Home For Christmas: God with us | Ps Ben Moir

You have joined us on a phenomenal

morning because it is the start of our

Christmas series, Home for Christmas.

And this series, when it comes to

Christmas, there is just an undeniable

link between Christmas and home, right?

There is something inside of us that at

Christmas time just wants to be at home.

If you watch any Christmas movie, any

Christmas movie has something to do with

home. Whether it's you need to get home

for Christmas or maybe you've been left

home alone for Christmas

or maybe

die hard.

It's just John Mlan wanting to get home

to his family for Christmas. Christmas

movie. Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

But anytime we think about Christmas,

there's a link between Christmas and

home. It's because there's something

inside of us that draws us home, that

draws us to this place. And the reason

for it is that it's actually a physical

mirror of a spiritual reality that deep

inside each of anyone, every one of us,

whether we know it or not, there is a

longing and a drawing to our spiritual

home to to a home with God. So over the

next four weeks, that's what we're going

to talk about. That he is the God who

calls us home. He is the God who opens

his home. He is the God who makes his

home within us. And today we are talking

about God. He is the God who makes his

home among us. So if you got your

Bibles, turn to Matthew 1, the first

chapter of the New Testament. If you do

not have your real Bibles, there will be

a big Bible behind me.

Uh but let's all turn to Matthew 1:18.

Matthew 1:18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place

in this way when his mother Mary had

been betrothed to Joseph. Before they

came together, she was found to be with

child from the Holy Spirit. And her

husband Joseph being a just man and

unwilling to put her to shame resolved

to divorce her quietly.

But as he considered these things,

behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to

him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of

David, do not fear to take Mary as your

wife, for that which is conceived in her

is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a

son, and you shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their

sins." And all of this took place to

fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the

prophet. Behold, the virgin shall

conceive and bear a son, and they shall

call his name, Emmanuel,

which means God with us.

And when Joseph woke from sleep, he did

as the angel of the Lord commanded. He

took his wife, but knew her not until

she had given birth to the son. And he

called his name Jesus, Emmanuel, God

with us. This is what we're going to be

talking about today. And this is the

title of my message, God with us. But

before we continue, let's pray. Lord, I

I lift you up in this place. I pray that

as I preach that it is not my words.

Holy Spirit, that it is your words. Tell

me what to say. Stop what needs to be

stopped. God, translate that which needs

to be translated that nothing falls upon

deaf ears this morning. Open our eyes to

see. Open our ears to hear. Lord speak

for your servants are listening and in

your mighty name we pray. Amen.

When we when we say the word home or

when we use the word home it can conjure

up different thoughts in each and every

one of us. For some people when we say

home you think you're home. For some

people it's another state. For some

people it's uh another country. For for

some people, it's that little vacation

home that your parents took you to every

single Christmas, and that's the only

place for some reason that you feel

comfortable. But in preparing for this

message all week, there's just been one

song that's been on my mind as an

Australian growing up in Australian

schools.

Lucan, hit it. It's just been this song.

>> Come on, you know it.

Are

>> some of you really want to get into it?

>> Come on. Who knows that song?

>> Yeah. Come on. Who grew up with that

song all week? That's all I've been

thinking of trying to write this message

and just been singing that song.

But for some of us, it literally mean

like when we think of home, it's

kangaroos in the front yard. My wife's

car literally was high-fived by a

kangaroo once.

There's a little paw print on it was

like boop, high five.

For some of us, it's snow at Christmas

time. Uh for my son, my son, he's really

only known one home his whole life for

the last four and a half years. He's

lived in the same place and he's had

Christmas in the same place over the

last four years. So that's him when he

was one, two,

three,

and four

every year. Same place, same home, same

tradition, same. So there's something

about this home that he he he loves and

he's linked to. But a few months ago, we

we had to move our house. Well, not move

our house, we had to move house.

We had to move house. But thankfully, it

was just literally six houses down the

road. Easiest move ever. just put

everything on trolley, rolled it down

the road, and someone was there to catch

on the other side.

But Luca was super excited. He was like,

"Yes, I'm so excited. Going to a new

house. This is going to be awesome." Had

a bigger backyard. It was two stories. A

few of his friends had moved previously,

so he was like sick. Now I get to be

like one of my friends. But we got in,

we spent a few weeks there, but

eventually the novelty of a new house

wore off. To which my son Luca started

asking, "When do we get to go home?

