This message is an edited version of a sermon given at Loving God Fellowship. Copyright © 2007 Loving God Fellowship, Inc. http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org
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A New View of Home
By Greg Johnson
June 27, 2007
When you think of home, what picture comes to your mind? Maybe it is where you are currently living or maybe it is that dream home that you have always wanted. When I was living for myself instead of living for God, I had a misconception of what home was. Becky and I worked hard to own our first home in Lexington, Kentucky. As you know, places to live do not come easy. Selling and buying homes is stressful and requires hard work. On the stress chart, it ranks up at the top of the chart. Vern and Kim Parks are currently trying to sell their place in Jefferson so that they can move to Salem. Please pray for them during this transition.
Many think of home as a physical address. God’s Word gives us a new view of home.
WHERE IS HOME?
God’s Word says “(2 Corinthians 5:1-4 NIV) "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. {2} Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, {3} because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. {4} For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”
Dr. Ben Witherington is a professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. I was reading his blog the other day and came upon an interesting article he wrote titled “The Beehive Houses of Haran”. Dr. Witherington states “Maybe it would do us well to redefine the word home-- maybe we should say "home is where the Lord is". For he has been our dwelling place in all generations. Maybe we should place less stock in our culture in buying and building the perfect house, and more in building the perfect life with a sturdy relationship with God and others. Maybe we should stop looking for the building of temple in Jerusalem and spend more time being the temple of the Holy Spirit. Maybe we need an extreme makeover in the whole way we view what is of lasting value in life, and what is a mere roof over our heads.”
Once we submit to the Lordship of Christ, we have a new view of home. We are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Whether we are at home in the body or away from it, home is where the Lord is. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling with us now. We have not yet moved into our eternal homes. There is still work for us to do. We are on a mission and Jesus has given us purpose.
WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE DOWN PAYMENT.
God’s Word says (2 Corinthians 5:5 NIV) "Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
When we bought our house four years ago, we gave a down payment and financed the rest. Our house will be totally paid for in 26 years. The down payment guarantees the lender of that which is to come. Each month we make a payment and the principle goes down….a little.
God has given us the Holy Spirit as the down payment of that which is to come. As we grow in Jesus through the Word and prayer, we get more and more of that which is to come. I don’t know about you, but I’m not satisfied with just the down payment. I want it ALL! I want everything God has for me. I want to grow in Jesus and gain more of the Holy Spirit.
WHAT DO WE DO UNTIL WE GET IT ALL?
We have been given the down payment. And we know that the best is yet to come, but what do we do until we get it ALL?
We live by faith. God’s Word says (2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV) "We live by faith, not by sight." There is a day coming when we will live by sight and behold our Lord and the totality of what He has prepared for us for all eternity, but today we live by faith. We live by faith in Jesus and faith in the promises given to us in God’s Word.
We make it our goal to please our Lord. God’s Word says (2 Corinthians 5:9-10 NIV) "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. {10} For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
Beloved, be encouraged today for the best is yet to come! Our home is where the Lord is. We are on our way to heaven and the journey gets sweeter every day. Through the Holy Spirit that is deposited within us, we have been given the down payment of that which is to come. One day, we will be given it all, but until that day, we live by faith and we make it our goal to please the Lord. Be encouraged with these words today.
Know that you are loved,
Greg Johnson
Founding Pastor
Loving God Fellowship
http://www.GAJohnson.org
Loving God Fellowship is an interdenominational Christ following fellowship in Salem, Oregon, with a worldwide Internet church community @ http://www.LGFinternetChurch.org .
