Where Is Your Real Citizenship?

I always have to explain to our television audience when I say that we produce four of these programs in order, but in between times we go out and have a cup of coffee and a cookie, and consequently it's a job getting everybody back in here to roll for the second half hour. But anyway they're all back in here, and we're ready for our second half hour today, and we always like to remind our television audience how much we appreciate your letters, your financial help. We never beg for money, but Lord knows we appreciate every dollar that comes in whether it's large or small, and I think Laura put it in our last newsletter again that almost 100% of all undesignated offerings goes strictly to buy television, and our office expense and so forth we pick up from our own personal income or from the sale of books and so forth. But if you send us $100, undesignated, that $100 goes to buy television time. It's not used for anything else, so we always appreciate your help and your kind letters. I think I put it on the program a while back. In the nine years we've been on television I've only had two that were less than complimentary, so I can handle that. If we got more than that I don't know, it might be a little rough. But anyway we appreciate all your kind letters and your prayers. Every one of you tell us over and over how many times a day you pray for us, and we do. We thoroughly appreciate that. Okay all of our past programs are available on videotape, audio tape, and the printed page, and if you're interested in any of those things for your own private home Bible study, or for Sunday school, or for church library, you contact us and we'll get the information to you. Okay we're ready to go. Philippians chapter 3, we'll pick right up where we left off after the last half hour, and we'll now be in verse 20. My what a verse. You know too many times we read these things casually and they say, well there's nothing in there. Oh no, it's a loaded verse if you start picking it apart. Now remember in verse 19, the last thing he said were that these false teachers, these who have adulterated and perverted the truth, are only concerned about earthly things. But our citizenship, which is a better word than conversation, our citizenship is in heaven. Well where your citizenship is, what also should be there? Well your heart. So where your heart is, your citizenship, where your citizenship is your heart. And so all of Paul's teachings then are centered on our position in the heavenly. In fact a verse just came to mind, I wasn't going to use it, but let's go back and look at it. Ephesians, go back to Ephesians. It's been a long time since we taught. Ephesians 1, verse 3. This just says everything that I said last program, and probably what I'll say in this half hour. Ephesians 1, verse 3. Ephesians 1, verse 3. All got it? Blessed, Paul writes, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. Now the King James says in heavenly places, but I prefer the heavenlies. That's where we are positioned, that's where our citizenship, and that's where all our blessings rest, and that's where they come from. I ended that in the preposition didn't I? I'm not supposed to do that. But anyway, that's where everything is centered for us as believers. All right, so now then if you'll come back to Philippians, just for a second to see where I'm kicking from. Philippians 3, verse 20, for our citizenship is in heaven. All right, let's establish that first by just turning the page to the right, to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1, so that we realize how did I become a citizen of heaven? How did I end up in that kind of a position? Well here it is, verse 12 of chapter 1, and this is the closing part of the Apostles prayer on behalf of the Colossae believers. Colossians 1, verse 12, and so he's giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet, or hath prepared us, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. What light? Well the light of Christ Himself, who John's Gospel says is that light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. So we are an inheritance of those who are in that light, and now verse 13, referring again to the Father, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and at the same moment translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. Now where's the Son's kingdom? Well it's in heaven. It's one day going to be on the earth, but tonight He is in heaven, and so everything concerning His kingdom is heavenly, and that's where we are. That's where our citizenship is, and so we have been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. As a result then, Paul always comes up, and I'm always using the word, that Christianity is so practical. Come back with me now, if you will, to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Don't lose sight now of where our citizenship is. Well if our citizenship is in heaven, then what are we so far as the world is concerned? Aliens! See, we're aliens, not from outer space, we're aliens from heaven itself. I mean from the earth itself, because our citizenship is in heaven. Well now Paul uses a terminology in 2 Corinthians 5 that fits so perfectly, even in our present day political system, and that is in verse 20 of 2 Corinthians 5. Now then, we as believers, whose citizenship is in heaven, now then we are ambassadors. Perfect terminology, because we still use them today, and when our government sends an ambassador to Tokyo, Japan, he's not a citizen of Japan, he's an alien, because his citizenship is back here in America. But alright, he's living in Japan, where he's an alien. So what's he doing over there? Well he's being a representative of his home government. Isn't that a beautiful picture? That's where we are. We're on this earth as aliens. Our citizenship is in heaven, but we're not just here being parasites, we're not here just living off of everybody else. We are here as direct associates of the glorious Kingdom of heaven itself, and we're here to show forth, to reflect our place of abode. That's what we're here for. We are here to literally reflect our heavenly position, day in and day out. Now I a lot of times say, this is what I feel is really our great commission. This really fits. This is what you and I can do every day of our life, is reflect the place of our citizenship, reflect the one who is the head of the body, and we are ambassadors. We are constantly representing the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are ministers of reconciliation. In other words all we have to do is let lost people know that God has already reconciled them. It's all been done, but God can't appropriate it until they believe it. And oh we make it so hard. I can look back in my own experience, and I've