Focus
The goal is to be a reflection of the Father’s House. The Father’s House is a place where He prepares an extravagant welcome for His people so that they can come and receive from His heart.
1. It is a place of gracious and healing hospitality.
Matthew 25:34-36 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
Jesus reveals who will inherit the kingdom by emphasizing the importance of ministry to the poor, the sick, and to prisoners in the context of hospitality. Hospitality is the practice of entertaining strangers graciously. In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as hospitality literally means "love of strangers" (Hebrews 13:1-2). The Father’s House is a place of rest and refreshment for His people, a place where people are warmly welcomed (2 Timothy 1:16). It is also a place of healing and deliverance from oppression (Matthew 11:2-6).
2. It is a place of worship.
John 4:23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”
The primary purpose of worship is to honor and glorify our heavenly Father (Matthew 6:9), but the by-product of genuine worship is the inspiration and empowerment of His people (Psalm 122:1).
3. It is a place of forgiveness and healing.
1 Peter 2:24 "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed."
Jesus Christ bore our sins in His own body in order that we might be forgiven and was beaten in order that we might be healed.
4. It is a house of prayer.
Matthew 21:13 “And He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
Prayer is not merely a means by which we get something for ourselves from God, although that is a legitimate purpose for prayer. It is also an opportunity for us to cooperate with God in something He wants for Himself. It is the Father’s way of allowing His children to participate with Him in His business.