The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder Lacerre Bradley Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise, the praise of my God and King, the triumph of his grace. This is Lacerre Bradley Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. It's important that we hear from you if you want the program to continue on your station. We're going to have to cancel some stations in the next few weeks, so we hope that you will write us, mention the call letters of the station of which the program comes to you, and if you request it, we will send you our booklet, Things Can Be Better Today. That address is Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. The message on today's broadcast is entitled Longing for Home.
It was delivered recently at Cincinnati Church. In years gone by, when I was filling a lot of preaching apartments across the country, I would sometimes be gone for a week or even two weeks. As long as I had another apartment to fill, I was content to be where I was.
I think about some of those special trips. When I got back home, I was able to report that in the services there had been 30 people confessing their faith in Christ and desiring baptism. So there were some joyful days, but once I finished my appointments, I wanted to come home. And any time I've left after a service, maybe on a Friday night, and driven into the long hours of the morning because I was longing for home, and to get there and turn down the driveway and see that porch light on, just brought great joy that I was home. Well, there is a better home that we long for. We long for that home that's on the other side. And there's a song by that title that expresses much of what I want to say in my sermon this morning. It goes like this. I'm only a pilgrim and a stranger in this unfriendly world that I roam, for Jesus, who has brought me from darkness, has promised me a heavenly home.
In the Bible, we read of a city whose builder and ruler is God. And someday, when this life is over, its beautiful sights will behold. I'm longing for home. The sun goeth down. I want to go where sweet rest can be found.
I'm just about through with this old house of clay. I'm leaving this world for glory someday, when the last weary mile has been traveled and the gates of that city swing wide. Oh, what a glad feeling it will be to know that heaven is mine, beyond the dark veil of sorrows, with Jesus, forever I'll be. On to that city I'm going to hold the Savior to see. I'm longing for home. The sun goeth down. I want to go where sweet rest can be found.
I'm just about through with this old house of clay. I'm leaving this world for glory someday, longing for home. Read from 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, beginning in verse 1. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. If so be that being unclothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. For he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, I say, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Well, the Apostle Paul was a tent maker, and when he talks about this tabernacle being taken down, he may have had in mind what it was like as he built tents, and they were only a temporary dwelling place. It wasn't a place where people were going to stay permanently. And in that light, he says our bodies are like the tent or the tabernacle that's going to be taken down.
It's going to be supplanted by something far better. So he says, I'm willing to be absent from the body and present with the Lord, longing for home. In Philippians 1 21, he says, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. To die is gain. Now, it's a natural thing that men have a fear of death. It's an unknown experience.
I don't know what this is going to be like, and there's a natural dread for it. But Paul is saying to die is gain. I'm looking forward to that time that I depart this life and go to be with the Lord. But notice he says in conjunction with that, to live is Christ. So it's only as we live to the honor of Christ, to his glory, that we can be in expectation of that which is on the other side, that we desire so much to be able to say to die is gain, longing for home. Romans 8 18, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God.
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain until now. And not only they, but we ourselves also, which have the first fruit to the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to whip the redemption of the body. We groan within ourselves. But one thing that was made clear in all of these expressions when Paul is talking about longing for home, that longing is not just to be delivered from our troubles and difficulties here, but to be present with the Lord, to be with him forever. And yet, it is a fact we do often groan amidst the struggles and burdens of life. We groan within ourselves. We're waiting for the adoption to whip the redemption of the body, which will be the final culmination of making God's people what he intends to make them.
They are glorified and conformed perfectly to the image of Christ. And then, back in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16, For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The fact is, this outward man is perishing. You can put all kinds of skin cream on, you can anoint yourself, spray yourself, go to the gym, you can do everything possible, but this whole body is going to fall apart one day.
It's going downhill. Yet the inward man is renewed day by day. In our fellowship with the Lord, in our communion with him, we find strength within. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Now somebody may say, well now hold up, I don't quite get that, when it says our light affliction. My affliction is not light, they say. I have had deep troubles, I have great physical problems, I have various conflicts and stresses in life. My afflictions are great, and they're not just for a moment, they go on and on.
But here's what you have to look at. This is comparing whatever our current afflictions may be to the glory that is to come. And that glory that's coming is beyond our ability to comprehend. The original language from which our translation comes has terms that speak of it in the broadest of terms of expectation, something beyond what we can imagine. So when you compare your present trouble, your afflictions of this time, even though they seem long here, compared to what's coming, these things are light.
