Homesick for Heaven

Amen, I'm by you now, I'm going to go into the

word of the Lord today, John Chapter 14, I am

John 14 · chapter mention

concluding our series on countdown to eternity,

countdown to eternity, and. There is more that

actually I would have liked to look at in terms

of prophecy, things to come, and if the Lord

will allow, I'm going to revisit this theme at

a later point this year to kind of. look at some

other future things on the horizon but we're

going to at least put closure to this phase of

this series and i'll be reading john chapter

John 14:1–3

14 verses 1 through 3 jesus said these words

let not your heart be troubled you believe in

god believe also in me amen not sure if that's

there on the screen but No, you can follow along

on your Bible or your app. In my Father's house

are many mansions. If it were not so, I would

have told you. I go 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 somebody say man

going to preach today simply homesick for heaven,

homesick for heaven. Let's pray briefly. Father,

we love you today. Thank you for your spirit.

That is so real in this place. We ask God now

that as we are about to partake and. receive

your word that we would do so with gladness that

this word like a seed would fall on good ground

and that we would be encouraged today comforted

challenged and motivated god for those things

that you have prepared for us anoint my lips

god season my words with salt i ask this god

be glorified in this place in the name of jesus

christ we pray someone say amen amen you can

be seated in God's presence. I wonder if you

have ever felt homesick before. Maybe after being

away from home for a period of time, you eventually

start to miss the comforts, familiarity of home.

At least I do. Even when you're on vacation and

enjoying yourself, there always comes that point,

even on vacation, right, where you just want

to go home, even if it's just to touch base and

start planning your next vacation. But you just

want to go home and enjoy the comforts that only

home can provide. The most relaxing hotel bed,

Can't compare to your own bed. Amen. You know

why? Because your bed knows you. Somebody say

amen. It knows you. It's already molded to you.

Amen. The finest restaurant meal, as great as

it might be, cannot satisfy like a good home

-cooked meal. Made with love. Amen. Preparation.

And even when you're visiting other countries,

sometimes after you've eaten all of their food,

you want to go home and have some hamburgers

and good old American breakfast. Amen, somebody?

You just want like that home cooking. Amen. That's

how it is whenever we are away from home. And

I don't know about you, but for me, it always

also seems like the journey home feels longer

than the trip away. I don't know, something about

that flight or that ride home always feels longer.

Every time we go on a road trip, we get there

in no time. And then coming home, I always look

over to my wife and say, why does it feel so

much longer? Because you just want to get home.

And that's all you can think about. I began to

look. For different words. Those of you who know,

I like words and different synonyms and different

types of expressions. And so I began to think

about what kinds of words are there for when

you're missing a vacation. You know, there's

no word in our vocabulary for missing a vacation.

They haven't invented one yet. There's no word

for being vacation sick, for being travel sick.

or even away sick, but there is a special word

for missing home. And whoever invented that word,

they called it homesick. Because we needed a

word. You know, we needed a concept to describe

that feeling we feel when we miss home. What

if I told you today that your spirit is homesick?

That it longs for a place that you've never seen,

but were created to live in forever. And that

place today is called heaven. Someone say heaven.

In this series, we've looked at a variety of

areas. We've talked about, I preached about the

temporariness of this world. I preached about

the realities of hell. Preached about the book

of life and... the catching away of the church,

the rapture. But today, we're going to look even

further beyond to that place as we were seeing

a few moments ago where the streets are paved

with gold and there are no more tears or sorrow.

We're looking today at heaven, our eternal home

with Jesus Christ. Now, before we look at what's

waiting for us, In this place called heaven,

I think it's important to first at least clarify

what the Bible means when we talk about heaven.

