"THE TRAGEDY OF ASSUMING TOO MUCH!"

May 30   The Tragedy of Assuming Too Much!  Luke 2: 40-52

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.  Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”  (Luke 2:40-52)   I fully believe a mistake is often made when we assume too much.  Sometimes this can get us into some serious trouble.  There was a young man, who had never driven a car before, was sitting behind the steering wheel of his daddy’s car.  Daddy’s car was an automatic transmission.  It wasn’t long before another young pulled up beside of the car and asked him if he wanted to drag.  The young man, who had never even steered a moving car, assumed that there couldn’t be much to this driving thing so he decided to accept the challenge to drag.  He looked at the gear selector and saw the letter “D” which he assumed meant “Drag.”  He was doing really well as he pulled up beside the other young man, oh yeah, they were doing about 80 MPH.  Then he felt that he needed more power so he looked at the gear selector again and saw the letter “P” which he assumed meant “Pass.” When he placed it in this gear, the transmission, make a terrible noise.  He decided that he had made a mistake, so he looked at the gear selector again and he saw the letter “R” which he assumed meant “Race.”  Well, to make this long story short, everything came to a grinding halt because there are some things that we cannot assume, and he happened upon one of them.  So many people are wrecking their lives because they are assuming too much.  Many of us assume too much when we feel that we can survive as a Christian without praying.  Jesus instructed us to pray.  Throughout the Bible, especially the New Testament, prayer is an essential part of our devotion to God.  We are assuming way too much when we feel that we don’t need to pray!  There are other areas of our Christian lives that we assume that we don’t need to exercise.  How about reading our Bibles?  How about witnessing to others of the Grace of God?  How about assuming that others will do it?  We assume too much!  Believers, it is time that we got clarity and vision about what is going to occur.  Do you remember, “Hide and Seek?”  We used to play that all the time.  Someone would count, you would go hide and when the counting ended, that person would shout, “Ready or not, here I come!”  Well, don’t assume that Jesus is not coming, because he is.  God is giving us time to prepare for His coming…Some he has given thirty, some forty, some sixty, and so on, but still some are not ready!  Friends, one of these days, He is going to come whether we are ready or not.  To assume that He is not coming until you are ready is assuming too much!  Remember, Mary and Joseph assumed too much!  As they went about the routine of traveling home, they became so busy that they lost Jesus.  They searched and searched for Him and found Him in the temple---and so can you!!  Keep Praying, Keep Believing and NEVER EVER ASSUME TOO MUCH!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused… Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!