|
|
|
|
There's no place like home. That's what Dorothy said as she clicked the heels of her ruby slippers together. Whether it's a farm house on the plains of Kansas or a Condo on Harbison, there is no place like home. Isn't that what we sing each year: "There's no place like home for the Holidays…?"
While the kids were out of school this summer we did some traveling. We spent time in hotels and ship cabins and guest rooms of family members. But there is no place like home. After you have been away it is good to sit in your own chair and lay down in your own bed. It's like ... well, like coming home.
It's also like that at church. Coming to God's house can be like coming home. Like the song "Little Brown Church" to find your way to that holy ground and home place is a feeling of peace. That is why churches have homecomings. Because there's no place like your Father's house - your home!
The psalmist knew this perhaps in a way we do not. Psalm 84 is one of the songs of Zion. It was one of the songs that people sang as they make the trek up into the mountains to go to the temple in Jerusalem. The visit to Jerusalem was not a weekly thing as coming to the church can and should be for us. I remember when I was a youth the church was just a few miles from our house and I could literally just drop by the church any time. For many of us it is the same way. The church is conveniently located near our homes and places of commerce.
Back then people has to walk for days or weeks to get to the temple. They might do it once a year or once in a lifetime. But the Temple was the dwelling place of God and so they would go. Those who worshipped the one true God, the God of Abraham and Sarah and God of Moses and Miriam, the God of the desert and the Red Sea, would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Why? Because it was home. It was the spiritual home place. It was the land of the fathers and mothers. Zion was the place where God had chosen to dwell among us.
The psalmist expresses a longing for that home. He says "My soul longs for thy courts." He compares it to a bird finding nest. There at the altar we may find a home of rest. There is no place like home for the spirit.
There's no place like a church home and there's no place like our heavenly home. The psalmist may be talking about the temple in Jerusalem, but at the same time he may be thinking of our heavenly home. Isn't that what we were singing about this morning? "When we all get to heaven..." Much of Christian music expresses that theme. Earth is not our home. Heaven is our true home.
But heaven is more than a place in the great blue yonder just as Zion is more than just a city in the mountains of Israel. Heaven is also a spiritual state. Heaven is the place where God dwells. Since Christ God doesn't dwell just in a temple in Jerusalem. God is in more than just temples and churches.
God is here in us and with us. Jesus living in our hearts and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us; that makes each is us a temple of God and a corner of heaven. And when we come to that place in our lives where we realize that, it is like ... like coming home. When we come to the place where we experience the presence of the living God in us and with us it gives us a feeling of peace. We are finally home and there is no place like home!
There's no place like being at home in God. But getting to that home means taking a journey. Like the Psalmist we must travel to get there. Sometimes the road is rough and steep and hard. But communion with God is what our hearts and souls long and faint for.
But as the psalmist says, "Happy are those who find their strength in you and whose heart are the highway to Zion." God gives us strength. He is there with us as the make our pilgrimage through life. He enables us to make the trip home. And in a way that trip itself is a comfort. Or as the Psalmist says, "Whose heart are the highway to Zion."
His comfort takes many forms. In Verse 6 it says that as the pilgrim goes through valley of Beca God supplies springs of water and refreshing rain. Beca was a dry place but is also made an allusion to "beci" which were tears. As we make our pilgrimage to God, the Almighty turns our dry places and tears to refreshing water. Yes the journey home to God is hard but we are given strength to make the journey. 'Casue there's no place like home
Where is your home? Where do you live? Come home to God. God's courts are better than the places of this world. The psalmist says he would rather be a doorman in the house of God then to live in the tents of wickedness. That is because heaven is our true home. We were created to live in God and He in us. God is our true home.
In centuries past people made a long dangerous journey to Jerusalem. They went so that they could worship God. They did it because worshipping and serving God is our purpose in life. And the psalmist saw in this journey a deeper truth. We all are making a pilgrimage in our hearts to be home with God.
Come home to God. Make a pilgrimage in your heart. Seek to know God and he will help you. He strengthens the pilgrim. For as the psalmist says, "Happy is everyone who trusts" in the Lord.
Paul says, "Put on the whole armor of God." Some Christians are frankly put off by this militaristic image. They are offended by the use of images that promote killing in the service of Christ. After all Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He said, "Blessed are the peace makers." There is too much killing in our world, too much violence. We should be bringing an end to the killing not making war.
Let me assure you the Bible in not telling us to make war; to kill and maim other human beings. Paul here is writing a letter of encouragement to a group of Christian that are under siege. To Christians who are trying to heal broken spirits and bodies. To Christians who are trying to bring peace to war torn souls and societies. The early church was under attack from two sides. The Jews were opposed to them because they dared to declare that Jesus was God's Messiah. And the Romans opposed them because their religion forbid them to worship the Roman and Greek gods.
