Citizen of Heaven
God’s merciful grace be abundantly yours on this day.
Today we hear Paul speak to us of the great blessings which are ours through faith in Jesus as our Savior. He speaks of our “Citizenship” and he speaks of our future when we are present with Christ in eternity. Both of these points have to do with our life today and I what to share this with you.
There are far too many Christians who live life as if all that mattered was the moment they are in, or the plans they have made, or even with a desire to obtain all the “blessings” this world has to offer. There are too few Christians who have taken to heart what Jesus said in John 17, that we are “In the world but not of the world.”
Paul reminds us today where our existence truly resides.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21
There was an age, long past, where a person could reside in a place and never be considered a citizen. We see this today with so many translated people in our nation and others, but the idea of being born in a place and living there all your life and never being a citizen does not register to us as Americans. In this nation, if you are born here then you are a member here! To be an American is to be a citizen of our nation. It is a birthright we cherish.
The same is true for the kingdom of God. To be born into the kingdom is to be a citizen of the kingdom. For each of us our birth into the kingdom of God came when the water poured over us and the name of God was placed upon us. Baptism is our new birth into the kingdom of God and as such we are citizens of His kingdom, and He is our Lord and King.
The wonderful thing about having Jesus as our King is that He is a benevolent ruler. He reigns for the purpose of blessing His people. Everything He does, every action or even lack of action is for our good. Even when we go through hardships and trials, He promises to be with us, to guide us and get us through. While we may not see it in the moment, He promises to be a work in the worst of times to bring blessing to us.
As subjects of the King and citizens of His kingdom, we are privileged to live our lives for His honor and His glory! However, this can only happen when we are focused on who we truly are! We are not of this world. We are the redeemed people of God, citizens of His eternal kingdom, who are here for a time to serve and honor Him. When our life in this world draws to a close, Paul reveals what will takes place for all of us who know and love God.
Paul says, who (Jesus) will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
We live each day with the consequences of sin present in our bodies. We experience illness throughout our lives. Thankfully, God has provided not only our bodies ability to heal but medicine and doctors who help us. We grow up and immediately begin to grow old. We moved from weakness to strength and then back to weakness. This world is broken because of sin and every one of us suffers in this life.
Thankfully, this is a temporary state! When Jesus defeated death by His resurrection, He made possible the full restoration of all things. We often forget that our God is a God who wants to bring life from death, to rebuild what has been torn down, restore what is broken, and heal what is sick.
We do experience this abundantly in this life if we will but open our eyes and see. Yet, the time will come when life in this world will catch up to us and our time here will draw to a close. We must never forget that death is an enemy! God created us to live and to never die! Death is a reality of sin in this world and Jesus is the Victor over sin and the grave!
The day will come when His victory will be shared with us fully and completely. The Great day of resurrection when death is thrown into the lake of fire and then death itself will cease to exist. Everyone will live forever! This is true of the believer and unbeliever alike! The difference is the address! (Pardon my humor)
The unbeliever will be called forth from the grave and their spirit and body will be reunited, but they will be cast away from the presence of God and will live forever in eternal judgment. This is not life but in truth the absence of all true life because they are separated from God.
But the believer, that is a different story. We shall have our spirits reunited with our bodies as they are called from death to life as we shall be made whole. Every single consequence of life in this world will be taken away. Every disease, every scar, ever limitation, all gone – forever! We will be raised to be like Jesus! This means our very bodies will be perfect and holy in every way.
All this is accomplished through the victory Jesus won for us at the cross and empty tomb! To Him be all the glory, praise, and honor!
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
Today we hear Paul speak to us of the great blessings which are ours through faith in Jesus as our Savior. He speaks of our “Citizenship” and he speaks of our future when we are present with Christ in eternity. Both of these points have to do with our life today and I what to share this with you.
There are far too many Christians who live life as if all that mattered was the moment they are in, or the plans they have made, or even with a desire to obtain all the “blessings” this world has to offer. There are too few Christians who have taken to heart what Jesus said in John 17, that we are “In the world but not of the world.”
Paul reminds us today where our existence truly resides.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21
There was an age, long past, where a person could reside in a place and never be considered a citizen. We see this today with so many translated people in our nation and others, but the idea of being born in a place and living there all your life and never being a citizen does not register to us as Americans. In this nation, if you are born here then you are a member here! To be an American is to be a citizen of our nation. It is a birthright we cherish.
The same is true for the kingdom of God. To be born into the kingdom is to be a citizen of the kingdom. For each of us our birth into the kingdom of God came when the water poured over us and the name of God was placed upon us. Baptism is our new birth into the kingdom of God and as such we are citizens of His kingdom, and He is our Lord and King.
The wonderful thing about having Jesus as our King is that He is a benevolent ruler. He reigns for the purpose of blessing His people. Everything He does, every action or even lack of action is for our good. Even when we go through hardships and trials, He promises to be with us, to guide us and get us through. While we may not see it in the moment, He promises to be a work in the worst of times to bring blessing to us.
As subjects of the King and citizens of His kingdom, we are privileged to live our lives for His honor and His glory! However, this can only happen when we are focused on who we truly are! We are not of this world. We are the redeemed people of God, citizens of His eternal kingdom, who are here for a time to serve and honor Him. When our life in this world draws to a close, Paul reveals what will takes place for all of us who know and love God.
Paul says, who (Jesus) will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
We live each day with the consequences of sin present in our bodies. We experience illness throughout our lives. Thankfully, God has provided not only our bodies ability to heal but medicine and doctors who help us. We grow up and immediately begin to grow old. We moved from weakness to strength and then back to weakness. This world is broken because of sin and every one of us suffers in this life.
Thankfully, this is a temporary state! When Jesus defeated death by His resurrection, He made possible the full restoration of all things. We often forget that our God is a God who wants to bring life from death, to rebuild what has been torn down, restore what is broken, and heal what is sick.
We do experience this abundantly in this life if we will but open our eyes and see. Yet, the time will come when life in this world will catch up to us and our time here will draw to a close. We must never forget that death is an enemy! God created us to live and to never die! Death is a reality of sin in this world and Jesus is the Victor over sin and the grave!
The day will come when His victory will be shared with us fully and completely. The Great day of resurrection when death is thrown into the lake of fire and then death itself will cease to exist. Everyone will live forever! This is true of the believer and unbeliever alike! The difference is the address! (Pardon my humor)
The unbeliever will be called forth from the grave and their spirit and body will be reunited, but they will be cast away from the presence of God and will live forever in eternal judgment. This is not life but in truth the absence of all true life because they are separated from God.
But the believer, that is a different story. We shall have our spirits reunited with our bodies as they are called from death to life as we shall be made whole. Every single consequence of life in this world will be taken away. Every disease, every scar, ever limitation, all gone – forever! We will be raised to be like Jesus! This means our very bodies will be perfect and holy in every way.
All this is accomplished through the victory Jesus won for us at the cross and empty tomb! To Him be all the glory, praise, and honor!
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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2 Comments
Thank you Pastor Russ for a truthful and uplifting message.
I have always wondered where God came from. I suppose that's not important .