people. He became exactly like one of us and help us and guide us to the Father, and make us his own children. 

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” What do you think? Do you think Jesus had all spiritual knowledge when he was born? Or Jesus got all spiritual knowledge, powerful revelation about all spiritual truth when he was 30 years old within a night? How do you think Jesus knows God personally? When do you think he was born again? Do you think he was born again as soon as he was born as a baby? What do you think? 

I think he might have been born again when he was 12 years old. He became to know he is the Son of God, and he became to know he had to stay in his Father’s house. What does it mean ‘to be in my Father’s house’? It means “I want work for my Father”. That was what he was saying. He found his identity as the Son of God and he found his mission as the Son of God, may be at the age of 12. So he said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 

What is the special thing about ‘Father’s house’? What is the special thing about the temple? What’s so important? (Greg Newmaster said, “God’s presence”) Yes.  100% score. “God’s presence”. His name is Greg Newmaster. 100% score today. A plus. God was there. “My Father’s house’ or ‘temple’ is so special because God is there. One Psalmist said “as a deer pants for the stream of water my soul pants for you God.” We all are children of God. We are all made by God. Our soul thirsts for our living God.

This is the confession of king David. Let’s read Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

David wanted to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. That’s it. Dwelling in the house of the Lord. Intimate fellowship with the Father God. Glorying him and enjoying him, communicating with him, talking to each other. 

This is another person’s confession. Psalm 84:10 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”

I’d rather be a doorkeeper of the house of God. I would rather become a doorkeeper of God and closer to God. Even one day than 1,000 years somewhere else. This is who we are. Our inners desire is to be closer to God and to be near to God so much and work for him.

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” When Jesus knew who was his Father he became to know what he should do. He wanted to work for his Father. When we know who is our heavenly Father we want to work for him too. We want to have close relationship with him, and we want to live for him. That is what it means “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 

Jesus said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” When he realized that who is his Father, he realized what he wanted to do, which is to work for his Father. He did the same thing for me.

When I realized who is my Father, he helped me to work for my Father. It was 1982 Summer. I think it is around July. I was born again at that time. This is my born again verse. John 16:28 “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

It was the first time I saw this verse but it was vibrating in my heart. The daily break booklet was one year old one. God obviously wanted to give the verse to me. So I requested 3 times for the booklet and the Chicago staff made a mistake in the third time and I got the booklet. It helped me to know who is my Father and I became to know what I should do for the rest of my life. Work for my Father. 

How did I know that God is my Father? Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

The Holy Spirit testifies with my spirit that I am a child of God. That is why the verse was vibrating in my heart. At that time I had one to one bible study with missionary Isaac Kim for 2 or 3 months. Probably 2 months. I went to International Summer Bible Conference in Canada by Niagara Fall. After the conference I went to New York, met my first bible teacher whom I long to see for the last 7 or 8 years. She left UBF with her husband.  So she was not with UBF at that time, but I spent one week in her house. But the church she was serving had a bible conference. So I attended the bible conference. So when I came back to LA, I did not keep the promise of the date to missionary Isaac Kim. So when I came to LA airport, missionary Isaac Kim did not come to pick me up. I didn’t have a car at that time. I started a common life just a month ago. Our church and center was only one bed room apartment. In order to come to the common life house I had to say to my mother, “Good bye.” I gave my car to my younger sister. I don’t know how I came to center from the airport. The center was in west Los Angeles. (Westwood). Why didn’t missionary Isaac Kim come to pick me up? I never asked him, but this is what I guessed. Because I didn’t keep the date I would return he might have misunderstood that my fist bible teacher might have invited me to her church or might have invited me to marry somebody, the woman in her church, or I decided to leave UBF ministry, something along the line. This is my pure guess. I could be wrong. So my relationship with missionary Isaac Kim was sour at that time. It was very hard for me and I felt sorrowful at that time. Because my life in God was troublesome. It was not easy. 

I started to have a bible study in 1975 when I was a freshman. But within one year my bible teacher left for America as a missionary for New York UBF, and I was left alone. Then I think 2 or 3 years later I studied the bible again with missionary Mark Yang. I think it lasted about 1.5 years. I studied very hard. But the family persecution arose and I stopped having bible study. Then I came to America. I fought with my brother, and I repented and I contacted Korea, and finally I met missionary Isaac Kim and studied one to one, and a couple of months later I was born again. And now I had to leave UBF again. Before I met missionary Isaac Kim again, this was my prayer. “I would rather be a window cleaner of UBF center if God sends me back to UBF again.” The reason I prayed like this is because I could see my life has a meaning. I see the UBF ministry was doing the work of God. So even by cleaning windows of UBF bible center my life would have a meaning. So that was my prayer. So I came back to UBF by God’s grace, and then I had to leave again. Actually I didn’t have any place to God because I had already said ‘goodbye’ to my family members and mom. I had to find a place to stay.

Now at that moment, this verse (John 16:28) “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father” helped me to reason. Missionary Isaac was doing and working for my Father in heaven for sure. Even in the world if you know someone is working and helping your father, what would you do? You would be thankful. You would help him. You would encourage him. Don’t you? Even in the world. How much it would be when missionary Isaac is working for my Father in heaven! He is working for my Father. I should appreciate. I should thank him. I should be thankful even more. So I decided to stay with him and decided to help him out. It was all because he was working for my Father. 

Then think about it! Did he get my help? Or did I get his help? (Missionary Petra said, ‘both’) Both? But I get tons of times more. I got millions of time more help from him. When I decided to help him it turned out I was helping myself. He helped me more than millions of times. Without his help and shepherding I would not be here. I would not know where I am. Maybe I may be homeless, alcoholic, possibly. I might  not have family. I might not have two daughters. I might not have such a nice suit like this. I may be a bagger saying “spare coins” on a street. It is possible too. 

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” “Didn’t you know I need to work for my Father?” That was realization of boy Jesus. And I think he did the same thing in my life. He helped me to know who is my Father and he helped me to know I need to work for my Father. I need to make a decision to stay with missionary Isaac and help him because he is working for my Father. 

So today we learned two special thing about Jesus. One special thing is “Jesus is the Son of God.” He claimed, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Second special thing about Jesus is Jesus is the son of Joseph and Mary. There is no special thing about Jesus because he became a fully man like you and me. He even had a job. He worked hard. 

One word: Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? 

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