In the Bible, there are at least three types

of heavens that are mentioned. The Bible mentions

three heavens, and you'll see this word used

time and again, but it doesn't always mean what

we think it means. The first heaven, or there

are three levels of heavens. The first heaven

is the sky. It is the atmosphere above us where

the birds are flying. The second heaven is outer

space. The moon, the sun, the planets, the stars,

all the galaxies, that would be considered the

second heaven. The third heaven is the dwelling

place of God. This is what Scripture refers to

as... the heaven of heavens, as Moses called

the highest heaven, or the place that Paul called

paradise. So when we talk about heaven today,

as I preach about this place, we're not talking

about the sky above us, nor the outer space,

the galaxies, but we're talking about the dwelling

place of God, about that eternal state of heaven,

If you study scripture, especially the book of

Revelations, which I know, I know that many Christians

don't invest much time studying that book because

they just assume that it's just too difficult

to understand, too hard. And so you know what

a lot of Christians do? They're like, well, as

long as I make it. You know, as long as I, that's

all they concern themselves with. Usually it's

just like, well, I don't understand all that

stuff. I just want to go. And you can take that

approach if you'd like to, but I believe that

your faith, your excitement, your enthusiasm

for that place that God has prepared for us would

only increase, your faith here would only increase

if you would dare to look a little deeper into

what God has prepared for us. It doesn't mean

you have to become... a prophecy expert or be

able to explain the book of Revelations frontwards

and backwards. But what it means is that if you

can at least learn or understand a few of the

basic things that God has prepared for us in

sort of this basic timeline, then it would at

least bring you comfort and encouragement, confidence

in knowing that God has a plan. How many of you

know he's got a plan? I said God's got a plan.

There will be a period. into the future after

many years. It'll renew. The state of heaven

will renew after a time period called the millennium

or a thousand -year period where Christ will

reign on the earth. So Jesus is coming back for

his church. He's going to rapture us, and then

that's going to initiate a seven -year period

called the tribulation. And that period will

be a time of testing here where there's going

to be a lot of turbulence, a lot of violence,

a lot of things that are going to unfold here

in this world. But in that period of time, you

and I, if we are ready, well, we're going to

be with the Lord. We're going to be in heaven.

Thank God we're not going to have to sit here

through all that tribulation. Amen. There are

some that hold different beliefs about this,

and you need to be... Vigilant and careful about

what types of things that you may be reading

or learning. There's some confusion about when

Jesus is going to come, when this whole timeline

begins. Got to be certain about the fact that

we are pre -tribulation believers. We believe

that Jesus is going to rescue us from this place

before that period of tribulation begins. So

there are many that are pre -trib like us. Some

are post -trib. Some are mid -trib. And some

are just tripping. Praise God. They don't know

what they believe. Okay? But we're not, some

would say, I ain't tripping today. God's going

to rescue me out of here. Come on. Hallelujah.

Some of you are afraid to laugh. You're afraid

to smile. All right. Praise God. God's going

to take us out of here. And when that happens,

that seven -year period will come. It's going

to be a big battle. It's going to be a battle

of Armageddon. That happens. Then Christ is coming

back again. He's going to win the victory. All

the saints, and I am condensing a lot of this

today because there's a lot in this study, but

all the saints are going to come back. Amen.

We're going to be a part of that great victory

that God's going to bring for his people in that

battle. And from that period on, a thousand years,

Christ and the church, his saints, his children,

are going to reign here on earth. And this is

ultimately where heaven will meet earth once

again, and we will live with him forever. So

in this place that God is preparing for us, what

kind of place will it be? Well, let me first

tell you that heaven is a prepared place. It

is a prepared place. Heaven, contrary to what

many believe, is ultimately not some cloudy space

in the sky. not some vague concept, not some

foggy place beyond the blue. Heaven is a real

place. Heaven is not what you see depicted on

murals, in chapels, or in stained glass sometimes.

We're not going to be like angels with little

wings, playing harps, sitting in the clouds.

That's not what heaven is going to be like. It

is a real place. It is a physical, tangible,

literal place that God is preparing for his people.

Amen. It's the place that Abraham had in mind

when Scripture says that he waited for a city.

And I preached this at the beginning of this

series. He waited for a city, a real city, which

has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

So from the saints of old to the New Testament

saints, There was a belief. There was this hope

that God was preparing a literal city, a place

where you can plant your feet. This place is

real. This place is tangible. And he's preparing

it for us. Jesus is the chief architect. He is

the builder of this place. So God himself is,

he is designing, he is preparing, he is constructing

this place. for us, for all of his people. So

it's not left for chance. It's not some blob

of space in the sky. It's not some theoretical,

foggy, spiritual place where we're just going

to be in a dreamlike, you know, fuzzy ghost -like

state. It is going to be a literal place, tangible.

