Good morning, everyone.
My name is James.
Nice to see you all today.
If I was to ask you to picture home in your mind,
what would you imagine?
Do that for me.
What does home look like?
Is it noisy people around a dinner table?
Is it time talking over food and talking over tea and coffee?
Is it the warm embrace of a loved one?
Is it being with the people you know and love,
who know and love you and you know and love them?
Is it being in the place where you feel comforted and supported and cared for?
Now, this might be a really loving picture for some of us.
This might be something that happens quite often
that we actually need to be more thankful to God for.
But for others, that kind of picture of home
is almost impossible to achieve.
A family might be overseas or in another state
and with COVID and lockdowns,
to see family is incredibly difficult.
Maybe we've lost family members
or maybe we have broken relationship with our family.
This picture of home might actually be just cold
and lonely and difficult.
You may long for home because you've moved around so much
that you just don't know where home is.
Maybe you live far away from your family
and long to live near them.
You may long for family that you'd want to be near.
Because some people live with a longing for a home
in which they feel safe and loved.
We all have a longing for home inside of us.
To be known and loved, to have deep relationships.
And we can do a lot of things to try and get that image
or to keep that image safe.
Each of us have a longing for home inside of us.
And this is only found
when we get to the home that we were made for.
We are in a series at the moment,
going through the book of Exodus,
called Ordinary People, Extraordinary God.
And we've seen so far in this series
that God has taken a people,
taken them out of Egypt,
saved them out of Egypt with plagues,
with a miracle at the Red Sea,
parting the sea so they could get through it.
He's taken the people to Mount Sinai.
God has made a covenant,
a long-lasting relationship with his people.
He's given them laws,
and now God is going to make a home with these people.
The challenge for us will be today
is to think about where our home is.
Because God offers us his home,
a place of love and safety and comfort.
And the question will be,
will we journey to that home?
So as we get into Exodus 25
and a couple of chapters after that,
let me pray for us.
Heavenly Father,
as we look at this picture of home today,
help us to long for the home
you are preparing for us, Lord.
Amen.
Let's see two points today.
First of all, we're going to see the map
that points to home,
and then how we journey to this home.
You can be following along in the St. Paul's app.
Let me encourage you to be taking notes there on paper.
Write them on your hand and up your arm if you need to.
First of all, Exodus 25 from verse 8.
Then have them make a sanctuary for me,
and I will dwell among them.
Now, this is actually quite amazing.
The God of the universe,
the God who is everywhere,
knows everything,
knows the beat of every single heart,
who made the smallest ant
and made one of my favorite creatures,
the giant sea squid.
This wonderful God
is going to make his home
with a group of people.
And this is reminiscent of a marriage relationship.
In the last couple of weeks,
we've seen God take his people to Mount Sinai
and make a covenant with them,
make a relationship,
just like a marriage.
And now he's moving in with them.
He's going to be with them wherever they are.
And God instructs them to build this tent,
a tabernacle,
so he can travel with them.
This is the first flat pack,
IKEA-style building.
It's designed to be set up,
packed down,
set up as they move around.
And to understand this fully,
we need to go back to the Garden of Eden.
In the Garden of Eden,
God placed man and woman in the garden,
in the first home.
It was a place of provision and safety and rest,
a place where God was with them in their home
and they were known and loved.
But the humans,
we rejected this home and got exiled.
And now as we see that the tabernacle get built,
it is like a map showing the way back to that home.
And so it's full of pictures and images and Easter eggs
pointing back to the Garden of Eden,
leading us to the home.
And so God lists,
we'll go through a couple of these
to show it how it points back
and then points forward.
Firstly,
there's a list of precious stones
that are required
for the building of the tabernacle.
And the list starts with gold
and ends in onyx.
It's very similar in Genesis
with the description of the earth.
It had good gold
and it had onyx.
In chapter 25,
verse 31 to 39,
it describes the construction of the lampstand.
It has buds and blossoms.
This lampstand was designed to look like a tree.
It's an echo of the tree of life
that was found in the Garden of Eden.
