There's No Place Like Home

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 3rd of May, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service, also streamed live, due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Next Sunday is Mother's Day.  It’s the day when all of us remember our mothers, whether they are alive and with us or have gone on to their eternal rewards.  And so many of those memories revolve around home, and especially around the dinner table.  Roman philosopher, Pliny the Elder, coined the phrase, “Home is where the heart is”, back in the 1st century.  This means that home is, for most people, where we are most emotionally attached.  For most of us, there’s no place like home.

Since we've spent so much time at home lately, I thought this would be a good time to look at just what "home" means.  In this case, I’m not referring to the dictionary definition, but to what our Bible says about “home”.  And specifically, about where Jesus makes His home.

Please listen and follow along to a conversation Jesus had with His disciples, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, from chapter 14 verses 19 through 27, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

19 "Soon the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them.”

22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

23 Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative — that is, the Holy Spirit — He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

27 “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

--John 14:19-27 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for offering us eternal life through Your Son Jesus.  And thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to live within us, to be our Advocate and constant Companion.  Thank You for making sure we would never again be alone.  Please help us to be just and to live righteously in Your eyes.  Help us to remain strong in our faith regardless of what the world throws at us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and understand the message we so need in these times.  Speak to us of our duties as followers of Your Son Jesus, of how we should live our lives.  And speak to us of our eternal home that Jesus has prepared for us.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Pastor Larry Chell once told of a local pastor in the Philippines who used the following parable to illustrate Christ's offer of rest, and the response of people who won't trust Him completely:

"The driver of a carabao wagon was on his way to market when he overtook an old man carrying a heavy load.  Taking compassion on him, the driver invited the old man to ride in the wagon.  Gratefully the old man accepted.  After a few minutes, the driver turned to see how the man was doing.  To his surprise, he found him still straining under the heavy weight, for he had not taken the burden off his shoulders."

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think those few words paint a true picture of how so many people respond to the offer of peace from our Lord Jesus.  We’re willing to accept His peace, but only so far.  We just can’t completely get away from all the turmoil of the world.  Fear keeps us in its grasp.  We can’t seem to let go and let God.  Isn’t it time we took the burden off our shoulders?

And isn’t that one of the reasons we cherish our homes, one of the very good purposes it serves?  It is perhaps the only place we feel we can lay the burdens of the world down and be comfortable.  All of us carry some load around with us as we walk through the day.   But when we get home we can take that load off our shoulders, relax, and rest.  It is the place where we can find peace, at least once all the chores are done and the kids are in bed.  But that is peace of the world, and it soon vanishes.


It’s been said that a house is not a home, and that our home is where our heart is.  Even our home is not our home because this world is not our home, not our eternal home, our place of everlasting peace.  Our true home, the one God intended for us, is with Him, is in Him.  But only if we love Jesus and do what He says.

That is what our Lord tells us, in verse 23 of our scripture reading.  Everyone who loves Jesus will do what He says.  We will obey Him.  And then God will love us as well and both the Son and the Father will make their home with us.

All of us who love and obey Jesus will be together with Him and God in paradise, our everlasting home where there will always be peace.  In verse 24 Jesus says that those who do not love Him will not obey Him, but we can turn that around and realize that the people who do not obey Jesus do not truly love Him.


God wants us to live with Him.  When He created mankind, He placed us in a beautiful garden.  And family, we still live in a beautiful garden.  All you have to do is look around at God’s handiwork to see how beautiful our temporary home is.  But Satan threw his evil seeds into the garden and now we have a bunch of weeds and thorns to deal with.

Someday, though, the garden will be restored.  And then we will be reunited with God.  In the 21st chapter of John’s Book of Revelation verse 3, the Apostle witnessed…

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."

--Revelation 21:3 (NKJV)

If God will dwell with us, then that means that we will dwell with Him.  Our home will be with Him.


Now, all of that is yet to come.  What John wrote of had occurred, in the revealing, after the tribulation and the return of Jesus, when the world had been made new.  We still have to get to that point.  We still have to get through each day, carrying our heavy burdens.

And to be assured of our eternal home, we need to be mindful of what Jesus told us.  We need to truly love Him and obey His voice.  And we need to accept the peace He offers – fully, completely accept it and lay our burdens at His nail-scarred feet.

We can apply His peace to our earthly homes as well.  The Apostle Paul gives us instruction on how to keep our homes peaceful - some rules for Christian living, if you will.  Listen to what Paul wrote in chapter 3 of his letter to the Colossians, verses 18 through 21…

18 A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord.
19 A husband must love his wife and not abuse her.
20 Children must always obey their parents. This pleases the Lord.
21 Parents, don’t be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up.

--Colossians 3:18-21 (CEV)

If we put each other first, truly loving each other, not abusing or being too hard on one another, then even our temporary home can enjoy the peace that Jesus offers.  And in doing so, we will be preparing ourselves for our future, permanent home with God and Jesus, our home in paradise.


Love the Lord Jesus and obey Him.  Accept His gift of peace and lay your burdens down.  Trust in the Lord and do not fear what this world might bring tomorrow.  For some sweet tomorrow, God will make His home with us and will dwell with us, forever.  And there is indeed no place like home.

Blessed be Jesus our Christ, the one true Son of God!  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son to us.  Not only did He come to offer us salvation, to redeem us from our sin, but also to set the example of His own life for how we should live.  Thank You for promising to dwell with us, for giving us everlasting life if we love Your Son and obey Him in our life here on earth.  Please help us stay strong in our faith.  Help us put our trust in You and Your faithfulness.  Help us loosen our grip on the world.  And help us be better servants for You and Jesus.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You straight from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You promised that You and Your Father God would come live with us, and us with You, if we would only love You.  And if we truly love You, we will obey You and do what You say.  Thank You, Jesus, for offering us so much, while requiring so little of us in return.  Thank You for giving us peace with God, a place in You where we can always find peace, even during the stormiest days of this life.  Please help us show You our love by obeying Your voice.  Help us see others through Your eyes.  Help us live as You lived, love as You loved, serve as You served.  And please see us through the trials of these times, that we may grow more righteous in God’s eye.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.