Coming Home
Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne
John 14:2-3
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
I was away ministering in Fiji last weekend, and as fulfilling as that was, I wanted to come home. I missed my wife, my family and my church. Travel is great and exciting, but as Dorothy discovered in The Wizard of Oz, there’s something special about clicking your heels together three times and saying, “There’s no place like home.”
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home. It’s not even that it is a place, it’s because it’s a relationship. Somewhere that people can build and share a life together. Some say home is where the heart is, others say home is where you hang your hat. Robert Frost once wrote, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in!”
Today we celebrate a reno to our church home, so I thought it would be great to examine what home really is, and why there’s no place like home.
WHAT SHOULD HOME BE LIKE?
Obviously, there are good and bad families, and hence good and bad homes. Your home depends not so much on the position or the building or the facilities, it depends on the people there who love you. What should home be like? And why is Ignite your home?
Proverbs 24:3-4
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. What should home be like?
1: JOY AND REST
Psalms 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Home should be a place of joy, laughter and fun. A place you can relax and be yourself.
I like having fun at home. I like having fun in church. As a new Christian, I remember being rebuked for laughing in church. Let that never happen at Ignite. This needs to be a place of joy, fun and coffee. Home should bring you joy, and allow you rest, and even relax!
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
2: SAFETY
When all around you is messing you up. When the world is attacking you and bringing you down, home should be a safe place. A place of refuge and a haven in the storms of life.
Psalms 91:1-4
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
The Beach Boys sang, “I feel so broke up, I wanna go home.” Why? Because home is safe! This church needs to be a place of safety, a haven where you can find kindness, friends, great teaching and supernatural wisdom and power. We have great unity at Ignite, and this in not just a strength, it is mandatory. If you have a hurt, a need, a struggle, even a sin, then this is a safe place where people will not judge and condemn you, they will walk with you.
3: INTIMACY
Home should be a place of intimacy. Husbands and wives, parents and children, love must be the prevailing thing. Intimacy means being able to share honestly, with vulnerability, and to have people care for you, not condemn you. Intimacy is closeness without embarrassment.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Intimacy is being able to draw near to God together, as clean, pure sons and daughters.
4: ACCEPTANCE AND BELONGING
Romans 8:1-2
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Home should be a place where there is no condemnation. When you are part of a family, you need to have a sense of belonging, knowing that even if you fall, rather than being smashed down, someone who loves you will help you up. Our church home should be that kind of place, where we are quick to support and not condemn.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
This doesn’t mean that we blindly accept everything in the name of tolerance and inclusion. We must never condone sin in our homes or our church in the name of love and mercy. Acceptance is not holding someone’s sin over them, it’s helping them to live a Holy life. You can love someone and accept them without condoning clearly sinful practices.
5: COMFORT
In my home I have a comfortable chair, nice food and a comfortable bed to sleep on. Home should have a measure of comfort. Your church home should also have a measure of comfort. The familiarity that makes you “feel at home.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Home is where we can relax and experience comfort and blessings. A place where we can comfort one another. John Watson said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle.” Ignite is a place of comfort, because when we are comforted, we can comfort others. If you are experiencing affliction today, the love and acceptance and comfort of home is right here.
6: RESPONSIBILITY
When we had foster kids, we told them they were part of our family. On the upside, they got to go on holidays or to Christmas parties with us. But as Spider-Man said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” They also had chores. They could not do certain things. Being a part of the family brought blessings, but also responsibilities.
We are the family of God, and we have untold blessings but also responsibilities. We cannot do whatever pleases us, we have a standard, God’s Holy standard. Being in the house of God is not about lowering the standard to fit your whims and desires. It’s about crucifying your flesh to live a life that pleases your Father and holding one another responsible in love. We are responsible to each other to build each other up.
Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
7: GROWTH
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Ignite should be your spiritual home. Don’t give up meeting together. Don’t get slack and drift away. Don’t become a lone wolf Christian and don’t flit around to the next big thing. Your church home should be a place that continually builds you up and stirs you towards greatness. Many famous and successful people, from Gene Simmons to President Trump, attribute their greatness to their mum and their families.
Romans 15:1-2
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.
If you don’t have a church home, please join us. Sink your roots down deep here. If not here, find another place where you can be planted and grow strong in the Lord. We, as part of this family and home, are obliged to care for you and build you up.
8: TEACHING AND TRAINING
Home is a place where teaching for life should happen. Part of the reason why this world is such a mess is that families and churches have been replaced by schools and governments for teaching our kids how to live. And they suck at it!
Acts 2:42
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
There’s a recipe for a great church home. Teaching, fellowship, care and prayer. So, if you are at a church where the teaching is not based on the Bible, go find another church.
9: INVITE OTHERS TO
Home has long been a place I felt comfortable inviting others too. I trust Ignite is that kind of place for you. I used to invite friends home to our farm for some wholesome home cooked meals and farmyard fun, fishing, riding horses, killing cooks.
In the parable of the great banquet, when those invited didn’t bother showing up…
Luke 14:23
the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
God wants a full house, and you’re invited. Ignite should be filled to capacity and beyond. We are not a Holy huddle. We are commanded to make disciples! Ignite is not a cruise ship. It’s a battleship. Let’s get out there and take some ground! We should be actively inviting others to our spiritual home.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
I want Ignite to be your spiritual home. To be safe, inspiring, accepting and empowering, to help you become the best person you can be. That’s what a good home does, it prepares you for life. It trains you, gives you opportunities, it supports you and loves you and nurtures you. It helps shape you into the person you should be. That’s what the church should do.
So many people today float around from church to church, going where the best experience is, where the best teaching or worship or facilities are. They don’t need better entertainment, what they need is a home. What they need is a family, a family like Ignite, that loves and accepts and challenges and inspires.
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,
I get sad when I hear of people leaving a loving, active church where they were contributing to attend a church where they will just turn up and watch. Home is not a spectator sport; it’s an active involvement sport. Ignite is a place where you can get out of the stands and get on the field, and nothing beats having a great home.
PRODIGAL SON
I’ve always loved the parable of the Prodigal Son, because I can relate to it. Perhaps you can too. Been out in the world, made mistakes, suffered for them, and longed to come home. A Spanish story is told of a son called Paco, who ran away from home after a fight with his dad. His father searched for him but couldn’t find him. In desperation he put an ad in the newspaper…Paco, please come home. Meet me tomorrow at the town square at twelve. All is forgiven. The next day almost on hundred young boys called Paco turned up.
Luke 15:18-20
I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”‘ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Home is where you are loved, accepted, yet disciplined and shaped for success. That’s what this home of Ignite should be. Don’t float around, seeking the next big thing. Sink your roots down deep, even if it’s only for a short time. I’d love you to make this church, this coffee shop, your home. Even if it’s not forever, let us build you up and inspire you now, to help send you on your way stronger and more mature than ever.
OUR ULTIMATE HOME
Here’s the best news of all. An old missionary was returning from a lifetime of service in Africa one day, on the same boat as the President of the USA. When the boat arrived, the President left first, to a guard of honour, bands playing and crowds cheering.
Last off the boat was the old missionary. No crowds, no cheers, he stood alone on the wharf and prayed and said, “Lord, this is not much of a welcome home.”
And the Lord said to his heart, “you’re not home yet!” As good as church might be, this is not our final home. One day very soon the Lord will split the clouds and come back for His own.
John 14:1-3
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
COME HOME…DON’T STAY DISCONNECTED
Some of you here feel disconnected from the Lord, and from His people, and I am asking God for a special blessing here today for those who feel rejected and overlooked. If you are lonely. If you are feeling overlooked, or if you have a heavy heart, then this is for you.