In fact... John, the writer of Revelation, he

saw a glimpse of this prepared place in Revelations

21. Where he says that one day heaven would come

down to earth and that God would make all things

new. He writes these words in verse 1 of Revelations

21. He says, now I saw a new heaven and a new

earth. For the first heaven and the first earth

had passed away. So currently there is a heaven

and currently there is an earth. We're sitting

here right now on the earth. There's coming a

day in future glory where God's going to make

everything brand spanking new. The earth is getting

a makeover. Even heaven is going to get a makeover.

God, so the way heaven is currently not going

to look the same in the future. God's going to,

he's going to go back to the drawing board. He's

going to make everything brand new. Also, there

was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city,

the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her

husband. And this church is where we're going

to live forever in a new heaven on earth or what

John described as a new Jerusalem, a holy city.

So the reality is, our eternal home is ultimately

not going to be someplace in the sky beyond,

you know, the planet Pluto or Jupiter or something

like that, beyond the sun. Our eternal home ultimately

is going to be right back here on earth. But

this is how it's going to be. It's going to be

brand new, and heaven is coming down to earth.

And this is going to be that eternal place that

we are going to reside with God. And we're not

going to be here as disembodied spirits. We're

not just going to be eyeballs floating around.

We're not just going to be roaming the airwaves

with white robes and wings. We are going to have

resurrected, glorified bodies. Woo, praise God.

Some people think they already have their glorified

body. Hallelujah. You don't yet. Amen. Spend

all the time in the gym you want to, my friend.

Ultimately, God's got a better glorified body

for you in the future. Amen. I'm not saying don't

go to the gym if you want to. Praise God. I'm

just saying it's going to get better. Praise

the Lord. Hallelujah. And we're going to have

these resurrected, glorified bodies. And in that

body, we're going to enjoy this new world. this

place that God has prepared for us. Now, eye

has not seen and ear has not heard. So bear with

me today. As many words that I can pull from

my dictionary, as many pictures I can draw, there

is no adequate way for a human, for a flawed

and limited person like me to be able to describe

to you in a way that's going to, there's just

no way I can possibly describe this place for

what it is. God's got something. far beyond what

our minds can fathom, far beyond what any human

imagination could think of. God's got something

good. And how many of you think that's awesome?

Amen. There's nothing in this world. that can

compare to the place that God is preparing for

us. Not the most beautiful remote island somewhere

with crystal clear waters, no palace, no home

on a hill. There is nothing that can compare

to this place that God has prepared for us. Somebody

give God some praise today. Amen. This is where

the Father's house will be. And if you, if you're

saved, let me make sure I mention that. If you're

saved, you gotta make sure you're saved, this

will be your dwelling place. And on that note,

we need to clear up at least one important fact

about what this place is going to be like. Jesus

said, in my Father's house are many mansions.

Many mansions. Now that word mansion has confused

some. Based on the translation of the Bible that

you're reading, the King James Version uses that

word mansion. And there are some others. But

that's not the best translation of the original

word. And I know that we sing songs and songs

have been written based on this idea that one

day, you know, when we get to heaven, God's going

to give you the keys to your brand new 20 room,

15 bathroom. 10 car garage with a boneyard mansion.

I got some of you excited right there. Well,

I'm about to burst your bubble right now. Because

in the original Greek, that word mansion doesn't

mean mansion the way you think it means mansion,

my friend. It actually means rooms or dwelling

places. So if you want your mansion, you better

get it on this side. Hallelujah. Because you

ain't getting one up there. Jesus said, in my

Father's house there are many mansions. And it

doesn't even make sense if you think about it.

Well, how can a house have a bunch of mansions

in it? Exactly. What Jesus is saying is in my

Father's house or in my abode, in my dwelling

place in heaven, I've got all these rooms in

space. In other words, there's enough room for

everybody in my Father's house. Praise be to

God. He said, I've got space for you. I've got

rooms for you. I don't know if this is going

to look like the Plaza Hotel in New York. Probably

going to look better than that. I'm not sure

if this is going to be like a resort, but I know

that he's got plenty of room for each of you.