When God made the world in Genesis,
he repeats a phrase,
there's a repeated phrase,
comes up seven times.
God said,
let there be light
or let there be something.
It's repeated seven times.
And now here in Exodus,
there's another phrase
repeated seven times.
The Lord said to Moses,
build this.
It's the same imagery.
The building of the tabernacle
is like the building
of our first home
in the Garden of Eden.
And the biggest,
the most important part of this
is that this is where God would dwell.
God was there in the Garden of Eden.
God is going to make his home
here in the tabernacle.
This tabernacle is built
with rings and poles
so it could be carried around
and moved with Israel
and then rebuilt
and packed down.
So,
this tabernacle
is a new home
for God with his people.
It points back to
humanity's first home,
but it also gives us
a road map
to our final home.
And there's
some pieces of furniture
that we're going to see here.
The first three
point
to what makes this
a really great home.
So,
have a look with me.
We're going to have a look
at furniture.
I'm not sure if you've,
you know,
come to church thinking,
I really need to spend some time
thinking about furniture.
That's,
that's what we've got here
in Exodus 25
and it actually gives us
a wonderful picture of home.
So,
let's have a look at this.
First,
we see the ark
in chapter 25
where we see
that we live under God's reign.
From verse 10,
have them make an ark
of acacia wood
two and a half cubits long,
a cubit and a half wide
and a cubit and a half high.
Overlay it with gold,
pure gold,
both inside and out
and make a gold
moulding around it.
The picture of this ark here,
I don't know if you've seen
Indiana Jones
and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
recently,
I know I have.
The picture of the ark here
is,
it has the same size
and dimensions
as an ancient king's
footstool.
What would happen is,
ancient kings
would have their throne,
they would have their throne
and they would go
and sit on their throne
when they were
bringing judgments.
You know,
it was the day
for court cases
to come before them,
the king would make judgments
on the world
and so they would have a throne
and in front of the throne
they would have a footstool.
Okay?
So the footstool
and the throne
go together
as the place of judgment
and the picture of the ark here
is that it is
that very footstool.
Israel doesn't have
a human king.
Israel has a theocracy,
a God king
and God is in the heavens,
seated in the heavens
and here
with the people
is his footstool.
Sitting in the heavens
his feet are on the earth
and this is where he rules.
God put something
in his footstool.
Verse 16.
Then put in the ark
the tablets of the covenant law
which I will give you.
God is going to rule his people
through the Ten Commandments
and that symbolizes
the entire law.
The ark is the place
that God will rule
over his people.
At the Garden of Eden
that was when Adam and Eve
chose to reject God
and get exiled
from their home
but here
God is going to rule
directly over his people
again.
And so the picture
at this point is
it's a golden
empty box
that's going to have
the tablets in it.
I love the amount of gold
that gets used here.
It's just a wonderful
amount of gold
showing how valuable
each of these pieces are
because it points back
to the awesome God
that we have.
But we've got
a golden box
and God also describes
the cover
that's made for it.
It's called
an atonement cover.
It's the lid
that goes on the box
on top of the stone tablets.
Now this piece of furniture
just like the rest
has really rich
symbolic imagery.
It's not just a lid.
It's not just a box
needs a lid.
What kind of hinge
does it have?
It's not that kind of thing.
It's really significant
that the stone tablets
that have the law
that they are being covered
because the penalty
of breaking the law
is death.
The penalty
that comes from
disobeying God
is being covered.
It is if
the phrase in English
it is if
God is
covering the cost
of his people's sin.
And so at the seat
of his power
where his footstool
is on earth
God is going to
rule over his people
and bring justice
but also
with the atonement cover
he brings
mercy.
Even at this stage
God's people need
their sins
covered over.
Not covered up
but covered over.
And God is indicating
that there is going
to be someone
who will cover
the cost
of the people's sin.
That's the first
piece of furniture
for us.
The second piece
of furniture
is a table
where there will be food
because home
is where we eat
food with God.
I can't think
of a person's house
that I've ever been into
that didn't have
a dining table.
I think if I came
into every one
of your houses
I would find
a dining table.
Would this be correct?
Does anybody
not have a dining table?