When when do we go home, Dad? I just

want to go home." And I'm not telling

you this story so you can go check up on

him after the service cuz he's fine.

But I'm telling you this story because

it shows that in each and every one of

us, there is a longing for home. There

is a longing fi to find a place of

comfort. The human heart longs for home.

Each and every one of us long for home

because there are universal needs that

that that are core needs to each and

every one of us. We need a place for

belonging. We need a place for safety.

We need a place for stability. We need a

place for connection. We need a place

for identity. And research shows that if

these needs are not met, we are more

prone to to to h to have anxiety, to

have depression, to have low

self-esteem, to uh to have a shorter

lifespan, and also to live in a state of

constant survival, that we can never

calm down. We can never settle down.

We're always just trying to survive. And

when these needs are not met,

we as humans will just do what we can to

substitute the need with something

man-made, something that we can create,

something that we can grasp onto by

ourselves.

Maybe you you need to find belonging in

that that relationship.

Maybe you find

safety in in that addiction. Maybe you

find stability in your career. Maybe you

find identity in that one hobby that

everyone knows you for.

But at the end of the day, we can do

what we can to try and supplement our

needs, but they'll never fully satisfy

the longings that are deep inside of us.

And the reason for this is that our

longings are not just physical, but

they're spiritual. Our longings just

aren't of this world, but they're of

another world. And we can see that in

Psalm 42 where the psalmist writes, "As

a deer pants for flowing streams, so

pants my soul for you, oh God." See, a

deer doesn't wake up and decide that

it's thirsty to go get water. No, there

is something in a deer that makes it

thirsty. Therefore, it needs water.

Because it needs water, it becomes

thirsty. And just like the deer,

we need God. And without God,

our souls thirst for him. Our souls long

for him. Our souls desire

God. And the psalmist goes on, "My soul

thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come

and appear before God?" Some other

translations say, "Where shall I go to

be with God?" See, it's not just a

longing for God, but it is a longing to

be with God. To be with God. Not just

figuratively,

but spiritually, but uh but physically

as well. Our ache for home is actually

our ache for God. And I feel like St.

Augustine, the a 4th century bishop of

North Africa, says it the best when he

says, "You have made us for yourself, O

Lord, and our heart is restless until it

rests in you." Our soul is restless

until it finds its home. And that's why

I love the Christmas story is because

it's not a story of men, women trying to

find home. Not men and women trying to

find their way to God. No, it's a story

of God bringing home to humanity,

bringing home to us. That's why he is

called Emmanuel. That is why in in

Matthew 12 uh 24 it says he is Emmanuel.

He is God with us

because Jesus, he is the true home of

the human soul.

And it's not just a figurative home, but

it's a physical one. And we see this in

John 1 when it says, "And the word Jesus

became flesh and dwelt among us." This

word dwell or dwelt in other

translations, it says, "And he made his

home among us." But this word that we

translate, it actually is the word

tabernacle.

And the tabernacle in the Old Testament,

it was a physical building, a physical

place. It was a tent that the Israelites

created in order that the the presence

of God could reside on earth. It was a

tent that held the presence of God and

it was the tent in which his people were

able to meet with God.

So in this passage when Jesus is now

saying, I am that tabernacle. I am that

dwelling place. I am that home. He is

actually saying I am now the physical uh

the physical representation of the

presence of God here on earth. He is

saying I am the place that you come to

meet with Jesus.

So when the psalmist says where do I go?

The answer is Jesus. Where do I go to

meet with g to meet with God? It's

physically Jesus on earth. Where do I go

to experience God? It's physically Jesus

on earth. And we see this throughout the

gospels.

But when he when he ascended back to

heaven, he didn't leave us high and dry.

He didn't take Emanuel with with him. He

didn't go, "Well, I was down for 33

years and I thought that was enough."

No, he repackaged himself. See, when

Jesus went back to heaven, his dwelling

place became his people. His home became

you and I. And this is why it is is so

important that we we we gather on a

Sunday because yes, God is everywhere,

but he is also sometimes specially

somewhere. And when we gather on a

Sunday, when we meet in life groups, God

is not just in us.

