Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, October 1, 2017 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister HOMECOMING MESSAGE TOPIC: Homecoming The Homecoming of All Homecomings (A Homecoming Message) Revelation 21:1-7 (NKJV) There's nothing quite like A HOMECOMING. When we think of HOMECOMINGS our minds often wander back to our High School or College days, when homecoming was celebrated with the big homecoming football or basketball game against an arch-rival, and the crowning of the Homecoming Queen. When we think of HOMECOMINGS, we think of those touching scenes of soldiers being reunited with their families after months of deployment in some battle torn country halfway around the world. When we think of HOMECOMINGS we think of loved ones coming in from out-of-state to spend a few days with us at Thanksgiving or Christmas-time. And of course when we think of HOMECOMINGS in the Church, we think of our glad reunion with old friends and former Church members, and feasting on our big homecoming dinner. There's something so special and heart-warming about a Homecoming!
This morning for a few minutes I would like for us to think about The Homecoming of All Homecomings. Please open your Bibles to the Book of Revelation, chapter twenty one. And follow along with me as I read verses 1-7. REVELATION 21:1-7 (NKJV) 1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John,[a] 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 heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. 6 And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
ILLUSTRATION: The story is told about an elderly preacher who had always secretly feared death and was seemingly powerless to console Church members who were facing the prospect of their own deaths. Eventually this preacher moved away from the area where he had lived and ministered almost his entire adult life. After all the furniture and boxes had been loaded on the truck, the preacher stood inside his empty house and thought about all the precious memories he had enjoyed in his old home. Pretty soon he felt a hand on his shoulder; and a dear old friend who had been helping him move out said, Come with us preacher, your new home is far better than this one. **************************** Throughout our whole Christian life, you and I have known that one day we would go to a home that is far better than this one. In John 14:2,3 (NKJV) Jesus says, In My Father s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. Philippians 3:20 (NKJV) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Never once does the Bible speak of us as permanent residents of this world. The Bible tells us we are aliens, strangers, foreigners, travelers, and sojourners.
Even the grand old hymns we sing remind us that we are headed to a new and better home... I Am Bound For The Promised Land We're Marching To Zion I'll Fly Away When We All Get To Heaven When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder I'll Be There This World Is Not My Home Every single day you and I live is bringing us one day closer to our Homecoming of All Homecomings. We are one day closer to home than we were this time yesterday. We are much closer to home than we were the day we gave our lives to Jesus Christ. And we are much, much closer to home than we were when we were born. Here in Revelation 21 the apostle John tells us what we have to look forward to in our Heavenly Homecoming.
First of all... I. We Are Going To A GENUINE HOME 1. Every year millions of people from all over the world visit Disney Land in California and Disney World in Florida. And perhaps the thing that attracts people to these amusement parks the most is that for a day or two people have the opportunity to escape to a fantasy world...a land of make-believe. 2. Our heavenly home is not a fantasy land or a land of make-believe. Heaven is a REAL PLACE. It is the place where our heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the heavenly host of angels dwell there. This is the place we long for! This is the place we will one day call home. 3. In II Corinthians chapter twelve, the apostle Paul writes about his experience of being transported to this place called heaven. Listen carefully to what he says,
II CORINTHIANS 12:2-4 (NKJV) I know a man in Christ (Paul is referring to himself in the third person ) who fourteen years ago whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 4. The apostle John had a similar experience. He describes this for us in Revelation chapter four. REVELATION 4:1,2 (NKJV) After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 5. Both the apostles Paul and John saw with their very own eyes this place called heaven. And they say to us today, this place is as real as New York or Los Angeles, or Plymouth, North Carolina. 6. When you and I get to our heavenly home we will lay down every burden we experienced in our existence here on earth. We will rest from our labors...we will rest from our trials and troubles...we will rest from all our anxieties and worries.
ILLUSTRATIOIN A third century Christian by the name of Cyprian captured the essence of our heavenly hope in these words... Let us greet the day which assigns each of his to his own home, which snatches us from this place and sets us free from the snares of this world, and restores us to paradise and the (heavenly) kingdom. Anyone who has been in foreign lands longs to return to his own native land...we Christians regard heaven as our native land. 7. Yes, brothers and sisters, WE ARE GOING TO A GENUINE HOME.. Heaven is a real place! II. We Are Going To A GLORIOUS HOME 1. If you have ever gone house-shopping you know the description of the home in the real-estate ad and the way the home actually looks can turn out to be a huge disappointment.