made it hard for people. I know better now. It's so simple. Just recognize your lostness, recognize that you're without hope, but that it's all been done, and all we have to appropriate it, is believe it. And the moment we believe it, God translates us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. He makes us a citizen of heaven, but at the very same moment He designates, I'm making you an ambassador. Now politicians have to connive, and they have to bribe, and everything to get an ambassadorial position, but we don't have to do that. Ours is given the minute we become a citizen of heaven, and oh what a responsibility. I told my classes here in Oklahoma again the other night, if every one of my class people could win one every couple of weeks, and they in turn could go out and win one every couple of weeks, do you realize how fast we'd make an impact on this nation? But that's what God expects us to do. We're ambassadors, and we are to be constantly reflecting the place of our citizenship, where Christ of course is not so much the King of the body, as He is the Head of the body. But now if you'll come back with this same line of thinking, I just told some folks before I started on this verse, I could go an hour. I know I could, but some people are getting impatient that I'm taking too long to go through the Bible. And they want to know how many more books is it going to be before you finally finish? Well I don't know, I think the Lord's going to come first. But come back to Romans chapter 8. Come back to Romans chapter 8, and dropping in at verse 14. Romans 8 verse 14, and see these are all tied together. This is all because of our salvation experience, and the resulting position. In the body of Christ, in the Kingdom, however you want to picture it. But now in Romans 8, starting at verse 14. Romans 8 verse 14, "...for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God. For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to other words, we're not shaking in our boots in fear of an awesome God. No, we are one and part of Him. For you have received the Spirit of adoption, which is a positional term again, whereby we cry, Abba Father." And then verse 16 and 17, "...the Spirit Himself witnesseth with our spirit, that we are the children of God." No hope, so think so about it, we are. That's the promise, that we are the children of God. Then verse 17, "...if we are children of God." Now these are promises, it doesn't promise me flocks and herds and wealth untold, but it promises that I'm an heir. Isn't that something? An heir, a joint heir. Not only with God, but a joint heir of Christ. But there may be some price to pay, and that is that if we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together with Him. But then he goes on and if there's any doubt, is it worth suffering for? Suffering scares most of us, but his next verse sets all that to rest. I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, and you know how Paul suffered. Oh three times he was scourged, umpteen times he was whipped in the sea, three on the highways and so forth. Yes he suffered, but he said it's not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed to us. See that's our hope, how the Lord may bless us. I think most of us have, according to the other parts of the world, they think every one of us are multi-millionaires, you know that. But nevertheless, that's not our primary purpose for being here. Our primary purpose is to lift up our position as representatives of our heavenly abode, and that is as ambassadors. All right back to verse 20. That's only half the verse, here's the other half. Not only do we have our citizenship in heaven, not only are we an ambassador as a result of that citizenship, but we also live moment by moment looking for what? The soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and from heaven we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Another accompanying verse, just turn to the right and go to Titus through the T's, Timothy's, Thessalonians, or Thessalonians, Timothy's, and then Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2, and this is the verse that I have learned to use to confront people who refuse to accept the deity of Christ, and there are more than one group that do that. They do not believe that Jesus was God, and I've tried all the others and they've always got an answer for it. They'll wiggle around it one way or another, but this one shuts them up every time. This one they have not got an answer for, and for that reason I use it. In fact I just used it again yesterday for someone. Titus chapter 2, verse 13. Titus chapter 2, dropping down to verse 13, and this ties in so beautifully with Philippians chapter 3, verse 20. We are to be looking day in and day out for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God. Any doubt? Can they wiggle around that one? This is the one verse now you learn to use it. When you have people come to your door and you ask them, do you believe that Jesus Christ is God? And they'll give you all the reasons in their Bible why He isn't, then you just show them this verse. This stops them. They can't get around it, and we are looking for the glorious appearing of the great God, our Savior Jesus Christ. And then going on into verse 14. Titus chapter 2, verse 14. "...who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar..." Now that word peculiar does not mean odd as we think of it today. The root word of peculiar goes back to the ancients when it was something of intrinsic value. That's what peculiar meant in the King James at least, and so that's what we are. We are to be a people of intrinsic value, and we're to be zealous of good works. But all the while we're doing our good works, what are we looking for? The appearing of the great God, that blessed hope. I've asked people more than once, what is your blessed hope? And you know it's amazing how many people will say that when I die I'll go to heaven. Oh that's a good hope, but that's not the blessed hope. Do you ever realize that? The blessed hope is that maybe before we leave today, the Lord will return, and we'll meet Him in the air. And I think most of us are getting homesick for it. We just can't wait. Well it's as it should be, but you don't sit down on some hillside and wait for it to happen. We keep busy, we keep working, we keep planning, you know I've had more than one, and I've used my own example. I've had more than one say, well Les I was ready to plant an apple tree, and I thought, what's the use? And I said, no you go ahead and plant your apple trees, because we don't know, you know the Lord a day is a thousand years. And I've given the own example myself, there's a fence that I know I should replace, and I haven't done it yet, because I think the same thing. Why