Topical Sermon
by Maylan Schurch
Bellevue Seventh-day Adventist Church 9/26/2020
©2020 by Maylan Schurch
(If you’d like to watch the entire YouTube worship service, click the link below. The sermon starts at the 50:30 mark.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=encz-YOy7Hk
Please open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 1.
Today’s sermon title is “Jesus’ Journey Home.”
Don’t you get a sort of wistful nostalgia sometimes for where you grew up? I grew up near Redfield, South Dakota, and Shelley grew up in Juneau.
The last few times Shelley and I have visited Juneau, the way we got there was to go up to Bellingham and drive our car onto the Columbia ferry and spend three days churning our way up through the Inside Passage. (It’s sort of like a cruise without the fancy amenities of a real cruise ship.) We would leave Bellingham at about three on Friday afternoon, and get into Juneau early Monday morning.
And since neither of us likes to drive nonstop on long trips, when we used to take trips to Redfield it would take about three days too. We would simply hop on I-90, go east roughly 1600 miles (sleeping over at Missoula and then Buffalo, Wyoming), and take a left at Plankinton, South Dakota. 80 miles later, we would be at the farmhouse a mile west of Redfield.
And when it comes to the virus it would actually be safer to be back in our hometowns. According to Google, Juneau so far has recorded a total of 366 Covid cases, with zero deaths. The entire county in which Redfield is the county seat has had 120 cases, and no deaths.
So for both Shelley and me, “home” would technically be safer. But of course we are not going anywhere. Yet it is comforting to think about those childhood days when – from the point of vew of a kid – things were pretty placid, and certainly simpler than they seem to be now. Home was where supper was waiting, where you finally went after you were called several times by your mom.
This week I got to thinking about Jesus and His home. Because even though He is physically up in heaven right now, the truth is that He has spent almost the entire history of the world coming home – to this earth!
I think we need to remind ourselves if this, especially in these puzzling and uncertain days. And I think that this truth is even more powerful when we look at some of the steps He has taken in his journey to come home to us.
I think that this is important because, especially in times of crisis, we tend to ask “Where is God? Is Heaven a long way away? Are they actually aliens up there? Can they really understand what we’re going through?”
I’ve found it very heart-lifting to look at some of the stages, some of the steps, Jesus has taken His journey home to us. And as we follow these steps, we’ll learn again just how much He loves us, and how safe we are in His care. And we will learn that each step He takes has brought Him closer to us.
For the first step He took, look at Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:1 – 5 [NKJV]: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
And on through the week it goes. And according to the first few verses of John 1, and the first few verses of Hebrews 1, and some middle verses of Colossians 1, Jesus was the one who was doing the Creating. Jesus was the Maker. God was present, and so was the Holy Spirit, but Jesus seemed to have been the one doing the work.
Verses 24 – 31: Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
You know, all through my life I’ve thought that during Creation Week, God and His Son were basically just working on a grand and wonderful project, maybe even an art project, far more creative than anything that has ever been done, or would ever be done.
But now I know that Jesus was doing more than this. Incredibly, Jesus was taking the first steps in His journey home. Can you believe that? According to the Bible, it’s amazingly true.
If you’re taking sermon notes, here comes what you could call Sermon Point One. What was that’s first step in Jesus’ journey home?
Jesus built a “house” and put His children here.
You see, the heavenly creative team didn’t simply drop Adam and Eve down on a bare planet with a tent and a backpack of camping supplies to see what they would do with them.
No, what you see here our heavenly parents lovingly creating a special room for their new children. This planet was not simply a basic-training camp from which they would graduate and go someplace else afterward. This was to be their home.
Across the street from where we live in south Renton, a young couple gave birth this past April to a little girl. I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine that they prepared a room in their house which would eventually be Chloe’s. That’s where this little girl would sleep, and all her toys would be there, with mom and dad not far away. Maybe the parents have installed a little baby monitor system.
So now that I remember that Jesus built this planet as our house, and put us on it, what should I do?
I know what I’m doing. And I know that the virus is helping me do this. I’m paying more attention to my “playroom,” the great natural world.
I’m looking at the crows – and of course they’re looking right back at me. I am looking at dogs as they tow their owners down the street. It seems that the littler the dog, the more firmly they tug against the leash, leaning sideways, trying to follow the freshest aroma that crosses their nostrils.
A week or so ago Shelley and I had just started out on a morning walk, and I glanced at the street pavement and discovered a bee walking there. This was your standard bee, like the ones we have seen burrowing in the beautiful flowers in a couple of the front yards.
But this bee wasn’t flying, it was walking. And it kept walking. I followed along, and it didn’t seem to mind me, it just walked along the pavement, walked around a twig, and finally wrestled its way into some grass. I suppose that something had gone wrong with its wings—even though they looked okay–or maybe it had gotten too old to fly. But it didn’t seem weak. It was not wandering around–it was walking purposefully in one direction.
Jesus created the ancestors of that bee. And He created the flowers this bee had helped pollinate in better days. Jesus created our next-door neighbor’s dog, a golden retriever whose favorite possession is a large toy hedgehog. Jesus created the oranges and apples and lettuce and corn on the cob and rice and many other foods which Shelley prepares for me.