In this letter Paul tries to inspire them to be strong in the face of their troubles. He is telling them that their strength in the face of such opposition comes from Christ and him alone. He is not saying that they should take up a sword against their foes. He is simply using poetic language to help them see the strength that God has given them.
Who was the prime enemy of the Ephesians? Was it the Jews? The Bible tells us that the Jews persecuted the Christians from the beginning. The earliest Christians were Jews first, but they were thrown out of the synagogues because they believed in Jesus. The Jews stoned or beat some who proclaims Christ like Stephen and Paul.
Was their enemy the Romans? The Romans had little respect for the Christians. They barely tolerated the Jews. They hated Jews and Christians because they didn't believe in the Roman gods. They tolerated Judaism only because of its ancientness but these Christians were just upstart troublemakers.
Was their enemy worldliness? Ephesus was like any other ancient city. All sorts of evil living was going on there.
But Paul identifies none of these as the Christians' enemy. He wrote, "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness." Yes the Jews, the Romans and worldliness were all evil forces but their real enemy was none of these. These were merely manifestations of something darker and more sinister. Their enemy was larger than the Sanhedrin. It was larger than Caesar. It was even larger than the carnal spirit that drives people to the depths of worldly lusts. Their enemy was none other than the Prince of Darkness himself; the Devil who was the author of all those evils.
To face this enemy Paul says, "Put on the full armor of God. Stand therefore having girded your loins with truth." What truth? The truth that God loved the world and sent his son to die. The truth that God is the creator of this world and he has given all power into Jesus' hands. The truth that Jesus will come again bringing judgment and blessing.
"Stand ... having put on the breastplate of righteousness." In other words know that you are saved. You have given yourself to God in Christ and he will protect you.
"Stand ... having put on ... the shoes of the Gospel of Peace." The shoes of the gospel of peace? Sounds like a bad country gospel song. But it makes sense. The Gospel was meant to be spread and in those days the main mode of transportation was on foot. So Paul is telling them to be foot soldiers and keep spreading the Good News of peace in Christ.
"Besides all these taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench the fiery darts of the evil one." Don't misunderstand. Faith is not something to cower behind and ignore the evil of the world. It's a shield that protects one who is doing battle with evil. It is used to stop the fiery darts thrown at those who would dare to face the Devil in spiritual battle.
"And take the helmet of salvation." A single blow to the head can take a life. But we have been given eternal life. The devil can't strike us down because we will rise. So salvation is like a helmet that prevents death.
"And the sword of the Spirit with is God's Word." It may seem trite to speak of the Bible as a sword. But it is the written record of the truth and that truth is a weapon. Only truth can dispel ignorance; only light can dispel darkness. The Devil's main weapons are darkness and ignorance and only the light and truth of God's Word can defeat them.
"Pray at all times." Prayer is not a weapon, is it? A popular Christian song speaks of the Church as an army fighting on its knees. We often think of "just praying" as doing nothing and we say, "It is the least I can do." But if there really is a God in heaven that hears and responds to prayers, then it is the most we can do. Praying never absolves us from doing what we are capable of, but through prayer we call on a power that is capable of things we could never do.
Paul wrote these things to a group of Christians in a Mediterranean town almost 2,000 years ago, but he wrote them for us too because we are under siege. Who is our enemy? Is it the rampant materialism and worldliness of our age? Is it the encroachment of civil authorities on our religious freedoms? Is it the specters of crime, poverty, drug abuse, etc.? Is it the festering sore of prejudice growing in our country? Is it the dissolution of the family and the growing number of dysfunctional and abusive homes?
No, our enemy is the Devil! But we don't believe in the Devil anymore, do we? According to a recent survey only 35% of Americans believe that Satan exists, while 60% think it is only a symbol. If you don't believe in the Devil, you have to believe in evil. The existence of evil is overwhelmingly evident. Just read the papers of watch the news: crime, drugs, prostitution, gangs, drive by shootings, poverty, homelessness, boat people, refugees, war, famine, pestilence, child abuse, spouse abuse, elder abuse, sexual abuse, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, rape, racism, sexism, elitism, political persecution, torture, etc.
All these things are evil and they threaten to crush the human spirit and humans souls for whom Christ died and rose again. But they are not the enemy. The ultimate enemy is the forces of darkness behind them. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Our fight is against the powers and principalities of darkness that wreck havoc and chaos in people's lives and souls.
So equip yourselves for a war with the Devil. Accept the tools God gives you to do battle with the Prince of Ignorance and Darkness. Look to God for the truth that dispels the darkness of ignorance. Look to Christ who give eternal life that the Devil can never take away. Look to the Holy Spirit that gives you strength to stand when the battle is long and guidance when the enemy is hard to find. Look to the Almighty that give you a Gospel of love and peace that can heal the wounds of the world.
Our battle may be a spiritual one, but it is none the less real. People are dying because of the oppression of evil. They are dying spiritually because they have not accepted the life Christ offers them. But they also die physically as the resort to drugs, illicit sex, dangerous lifestyles. They are dying and God has given us the equipment to bring them life.
