{"id":866,"date":"2022-01-07T06:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T14:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=866"},"modified":"2022-01-05T14:34:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T22:34:29","slug":"substitute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=866","title":{"rendered":"Substitute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Luke 2:41-52)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we want <\/em>a substitute; other times we need <\/em>one. There are certain social situations when we wish we could simply hit the pause button and be replaced by a substitute to allow us to be anywhere but there. But there are also scenarios in which we simply cannot be two places at once. When work and family obligations collide, it would be nice to have a substitute so you could be two places at once. This morning, whether or not we want <\/em>him, we see that Jesus is the Substitute we need<\/em>. So far our Christmas series, \u201cWhat Child is This?\u201d<\/em> has provided two answers: this child is the Prince of Peace and our Redeemer. The final answer provided in our series highlights that this child is also our Substitute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You think time flies (wasn\u2019t it just Thanksgiving???), how about jumping from infant to adolescent in one week! Just last weekend we were celebrating Jesus\u2019 birth and here we find him twelve years old already. While it seems like quite a jump, the Bible doesn\u2019t really cover much of Jesus\u2019 life until he is baptized and begins his ministry around the age of 30. So this glimpse of twelve-year-old Jesus is a rare one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s interesting, isn\u2019t it, that the one account we have of Jesus over that thirty-year period is Jesus sticking around at church long after the service was over? Of all of the curiosities and questions we might have about Jesus\u2019 upbringing, his teenage years, and his twenties, God provides one account for us, and it is centered on worship and the Word. At the very least, we can conclude that gathering in God\u2019s house for worship ought not to be an afterthought or treated as an optional leave-it-or-take-it element of the practice of one\u2019s faith. At most, we could conclude that by covering just this one account of Jesus\u2019 life over the span of 30 years, God is emphasizing the prominence and priority that public worship should be in the Christian\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a need for this conversation among Christians today. While I don\u2019t question the intent behind the encouragement often provided for attending worship, I don\u2019t know if the way we have tried to get there has always been the best. The one making the case for an increase in church attendance often points out that church attendance has been on the decline for decades now, and since that\u2019s bad, we should correct that trend by going to church. Not only is such an argument ineffective, but it also fails to address that church attendance isn’t primarily a habit issue, but a heart issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen, a church on Sunday morning can be just as easily filled with empty people as it can with empty pews. These are the empty people Isaiah described: \u201cThe Lord says: \u2018These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught\u2019\u201d (29:13)<\/em><\/strong>. While we often imagine the church was much healthier in \u201cthe good \u2018ole days,\u201d which tend to be whatever we subjectively presume them to be in our own minds, the number of people worshipping on a Sunday morning is not the only metric for church health, and I would submit that it isn\u2019t even the best one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I said, we\u2019re dealing with a heart issue, not a habit issue, and a heart issue is more difficult to treat than just measuring a metric. Many lament how Christianity is on the decline. It may appear that way based on church attendance, but what if not as much has changed as appears? What if it isn\u2019t actually a reality that there are fewer Christians, but rather it just appears<\/em> that way, as many more unbelievers\/hypocrites used to hide in <\/em>the church than outside it? So we lament those not in church, but how many in the past who were actually in <\/em>church were simply doing so to meet an expected requirement or to be seen? Pride can work with either one – \u201clook at what a fine Christian I am who worships regularly” or “look what a fine Christian I am who is so strong in his faith that I don’t need <\/em>church attendance to showcase or prove my faith.\u201d Pride can work with either scenario – being present without being present or being absent without being active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026 shame on us if we are inclined to use that as justification for not <\/em>worshiping weekly. There is a real need to emphasize corporate worship in an individualized church culture. A personal relationship with Jesus doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the only personal relationship I have with the body of Christ. To belong to the body of Christ is to belong to more than just Christ, the head, but also the whole body! And where more than anywhere else does the body stay connected to the other parts and <\/em>Christ, the head? When we gather for worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to change behavior by increasing worship attendance fails to address the real issue – the heart. Only Jesus does that. Look at how Jesus did <\/em>that in our account this morning. After his mother expressed her dismay at his behavior, his response – a question of his own – explained his behavior perfectly: \u201c\u2018Why were you searching for me?\u2019 he asked. \u2018Didn\u2019t you know I had to be in my Father\u2019s house?\u2019\u201d (v.49)<\/em><\/strong>. He was honestly surprised. He had <\/em>to be in his Father\u2019s house. Let\u2019s understand that in two ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We talk that way when trying to convince someone else of something. \u201cYou have <\/em>to try this food at this restaurant.\u201d \u201cYou have<\/em> to listen to this song by this artist.\u201d \u201cYou have <\/em>to get this gadget or that device.