https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Our-Home.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II Corinthians 5:1-9<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. God has promised us a place of rest – Hebrews 4:1-3<\/p>\n A. There are days when I turn over in bed and start to think about all the things I need\nto get done today.\n 1. Even though it is earlier than I need to get up, I end up rising anyway\nbecause the thought of all that work won’t let me rest.\n B. As Christians there are a lot of things we need to do and probably a whole lot\nmore we should do.\n
1. Jesus understood the pressing need – John 9:4-5<\/p>\n 2. We must work with all our might because we can’t work after we have\ndied – Ecclesiastes 9:10\n
3. We have to make the most of the little time we have – Ephesians 5:15-17<\/p>\n
C. But the effort isn’t burdensome because we can rest later – Revelation 14:13<\/p>\n
1. No more getting worn out by activity.<\/p>\n 2. No conflicts with desires of righteousness waging war against the desires of your own body, for sin\nwill no longer exist – Revelation 21:27\n
3. No discord with others, for all will be harmonious. – Revelation 22:3<\/p>\n
4. No tears – Revelation 21:3-4<\/p>\n 5. No hunger, no thirst. We can all eat from the tree of life and drink from the\nriver of life – Revelation 21:6; 22:1-2\n
6. No darkness – Revelation 22:5<\/p>\n
D. The vastness of eternity lies before us. Each moment brings us closer.<\/p>\n
1. Each of us must die – Hebrews 9:27<\/p>\n
2. We should be leaving life with unfearing certainty.<\/p>\n 3. There is a home awaiting for us where we can dwell with all the redeemed\nin fellowship.\n 4. We are convinced that there is a lovelier world not far away, just over the\nriver of death.\n E. Sadly, most people live their lives without this hope. Unlike the faithful –\nHebrews 11:13-17\n
F. We cannot lose our confidence – Hebrews 10:35-39<\/p>\n
II. The Promise – John 14:1-4<\/p>\n
A. The mansions are the eternal home for all who have faithfully followed Jesus.<\/p>\n B. Heaven is a real place, seen in the expressions: “in heaven,” “to heaven,” and\n“from heaven.”\n 1. We don’t know where it is, but we know it is the spiritual abode for the\nredeemed of earth\n
C. We long for home because this world isn’t complete – II Corinthians 5:1-9<\/p>\n
1. While we are in this world, we are not really home<\/p>\n
2. We live with Christ now – Romans 6:3-5,8<\/p>\n
3. Christ is with us – Matthew 28:20<\/p>\n
4. God watches over us – Psalm 23<\/p>\n 5. But Heaven is when we are actually with the Lord and can see him – Job\n19:26-27\n
D. Here we are just passing through to another land<\/p>\n
1. There is an appointed time to change – Job 14:14-15<\/p>\n
2. We are strangers here, we are foreigners just visiting – I Peter 2:11-12<\/p>\n
III. Who will be there?<\/p>\n
A. At the end, the kingdom is turned over to the Father – I Corinthians 15:24-25<\/p>\n
B. Only those born of water and the Spirit may be in the kingdom – John 3:5<\/p>\n
1. This is a reference to baptism – Acts 2:38<\/p>\n
C. Those in sin cannot be a part of the kingdom – I Corinthians 6:9-10<\/p>\n
1. That is why we must turn away from sin – repent – Acts 3:19<\/p>\n
2. Baptism washes away sin – Acts 22:16<\/p>\n D. The reason we have an entrance to the kingdom is by God’s grace and the fact that\nwe believe and accept God’s offer – Ephesians 2:1-10\n 1. All that God does for the sinner is a matter of God’s grace – a freely given\ngift\n
2. All that the sinner does in accepting God’s offer is a matter of his faith<\/p>\n a. Faith isn’t separate from works, it is shown by the works done –\nJames 2:18\n
E. Being saved, we then mature to become more like Christ – Ephesians 4:13-16<\/p>\n
IV. What will it be like?<\/p>\n A. How do you describe the beauties of a sunset to someone who is blind? How do\nyou describe sounds of a nightingale to someone who is deaf?\n B. How can God describe the beauties of His spiritual realm to people existing in\nphysical bodies?\n 1. God takes things we see as valuable and then says it is something like this,\nonly better – Revelation 21:16-21\n C. This world has it flaws and its struggles, but heaven is free from the corruption of\nsin. Though we are stained and scared by sin, the blood of Christ will purify us –\nRevelation 7:9-17\n D. I can’t tell you the fullness of heaven’s glory – I haven’t been there. And even if I\nhad the opportunity, I wouldn’t be able to tell you more because I would have no\nwords to describe it – II Corinthians 12:2-4\n E. What I do know is that is more wonderful than I can imagine and greater than I\nconsider myself worthy of obtaining, but my Lord and God has promised it to\neach of His children.\n
V. Are you going?<\/p>\n
A. To be with all the redeemed of all ages.<\/p>\n B. We cannot count the years of eternity, nor understand heaven’s grandeur, but is it\nyour hope, your desire to go home?\n
C. II Corinthians 5:1-9<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 5:1-9 I. God has promised us a place of rest – Hebrews 4:1-3 A. There are days when I turn over in bed and start to think about all the things I need to get done today. 1. Even though it is earlier than I need to get up, I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-41238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-heaven"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62996,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/work-as-for-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":41238,"position":0},"title":"Work as for the Lord","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Thessalonians 3:6-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why should you work? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I had a friend that inherited a large sum of money before he was 18. There was enough cash available that he could live comfortably off the interest the money would generate for the rest of his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36958,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sabbath-as-a-type\/","url_meta":{"origin":41238,"position":1},"title":"The Sabbath as a Type","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 4:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul, in arguing that the Old Law was not in effect, concluded - Colossians 2:16-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There were reasons why the Israelites were to worship as they did. Their worship foreshadowed both things in the Christian age and in the age to come\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94042,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-rest\/","url_meta":{"origin":41238,"position":2},"title":"Our Rest","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong Rest? Interesting that God has given the concept of rest in so many different ways. He rested from His labor of creating. He gave Israel the seventh-day rest, then the seventh-year rest, then even the fiftieth-year rest. Joshua brought them into the land (Joshua 1:13; 21:44). Yet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20492,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-quit\/","url_meta":{"origin":41238,"position":3},"title":"I Quit!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Mark 10:35-45 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019ve all seen people frustrated with a task. \u201cI quit!\u201d they yell as they storm off. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Funny thing ... Do you remember who it was? Neither does anyone else. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0However, there are times I ought to quit. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I can allow myself to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82652,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/making-reservations\/","url_meta":{"origin":41238,"position":4},"title":"Making Reservations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton When we plan an important trip, we know it is important to make reservations. We have made some trips without good planning and spent time looking for hotels that were disasters. We cannot go to heaven by rejecting Jesus all of our lives, and then, just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/entering-his-rest\/","url_meta":{"origin":41238,"position":5},"title":"Entering His Rest","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 4:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are religious groups who argue that we are still under the Ten Commandments. In particular, the commandment to rest on the Sabbath Day \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One argument is based on Hebrews 4:9, which says there remains a Sabbath rest for God\u2019s people. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}