When Only Home Will Do: Where The Heart Is

The speaker is reflecting on their return to the simple joys of their childhood and their faith in God. They discuss the story of the prodigal son and emphasize the importance of home and the comfort it brings. They urge listeners to focus on eternity and not get too caught up in the temporary pleasures of this world. They encourage listeners to find their home near the heart of Jesus and not be troubled by worldly concerns. The speaker concludes by urging listeners to desire to make it to their eternal home and to return to God if they have wandered away. I have returned to the joy of my childhood, to the same simple things as the child I once knew, like the prodigal son. I longed for my loved ones, for the comfort of home, and to the God I am true. I have returned to the joy of my childhood, and the hand-waving of the prophet Messiah. He sees us to be eternal, he and she, raised with me. I have returned, I have returned to the God of my father, with unfailing faith. I'm the child of his heart. I have just heard a shout from the angels in glory, singing the praise to the Lord, that this child has come home. I have returned, my dear mother, and learned the meaning of our daddy. He sees us to be eternal, he and she, raised with me. I have returned, I have returned to the Yahweh of Judah. On my knees I did fall, where wars once stood. The lesson I've learned, as I wind my way forward, the Creator of all, he's a comfort to man. I have returned to the God of my father, the Creator of heaven and earth, God of the universe. He sees us to be eternal, he and he, raised with me. I have returned, I have returned to the Father of Abraham, the son of Moses. He's calling the great I am. He sees us to be eternal, he and he, raised with me. I have returned. Oh, hallelujah. I have returned. I don't know if any of you ever had the experience of wanting to have a sleepover at a friend's house. Well, I know this one kid, and in the interest of full disclosure, that one kid is my nephew. And he wanted so bad to spend a night at his best friend's house. He'd never done it before. The best friend had always come over to his house. And I'm pretty sure that as I'm telling you the story, you could relate the outcome. He didn't like it one bit. In the daytime, it was fun. The other parent was loose and everything. But in the night, it was a whole different story. He didn't enjoy it at all. And he called his mom to come pick him up. There's no place like home. When home will do. Beloved, let me tell you. The picture that you have on screen, those of you watching the video, is of the prodigal son, the representation of the prodigal son returned home. And there in Luke 15, you read the account. And the Bible says he came to himself and realized that if only he was a servant in his father's house, that would be good enough for him. That would be good enough for him, just to be a servant in the father's house. And so he made his way home. And while he was a great way off, the Bible says, the father, with eyes only a parent could have, discerned the form of his son. Though disheveled, though ragged, though worn with many a day's travel, he knew it was his son. And he ran to meet him, ran to hug him, ran to embrace him. Because truly there is no place like home. Home is where the heart is. Think about it, my beloved. The only place that is home in this world is near the heart of Jesus. That's the only place that could come close to the reality that we'll have soon and very soon. I want to appeal to you that, as the scriptures say, that you be in this world, but don't be of this world. Don't get so caught up with the trappings of this world that you spend all you have on this world and don't invest in eternity. Friend of mine, let me tell you, you can't automatically click your heels and say three times, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, and automatically be back home. Obviously, it takes more than that. The Lord said to his disciples, let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. You see, my beloved, where your treasure is, where you treasure, that is where your heart will be. And where do lonely hearts go? They always somehow find their way back home. As old as a person gets, that nostalgia for that good home, if it was one, beats everything else in the world. As old as you are, you remember those sunny days, waking up early to already cooked breakfast, home where there's laughter and love, home where you could escape back to after a long day at school or work, home where the heart is. But sadly, once again, in this life, there's no such thing that we could call that in the spiritual sense. And that is why the word of God is love, not the world, neither the things that are in the world because it's transitory. Today you spend all that you have on it, in it, and guess what? Tomorrow when your dirt broke, you're broken because there's no one to help you. When home is all that there is, when home is all that will do, when home is your longing, my beloved, then it is that the return will take place. The heart will bend its way back home. And my beloved, as we close, I just want to appeal to you in the name of Jesus. Don't embrace anything in this world that looks like home. In the physical, you know what home is. You can relate the smells, the sights and the sounds of your childhood days spent in a good and happy home. In the spiritual sense, nothing comes close to it. You know what, my beloved? I pray that each and every one of us will so have a desire that we truly do want to make it out of this life and begin eternity. I trust and pray that every one of you listening will have that desire. This world is not your home you're just passing through. You have to realize that if you've wandered far away from God, now is time you should be coming home. May the grace of God rest abundantly so upon you as you contemplate these most important concepts. God bless you. Until next time. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.