Thank you for all the brothers you shared. If you could turn with me to Matthew 1. We’ll keep this short. Matthew 1:18-23.
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 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 shall save his people from their sins. All 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.
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. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:18-23, ESV)
Okay, let’s pray.
Thank you, Father, for sending your most beloved son to us because you couldn’t bear to have heaven without us. Thank you that God is a God who comes near, who draws near to sinful humanity. Thank you that you want to be with us and you want to spend all of eternity with us. And Lord, we want to respond appropriately on this Christmas Sunday. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
I struggle with these special Sundays, like the Christmas Sundays, the Easter Sundays, Resurrection Sundays.
I struggle with these because there’s a certain expectation that a theme should emerge, that it’s very familiar and you’ve heard it all before. And this Sunday leading up to it, he only gave me two things. He gave me a passage to meditate on, which is a book of Hebrews. And then he gave me the title, which is home is where the heart is.
And so that’s all I have. So let’s pray that the Lord will come through today. I think two things happen during the Christmas holiday.
And I don’t know if it’s just me, but maybe you can. This can resonate with you as well. Two things happen during the Christmas holidays. One is many people feel extremely lonely, extremely lonely during Christmas. And the other side of it, which is very related, is many people around this time of year seek romance.
Is it by coincidence that the two are happening at the same time? Deep, deep loneliness and seeking romance. If you’re single, can you raise your hand? Okay, there’s quite a bit of you, quite a number of you. This message is for you. If you’re married, can you raise your hand? This message is also for you.
In California, when it’s this sunny and every day feels like every other day, maybe you won’t feel it, but we spent a Christmas in Korea not too long ago, and it was snowing and it was freezing. And then you go into these cafes that are beautifully decorated, and in a Korean cafe, you can take a paper cup to go. But if you’re going to sit there, you have to look the part.
And you can only use ceramic mugs because the whole scene is romantic and you cannot ruin the ambiance or the atmosphere. And in a place like Korea, there’s a lot of people making romantic overtures with the snow falling. A lot of people are getting engaged during the Christmas holidays because there’s a deep loneliness.
And you could be in the greatest family surrounded by friends. But there are moments I think we can all identify that there’s this deep loneliness, like nobody really understands me. Nobody really can fulfill what this emptiness that I feel at times.
We can be busy, we can numb ourselves, we can distract ourselves. But in those moments when we are, when we slow down and we take a breath, I think even in the midst of family and friends and festivities, there’s a deep loneliness, I think, that we feel acutely during this time of year.
If you think about it, I think the biggest idol in all of human experience is romance. The biggest idol is romance.
Because we have this loneliness, we have this brokenness, we have this lack that, when you’re not distracting yourselves and you just quiet yourself, there’s something you know is not quite right.
And so what do we do? We think another person can meet this need. The person that you are looking for to meet that need has to be perfect. Because, you know, romance is almost like two bankrupt people showing up to a fancy dinner, and both parties are thinking, well, the other person has the funds, they’re going to cover this meal. And then you realize at the end of the meal, no one can pay because you’re bankrupt and they’re bankrupt.
But romance, there’s this illusion that kind of comes into our heart that there’s a perfect somebody out there. And that perfect somebody can meet my needs. And I think at Christmas we feel it.
I’m a hopeless romantic. Jackie can testify in our early years while we were dating, it’s since stopped. But before I was a hopeless romantic, maybe even Randy and Dan, they. They can testify. They can testify.
And it’s like when I was younger, it’s like there’s a perfect somebody out there. And all of life is gray. All of life is boring. All of life is just black and white.
And then you turn on a switch and then it’s color, it’s HD 4K. It’s like that person is, I’m going to sweep them off my feet or they’re going to sweep me off my feet. And all the loneliness that you felt growing up is going to be satisfied in an instant.
I grew up in a home that was so quiet, so boring, so stoic, so sterile, like, no laughter, no fun. It was just. It was. It was tough. It was tough.