These things are but a short time. How good to know then that the troubles that we do have drive us to the Lord. They humble us, and they make us be thinking more about that which is on the other side. Which while we look not at things which are seen, but at things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. See, part of our problem is we get so focused on the things that are seen, we don't even look at the things that are unseen.
And with somebody, that seems strange language. How can you talk about seeing what is unseen? Well, you see it by the eye of faith.
You see it because it's promised in God's Word. But you get bogged down looking at the things that are in your way on a daily basis, looking at the things that are seen, and they trouble you and perplex you. But when you can look on the things not seen, you begin to long for hope. Troubles and sufferings cause us then to fix our eyes on the unseen. And when the signs of old age appear, you realize that this old frame is going to be replaced.
It's awaiting renewal, longing for hope. And then Hebrews 11, 13. These all died in faith, not having the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. So when they embraced the promises of God, they confessed, we're but strangers, we're but passing through. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they'd been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better country, that is a heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city. Yes, we claim the promises of God and we are but strangers and pilgrims here. We're just passing through this world. This is not our home.
We're longing for home. 1 John 3, verse 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All our life we've been seeing Him only by the hour of faith. We see Him when we read the scripture, when we hear the scripture preached, when we sing songs about the greatness of our Savior. But that great day is coming when we shall see Him as He is.
Can you even imagine that today? What it will be to see Jesus Christ face to face. Oh, we can say, dear Savior, I've trusted You, I've talked to You in prayer, I've been believing in You, I've been rejoicing in Your goodness and mercy, but oh, to see You and be in Your presence. And no, I'm here to live with You forever, longing for home.
But longing for home doesn't mean what some might interpret it to mean, so we have to give a word of caution. Paul did not mean that he was disgusted with life, that he was just ready to pitch in the towel and give up. For he said in that verse, we already quoted, for to me to live is Christ. Yes, to die is gain, but to live is Christ. I want to live to His glory. I want to serve Him.
As long as He has a work for me to do, I want to be here and be active in it. So he says in verse 22 of Philippians 1, But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labors, yet what I shall choose I woe not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And he goes on to say that by living, he would be able to strengthen and further their faith.
So there was a conflict, having a strait betwixt two. I'd like to go on to be with the Lord because that's far better, to go in His presence and live with Him. But there's a need for me to stay here too, because there's a work for me to do. I need to be able to minister to you in the church and teach you and guide you in the way that you should go.
And I daresay that most of us can relate to that conflict. We can say, yes, as the burdens of life weight us down, and we think about the joy and bliss on the other shore, to die is gain, and Lord, I'd love to go be with you soon. And then you begin to think about family members that you need to help, work maybe that you need to do yet in the kingdom of God, and you say, I'm in a strait betwixt two.
I desire to depart, but I don't want to leave my obligations here. And so Paul was not pitching him the towel. He was not saying, life is so rough, I give up. Now life was rough for the apostle Paul. You think about how many times he was beaten, how many times he was imprisoned.
His body must have been in a horrible shape when he was beaten three different times with stripes, thirty-nine stripes, and all the sufferings that he endured. But he wasn't giving up. He wasn't saying, life's been too rough, I can't take it anymore, Lord, just take me on. Because he gives this admonition in 1 Corinthians 15, 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. That's a word of encouragement, is it not?
That comes at the conclusion of that chapter when he's talked about the resurrection of the body. He's talking about ultimate victory, when we'll have that glorified body conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in view of this, he says, be steadfast, don't give up, don't be discouraged, no matter what persecution you may face, no matter what discouragement may come your way, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Not just being half-hearted about it, but enthusiastic about it, zealous in it, abounding in the work of the Lord. Can you say that today? That in your life, you're abounding in the work of the Lord?
Is it just kind of a sideline interest that you pick up on Sunday and then forget it the rest of the week? Are you abounding in the work of the Lord? Are you praying daily for people that you know have need? Are you praying for the opportunity to minister to others that you might be able to help? Are you praying for the understanding of God's Word to make the right application of it in your life? Oh, that we might be abounding in the work of the Lord. And the good news is, he says, that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Sometimes you may feel like it is, but your labor is not in vain.
I admit I have discouragements and sometimes wonder, well, are my efforts producing any fruit? I try to have the radio broadcast going on on Sundays and on the daily as well. And just the other day, a man called me and he said, I've known him for a good while, and he said, well, I've been going through some very, very difficult times. And he gave me some details which I could understand how troubled he was. He said, I decided my wife and I needed to get away for a couple of days, and so we were driving down south and said, just happened to turn on the radio, and all of a sudden, your program came on.
