He Welcome Me Home

He’ll Welcome Me!

My brothers and sisters, saints and sinners, bond and free children of the Almighty God, all of you that love the Lord, and to all of you in your respectable places. We do greet you in the name of the unparalleled, incomparable, and matchless name of Jesus, and do share with you his word of inspiration, wisdom, and hope. For his word is rich and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that we might be equipped for every good work. So let us turn to the book of Genesis, chapter 31 and verse 3.

Scripture: And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee." Genesis 31:3 (King James Version)

This Morning I want to talk about "He’ll Welcome Me!"

Let us Pray - Eternal God Our Father and Redeemer, Creator and Maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - anoint us with Thy Holy Spirit and show us Your ways and inspire us to live by your truth. Amen

This morning, for a few moments we would venture to explore the subject of "He’ll Welcome Me".

Introduction

Have you ever felt unwelcome? To feel welcome is to feel appreciated and wanted. That is a feeling that each of us likes to and desires to experience. A stranger in a country wants to feel welcome. He is already uneasy because he is in a new place. But when he sees a smiling face of salutation and of the indications of welcome he feels a little more comfortable. Cities take great leaps and bounds at making tourists and visitors feel wanted and appreciated. When a convention comes to town, banners roll out and signs are hung in windows, welcoming the quests. When company come to your house we make extra efforts to let them know that their presence is not an interruption but truly an asset and high mark of the day. Feeling welcome is important because it sets the tone for the experience. Those who feel unwelcome begin the experience a sour tune.

Most communities and homes make great effort to make guest feel at home. But, there are times when we feel unwelcome, even in our own families. Being unwelcome in the family circle is the ultimate ostracism. The family knows, appreciates and wants us to be close. Any person who is rejected by his family, regardless to how oblivious he appears to the snub, is injured internally.

Those who feel welcomed see a perpetual open door. They sense that an invitation to visit and share always exists. Consider the young man who had gone away from home to start his own family. He bought himself a new home, car and lived rather lavishly. One day in his parents received a letter in the mail. The letter contained a ring of keys and a note. Curious, the parents read the note, which said: "Dear Mom and Dad. Please find enclosed the key to my home burglar alarm code, the combination to my safe. Anything I have, please free to use or borrow. You gave me full access to your treasures, I give you full access to mine." At the bottom of the note was a P.S.:" By the way I still have the key to your front door… just in case!" The parents felt welcome to their son’s home. He also felt welcome to return home anytime that he wished.

As Christians, we have given God the keys to our lives. We have given him access to the treasures and secrets of our souls. We have given him our all. In return God has given us the key to the kingdom of God and he welcomes us to use it freely.

There are many that never expect a welcome greeting or an invitation from anyone. At the very least they feel unwelcome. They consider themselves the "black sheep’’ of society and have resigned themselves to lives mediocrity. Such individuals fall into a number of categories:

Those Who Don’t Know What To Except

There are many that have been estranged from their families for many years. When they consider going home, they don’t know what to except. Their last encounter wasn’t the best and they troubled by the prospect of going home.

Such was the case with Jacob. He and his brother Esau had been on bad terms for over 20 years. Neither had seen or spoken to the other. Esau had sworn that he would kill his brother because he had stolen his birthright and cheated him out of his father’s blessing. The family was in disarray. Mother tended to favor Jacob over Esau and bad blood was everywhere. When God told Jacob to return to his family in Genesis 31:3, Jacob did not know what to expect. He was at a crossroads. He agonized over whether or not he should go home. He tossed and turned in his sleep. Just before making his decision, he wrestled with and Angel and evolved with a firm resolution to return to his kindred.