He's preparing that place. Amen. And I think

that's something far better. You're getting somewhere

far better. Hallelujah. A prepared place in the

presence of the Lord, a heavenly household. Somebody

give God a praise for that. I thank the Lord

for that. Heaven is also not only a prepared

place, it's a populated place. Oh, there may

be some that have this idea of heaven as being

this quiet, solitary, some of you that is heaven,

right? Where everyone leaves me alone, I'm sorry,

but you're not going to be alone if you go there.

It's not a remote island. Not a solitary place.

It's not that at all. Heaven, the Bible tells

us, is going to be full of life. Full of life.

Full of laughter. Hallelujah. Full of worship.

Revelation 7 and verse 9, John again describes

a great multitude which no one could Of all nations,

tribes, peoples and tongues standing before the

throne and before the lamb dressed in white robes

and worshiping the lamb of God. Can I tell you

today that heaven is going to be buzzing with

people? Whoo. Hallelujah. I said it's going to

be buzzing with people. There are people there.

It's going to be a highly populated place. But

who exactly are we going to see when we get there?

Who exactly are we going to run into when we

get to that place? First of all, you're going

to run into at some point all the saints from

the Bible, all the faithful saints of God, which

the writer of Hebrews describes as that great

cloud of witnesses. Oh, hallelujah. You know

who's going to be there? Abraham's going to be

there. Moses is going to be there. Paul is going

to be. How many of you would like to have a conversation

with Paul? Huh? Peter's going to be there. I

like to ask Peter, man, why'd you cut that guy's

ear off, man? How'd that go for you, huh? Hallelujah.

Esther's going to. How would you like to meet

Esther? Hallelujah. Ruth is going to be there.

And Mary is going to be there. They're all going

to be there. Elijah and Elisha. Hallelujah. All

the saints of the Bible are going to be there.

They're there waiting for us. And I think that's

going to be pretty cool, you know, to be able

to meet these people. Amen. How many of you are

looking forward to meeting those people? Huh?

It's going to be pretty awesome. It's going to

be pretty awesome. Not only that, you know who

else you're going to see there? You're going

to be reunited with friends. And loved ones and

family who have gone before us in the Lord. Hallelujah.

You see, the hope that we have when we lay to

rest someone who's gone to be with the Lord is

that while we're saying goodbye, what we're really

saying is, I'll see you soon. What we're really

saying is, I'll see you again. And the comfort

and the hope. that we have and the encouragement

that we have and the confidence that we have

is knowing that one day, oh, hallelujah, if you

have any family members, I'm talking to somebody

today, grandparents, parents, some of you have

had to say goodbye to your parents in the last

year, aunts and uncles who have died in the Lord,

I want you to know that there is coming a day

where you're going to be reunited with them.

I want you to know what it's, oh, hallelujah.

Can you imagine what it would feel like to hug

your mom again? To hug your dad again, to hug

your grandparent again, to hug your aunt, to

hug your friend, to hug that mentor you are again.

I've come to bring you hope today and tell you

that there is coming a day in glory land. There

is coming a time where we get to the other side

with Jesus, where we're going to see those saints

of old, where we're going to see those that have

gone on before us, and we're going to be able

to embrace them again. what a time. I don't know

if this encourages anybody. I'm looking forward

to seeing my grandpa again. I'm looking forward

to seeing my friend again that I've had to lay

to rest here. But you've got to be encouraged

today. You've got to know that there's coming

a day in glory where you're going to be reunited

with those loved ones in faith. You're going

to embrace them. Come on. Is there anybody here

today that's encouraged by the fact that we have

laid them to rest knowing that it's not the end,

but that one day we shall. I'll see them again!

Can you imagine what they're going to look like

in their glorified bodies? I don't know how old

they're going to look. I'm not sure. You know,

I might see my grandpa, you know, at his youngest,

in his prime, you know. I might see, you know,

because there's no getting old over there, you

know. The person that you saw that had a limp,

they ain't going to be walking with a limp anymore.

Oh, what a time it's going to be. What a family

reunion it's going to be when we come together

with the saints that have gone on to be with

us. With the Lord. And what a time it's going

to be. But it's going to get better than that.