For example, if the ad says, rustic country home...it really means the bathroom is out behind the house. If the ad says, open and airy it really means the roof leaks and the air-conditioner doesn't work. If the ad says, real charmer it really means your great-grandma and grandpa would have loved the house. If the ad says, unique, one of a kind it really means if you buy the house you will be stuck with it the rest of your life. 2. Fortunately, when it comes to our heavenly home, its just the opposite! In the Bible, God gives us many wonderful descriptions of heaven, and yet as wonderful as those descriptions are, our human minds can't even begin to wrap around just how wonderful our heavenly home is going to be. I Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) says, But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. What Paul is saying quite simply is this: You and I have never seen anything on earth that compares to the beauty we will see in heaven. We have never heard the kinds of beautiful sounds we are going to hear in heaven. And we have never in our wildest imaginations envisioned anything like what we will behold in heaven.
3. All of the cities on earth eventually crumble and decay. This is why in every city you see demolition crews tearing down old buildings and construction crews building new buildings. Streets that once were new and smooth become filled with pot holes and in need of constant repair. We will never see any of that in our heavenly home. In heaven, everything will be in a constant state of newness. The walls will never need painting. The floors will never need mopped or vacuumed. The fixtures will never need dusting. We'll never see a street cleaner going up and down the streets of gold. We'll never see anyone walking around with a power-blower on his back cleaning up trash off the sidewalks. We will never see old, dilapidated mansions being torn down to make way for new mansions. There won't be any bad sections of town or run-down neighborhoods in heaven. You see, man with all his wisdom and skills cannot build anything that lasts forever. Heaven is made by the hands of our eternal GOD and therefore our heavenly home will last forever. 4. Time doesn't permit us to read through this whole 21 st chapter of Revelation. so let me just highlight some of the things that will make heaven such a glorious home.
(A) Heaven is a place of GLORIOUS BEAUTY. Revelation 21: 12-14 (THE MESSAGE) The City shimmered like a precious gem, light-filled, pulsing light. She had a wall majestic and high with twelve gates. At each gate stood an Angel, and on the gates were inscribed the names of the Twelve Tribes of the sons of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, three gates on the west. The wall was set on twelve foundations, the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb inscribed on them. verses 18-21 go on to say... The wall was jasper, the color of Glory, and the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. The foundations of the City walls were garnished with every precious gem imaginable: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate a single pearl. Not only is heaven a place of glorious beauty... (B) Heaven is a place of GLORIOUS SIZE Revelation 21:15,16 (NKJV) And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
As President Trump would say, Heaven is gonna be huge...really HUGE! One mile is the equivalent of eight furlongs. This means the NEW JERUSALEM will be 1,400 miles long, 1,400 miles wide and 1,400 miles high. That is approximately 2.7 million square miles. That is roughly the size of the 48 contiguous states in America. There will be no mountain high enough for us to stand upon to view the full expanse of heaven. Heaven is a place of GLORIOUS BEAUTY and GLORIOUS SIZE. (C) But heaven's GREATEST GLORY will be the GLORIOUS PRESENCE OF GOD. Revelation 21:22,23 (NKJV) But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Right now we are separated from GOD in the sense that we cannot be in His Holy presence in these mortal bodies of flesh and sin. But one day we will live in His Holy Presence forever and ever. We will never need to meet to worship GOD in a Church building ever again, because we we will worship Him in His very presence.
WE ARE GOING TO A GENUINE HOME WE ARE GOING TO A GLORIOUS HOME And finally... III. We Are Going To A GUARDED HOME 1. One of the biggest business boons we have seen in recent years is the HOME SECURITY AND ALARM BUSINESSES. We live in very fearful times when many don't even feel safe in their own homes any more. For added peace of mind, many have had very expensive security systems installed in their homes to protect themselves from potential attacks from burglars and thieves. Most people have antivirus software and malware and spyware software on their computers, tablets, and Smart Phones, because of the danger of being hacked by people who are trying to steal valuable personal information such as bank account numbers and credit card numbers. Many vehicles have security alarm systems to guard against automobile theft. 2. Safety and security is a very valid concern in this fallen, sinful world. But in your heavenly mansion there will be no need for home security systems, or alarms, or barking dogs, or tall security fences. Because the types of people that pose harm and danger to us in this world are not going to be in heaven.
REVELATION 21:8 (NKJV) says, But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And down in verse 27, John tells us... But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 3. But not only will we be GUARDED FROM SINNERS we will also be guarded from SORROW and SUFFERING. Revelation 21:4 (NKJV) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. ***************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N One day we are going home to be reunited with our Christian loved ones who now rest in the arms of Jesus. One day we are going home to see our dear brothers and sisters-in-christ who once sat in these pews on Homecoming Sunday, who have gone on before us. What a Homecoming that will be! It will be The Homecoming of All Homecomings!
As we bring today's message to a close I would like to sing a song about this wonderful place where we will celebrate THE HOMECOMING OF ALL HOMECOMINGS. The song is simply entitled: Beaulah Land.