You don't have
a dining table?
You don't have
a dining table?
It's too small?
Okay.
My heart breaks
for you.
We'll get you
in a milk crate
and a tiny
dining table.
So what does this
say about our houses?
You know
I don't want to
pick on one person
in particular.
Maybe it says
I don't want
to have fellowship.
I know of
no I'm not saying
that about you at all.
A minister I used
to work with
he had five kids
large family
that had a large
dining table.
They got rid of that.
I actually have
that dining table now
and they got a new
dining table
so they could have
lots of people
at their house
because they wanted
to feast with people.
They wanted to
open their home.
They wanted to do
food with other people
because that is what
home so often is.
Home and dining table
are so central
to family
and it's true
of God's home here.
A table is made
verse 23
make a table
of acacia wood
two cubits long
a cubit wide
and a cubit
and a half high
and on this table
a meal gets served.
Verse 30
put the bread
of the presence
on this table
to be before me
at all times.
Now the bread
isn't here
because God gets hungry.
God doesn't need it.
In Leviticus
we are told
that the bread
of the presence
was 12 loaves
of bread.
Two rows of six.
12 being a very
symbolic number
for Israel
because there was
12 tribes.
So this is a picture
of all of the people
of Israel
being able to eat
food with God.
In God's home
where he rules
where he shows
justice and mercy
he's also got food
for his people.
He has a home
a family for them.
It's a wonderful picture
of a meal
in the presence
of God
because this
this is the point
of knowing Jesus.
This is the point
of Christianity.
We don't become
Christians just
to not go to hell
or just to
live forever.
The joy
of being a Christian
is that we get
invited to the
best table
in town.
We get to
share a meal
with God himself.
It's what we long
for.
The third piece
of furniture
here is a lampstand.
It was designed
to look like
the tree of life
but it also
provides light.
It's this really
warm,
lovely image
that it's a
brightly lit,
warm,
welcoming home
to have a meal
with God.
It is a lamp.
It's a place
of light
and life.
Once this
tabernacle
is built,
the table,
the lampstand,
to be in it.
God's home
is open
for mercy
at the ark
and for fellowship
with him,
with the table,
with the light.
It's a wonderful
picture
of home.
And these pieces
of furniture
which might just
look like really
expensive pieces
of furniture
but they are
actually all
signposts
to our home.
They reflect
where our home
was in the garden
and they show
us the way
back
because they
all point
to Jesus.
John chapter
1,
the word
became flesh
and made
his dwelling
among us.
Jesus came
and dwelt
with us.
Dwelt
is the same
word as
tabernacle.
So John
literally says
Jesus came
and tabernacled.
Jesus came
camping
with us.
He is our
home
and he
is the
way
home.
God
made
his home
among us
in the
person of
Jesus
so he
could bring
us home.
If the
ark is
where God
reached down
and touched
the earth,
Jesus is
the full
embodiment
of that.
The ark
was the
place that
we come
under God's
rule.
Jesus
is the
true ark
because he
is the
place,
he is the
king who
rules right
now.
Jesus
is the
atonement
cover over
the stone
tablets.
He is
that cover
because in
his death
he says
to us,
I will
cover your
sin.
Jesus
is the
true bread.
He said
in John
6 that
I am
the bread
of life.
Whoever
comes to
me will
never be
hungry.
He is
the bread
who we
celebrate
in the
Lord's
Supper
that we
get to
come into
God's
presence
because of
Jesus.
He is
the true
lamp.
Jesus
again said
in John
8,
I am
the light
of the
world.
He is
the light
so we
can see
the path
forward.
We can
see our
way to
God
because
Jesus
has opened
our eyes.
We all
have a
longing for
home and
that is
met for
us in
Jesus.
He is
our true
home.
Every
longing we
have for
home is
met in
him.
All
these
sign
posts of
the
furniture
and the
tabernacle
are pointing
to
Jesus.
One
of the
early
church
fathers,
Augustine,
said,
our hearts
are restless
until they
find their
rest in
him.
This
picture is
of the
tabernacle.
It's a
picture of
home.
