Homecoming

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 13th of September, 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.]

Today is homecoming for Pilgrim Reformed Church, when our relatives or others who have moved on to other churches might return and join us for the day.  Normally, we would all go down to the Fellowship Hall after the service and enjoy a big family lunch together.  And then tonight we would kick-off our revival services, which holds special meaning to me because the first time I ever came to Pilgrim was when my friend and mentor Rev. John Bigelow invited me to come speak at revival in 2011.  Unfortunately, the current pandemic has put an end to all that.  But we can still “come home” to Pilgrim, if not in person then in our hearts.

Let us remember, though, that nothing on this earth is home – not the structures we live in nor even this beautiful family house.  Our true home, our final and eternal homecoming, awaits us.

Please listen and follow along to the insight that the Apostle Paul shares with us regarding homecoming, in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 through 18, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

--1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for the promise and the assured hope of eternal life with You in paradise.  Thank You for the faith to know that Jesus is Your Son and to accept Him as our Lord.  Father, please help us to stay true to Jesus, serving Him in all we do, as we await the day of our great homecoming.  And Father, please protect this church family from all the effects of the coronavirus and all the troubles of the world around us.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us for this day.  Assure us of our reward for faithfully serving You and Your Son Jesus.  Help us keep our faith ever strong through the storms of this life.  And please help us take guidance, strength, and encouragement from Your Holy Spirit within us.  This we pray under the blood and in the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Inspirational speaker Tim Hansel wrote in his book “Holy Sweat” about a close friend who attended his 40-year high school reunion.  His excitement grew and grew as the date of the reunion neared.  He looked forward to seeing all the friends he once knew, to see how much they had changed, to hear of their accomplishments, as well as seeing all the places he knew as a youth.  His wife became equally enthused as he spoke on and on of those halcyon days.  The night before they left out for the trip, he pulled out his old yearbooks and read all the silly comments and good wishes from those friends so long ago.  And he wondered how many of them had encountered Jesus Christ, who had so profoundly changed him.

When they returned from the trip, he seemed almost despondent when Tim picked them up from the airport.  He called the reunion “one of the saddest experiences of my life”.  In 40 years, no one had changed.  Sure, they had gained weight, they were wearing different styles of clothes, they had different jobs, but where it really mattered, down inside, no one had changed.  No one had become a new creation.  No one knew Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior.

On the drive home, he turned to Tim and said, "I never, never want that to be said of me, Tim.  Life is too precious, too sacred, too important.  If you ever see me go stagnant like that, I hope you give me a quick, swift kick where I need it -- for Christ's sake.  I hope you'll love me enough to challenge me to keep growing."

Tim’s friend was a changed man, a new creation, because of his personal encounter with Jesus.  The Apostle Paul speaks of this in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, which I’ll read a little later.  But the man was saddened, even despondent, to learn that none of his old friends had yet undergone that transforming experience.  He asked that Tim give him a swift kick if he ever grew complacent in his faith, in his walk through life.

I think we need to do the same, and ask someone to watch over us, ready to kick us back into action.  And maybe we need to apply a few kicks here and there ourselves, where needed, and with great love.  We’ve been changed.  Let’s not slide back to our old ways.

Homecoming…  That word stirs up warm, comforting memories for most of us, memories of those times when all the individual families within the church would come together as one, to sit down and eat together, to laugh together, to catch up on each other’s lives.

Sadly, we can’t do that today, not without risking spreading a horrible disease.  But the word “homecoming” should still elicit warm, comforting thoughts, because God has promised us a great and beautiful homecoming that will surpass any we’ve ever know.  Jesus gave us a very broad clue to this homecoming, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, chapter 14 verses 1 through 3…

1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. 2 There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you. 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am."

--John 14:1-3 (NLT)

Did you catch that promise, that hint?  Jesus said, “When everything is ready, when it’s all set up and the timing is just right, I will come and get you so that you will always be with Me.”  He’s talking to the church, and He’s talking about returning to take the church home.  He’s talking about our homecoming.

And He reiterates this promise a little later on, with more detail and an overtone of warning.  The Apostle Matthew recorded this for us, in the 24th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 29 through 31…

29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,

the moon will give no light,

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from all over the world — from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven."

--Matthew 24:29-31 (NLT)

Jesus will come on the clouds in all His might and glory.  He will send out His angels and they will gather His chosen ones – His church – from the farthest ends of the earth and of heaven.  And He will take us home.

In the little story at the start, I told of a man who had been profoundly changed by his encounter with Jesus.  The same could be said of the Apostle Paul, profoundly changed by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Through the special insight Jesus gave him, Paul knew that each person truly touched by Christ would be changed.  He spoke often in his letters of our becoming a new creation when we accept Jesus as Lord.  And in his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 50 through 54, he tells us why that change is necessary…

50 My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means that they cannot share in God’s kingdom, which lasts forever. 51 I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. 52 It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again. 53 Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won’t die or decay. 54 The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true,

“Death has lost the battle!"

--1 Corinthians 15:50-54 (CEV)

We who believe, we faithful followers of Christ Jesus, will be changed.  We will be magnificently clothed for our great homecoming.  These frail bodies, irreparably damaged by sin, will be replaced with bodies that sin cannot stain, bodies that will no longer break down, bodies that will not rot or decay.  We’ll be outfitted for everlasting life with Jesus.  And we’ll enjoy the very best homecoming ever.

Let’s keep our faith strong, and our service to our Lord.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Master, our Savior, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for our gift of faith.  Through this we may believe in Your Son Jesus and obey His voice, and be granted eternal life in heaven.  Help us, please Father, to exercise our faith and keep it strong.  Help us to trust in Your word and Your promises.  Help us to take courage in these troubling times, and not let them overwhelm us and fill us with doubts.  And Father, help us be more loving, more trusting, more merciful, and more kindhearted toward others in our daily walk.

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, so often during Your ministry on earth, You promised great rewards to those who will believe in You and serve You to the end.  On those promises we place all our hope and trust.  Forgive us, Jesus, for those times when our faith is weak.  We seem under constant assault these days from Satan and his forces.  Help us, please, to be remain strong in our faith.  Give us Your strength and help us through these times of uncertainty.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the divisions between us, that creep in and separate us, even within Your church family.  Give us Your heart for loving others.  Help us to love one another as You love us, to see one another as You see us.  Help us remain faithful and obedient through these troubling times, concerned more with the needs of others than with our own wants and desires.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.