He said, I didn't even know it was on down there, but there it was. And the message you brought was designed for me. Everything you said applied to my case, and the Lord used that to lift my spirits and to give me guidance about what I needed to do. And so when he hung up, I just said, thank you, Lord. I'm grateful for those words of encouragement where I have to take you at your word that your labor is not in vain in the Lord, but sometimes you begin to question. Well, what does it mean? Longing for home, longing to be with Christ is better than to be here.
John 14, verse 1, Jesus says, let not your heart be troubled. He believed 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 and prepare a place for you.
Now think of that. Here these disciples are troubled when Jesus tells them he's going to go away. But he says, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also. Yes, I'm going away, but I'm going to be preparing a place for you.
And then I'm going to come back, and you're going to be with me. And there are numerous places in scripture where it speaks to the fact that Jesus wants to be with his people. Now we can understand our desire to be with him, but it's amazing to think he wants to be with us.
Well, the reason he wants to be with us is not because of any natural attraction in us. We are ruined, fallen sinners. But he wants to be with us because he loved us, because he redeemed us, because he has transformed us, because he has made us new creatures in himself, and therefore he desires to be with us. Looking for that great day. Looking for that great day of victory in Christ. There will be a day when he appears before the Father, according to Hebrews 2.13, and says, Behold, I am the children which God hath given me. With delight, he brings the whole family, all of the chosen, all of the redeemed, and presents them and says, Father, here they are.
Not one is missing. I redeemed them, I went to the cross, I laid down my life, I shed my blood that they might be washed. Their sins were put on me and my righteousness was put on them.
I called them, I sustained them, I held them up, I preserved them, and here they are. Behold, I am the children which thou hast given me. And then we look at Revelation chapter 21 verse 3.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. And God himself shall be with them and be their God.
Isn't this something wonderful to be thinking about? Longing for home, longing to be in that place where he will dwell with his people. God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain or the former things are passed away.
Doesn't that sound wonderful? No more pain, no more crying, no more disappointment, tears wiped away. No more temptation, no more sin, no more broken hearts, but with him forever. Longing, longing for home. Life is the gift of God and we are to make the best of it all in the time that we have here to live for his glory.
None of us know how much time we have. As we go down the path of life and get older and we see the fulfillment of what scripture tells us that this whole tabernacle is beginning to look toward the end. We think more about this is what's on the other side. But while we're here, we're to thank God for the life he's given us and seek to live it to his glory. In 1 Timothy 6 17, Paul says, Nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. So he has given us things that we are to enjoy.
It doesn't mean that a Christian has to be sour and always frustrated and unhappy. It's alright to be happy, it's alright to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always. Be thankful for what you have. So we're thankful for what we have here, that we have family and friends, daily provisions. We have the church and fellowship that we enjoy in the church. But we long for that eternal home on the other side. Longing, longing for home. When comes to the weary our blessed release When upward we pass to his kingdom of peace When free from the woes that on earth we must bear We'll say goodnight here, but good morning up there Good morning up there where Christ is the light Good morning up there where cometh no night When we step from this earth to God's heaven so fair We'll say goodnight here, but good morning up there When fate of the day and dark shadows draw nigh When Christ looks at hand, is not death to die He'll wipe every tear, roll away every care We'll say goodnight here, but good morning up there Good morning up there where Christ is the light Good morning up there where cometh no night When we step from this earth to God's heaven so fair We'll say goodnight here, but good morning up there Heavenly Father we thank thee for these precious promises That while we're longing for home It'll not be a disappointment, it'll someday be fulfilled That by your saving grace, by your redemptive work By your marvelous love that will be in your presence Will be at home never to have to look for another one Perfectly satisfied with our surroundings Perfectly satisfied to be in the presence of our God Our Heavenly Father and our Redeemer and the Holy Spirit Oh yes we long for home and pray that you would help us While we're here to live to the glory of God To be able to say with the Apostle for to me to live is Christ And then we can say to die is gain I'm but a stranger here, and is my home Earth is a desert dream, and is my home We come now to the last week of our anniversary month And it's important that we hear from you if you want us to continue on your station Our address is Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217 If you request it, we will send you the booklet, Things Can Be Better Today Until next week at this same time, may the Lord richly bless you all What the love's atmosphere, and is my home The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley Jr. Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217 That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217 Time's cold and wintry blast Shall soon be overpassed I shall reach home and pass And is my home