But it
is not
home.
It was a
map.
It's a
map and a
promise to
a home.
So our
second point
is that
we need
to journey
to this
home.
Because
unfortunately
we are
blocked
from enjoying
home with
God because
of our
sin.
And this
is built
into the
furniture of
the tabernacle
as well.
From
chapter 26,
go and have
a look at
chapter 26
of Exodus
with me.
Verse 31.
At first
glance we
could think
this sounds
lovely.
Purples and
blue, royal
colours, cherubim,
angels.
This is a
delightful image
for God's
tabernacle.
But we of
course need to
remind ourselves
this is another
one of those
Easter egg
images that
takes us
back to
Genesis.
In the
exile, when
God exiled
us from
our home,
when he
kicked us
out of
the garden
of Eden,
he put a
cherubim
blocking the
way back
into the
garden with
a flaming
sword flashing
back and
forth so we
couldn't get
back in.
Here again,
God has
placed a
cherubim so
that we
can't enter
in.
The cherubim
is still
blocking the
way back
to God.
Not only
that, the
last piece
of furniture
we'll look
at today
also points
this out.
It's an
altar, described
in chapter
27 from
verse 1.
Build an
altar of
acacia wood,
three cubits
high.
It's to be
square, five
cubits long
and five
cubits wide.
This is the
largest of the
pieces of
furniture so
far.
The altar
is here
because it's
the solution
to getting
back home.
The altar
is where
the sacrifices
were placed.
It's where
the way back
to God
is now
because of
the blood
of a
sacrifice.
There is
so much
imagery
represented
here in
this picture
of God's
home.
God's home
starts with
a courtyard
and as
a Jewish
person would
come in
they would
have
encountered
the altar
first.
It dominated
the way
back home.
It blocks
the way
into God's
presence.
It blocks
it not just
physically,
not as a
large piece
of furniture
but symbolically.
We deserve
to die
for our
sins.
I deserve
to be excluded
from God's
presence because
I continue to
rebel against
him and reject
him.
But a
sacrifice.
An animal
on that
altar is
placed and
it dies.
And this
would have
happened
hundreds upon
hundreds of
times.
But they
are just
pointers to
God's
solution to
our sin.
Ali is
going to put
an image on
the screen
in a moment.
It's from
the classic
tale A
Christmas
Carol by
Charles
Dickens.
There we
go.
Of a
grumpy
old man
Scrooge
who's
visited
by three
different
ghosts
to
reconsider
his
life's
actions.
And there's
this one
point in
the story
where he's
on the
outside
and he's
looking in
to this
family celebration.
It's warm,
there's joy,
you can imagine
a family meal
in this kind
of way,
but Scrooge
is on the
outside because
of his life's
decisions.
This picture
is us
without
Jesus.
Standing on
the outside
of the
tabernacle
with this
wonderful
picture of
family and
home with
God.
The meal is
laid out,
there is
bright lights,
but we are
stuck on the
outside of
home with
God.
The altar
blocking the
way,
requiring
blood.
The curtain
preventing us
with relationship
with God,
stuck just
outside of
it,
so close
and yet
so far.
Thanks,
Allie.
Jesus would
change this.
On the
night before
Jesus died,
he said in
John 14,
my father's
house has
many rooms.
If that were
not so,
would I have
told you that
I'm going
there to
prepare a
place for
you?
Jesus was
going to
get home
ready for
us.
Jesus is
the sacrifice
on that
altar,
the sacrifice
to end
all
sacrifices.
And when
he's dying
on the
cross,
listen to
what happens
from Matthew
27.
When Jesus
had cried
out again
in a loud
voice,
he gave
up his
spirit.
At that
moment,
the curtain
of the
temple was
torn in
two from
top to
bottom.
As Jesus
died,
the furniture
of the
tabernacle,
now the
temple in
this situation,
the furniture
is radically
changed.
God,
Jesus in
his death
throws to
one side
the altar.
He has
dealt with
that the
curtain is
torn open
and we
can now
get access
to God.
Home with
God is
now open.
If you
are far
from God,
longing for
him,
come home to
him today.