But when. When I’m in my room by myself, trying to study, but not really studying, just. Just daydreaming, just a lot of, like, there is a person out there. I have to find them. That’s all that. Like.
And I grew up in the 80s. That’s all the music of that generation. If you’re a romantic, you have to listen to 80s music. No, don’t listen to the 80s music. It will get you in trouble. It just encourages this fantasizing of this perfect person out there that can satisfy my loneliness.
It was boring because we didn’t have Internet, we didn’t have iPhones, we didn’t have Netflix. Just you in a sterile room, maybe going out once in a while, maybe trying to do sports, but there’s absolutely nothing to do. And that just, I think, encourages. Well, there’s something out there.
I think we, in our modern generation, it’s like we’re good at numbing ourselves. We’re good at distracting ourselves. So you might not reach this realization as fast as I did, but me as a teenager, I felt it so strongly.
And it’s such an awkward thing to have these crushes growing up, because nowadays you have phones, you have text messages, you have social media, you can hide, you can be anonymous, you can do all these things. But back then, we have a rotary phone, a landline. You got to dial it, and you call up and you have no idea who’s going to pick it up. Usually it’s the parent.
And then you say, can I speak to so and so. Oh, yeah, Mr. Mrs. Whatever. And then you give your name, and then. Who is this? And then they say, oh, Ray’s calling. Oh, Ray who? Oh, this is not going well. This is really not going. They don’t even know my last name. It is so embarrassing. It is so difficult to be a romantic in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s.
With that as a background, I just want to read some verses in Hebrews 11, and we’ll wrap it up. Hebrews 11:6. And without faith, it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6, ESV)
What are you seeking on this Christmas Sunday? We’re all seeking perfection. We’re all seeking perfection because you think that person is perfect. Wait until you spend a little bit more time. Wait until 25 years goes by. You will see your imperfections. You will see that person’s imperfections.
Oh, I didn’t mean to. That sounds like I’m talking about my marriage. We’ve been married about 25 years. No, we have a good marriage. But even in a good marriage, like you’re seeking perfection. We’re all seeking something. Love, security, pleasure, something. But deep down, I think you’re seeking somebody to fix you and to make you whole and to be perfect when you’re imperfect. That is really what we’re seeking.
And usually we think a seeker is somebody who’s never been to church, somebody who just is interested in the Bible for the first time, they’re coming to church. But Christian here is somebody who is a lifelong seeker.
It says there is a reward for those who seek Jesus Christ. Jesus is God with us. Jesus came to seek us because he desires us.
And on this Christmas, our response should be, yes, Lord, I seek you, not. I met you when I was a little kid and I got baptized, and therefore I can move on to something else. That happens in marriages. You seek somebody during the courtship, and then you get that person, and then things become familiar, things become ordinary and mundane, and then you seek something else.
And we have the same mentality when it comes to Christian life. I know Jesus, and so let me seek something else. Let me seek out community. Let me seek out purpose. Let me seek out somebody else to meet this deep brokenness and loneliness.
And Jesus saying, I’m right here. I’ve been here. I’ve been here all along. Why don’t you come to me? Jesus made the first move, and now he’s waiting to see our move. Are we going to respond and seek him because he wants us to seek him? Hebrews 11:8.
By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10, ESV)
Abraham is a picture of a Christian life. You’re going out and you’re seeking something and you don’t know where you’re going. And along the way he’s realizing, I’m in the promised land, but I’m still in a tent. Like I thought by now at my age I should have settled, but I’m still in a tent even though I’ve reached the destination. Why am I still wandering? Why is it still so semi permanent that any day I can move again?
Is because this is just a metaphor, that there’s a big, there’s a better homeland, a heavenly home, a city with foundation not built by hand by man and built by God.
