HOMECOMING FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES

HOMECOMING FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES

Part 1 of 3 HOMECOMING
Homecoming is basically, Coming Home. The three most important homecomings are...
#1 Coming home to a loving, Christian family. (The subject of this post).
#2 Coming home to a loving heavenly Father.
#3 Coming home to a loving and Biblical church.

God is the Designer and Creator of the family. This is seen in the nature and work of God.
God's name's declare His nature. Two of the Three Persons in the Godhead are known by family names. God is Father and He is also Son.
God revealed His family orientation when He created Adam and Eve; when He commanded them to multiply; when He promised a Redeemer Seed; when He gave them Abel and Seth; when He saved Noah's family; when He called and blessed Abraham and Sarah, and issac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Rachel;

But we also see that man goes astray from God; when Adam sinned: when Cain killed his brother; when Lamech took two wives; when the whole world was filled with sin in the days of Noah; when men built the Tower of Babel; when Abraham took Hagar; when Essau despised his birthright; when the sons of Israel tried to kill Joseph, their brother.

Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

God created the home as the first line of fellowship with men. To despise godly family is to despise God. To reject godly family is to reject God. To undermie godly family is to undermine the plan of God.
God requires parents to love and train their children in righteousness. God requires children to honor and obey parents.
Rebellious family members should repent and humbly return to their godly families.

Part 2 of 3 HOMECOMING
Homecoming is basically, Coming Home. The three most important homecomings are...
#1 Coming home to a loving, Christian family.
#2 Coming home to a loving heavenly Father. (The subject of this post).
#3 Coming home to a loving and Biblical church.

It has been said that we are twice owned by God. We are owned by God because He created us and we are owned by God because He has bought us with a price, we are redeemed, we are ransomed by God with the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. But God is not only our Creator and Redeemer, He is our heavenly Father.

Our relationship with God is not only judicial, but familial. God is a family God. All that is good, concerning fatherhood, originates with God. Remember, two of the three Persons in the Trinity are revealed as the Father and the Son. Our heavenly Father desires to be one with His children, He loves His children, He provides for, protects and guides His children.

However, as the first family (Adam and Eve) rebelled against the Father and abandoned their relationship with God, so also has all of the human race turned against and away from God. We have all broken our relationship with Him, and abandoned the family of God. According to God's word, those who deny His authority in their lives are children of disobedience, children of their father, the devil. The Bible says...
Our sins have separated us from God;
We are alienated from God.

Jesus depicted this in the parable of the prodigal son, who took his inheritance, left home and wasted it, only to find himself separated from his father and wallowing in the filth and paucity of self satisfaction, when he could have been, when he should have been at home basking in the blessings of his loving father.

This is why the Father has sent His Only Begotten Son into the world.
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.
Jesus became a man so that we might repent, return and recover our place in the family of God.
Jesus died...
so that we might be born again into the family of God;
so that we might be adopted and enjoy all of the legal and loving benefits of the blessings that go with a living and loving relationship with our heavenly Father;
so that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus;
so that we might become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ;
so that we might call God our Father and that we might live with Him forever.

Our place in the family of God is that of a child. We are not the Parent, we are not the Head; we rely on God, we comply with God as our heavenly Father. We can only be in a right relationship as we relate in the right way. Obedient faith from a loving heart is the proof of our relationship with our heavenly Father. God has given us the power to choose our eternal destiny and our eternal family by either rejecting the Lordship of Christ in our lives or trusting Him with our lives.

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
(14) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
(15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
(16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
(18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
(1) Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Part 3 of 3 HOMECOMING
Homecoming is basically, Coming Home. The three most important homecomings are...
#1 Coming home to a loving, Christian family.
#2 Coming home to a loving heavenly Father.
#3 Coming home to a loving and Biblical church. (The subject of this post).

Since the local church, comprised of individual believers and the families of believers, is God's primary channel for evangelizing, edifying and equipping people for faith and ministry, then it is essential for individuals to be part of a local body of believers (regardless of how small it may be).

Most people who have believed on Christ for salvation have been part of a local congregation, to some extent. Sadly, most local congregations in the modern world do not have a relationship with God that nurtures believers in love and faith, body life or Biblical training. In fact, it is because so many churches are so unspiritual that most people who have received Christ also fall away from Christ.

It is because of this drifting and falling away that people need to COME HOME TO A LOVING AND BIBLICAL CHURCH.

Regardless of the spiritual strength of the local church, the drifting or the falling away of a believer must be corrected by finding and aligning with a loving and Biblical local church. Drifting and falling away is the fault of the backslider. Backsliding not only robs the guilty person, it robs their family, their friends and it is an affront to God Himself, Who bought the church with His Own blood.

Sometimes the backslider needs to make things right with the people they offended in the past.
Sometimes the backslider needs to forgive those who have offended them.
Sometimes the backslider needs to find a different local church, which is aligned with the word of God.

Coming home to a local church involves surrender, humility, discernment, commitment, confidence, wisdom, honesty.
Coming home to a local church is joining one's self to a FAMILY and requires a family mindset.
Coming home to a local church will make changes in your relationships, your schedule, your behavior and attitude.
Coming home to a local church will give much more to a person than it receives from a person.

Remember, God does not "birth" believers in the wild and leave them on the street. God births them to be part of a local family, where there is nurturing, instruction, discipline, fellowship, support, training, equipping, leadership, accountability. Sadly, most people do not find these principles in their own natural families or their local churches. This is why finding and becoming a part of a loving and Biblical local church is essential to spiritual growth and productivity. Being part of such a church is the Biblical standard for Christian living.

(10/14-17/15 dlg on fb)