The light is
on,
God is
there,
the meal is
laid out.
God calls
us to come
home,
to fellowship
with him,
to eat with
him.
And if
you feel
far from
him,
don't let
the feelings
shout louder
than what
hangs above
the home.
It says,
welcome
home.
The
furniture,
the way
the tabernacle
was built
points to
our true
home with
God.
We all
have a
longing for
home inside
of us.
Even when
we are home,
surrounded by
people,
we can still
feel homesick.
homesick.
Why are we
still homesick?
Why can we
be longing
for something
when we have
everything?
What about
if I was to
chase the
ideal dream,
I'm going to
chase the
house,
and the
husband or
the wife,
and the
pet,
and the
children,
and the
fireplace,
and I've
got everything.
Why do I
still feel
like something
is missing?
There's still
a longing for
something else.
God has
placed a
longing for
home inside
all of us,
and that's
only satisfied
in our
heavenly home.
The
tabernacle
points to
it.
Jesus would
rip the
doors off
their hinges
so we
could get
into this
home.
Don't risk
chasing
anything else
this side
of that
home,
because this
side of
heaven,
we can't
be home.
We are
foreigners
in a distant
land,
all of us.
And so
when we
lift our
eyes to
our true
home in
heaven,
and long
for home,
we grow in
faith,
we grow in
trust with
God,
each step
of the way
when we
realise that
what we have
now is just
temporary,
what we'll
have with
God will be
permanent
forever.
I heard a
story about
Americans
living overseas,
and at
Thanksgiving time,
one of the
largest of
their celebrations,
they would
come together
and cook
the bird
that was
closest to
a turkey
to celebrate.
Now,
I don't
really understand
this,
I've never
had a turkey
that was
any good.
I had some
North Americans
this morning
say,
well,
you've never
had it
cooked right,
we'll cook
it right
for you.
Look,
I'll try
it.
Maybe that
sense of
home is
finding a
particular type
of food from
the region
where you
grew up in.
My
grandmother
used to cook
Yorkshire
puddings
with a
Sunday
roast
with gravy
and there's
just something
about that
meal that
calls to
home.
So I
love it
when my
wife makes
it,
it's
wonderful.
The reality
is that
for us,
we are
not home,
we are
exiles,
we are
foreigners
here.
And God
came camping,
he came
tabernacling
with us,
temporarily
pointing us
to home.
He camped
with us,
he was with
us in the
tabernacle,
he was
with us
in Jesus
and he
is calling
us home
because this
is not
our home.
This is
not final.
This is
just temporary
and we can
easily get
distracted
thinking that
the temporary
is the
permanent
but it
is not.
This is
just temporary.
Far better
to live
knowing
that what
we have
right now
is just
for a
season
but we
are expats,
we are
foreigners
waiting
to go
home.
And that's
what we
do when
we gather.
We celebrate
the God
that is
calling us
home.
We celebrate
that we
are not
home yet.
So let me
encourage you,
sign up
to have a
meal with
people next
week.
That we can
celebrate
with people
that God
is calling
us to
a home.
We can
do that
just like
the Americans
do with
Thanksgiving
but a far
better meal
because it's
anything other
than turkey.
Sign up
to be
in a
community
group,
to be
journeying
with brothers
and sisters
every week,
reminding
ourselves that
we are not
home here.
We are
together,
exiles in a
foreign land,
waiting until
we get home.
Let me pray
for us.
Heavenly
Father,
I thank you
that you
have come
and dwelt
with us,
first of all
in the
garden,
then in
the
tabernacle.
Lord,
thank you
so much
that you
were with
us when
Jesus came
and dwelt
with us.
Father,
I thank you
so much
that Jesus
has now
gone to
be with
you,
to rip
those doors
off the
hinges so
that we
can be
with you,
so that we
can enter
into your
presence,
that we
can have
home with
you.
Lord,
lift our
eyes to
that home.
Help us
to long
for that
home and
not for
the temporary
things of
this world,
Lord.
Pray this
in your
son's
name of
your
glory.
Amen.
Isn't it
wonderful we
have a