Preparing our Homes

Where do you dwell?

In the OT Jews celebrated the Passover as a remembrance of God’s faithfulness to his people during the Exodus from Egypt.

One of the things that each family had to do was remove all leaven from their homes. This process was so important to them that it was given its own holiday called As Jewish people prepare for Passover, each family removes the leaven from their home. Then, during a ceremony called Bedikat Chametz, every traditional household conducts a final search for leaven throughout the house, gathers it together and burns it, after which the house is kosher for Passover.

You see, all throughout Scripture leaven is a metaphor for sin and brokenness. So this practice was not only to be physical but Spiritual as Jews also took this time to examine their hearts and homes and remove anything that could allow sin into their lives. And notice that it is not just a surface level sweep or “man cleaning” as some women call it. No, this was a detailed deep search of the home set to remove any trace of leaven from the home.

I think any parent has been a part of this kind of cleaning routine. When you ask your kid to clean their room and inevitably all of the stuff ends up under the bed or in the closet. Instead of cleaning it up, it gets hidden deeper. Why? Because if we are honest it seems easier to hide it than to deal with it; and in the moment it may be- but the long term problems just pile up.

And I wonder if the same can be said for us; that we come to church and try to show that we are clean and all is fine; but in reality we push the brokenness; the sinfulness, the dysfunction deeper and deeper where we think less people will see it.

But friends, the point of following Jesus is not just salvation- it is also transformation.

It will be Brought to Light

Luke 12:1–3 “In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said n the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”

Friends, Jesus can transform anything---- anything we allow him to. Which means all the things in our lives we are convinced will never change, or never be different- they can be. And Jesus can make them be if we are willing to pull them out of the closet or out from under the bed and let him work.

Once upon a time, there was a prince who fell in love with a fair maiden. But his enemy captured the fair maiden and held her captive in a tower. Now the prince had a plan to rescue her, so he recruited the help of two small creatures to send a message to the maiden.

First, there was Claude Caterpillar. Claude was a nice guy, and he didn't mind helping fair maidens in distress. But Claude was kind of a crusty old character. You might wonder, "Did he get up on the wrong side of the bed? Maybe he has a migraine headache or something."

Anyway, the prince gave him the message, and he started inching along toward the tower. Being a fat little caterpillar, he had to work hard to get there, even sweat a bit. He thought to himself, "Wouldn't you know it, the sun would have to be shining today!"

Just then, the weather began to change. Clouds moved in, and little drops started coming down all around him. He grumbled, "Rain, of all things. And I just had this suit cleaned."

But Claude wasn't a quitter. He made it to the tower and searched for a way up. A vine growing along one side was the obvious answer. Inch by inch up the vine Claude went, only to discover that it was a climbing rose bush. All the way up you could hear, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

When he finally reached the window he heaved himself onto the ledge and said to the fair maiden, "Hey, lady! Come here! Are you the maiden in distress?" She nodded as she looked down at this sweaty, muddy little caterpillar.

Claude gave her the once-over and said, "You're kidding. You mean I came all the way up here for the likes of you? I don't know what the prince sees in you. He sent me with a message, and you wouldn't believe how hard it was for me to get here. His message was: 'Get ready.' He's coming to get you. Five o'clock sharp! Understand? All right! Good-bye!" And off went Claude.

Next, the prince sent Barney Butterfly. Barney was not so sure of himself with the rain and wind, but he said he would try. His soft wings lifted him gracefully into the air. He struggled with all his might against the wind as it blew him back and forth.

Just as he was about to reach the window, a bird swooped down and nearly ate him alive. After a frantic chase, Barney flew inside the window beyond the bird's snapping beak. He flew about the room until the maiden noticed him. She reached out her hand, and he landed softly on her finger.

She brought him close as he relayed the Prince's message: "Lovely and favored maiden, the prince loves you dearly. At the sound of his voice, jump from the window and into his arms."

The maiden replied, "Thank you, beautiful butterfly. You are very sweet. But tell me, why did the caterpillar bring the good news in such a nasty manner? He seemed so rude and rough."

The butterfly replied, "Oh, you mean Claude? Well, that's just Claude. I used to be that way, too, until I was transformed."

A little goes a long way

We are warned in Galatians 5:9 “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

I did some research about yeast this week and according to what I found the average ratio for yeast is 1.4% of the weight of flour you are adding. Think about that- in act look at this-

It does not take a lot of yeast to effect the entire batch of dough. Just like sin in our lives; it does not take much. This is why the Bible commands us to be so diligent about sin. The Bible never talks about a “little sin” or a sliding scale of sin.

So, is there yeast in your dough, church? Advent is a great time to do a home inventory. To take time as families to take a look at what has made it’s way into our homes this year. Maybe there are things that need to be adjusted, maybe even things that need to be eliminated because they are risking the spiritual condition of our families.

Luke 11:24–26 (ESV)

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

But the Presence of God is good...

But there is good news, friends because sin is not the only thing that wants to make room in your home. Jesus wants to be present in your home too. Now, just like we talked about our hearts last week, today let’s think about a few practical steps we can take to prepare to host Jesus in our homes this Advent season.

Invite and Acknowledge His Presence

Did you know that the average American will spend 61% of their awake hours in their home? I wonder how many times our prayer life does not reflect that reality? We pray for traveling mercies when we go on trips, we pray for protection when we are on the road; lots of people pray for God to be with them while they are at work. When we come to church each week we have a prayer of invocation- or a prayer inviting and acknowledging Jesus’ presence in this church. Do you invite God to be living in active in your home? When you pray do you ask him to be present in your home?

Honor the Sabbath

I know, this is counterintuitive during the Christmas season- the time of hustle and bustle; but friends God continues to remind me how much busyness is an enemy of the Gospel of Jesus. If God had to rest for a day after a week of work; it stands to reason that we should too.

The Bible says in Psl 46:10 that we should be still and know that He is God. There are just certain aspects of the presence of God we will never experience f we are not still.

Exodus 20 the Sabbath is one of the only commandments with commentary

Christmas is special because it is one a day year that we break routine, celebrate family tradition, and tells stories of Jesus. As Christians we should have this every week. Can you establish a tradition of this w your fam?

Make space for the Scriptures

Psalm 119:54–56“Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts.”

The wise man built his house upon the rock....