And I think this shows that two things, as you live out your Christian life, two things grow in your heart as the years go by. One is a deep longing because you met Jesus. He satisfies you, but you want more of him. You want more of him. Like just the fact that you married your spouse, does that mean it’s the end?
You don’t seek to know your spouse, you don’t seek to love your spouse. It’s just on cruise control. you’re going to seek your job, you’re going to seek another purpose outside of this marriage. Like marriage is the reason why romance is such an idol and why marriage is such a gift is because it’s the closest thing to our relationship with Christ. Marriage, husbands serving the wife, the wives submitting to the husband. This is a picture of Christ in the church. Romance is in some way a pointer to this reality. It’s the closest thing.
Like a job won’t get you close, money won’t get you close. But love, romance, it really gets close to reality. Because Christ came for a bride. He came for a divine romance.
This is not just a one-time event, a one-time encounter. No, you’re falling in love with Jesus more and more. So for a Christian, as years go by, do you find your longing for Christ growing? You find it growing? That’s one thing that actually for a believer should grow.
The other thing I think of for a believer that should grow is a deep homesickness. This world is not my home. Like this deep, like I’m, I arrived at the place, I thought this was it. I’m in the promised land, but yet I’m still pitching a tent. It’s so temporary. It’s not it. This is not it.
Jesus says there’s more and eventually you’re going to be with me in full glory and full experiencing me fully in heaven for all of eternity. Don’t you want that? Don’t you? Aren’t you homesick for that?
Hebrews 11:13. They all died in faith, not receiving the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16, ESV)
All died in faith, not having received the things that were promised to them. They saw it, but it was on the horizon; it was far off. They got a glimpse of it, they tasted it, but it’s still so far off.
And why did God set up Christian life this way? Doesn’t he come and just give you all that you want, and you’re so satisfied in your life here, and you want to build a home and make it permanent here? Is that the Christian life? Or is there a deep longing for more?
Even if you have the best life, this is not it. Even if everything is going well, this is not it. I’m homesick. This is not my home. I’m just passing through.
This sense for a Christian. I hope every Christmas it grows in your heart. A deep longing and a deep sense of homesickness. Strangers in exiles. Hebrews 11:24.
Now we get into some of the choices we make as Christians by faith. Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26, ESV)
We all feel the same loneliness. Like if you just turn off your devices, if you just turn off the TV, if you just shut down the laptop. We all feel very acutely, especially in the holidays, just a deep emptiness and a brokenness.
And we desperately try to fill it. Is it through dating? Is it through finding someone? Is it through whatever we’re trying to numb ourselves and distract ourselves?
The life of Moses, he grew up as a Hebraic Egyptian and a person caught in two cultures, just never quite fitting in. Like, he’s not an Egyptian, yet he’s growing up in Pharaoh’s court. He’s a Hebrew. And later on in his life, he awakens to his true identity and calling as a child of God. And he makes a choice.
He could have rationalized, well, can’t I do a lot of good work in Pharaoh’s court as a believer? Isn’t that better? Shouldn’t I use all the leverage, all that I’ve gained? Shouldn’t I? Shouldn’t I evangelize to Pharaoh and stay there? No. He chose. And this is a choice that every believer has to choose. He had. He chose to leave it and say, that’s not my life. That’s not my life. I’d rather be with the people of God.
And as soon as he chose that, everybody who knew Moses thought he was such a fool. Why would you leave all the pleasures of sin and all the influence? Why would you leave that? That is the Christian life. We leave it not saying you’re lazy at school or you’re lazy at work. you’re excellent in all that you do for the glory of God.
We do it for a different purpose, but we leave it in a sense, because that’s not our identity. That’s not where our heart is. Home is where the heart is. My heart is not there. My heart is with the people of God.
And once he made that choice, all the reproach, all the expressions of disappointment and disapproval came Moses’ way.
And so for you, if you really are a follower of Jesus, you’re going to hear the same things. If you just go to church and it’s just a Sunday thing, and then you just live your life, no one’s going to bother you.