\u201d When we convey that level of passion to someone else we are stressing that how much it has meant to us personally. We feel so strongly about it that we want someone else to have the same positive experience with it. Jesus felt so passionately about being in his Father\u2019s house that he had <\/em>to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he also literally had to be there. Remember that God created us to love and worship him with pure holy hearts. Yet ever since worship first went wrong when Adam and Eve cast aside God\u2019s command and ate from the tree, not one human heart has ever been able on even a single occasion to worship God in purity and holiness. Even our best worship is but worthless waste before God! Sin stains our worship! If even attending worship regularly in the first place, we are so easily distracted, disinterested, and disengaged when in God’s house. That’s if <\/em>we’re attending regularly and not believing whatever lie it is that tells us there\u2019s something better going on Sunday morning than gathering with God\u2019s people around God\u2019s Word to glorify God together. So Jesus literally had <\/em>to be in the Temple to meet God\u2019s demand that pure and holy hearts love and worship him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more astounding is that rather than being the One worshipping, Jesus had every right to be the One worshipped! He ought to be the object of worship, not the one offering up his worship. The One the wise men journeyed great lengths to worship in person with precious gifts was the same twelve-year-old boy offering up his worship in the temple courts. The One who would make the ultimate sacrifice on Good Friday deserving of ultimate praise and worship is the same One humbly offering up his worship among the adult spiritual leaders of his day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into a me-centered world came a Father-focused Substitute. We make public worship about us; He made it about his Father. Our lives are an act of worshiping according to our own will; his perfect life was an act of worshiping according to his Father\u2019s will. Where we casually dismiss the Third Commandment\u2019s call for weekly worship, Jesus embraced and kept it perfectly. What we don\u2019t even have the will to carry out perfectly, Jesus not only had the will, but also the obedience to carry out perfectly. We needed One who could put the Father first at all times, including love for his Word and worship, and we have One who met that demand. We have Jesus. Holy Jesus. Perfect Jesus. Substitute Jesus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice that his perfect obedience to his heavenly Father also expressed itself in obedience to his earthly father and mother. \u201cThen he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them\u201d (v.51)<\/em><\/strong>. When we see Jesus as he came to be seen – as our Substitute – we appreciate even more his perfect record of obedience. He was not born into our world for some short-sighted purpose like setting an example for us to follow – that is too small a thing! Instead, he came to achieve what we could not, cannot, on even our greatest days. He came to obey as a Substitute for those who disobey. He came to live in righteousness to be our righteousness. He came to be the purity and holiness required for entrance into heaven. He came to be the perfect child we could not, loving God\u2019s Word and worship in ways we cannot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children, follow suit. Do not disregard your parents\u2019 commands, whether by defiance or indifference. That applies to the home and it applies to the church. You do not yet know what is best for you, so God has given you parents to guide you. When it is time for church each Sunday morning, do not burden or exasperate your parents with your stubborn whining, but be a joy and blessing to them, so that worship might be a joy and blessing to both you and them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that time of year again when goals and resolutions are on our radars. What\u2019s easier when it comes to hitting the mark with goals – hitting the goal or maintaining it? Suppose you\u2019ve wanted to organize the garage for years. But whenever you think about it you get overwhelmed because you don\u2019t know where to start. Truth is, you\u2019re not just talking about one goal, but a project requiring many steps to achieve that goal. Organizing the garage includes sorting through stuff, then determining which stuff you\u2019re going to keep, what\u2019s going to Goodwill, and what\u2019s getting pitched. It likely includes determining whether or not you need shelving or bins to store things more efficiently. It will obviously include a good measure of cleaning, too. So it\u2019s quite a project that you\u2019re talking about!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wouldn\u2019t it be so much easier if an expert organizer came and did it for you? Wouldn\u2019t it be so much more enjoyable if all you had to do was maintain a garage that has already been sorted and organized and cleaned for you? That would be much less overwhelming! You might even be energized and excited to keep it the way it is after someone else already did the hard work – and did an exceptional job at that! \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus has done just that for you. He had more than a resolution on his mind; he had your righteousness, and he came with his perfect obedience to tidy up your disorganized, disobedient life. He did all of the work for you as your Substitute. He kept God\u2019s law. He was the \u201cgood Christian\u201d we could never amount to. He treasured Word and worship with an honest and sincere heart. He already did the hard work for you, and an exceptional job at that! Now the burden of having<\/em> to be like Jesus has been replaced by the joyful freedom of wanting <\/em>to be like him, with no strings attached. He met his Father\u2019s demand of holiness, leaving us to enjoy the blessing of walking in his footsteps. What Child is This? This Prince of Peace is your Redeemer and Substitute. May the blessing of his perfect obedience bring blessings through your guilt-free obedience in the new year!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Luke 2:41-52) Sometimes we want a substitute; other times we need one. There are certain social situations when we wish we could simply hit the pause button and be replaced by a substitute to allow us to be anywhere but there. But there are also scenarios in which we simply cannot be two places at… Continue reading Substitute<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[188,65],"tags":[5,192,109,36,191,108],"class_list":["post-866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-what-child-is-this-series","category-sermons","tag-jesus","tag-obedience","tag-preaching","tag-sermon","tag-substitute","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-dY","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=866"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866\/revisions\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}