No, God is among us. He's in that seat

next to you. He's in the aisle. He's in

the row. When we meet on a Sunday,

something special takes place. And it's

not just Jesus coming to be with us.

It's us going to be with Jesus.

So when we gather as the church,

the church becomes heaven on earth. The

church becomes his home on earth

physically. This room becomes God with

us.

And it's not the room that's special.

It's the people that's inside it. When

we gather, it's the presence of God that

fills this room. And amazing things

happen.

Amazing things happen when we're in his

room. When we're in his home.

The first thing is that his home draws

people. His presence draws people. It's

like a magnet, right? Because in him is

who we are looking for. It is Jesus that

our soul longs for. It's his presence

that our soul longs for. So it's his

presence that will draw us to him. And

we see that in in Matthew, right after

Jesus was born in Matthew 2:2, the wise

Matthew 2:2

man said, "Where is he who has been born

king of the Jews? For we saw his star

when it rose and have come to worship

him. When Jesus was born, nothing needed

to be said. Nothing needed to be done.

No, it was just his presence that drew

the wise men to him just like a magnet.

And there's this

I'm not on Tik Tok, but it's a Tik Tok

game at the moment that I saw on

Instagram because I'm above 30. Um,

but it's basically called magnetic

chess. So, you have like 15 small

magnets and and there's a rope and the

goal is to place as many magnets inside

the the circle as possible. But as you

put more and more and more magnets

within the circle, the the magnetic

field of grows stronger and there's less

places that you can place a magnet. So,

at one point you will place a magnet in

the circle and it will draw all other

magnets unto itself

and you lose when you do that. But with

Jesus, we win. Praise the Lord. But

that's what it's like that when we come

together, the more of us that we come

together, we are taking ground and it

draws people unto him. Just like that

magna, when we step into a room that's

already filled with his spirit, we are

adding ourselves to the to the increased

room that he is making here on earth.

The increased home that he is making

here on earth and that draws people unto

him. So, it's not the sign on the

building that draws people into this

room. It's not the Google ads that draw

people into this room. It's not the uh

social media ads. No, no, it's his

presence.

When we join together on a Sunday

morning and his presence fills the room,

people are drawn to it. You don't have

to tell someone that a fire is

happening. When they see a fire, they

know it's happening. And just like that,

people are drawn to Jesus because his

presence is what their soul longs for.

The second thing that happens is

his home transforms people.

In Matthew 1:21, it says, She will bear

Matthew 1:21

a son and you shall call his name Jesus

for he will save his people from their

sins.

From the beginning when Jesus stepped

onto earth

the goal was to transform humanity.

He didn't come to earth to have a good

time. He came to earth to transform

humanity. And as he grew up and stepped

into his ministry, wherever he went,

people changed, things changed, people

were healed, people were saved, people

were set free, peace came, joy came, you

name it. Where the physical presence of

God went, people were changed.

And that didn't stop when he went back

to heaven. No, that continues today.

When we step into the presence of God,

when we step into this room, things can

change. people can transform. I've seen

I've heard testimony of testimony of

people

being healed in this room, being saved

in this room.

Even when I was up in cans all the way

up in cans,

I was preaching preaching on healing and

there was people there that were in that

room and because they were in the house

of God, because they were in God's home,

things shifted and people were healed.

There was a lady who had uh chronic back

and neck pain for years and years. But

on that day, she came into the house of

God and because she came into his home,

she was healed. That is who our God is.

And that's what his presence can do. It

doesn't just draw people in, it

transforms them once we get inside it.

And the last thing that his home does or

his presence does is his home is

forever.

It's not a temporary home

like life life changes,

seasons change, people move, kids grow

up, houses sell, but God, he remains the

same in Revelation 21.

Who would have thought that on the first

week of our Christmas series, we're

going to be reading out of the book of

Revelation?

Going in deep and then we'll see what

happens. It says, "Then I saw a new

heaven and a new earth, a new home,

for the first heaven, and the first

earth had passed away, and the sea was

no more.

And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride adorned for her

husband. And I heard a loud void loud

voice from the throne saying, "Behold,

the dwelling place, the home of God is

with man, and he will dwell with them,

and they will be his people. And God

himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their

eye, and death shall be no more. Neither

shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor

pain anymore, for the former things have

passed away. This is not a temporary

home. This is an everlasting home.

