June 24, 2012 Worship Service

II Corinthians 5:1-10 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. WE HAVE A HOME IN HEAVEN I. Our home here is temporary and uncertain. II. Our home there is eternal and certain. In the name of Jesus our Savior, dear fellow citizens of heaven, Every summer in my childhood our across the street neighbors would put up a tent in their yard. It was green and sad to say, it sometimes made the Waldschmidt children green with envy. When we talked with my mom about it, she came up with an idea. She took a bedspread out of the closet and threw the bedspread over the clothesline in the backyard. We children carried bricks from the back garage to anchor the blanket walls when they were all spread out to make a tent. It made a great tent. But it would eventually come down and the bricks would go back in the garage. The tent came down and we went into our real house. That’s the way God pictured our situation. We’re living in a temporary home here on earth. But it is only temporary. Eventually the walls and rocks and mountains and skies will all come down and we will go to live in our real home. We have a home in heaven. I. Our home here is temporary and uncertain. II. Our home there is eternal and certain. You can almost imagine a few scraps of tent material and a bag of tent making tools on the floor by his feet as Paul wrote this letter. The Apostle Paul made tents to support himself so that he would not be a burden to the congregations he served. So he knew very well that tents are temporary. He made new tents for people whose tents were worn out. He made new sidewalls and canopies and ropes for people whose tents were falling apart. He uses the picture of a tent to show how our home here is temporary and uncertain. “But we have a home in heaven. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Like sewing together the pieces of a tent, Paul makes a connection with the word of God we thought about last week in the previous chapter of 2 Corinthians where Paul spoke of the things that go along with faith knowing, speaking, praising and enduring even in the middle of trouble. Trusting in Jesus believers do those things because our home here is not a permanent home it is temporary and uncertain. “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling…” Our dog knows where the dog treats are in the cupboard. We might say something like, “Do you want a treat?” as we start to open that cupboard and he lets out a groan that longs for the taste of that treat. As believers, we live our lives in this temporary home groaning as we long for our home in heaven. Paul explains more about this groaning, “because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.” When I was in grade school we had a young man on our basketball team who forgot his basketball shoes at home. When it came time for practice the only shoes he had to wear were his snowmobile boots. Now at the time, he laughed about it and was being a little silly but I think he did that to cover up his embarrassment about clomping around in his snowmobile boots. That’s a little bit the way that we feel on this side of heaven. “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” Paul makes the point that we as followers of Jesus will always feel a little bit like we are wearing snowmobile boots at basketball practice-always feeling out of place- without the shoes and uniform that fit us. Still in spite of that, there is a strong temptation for us to think that this world is our real home. To look at the things of this life as though they are what life is all about. How easily doesn’t having the nicest car or truck to drive or the nicest house to live in become the focal point of our lives. How often doesn’t it happen that what other people say holds more sway for us than what God says. We look more for the approval of our friends rather than the approval of our God. Sometimes we groan more for the things of this world than for the things of heaven. A close look at the list of temporary things we have prioritized over the treasures of heaven brings a groan of realization that we deserved to groan forever away from the presence our God. Who will rescue us from these bodies of death? Thanks be to God He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the penalty we deserved and won a permanent building for us in heaven-the victory that swallows up the troubles of our temporary and uncertain life here with a home in heaven. Ever wonder why you are here on earth? High School and College graduates often have that question rolling around in their heads. We do put a lot of time and energy into thinking about what God wants us to do in this life and rightly so. However the more important thing is what does God have in mind for us after this temporary life is over. WE HAVE A HOME IN HEAVEN II. Our home there is eternal and certain. “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” God had in mind for us to be with him in heaven. By bringing us to faith and keeping us in the faith through the working of the Holy Spirit God has given us a deposit or guarantee on our home in heaven. He has been planning that since before we were born. You are not just a whim or spur of the moment project to your God. The Old Testament and Gospel Lessons spoke of God’s plan to plant and grow faith in your heart and the hearts of other believers. Paul was writing to people who were pretty familiar with tents. The Jewish people there in Corinth would remember the stories of how their ancestors lived in tents out in the desert for 40 years as they wondered in the desert. They would remember how their Jewish moms and dads lived in tents in the yard for a week during the feast of tabernacles that reminded them of the real home in heaven the coming Savior would bring for them. So they had their home even as they lived out in the tent. God has given us our home in heaven even as we live in a tent for a while. That’s why Paul can write… “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Have you thought about all the things you want to do in heaven? Do you have your list of questions you want to ask Jesus? Maybe you’ll want to spend time sightseeing around the city where God has wiped every tear away and travel or maybe you are just looking forward to sitting and relaxing with Jesus and loved ones who got to see Jesus’ face before you. It will be wonderful to be there- far better than even our best day here on earth. We can say that not because we’ve seen it with our eyes. We say heaven is a beautiful place Jesus won for me because our eyes of faith have seen pictures of heaven in the Bible. We live by faith not by sight. Right now our hearts can only imagine what Jesus looks likes but our eyes of faith have seen what his hands and feet did for us as they were nailed to a cross for us. Since our real home is in heaven with Jesus does the Lord want us to just bide our time waiting for him to come for us? “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Having a home in heaven given to us means that we want to thank the one who gave us this certain home and hope. No matter whether we are at home with the Lord or still here on earth we want to say thank you to Jesus with our lives. That’s what Paul was urging the believers in Corinth to do more and more. Things were better since the first letter, but there were still more ways to say thank you to Jesus. It’s only the things done for Jesus that will brings those happy words of the master our thankful hearts want to hear when we stand with Jesus covering us on Judgment Day, “well done good and faithful servant.” Let’s not just wait our time. Let’s think about how every moment, every word and every action might please our Lord Jesus. Some of you have heard me say that I pray every morning that today might be the day that my mom would die. Right now she struggles on this side of heaven with late stage Alzheimer’s in her body. My family prays that prayer with confidence knowing that Mom’s real home is home in heaven and when the time is right the Lord will take her there. Your real home is home in heaven too. The home we live in now is only temporary but our home in heaven lasts forever. Amen.