Because as we gather together. With the saints

from the Bible. And the saints that have died

in our lifetime. Most of all. We're going to

see Jesus. Jesus Christ himself. Is going to

be there. The Lamb of God. The mighty God. Is

going to be there in all. Oh, what a time we're

going to have. Somebody give God some praise

today. Heaven is not heaven without Jesus. Heaven

is not heaven without Jesus. And what makes heaven

heaven is the fact that we're going to see him

face to face. Oh, my God. And that's what I'm

living for. The beauty of heaven is not. Also,

I know we were saying we get excited. The streets

are paved with gold and pearling gates. Hey,

you know what? You can have your streets with

gold and you can have your pearling gate. I'm

there because Jesus is going to be there. That's

what that what makes heaven beautiful. It's the

presence of God. Oh, hallelujah. Makes me think

of that song. I can only imagine. Oh, yes. With

my mind's eye. can only imagine what it will

be like. Will I? Will I dance before your presence?

Hallelujah. Will I? Will I dance before you?

Will to my knees? Will I fall? Will I sing? Hallelujah.

Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine

what it will be like when I'm surrounded by that

cloud of witnesses and we're in the presence

of God. When you see him face to face, what are

you going to do, my sister? When you see him

face to face, are you going to dance? Are you

going to shout? Are you going to sing? You know

what I say, all of the above. Whatever I feel

to do, I'm going to give God his glory. That

is due his name. Come on, somebody love him today.

Hallelujah. No wonder Paul said to live is Christ

and to die is gain. Look at what you're gaining.

Look at what you're gaining. He said to be absent

in this body is to be present with the Lord.

Oh, my God. We feel sorry sometimes for those

that have gone on to be. Don't you feel sorry

for that? If anything, they probably feel sorry

for us. You still got to live in that broken,

messed up, backwards world. Oh, but when we get

there, we are gaining something beautiful. Look

at what Paul said. He was torn. He wanted to

go there so bad. He said, also in Philippians,

he said, for I am hard pressed between the two,

talking about the earth and heaven, having a

desire to depart and be with Christ, which he

said is far better. He said, man, I want to go,

but I got to stay here and help you guys out.

But man, I tell you, I want to go. It's far better.

How many of you know it's far better? God's original

plan was to dwell with humanity on earth, and

this will be fully restored. Let us not forget

in the beginning of Genesis, when God created

the heavens and the earth, his plan was to dwell

in perfect harmony with his creation. And when

heaven is reestablished on this earth, that dream

of God, that plan of God is going to be fully

realized once again, and heaven is going to come

down. And John said this in verse 3 of John,

or in Revelation 21. He said, I heard a loud

voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle

of God is with men and he shall dwell with them

and they shall be his people and God himself

will be with them and be their God. That's what

God is preparing for us. It's a populated place,

but it's where the presence of God, you know,

we're not going to need a son. to light the day.

We're not going to need a moon to glue to to,

you know, to reflect off the earth at night because

we're going to have the presence of God and with

the presence of God, we're going to have light.

Oh, what it's going to be like to be in his presence

on that day, what it's going to be like to know

him and to see him. And this, my friend, is what

we're living for. This world is going to pass

away and God's going to make everything new.

And my job today, my number one job. about as

the pastor of this church, as a preacher, the

gospel is to help people get to heaven. I want

to see you there, brother and sister. I want

to say, well, I want to have a city like reunion

when we get to heaven and see all the saints

that were baptized or that were a part of this

beautiful church and say, we made it. Oh, it

wasn't easy. Oh, it was hard. And we stepped

on each other a couple of times and it was difficult.

Hey, you know, but we made it to the other side

and I have. battle scars, and I have, you know,

and it was difficult, and it was a battle, but

we made it, and we're here, and what a blessing.

Can I tell you today, it'll all be worth it when

we get there. Friend, whatever, as I come to

a close, whatever it is you're going through

in this life, whatever it is you're experiencing,

whatever trial, whatever hurt, whatever heartbreak,

whatever problem, whatever pain in your body,

whatever sickness, whatever disease, whatever

heartache and heartache, heartburn and problems,

whatever, interrelational problems, whatever

family problems, whatever spiritual problems,

whatever it is you are enduring here today and

in this life is all going to be worth it because

when we get there, all of this is going to be

but a distant memory and we will be in the presence

of God and we will enjoy him forever and we will

say, thank you, Jesus, that I made it. I'm so

glad that I didn't give up. Hallelujah. If you

could come on up, sister, to the keyboard. I'm

so glad I didn't give up. I'm so glad, God, that

you held me, that you kept me. How many of you

know it's going to be worth it? I said it's going

to be worth it. I cannot possibly in 30, 35 minutes

preach to you how marvelous this place is. I

can only but whet your appetite and give you

a brief but hopefully meaningful preview of what

this place is and why we preach so hard and why

we encourage and why we... It's because there

is a place. It's also a perfect place. Heaven

is a perfect place. John said, and God will wipe

away every tear from their eyes. And there shall

be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There

shall be no more pain, for the former things

have passed away. This current world is broken.

