Preached 4-8-12 at NHBC
“Going Home”
Romans 10: 11 – 13
Prelude:
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As Christians, everything that we believe in, hope for, and long to have, rests on the
foundation of Christ rising from the dead, victorious over death.

Many people today still argue and debate over whether or not this event ever
occurred.

We read in Luke 18: 31 that Christ Himself foretold of this event, and prophesied
His own death and resurrection- yet the disciples did not understand that which He
was trying to communicate.

Still today, not only do the sinners and non-believers not understand this conceptbut many believers who have given their lives to Christ do not understand as well.
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The question must be asked: “Did Christ really die on the cross?’

And if He did, was His body really placed in an empty tomb?

And f He was paced in the tomb, why did He resurrect Himself? Why didn’t He
just ascend directly from the cross?

Why did He go to the trouble of resurrecting and appearing to His disciples and
believers before He ascended?

Webster’s definition of “Home”; one’s place of residence...

As believers, our definition of “Home”; “Heaven”.
I) When We Are Broken
Luke 22:19: “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and
gave it to them, saying, “this is my body, which is given for you.”
Psalm 147:3: “He heals the broken –hearted, and He binds up their wounds.”

We see in Luke 23:53 that Christ really did die physically on the cross, and His
body was taken down and hurriedly wrapped for placement in a tomb.

He had tried to explain to His disciples what was about to happen while they were
in the Upper Room that night, but they did not understand.

Many times Christ tries to relate to us through His Holy Spirit when we are hurt
and broken, yet we do not hear Him, and because we do not hear Him, we do not
understand.

Christ was showing us by example that our humanness, our mortal flesh, must be
broken down to nothing, in order for us to receive His redemption.

He cannot exist in a heart that is saturated with sin.

The truth is, until we are broken, and all of our pride and self righteousness is
gone, we cannot experience the grace and mercy that He has to offer.
II) When We Are Quiet
Luke 24:1

Mary came to that the tomb that morning with the other women in the quiet hour
of dawn. They did not waste time wondering how they would get to Him.

Many times we let the noise of the world distract us from getting to Christ in the
quietness of the hour.

Often we attempt to figure out a solution to our problems before we approach
Christ, and all we need to do is seek Him with our hearts first and foremost.

He will remove all of the stones, walls, and barriers if we seek Him first.

It is true that He really physically died on the cross, and that He really was placed
in a cold, dark, quiet tomb.

How many times in our lives do we feel as if we are cut off- and that we are
somewhere all alone- where it is cold and dark and lonely?

I believe that Christ allowed Himself to be in that tomb for three days and three
nights as a symbol of His love for us when we see no end to our trials...

I believe it was quiet in there , and I believe that He hard the voice from His father
beckoning Him to come home.
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In the end, when our time here on earth is over, and we hear nothing but the
quietness of death, my prayer for you is that you hear the voice our our Father in
heaven calling you home.
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We just need to be quiet- and listen for the voice of the Father...
III) When We Go Home
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So why did Jesus allow Himself to resurrect, and leave the tomb?

We read in John chapter 11 that after 4 days- Christ raised His friend Lazarus from
the dead- why didn’t He save Himself?

John 2: 18: - 22- The Jews were demanding some sort of miraculous sign that would
prove to them that Jesus had the authority to cleanse the Temple- Here we aee that
Jesus was speaking of the temple of His body- and making a reference to His
resurrection in three days.
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John 16:28- Jesus had to resurrect to be able to go home, ande come back to gey us
when it is time to take us Home.