Don't just stand there! Fight! Get on your knees and pray for their lives and souls. Put your shoes on and spread the word that God is love and Jesus is life. Grab your sword and cut down the ignorance and darkness. Get your shield and protect the helpless and hopeless against the evil onslaught. For heavens sakes, put on the full armor God gives you and fight!
"You are going to have to watch your diet." That is what the doctor said or words to that effect. I was only about 10 or 11 at the time and the doctor had discovered that my Dad had high blood pressure. This was not uncommon for a man his age but he decided that my Father had to go on a low cholesterol diet. That meant we all had to go on a diet. Now this was in the '70's before there were a lot of low fat and low cholesterol product on the market. In our house scrambled eggs were the main staple for breakfast, so a lot of things had to change.
I remember my mother had a can in the kitchen. It was a little smaller than a soup can and it had a top on it with holes in it. When we fried some bacon we would pour the grease through that lid and into the can. The when we wanted to fry something like some eggs or whatever we would take a spoonful of that grease put it into the pan and melt it.
Well, that can had to go. We would only use low cholesterol vegetable oil or margarine. The eggs and bacon and the Saturday morning ham and cheese omelets were banished as well. And in our house "pork" became a four-letter word. It was hard, but we learned to watch our diet.
Jesus basically was telling his disciples to watch their diet. He had said I am the bread of life. Of course he was not talking about the physical bread that fills the stomach. He was talking about the spiritual food that feeds the heart and soul and gives the spirit life. Jesus was telling his disciples that they needed to go on an all bread diet.
But not just any bread. They were to stay away from the donut houses of the world. Sour dough and sweet rolls were not on this diet. Instead they were to feed entirely on the bread of life that he offered them. Jesus' words and his life, along with his death and resurrection, were the bread that would give them eternal life.
You know, diets can be rewarding. If a person goes on a low fat - high fiber diet they could lose weigh. And they could feel better and be healthier. In the same way a low Devil - high Jesus diet can be good for your spiritual health. Focusing our spiritual intake exclusively on Jesus can give us joy, peace, love, hope.
This is what Jesus, the spiritual dietitian, is prescribing: a spiritual diet low in the fats and sodium of the world. That stuff could clog up the arteries of your soul and cause you to have a spiritual stoke or heart attack. They could diminish your ability to love your neighbor and your God. Instead we are to have a spiritual diet of prayer, and Bible study that is high in Jesus and God's love coupled with a program of servanthood exercise to fully realize our spiritual potential.
But some of Jesus' disciples didn't like this prescription. They said, "This teaching is difficult, who can accept it," and they fell away. You know diets are like that. They are hard to stick to. A lot of people go on diets fully intending to stay away from fats and cholesterol, but before long they fall into old habits. They want to satisfy their hungers and appetites and so they fall away just like these disciples.
This happens with spiritual diets as well. I have heard so many people say, "Preacher I am going to start going to Sunday School and Church every Sunday from now on." And some of them do, but most get out of the habit again. Or maybe they resolve to attend Bible Study regularly or to have daily times of prayer and meditation. But some fall out of those habits.
Some never even get started. They come and ask how they can have the kind of strong relationship with God that will see them through hard times. The church says, "First, accept Christ then worship regularly and pray continuously and serve God in the world." And they realize that if they begin this high Jesus diet, they will never be able to indulge in the junk food of the world. And they fall away.
But some of the disciples didn't fall away. When Jesus asked why, Peter responded. He said, "Lord, to whom can we go. You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."(John 6:68-69)
I knew a man once who was told by his doctor that he had to go on a strict no potassium diet. They had discovered that his kidneys were not functioning and that he was diabetic. If he didn't go on this diet he could die. It was difficult. He had to give up a lot of the foods he loved and he even had to take his own food on retreats and to church dinners.
As hard as that diet was he stuck to it. Why? Because he knew that if he didn't he could die. He realized that this diet, as difficult as it was, meant life for him. That is why the disciples stayed with Jesus. They realized that as hard as Jesus' diet was it meant eternal life.
Watch your diet! Monitor your spiritual intake. Be careful of excess spiritual calories that the world offers. Stay away from the fatty lusts and appetites that the world offers. Avoid the spicy prejudices and hatreds that could give your spirit heart burn. Stay away form the junk food of the world that will clog your spiritual arteries and damage the health of your heart and soul.
Instead try a diet high in Jesus fiber. Let Jesus into your hearts and soul. Allow him to clean out the plaque of self-complacency and self-satisfaction. And begin an exercise program that includes loving your neighbor, ministering to the needy and witnessing in the world.
I am telling you this for your own good. I know this is a difficult diet. Not many stick to it. But the rewards are great for those who do. The greatest benefit is eternal life.
Watch your diet! Your spiritual life depends on it!