full of sin, heartache, temptation, addiction,

vices, our flesh, Satan running amok. But heaven,

heaven is going to be a reversal of everything

that sin did to destroy this world. Heaven is

where the curse will be reversed. Think of all

the things today, my friend. Help me today. Think

in your life of all the things that make you

cry. Think of the things that make us cry. Think

of all the things that we suffer through in this

imperfect world. Well, when we get there, God

is going to wipe away every tear. Oh, hallelujah.

Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost right now. Some of

you have been crying in the late night hours.

Some of you have been worried. Some of you have

been overwhelmed. Some of you, and listen, God

is present and God can help you and you can get

victory here too on this side, but it's never

going to be 100%. Oh, God. It's never going to

be all gone. There's going to be aches tomorrow.

There's going to be pains on Tuesday. There's

going to be problems here and there. You solve

one problem and you create another. That's the

way life is. That's the way this world is. But

I've got good news for you. If you will endure

to the end, and if you have not yet already,

if you will give your life to Jesus Christ and

you'll be baptized in Jesus' name for the remission

of your sins, If you will serve the Lord with

all of your heart, hallelujah, then I've got

this in store for you. God's got this promise

that there is a place where there'll be no more

tears, no more anxiety. How many of you would

like to just say goodbye to worry and anxiety?

There'll be no more depression. Would you stand

with me this afternoon? Hallelujah. disease.

Oh my God. Oh, hallelujah. I said there'll be

no more disease. Hallelujah. No more disease.

No more arthritis. No more high blood pressure.

No more heart disease. No more cancer. No more

tumors. No more syndromes and sicknesses and

hereditary things. No more pain. Oh, God. No

more fighting. No more emotional turmoil. Hallelujah.

No more suffering. No more broken homes and broken

hearts. No more sin. No more temptation, confusion,

and conflict. Can I tell you, I know some of

you, you love your doctors, but no more doctors.

Oh! Some of you pay a lot of money for your attorneys,

but no more lawyers, no more courtrooms, no more

hospitals, no more cemeteries. Why? Because there's

going to be perfect joy, perfect peace, perfect

unity, perfect love. It'll be a perfect place

for you. And somebody ought to give God glory

today. Somebody ought to thank the Lord. Somebody

ought to celebrate what is coming. Thank you,

Jesus. How many of you are looking forward to

that day? Would you just lift your hands all

over this place? I feel joy in my spirit this

afternoon. If you're weary from your battles,

if you're wounded by life, broken by sin, hallelujah,

remember there is a place that is waiting for

us. That is a place of perfect rest where nothing

ever hurts again. There will be no more tears.

There will be no more sorrow. There will be no

more pain. I have got to lift up somebody's spirit

today. If you're waiting for this world to get

better, my friend, you might be waiting all your

life. If you're waiting for this place to get

better, it might ever and ever meet up to your

standards. But I'm not living for this world.

This world is not my home. Do I got a witness

out there? I'm not living for this world. I'm

living for that world. And I've got to make sure

that I make heaven my home. I wonder if anybody

wants to go there. I wonder if anybody is looking

forward to it. I wonder if anybody is lifting

up your eyes to that place. Let me tell you something.

Let me tell you something that's a little wrong

with the modern day church. Let me tell you something

that I don't quite like about the modern day

church. We've gotten so consumed with God blessing

us in this life. We've got so consumed with this,

you know, this vendor machine relationship with

God. We want god to do everything here and now

we want god to bless us right now and will he

at times yes he will because he's a good god

but let me tell you something if he never blesses

me again if he never heals me again if he never

promotes me again if he never answers again i

know that one day there is a place