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Homecoming…A
very special time we look forward to with anticipation at seeing faces of those
we once had fellowship with. It is a time to reconnect, to once again be with
those we have lost contact with over the years.
I am thinking about a
movie. In the final minutes of the movie there is a little girl watching a
balloon float away. The balloon was her way of returning home to Kansas. Some
munchkin had turned the balloon loose pre-maturely. (Those munchkins, you cannot
trust them). The balloon was floating away and the wizard tried to come down to
get Dorothy, but he could not. The current carried him off. Dorothy thought
she had lost her way back home forever, but the good witch Brenda, told her, “You
know what? All you have to do is click your heels three times and repeat,
‘There’s no place like home.’” Dorothy clicks the heels of her ruby red
shoes and repeats those words three times and she wakes up back in Kansas.
Homecoming or coming home is
a very special time. In the physical sense homecoming takes place when we
show-up. Maybe you have gone from church in the same manner as family. We grow
up and have families of our own and don’t come back home the way we once did.
Moms and dads probably long for the days when the house was full and there was
activity in every corner. Sadly, we grow apart. That is why homecoming is so
special. Whether it’s a family reunion, whether it’s a church homecoming, or
whether it’s going to the home of your childhood it is special to come home. I
go home to Mom’s cooking every year at Thanksgiving. It is a special time of the
year for our family.
Why do we get excited about
homecoming? Is it the food and getting the kids ready to travel? No! It’s
about people -- the fellowship and seeing faces from the past. It’s special
because it’s the homecoming of a family.
I believe that we are all a
part of God’s great big family, regardless of the name on the church door; it’s
all about being a wonderful family. Maybe God has led us away from this church
and into another, it is still good to come back to visit. It is good to see how
things have changed, to see old faces as well as new faces, to catch up on how
everyone is doing and to relive old memories. The Church family is just like
blood family. We argue, we fuss, we disagree, we apologize, we love, we work,
we cry, we laugh, we worship, and we pray in the Lord. That is why homecoming is
so special…. it is about family. At the end of the day, we can turn to each
other and say, “I love you.”
Today let me speak about
perhaps, a home going. In chapter 11, Paul speaks about those who fought the
good fight, names such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Joseph, to
name a few….those who have fought the good fight and are now standing in Heaven.
I believe they are cheerleaders for you and me. I don’t know if they are able
to look upon us, but if they can, I think they would be cheering us on. They
would say, “Keep your hand on the plow and march on to
Zion, because you are a child of God. If the
devil beats you back, you get up dust yourself off and keep walking toward the
cross.” They were faithful until
death and they would encourage us to do the same. If they made it so can we,
because we have access to the same power that they had… the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Friends, let me tell you of
some dear saints who have fought the fight and gone on to their home going. I
feel sure they are our cheerleaders and are cheering us on.
Bro. John Hood is cheering
us on today. We were fortunate to have Bro John and Eva in our congregation for
about three years. He’s in Glory right now and if he could, he would say, “Hey!
Come here, I want to tell you something, don’t you give up and don’t you quench
the spirit.” Once, I told John I was so happy in a service I wanted to shout,
but I didn’t. He said. “Listen, don’t you quench the spirit. You do what the
Lord tells you to do, no matter what.” Our sister, Lorraine Wilson, is standing
in Glory. She is saying “Run the race, keep your head up and don’t give up.”
Bro. Raymond Cooley, he’s saying, “Get up here choir, we are going to do
something for the Lord,” Bro Mike Montgomery would say, “Don’t give up!” Vena
Hardin would say, “Don’t give up!” Leroy Taylor would say, “Don’t give up, keep
on keeping on!” Our daughter Ashley would say, “Don’t give up now, Mommy; don’t
give up now, Daddy.” Alton and Morine would say, “Don’t give up. Jackie
Allender would say, “Don’t give up.” Edith Burger would say, “don’t give up,
because looks what’s waiting.” Think about it all for a moment….What a glorious
experience waiting for us. We can’t give up now. There is a few more names I
wrote down of those who would tell us not to give up. Sister Ella Holt, Mike
Mosko, Gerry Holly, Melvin Wilson, Jimmy and Pam Hubbard, Roger Caldwell and
Willy Hampton, all these loved ones would tell us, “Don’t give up, because home
is waiting. I know there are times when you get discouraged and want to lay
down the gospel plow? But folks, we are on the verge of meeting Jesus, so don’t
give up. We must run our race well and you can’t run it well without giving your
whole heart, mind, and soul to God. We have to run on faith because of the
cares and burdens of this life. Run you must… let nothing keep you out of that
great homecoming in the air. All the saints in glory are cheering us on. The
angels are cheering us on, King Jesus, I believe is cheering us on. With a
crowd like that behind me, how can I fail? Let us run this race and let us be a
part of that Great Homecoming. Let’s take up our cross and follow Christ.
Glory’s Homecoming…That’s the homecoming I am working for.
"How can I be a part of that
homecoming, Preacher?" Just look unto Jesus the author and finisher.
There is nothing else that
can take His place. It starts with Jesus and it ends with Jesus. Will you look
at Him today and ask Him to save your soul? Will you ask Him to give you
strength and power to overcome every obstacle? Will you say, “Lord, I give
myself to you wholly and completely.”
“Lord I’m Coming Home.”
Are you really coming home?
Sermon edited by Mary King |