There's No Place Like Home

When Dorothy is clicking her heels in the ruby red shoes at the end of the The Wizard of Oz saying, “There is no place like home,” what did she mean?

Was she conveying something significant about the ol’ Kansas farm house?

Was she talking about a longing to be with her family and friends?

Was she desiring to be in a familiar geographical location rich with memory and meaning for her?

Or was she meaning she learned her lesson, and with the lesson learned, she was now ready to reject the “over the rainbow” life she wanted earlier in the show only to ‘come to her senses’ that what she always had is what she actually wanted? All she needed to do was figure out where “home” is… and once she did that, she would know the place she would never, ever leave.

Russ Langmore — the unthinkable thought of leaving Life in Ozark.

Marla’s Family

Lillian’s farm… Uncle Glenn

1924 E. Glenco

Home… it can be a house… a people… a land… and a lesson.

Many who have lived their Life in Ozark believe they have found their “home” here. And they never want to leave… even when they leave, the don’t want leave.

Been to Destin? Gulf Shores? Its the Life in Ozark, but on an ocean.

Those of us who enjoy Life in Ozark must be on our guard… lest our home… our people… our land… and our lessons become our greatest idol.

We were created to have and be and live at Home.

Gen 2.15-25

Genesis 2:15–25 ESV

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

You ever run away from home?

Rob at the end of the street sitting by the stop sign.

He was a lousy runner away-er.

You and I are NOT lousy runner away-ers from God.

We are skilled, invested runner away-ers!

Liken us to the Prodigal son of

We ran away from our garden home… we kicked down the doors of Eden and head to the shadow side of the rainbow...

But inside, we sense it… we ran away and are invested in our exile… but we are looking for a “home.”

The Jews in Exile… God calling them home...

Ezekiel 34:11–16 ESV

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 36:8 ESV

8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home.

Ezekiel

The Jews in Exile… God calling them home...

Beware of Homey Substitutions and Idols...

Following the Lord is hard. Good? Yes. And hard.

Matthew 7:13–14 ESV

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

When being at home with the Lord is hard, we are prone to look for substitutes.

You can find a home… a people… a land… some lessons… but none of those are your home. The Lord is your home.

This World is not your home.

Revelation 21:1–5 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Tisha — “I’m going to live in this house the rest of my life.”

When you are looking for home… you are looking for Jesus.

You can live anywhere. You can work anywhere. You can drive anything. You can endure painful, untimely passing of family and friends — all of us have or will endure such losses. You can be well or sick. Rich or poor. Live in the 10/40 window, or the minority world, or in the heart of Manhattan… you live in all of it — for five minutes or your entire life — but if you don’t have Jesus, you aren’t home.

And any belief you carry that you can be or are at home in this world because you have a certain house, a certain tribe, a certain geographical location with Bible lessons galore… but without Jesus, you ain’t home. With Jesus… with him… you are.