When’s the last time you visited our church website’s Daily Photo Parable? Pretty much every one of those daily entries has something to do with nature. So check it out. Go to bellevueadventist.org and click on the “Daily Photo Parable” icon. It’s great Friday night or Sabbath reading especially. Take the opportunity to learn more about this great home Jesus prepared for us.
But let’s go on to the next step, the next stage, in Jesus’ journey home. When I say that Isaiah 9:6 is where we going, you’re probably ‘way ahead of me. You probably can repeat word-for-word what it says.
Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end . . . .
What’s another step Jesus took in His journey home?
Not only did Jesus build a “house” and put His children here, but Jesus made sure to be born here.
Usually we express our amazement with this wonderful truth most fully at Christmas time. But I think we need to keep this in mind, somehow, all year-round. Though He is still fully God, Jesus became a human being, and was born right here.
Back in the 1880s, my own ancestors sailed to America from Germany and Switzerland. But those are not my nationalities. I was born in America, and the America is my home. I don’t know how early or how recently your ancestors moved here, but if you were born here, there’s no doubt about it – you are home.
Jesus did not arrive full-grown in a UFO. He did not swoop down and land in a fiery chariot. He was born here. “For unto US a Child is born.” Jesus is not an alien. He has never been an alien. He is one of us. And we are He is, if we want to be.
So how can reminding myself that Jesus was born here – how can that change my week ahead?
Well, this week I am planning to take a new look at the people in my life. Because whoever I see is my brother or my sister. Little Chloe across the street is my baby sister. The gruff man with the white mustache, wearing large headphones as he takes his daily walk past our house, he is my brother.
Mike and Larry are two men who have been living in our same neighborhood a couple of blocks from each other since the mid-1980s. They have taken walks together most days. They stopped for awhile, because Larry became cautious about COVID, but now they’re walking again, at a safe social distance! These men are my brothers.
So this week I’m going to remember that my world is Jesus’ house. And as I interact with the people I know, I need to gently and tactfully position myself as a brother or sister of Jesus, too. It’s pretty easy to do. People pick up on this very quickly.
What’s another step Jesus takes on His journey home to be with us? Remember, I said that with each step of His journey, Jesus is coming closer. That’s why we’re going to turn to John chapter 14.
As He speaks the words we’re about to hear, the Last Supper has just concluded. If you glance down at the very end of John 14, you see that Jesus says at that point, “Arise, let us go from here.” So that means that during all of chapter 14, they’ve still been in the upper room. Judas Iscariot left, in John 12:30, so now it’s just Jesus and the eleven.
So it’s right there in that upper room, that Jesus says what we’re about to read. Another of the disciples, whose name is also Judas, asks Him a question, and here’s what Jesus says.
John 14:23: Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Do you see how Jesus, in His journey home, takes still another step on that journey? And that step brings Him even closer to us. What he’s saying, in other words, is “If you love Me and follow Me, My Father And I will make our home with you.”
So how could we summarize this next step?
Not only did Jesus built a “house” and put His children here, and not only did Jesus made sure to be born here, but Jesus asks us to “make ourselves at home” with Him.
“Make yourself at home” was one of the kindest things I ever heard when going to someone else’s house when I was a kid. It just sort of relaxed me, especially when it was the first time I’d been a guest in that home. It sort of made you part of the family for the time you were there. Sure, it was a courteous thing to say, and sure, you couldn’t just behave the way you sometimes behaved in your own home. But it always gave me a warm feeling to hear someone say that. And it always gives Jesus and His Father and the Holy Spirit a warm feeling when we say that to Them.
So what should I do in response to this? I need to remember John 3:16, and repeat it to myself once in a while. Then I need to read those verses in Philippians 2, starting with verse five, about how thoroughly and completely Jesus humbled Himself as he accomplished our salvation.
And I need to tell Jesus and His Father that they are welcome in my life. I need to tell them to make themselves at home in my life. I need to remember that in Revelation 3:20, Jesus stands humbly knocking on the door of my heart. He doesn’t break down the door, He doesn’t use a battering ram. He knocks.
And He doesn’t knock to call me out and put handcuffs on me, but to He knocks hoping I’ll invite Him in so we can enjoy a hospitable meal together, the same way He did with Zacchaeus.
Let’s look at just one more step Jesus took on His journey home to us. Notice how He has been moving closer and closer? And this final step will be an especially dramatic one, a truly cosmic way of moving closer to home.
This step will happen even after the millennium is over. This step marks the start of a thoroughly happy eternity. We see it happen in Revelation 21.
Revelation 21:1 – 3: Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, 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 voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
What’s that final wonderful step in Jesus’ journey?
Jesus built a “house” and put His children here. Jesus made sure to be born here. Jesus asks us to “make ourselves at home” with Him. And finally, Jesus will move heaven to earth.
Doesn’t that just make you want to utterly surrender yourself to your loving Creator? What more could He do to prove that you are the one He loves?
Would you, right now, wherever you are, just tell the Lord that you are going to love Him back–totally, unreservedly love Him back?