But if you really are like Moses, say, I turn my back on this. That’s not where my heart is. My heart is with the people of God. I want to serve God.
I want to love the Lord. If that’s your heart, I guarantee you’re going to hear people disapproving of your life. They’re going to say, I’m so disappointed. Like, you think this life that you’re following Jesus is so great.
And they’re going to say things, and they also go to church. They could be from your family. And they just think, what. What kind of foolish life are you living? You say you’re, it’s a divine romance. your life looks miserable to me. That’s what they’re going to say.
You don’t look happy because I wouldn’t be happy in your shoes. you’re going to hear those words of disapproval, disappointment, reproach.
And why did Moses choose this? He was seeking a reward. Hebrews 11. And I’ll end here. Hebrews 11:36. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with a sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had promised something better for us, that apart from us, they should not be made perfect.
36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy— wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:36-40, ESV)
Do you ever feel out of place in this world? Do you ever feel like even though you’re physically at home, you’re homeless, you’re homesick? Something is not quite reaching the part of my heart that I feel, this nagging. It’s because this world is not worthy of us. Christians, brothers and sisters, it’s not worthy of us. We are so much higher than this world.
We’re so much better because of Jesus than anybody in this world. We’re living for something that everybody else lets them chase what’s in the world. That’s not where our heart is. Our heart is not there. Our heart is where the home is, which is in heaven with Jesus.
When the world expresses disapproval or disappointment because you’re trying your best to follow Jesus, don’t let it affect you. Hold on to Jesus. Don’t let it affect you. Don’t let it bother you. May we all have thick skin. The comments.
Let it come, but let it just fall right off, because that’s just coming from the world. It’s going to come. It’s coming from even churchgoers. Let it come. Let it just fall off. It comes with a territory. People of faith did not receive what was promised.
God has provided something better for us. And what is that thing that is better for us? It’s Emmanuel. God, Jesus, God with us. God came near. Jesus. Our Emmanuel was born. And he’s saying, heaven wouldn’t be heaven without you. I need you to come with me.
I need you to be with me. I will die for you. I will do everything I can to convince you, to woo you into this romance.
Jesus did everything. Now he’s waiting for a response. Home is where the heart is. The heart of a believer is saying, Jesus, yes, I too want to be with you. Jesus, I want to be with you. Take me to my Father’s house.
This world is not, not my home. I will finish my race. Just let me finish it well. Let me not stumble. Let me not disgrace your name.
Let me not fall. Let me just finish my race. But as soon as it’s time, I’m ready. That’s the heart of a believer. Jesus says, I come for you. I’m drawing near. And we in response, draw near to Jesus. Okay, let’s pray. Maybe this is the first time you understood the heart of a believer. And if you want to make this day the most important day of your life, please come forward.
If you’d like to receive Jesus as your personal savior and Lord, if you’ve never been baptized and you’d like to get baptized, please come forward.
If this is a day of salvation that is all over the book of Hebrews, that today is the most important day because it’s the day of salvation. So I want to first extend an invitation. Invitation for anybody who would like to be saved by Jesus and respond to his invitation to say, I draw near to Jesus. If that’s you, please come forward.
Father, we bring our hearts before you. I pray that you search us, Holy Spirit, what are we seeking deep down at the core of who we are? Do we really love you? Do we seek you? Do we seek to know you? Or do we distract ourselves? Do we numb ourselves? Do we seek after other things?
If there are idols in our hearts, Holy Spirit, we ask you to convict us of what they are. If it’s romance, Lord, thank you for teaching us today that we’re all seeking perfection in Jesus. you’re the only perfect one who ever lived.
Home is where the heart is. We put our heart with you, Lord Jesus. We want to be with you. Lord Jesus, pray that you would meet us during this time of prayer. Thank you that your body was broken for us at Calvary and Your Blood shed.
We pray that you would minister to us and encounter us as we wrap up this service. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.