And this is the story of the entire

Bible. God placing his people in a home.

In Genesis, he placed Adam and Eve in

Eden and he dwelled among them. When

Israel were were saved from Egypt, he

placed them in the promised land

to dwell among them. And now we as the

church, we are saved and we are placed

in his church and he will dwell among us

and in eternity we'll get to go live

with him forever.

This is

we get to live with God forever and

ever. The ark, the narrative of the

Bible is God calling people back to him,

back to his home.

And the great thing about it is that

what God what God builds, man cannot

destroy. What God builds doesn't fade.

It doesn't fracture. It doesn't fail.

And it doesn't finish.

And I know this

all too well because many of us, many of

you would know that

when I grew up, I didn't know my dad.

Grew up in a broken home.

Didn't know realistically which way was

up. For a lot of my childhood, my

teenage years, I didn't meet my dad till

I was 21.

But I remember the moment when I when I

found my home in God.

I remember that moment where I was like,

you know what? It doesn't matter what my

earthly home looks like. It doesn't

matter what my earthly situation looks

like. I know that there is a home where

I belong that is outside of this world

and it's going to last forever. And when

we die, when we pass away, when Jesus

returns to earth, that we are all able

to go and live with him forever.

>> That is the home we are talking about.

So this Christmas

as we are talking about home for

Christmas, coming home for Christmas,

would you come home for Christmas?

Would you come home this Christmas? As

we over these next four weeks, maybe you

already believe in Jesus. Maybe you call

yourself a Christian. You call elevation

home.

Come regularly to church. Come regularly

on a Sunday to his home. because our

hearts, our souls long to be not just uh

with God, but with God. And that and you

can find that here on a Sunday. Get into

a life group. Get planted in the house

because those who are planted in the

house of the Lord will flourish

and invite someone. Invite someone into

this home,

into the presence of God. Because who

knows what your invitation will do. Your

invitation to somebody else could be a

vehicle for their salvation, a vehicle

for them to coming to know Jesus, a

vehicle for them to be healed, set free,

made whole by his presence.

And maybe today you don't call yourself

Christian. You've you've maybe never

heard of Jesus before. Or

maybe at one point you followed Jesus,

but for some reason you've you've moved

away from following Jesus.

This is your opportunity to respond.

This is your opportunity to say yes to

Jesus. To make a line in the sand and

say, you [music] know what? I need this

Jesus. Your life may not look the way

you thought it was going to look, but

today God's calling you home.

So, in a moment, if that's you, I'm

going to give you an opportunity to

respond by raising your hand.

Because all of us, we all fall short of

the glory of God. All of us, we we have

all sinned and have broken the relation

relationship between us and our father

in heaven.

But God, because he was wants to call us

home, call us back into relationship

with him, he sent his son down to earth

to to live a perfect life, to die upon

that cross, to pay the debt that we

could not pay. And now he invites you

home.

So, in a moment, if that's you, with

eyes closed across the room,

if that's you, if you want to say yes to

Jesus this morning, if you want to

respond to Jesus this morning,

maybe for the first time, or you just

feel like today you need to recommmit

your life to Jesus,

I'm going to ask you to boldly raise

your hand. Maybe you don't feel like

there's a place where you can belong.

You don't have a a home that is stable.

Maybe your home is not a place where you

can find identity, connection,

but all of these things that are deep

inside of us that are longing needs that

need to be met can be met by Jesus

Christ.

So if that's you today, on the count of

three, I'm going to ask you to raise

your hand. One, God loves you so much

that he sent his son to die for you.

Two, Jesus, because of the joy that was

put before him, you are that joy. He

went to that cross. And three, if that's

you this morning, I ask you to raise

your hand right now. Boldly. Just raise

your hand. Put it in the air. Then you

can put it back down. If you want to

respond to Jesus this morning

as I look across the room.

Awesome. Well, we're going to say this

prayer all together as a church cuz we

do life together. So, if you could

repeat after me. Jesus,

>> I give you my life. I give you my all.

Thank you for dying for me. Come into my

life and make me whole. and in your

mighty and majestic name.