should I? But one of these days I'm going to get at it, and I'm going to have to get it done. But nevertheless we don't just sit down and say, well the Lord is coming. No no, we work, and we continue to plan, we raise our families, and we take care of our business as if the Lord won't come for another hundred years. But way down deep what do we know? It's getting close, it's getting close. We don't know how soon, but as you see the world just falling apart, and again right here in Oklahoma, how we've been shaken to the toenails by another act of violence amongst our kids. And it is, it's hard to comprehend, but you know the minute I hear it, something like that, the first verse that comes to mind is when Paul wrote to Timothy in the last days, perilous times shall come, perilous times shall come. And we might as well look at it a minute. I got you thinking in those lines now. Come back to Timothy, have to be in 2nd Timothy, chapter 3, verse 1. And we can expect this kind of thing. It's not going to get better. The best we can hope for is that we can slow it down, that we can get enough of the word out amongst our people, and our young people, and our kids that maybe we can slow it. We're not going to turn it around. We're not going to see a 180 degree turn. We're not going to see a great world revival. Forget it. It's just not in the book. But 2nd Timothy, chapter 3 does give us the scenario. Verse 1, this know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents. What age level is that? Our kids, see? The kids, the teenagers. Oh, the book is pointing straight at them, see? Disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection. What group of people does that address? Your abusers, whether it's a wife abuser, a husband abuser, or a child abuser. What's their problem? They don't have any natural affection. And we're going to see more and more of it. It's something that is disappearing from the human scenario. Nobody cares, see? Oh, it's right on. And they're truce breakers. They can make a deal, and 30 minutes later they can break it. Now you know, most of us are old enough, we lived in the day that when you made a deal and shook hands on it, that was it. You didn't have to have four copies. You didn't have to have a whole great long page of legalese. You made a deal, you shook hands, and that was it. They kept it, come what may. But not anymore, because we've become a society of truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those. And then verse 5, having a form of godliness. You know what that tells me? Oh, they're in church on Sunday morning, they're filling their pew for that one hour or so on Sunday morning, and then that's their obligation fulfilled. And then they can go right back out and perform all the rest of this, doesn't even bother them. Not all, don't get me wrong, but this is too often the case. And so all of these things are attendant. Now if you can come back to Philippians chapter 3 again, this all part and parcel of our end time scenario, as we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Alright, now I've got to jump from there again to another verse in Thessalonians, where we have the whole thing described in detail. First Thessalonians chapter 4, and I make no apology that I believe in the rapture of the body of Christ. I believe with all my heart that one day, and I think rather soon, the trumpet's going to sound. No, not the angelic trumpets, plural of revelation, but the singular trumpet of God that Paul speaks of, and the voice of the archangel, and then as he says in I Corinthians, "...we who are alive and remain shall be changed." But now in I Thessalonians chapter 4, beginning at verse 13. This is what we're to coincide with Philippians 3. Philippians 3. that when this happens, we�re going to have a body fashioned after His glorious Body. Verse 13, but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, or who have died physically, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope." In other words if we�re a believer, our loved ones were believers when they died, we�re going to see them again. We don�t have to weep and wail as if we�ll never see them. Verse 14, I always call this the qualifying factor of being in the Rapture. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them who sleep in Jesus, or who have died and are waiting for the Great Resurrection Day, God�s going to bring them with Him. In other words they�re waiting in glory, they�re in paradise, they�re in the Lord�s presence, conscious, but I don�t feel they�re up there walking the golden streets. They�re there waiting for their resurrection body like we are. And so when the trumpet sounds, and Christ leaves heaven, these departed souls of the church aid believers will come with Him to be reunited shortly with their resurrected body, as we go on down the verses. Verse 15, "...for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord." Now again, what�s Paul telling us? The Ascended, Resurrected, Risen, Crucified Lord had been instructed in him. He doesn�t get this from Christ�s earthly ministry, this comes from the Ascended Lord. So we tell you this by the way of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, if it should be today, or if it�s next year or whenever, but those of us who are alive and remain, will not go ahead of them who have died. Verse 16, "...for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Now you see, whenever I teach these things, I always like to teach comparisons. This is not the Second Coming. The Second Coming is attendant with calamities, and disaster, and probably nuclear warfare, and earthquakes, and volcanoes, and outer space eruption. That�s the Second Coming, and He will come to the Mount of Olives, which is on Jerusalem�s east. None of that here, this is just a silent intervention, and He doesn�t come to the Mount of Olives, He only comes to the air. See what a difference this is. And then verse 17, "...and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord not at the Mount of Olives, but in the air." A totally different scenario. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Why? Because we�re citizens of that Heaven from whence He has come to get us, and He�s going to take us back to it. Oh what a glorious blessed hope, that one day soon, and we really think it�s soon. I�m not kidding. I don�t set dates, you know I don�t. I made the foolish mistake almost several years ago, and I thought the Lord would come in 1993. Well I guess I was thinking of the 7 years of tribulation taking us to 2000 and the second coming. I shouldn�t have done that. I won�t ever come close to that again. But we know that one day soon, that trumpet is going to sound, and we�re going to be caught up to meet the Lord, not at Mount of Olives, but in the air.