Title: The Christian's Citizenship (Ephesians 2:19)
Meta: Paul spent so much time looking believers in the eyes and reminding them of who they are in Christ. We see this in Ephesians 2:19, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."
Tags: Christian,citizen,heaven,roman,believer,Ephesians,Paul

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I'm going to pick up where we left off last week

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which is Ephesians 2.

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We can read v. 18 to the end.

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We're specifically going to be looking at

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something there in v. 19 once again.

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Let's just read these verses.

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Ephesians 2.18

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"For through Christ,

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we both Jew and Gentile

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have access in one Spirit

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to the Father.

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So then, (conclusion),

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you're no longer strangers and aliens."

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We looked at that last week.

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No longer strangers and aliens.

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Paul affirming that.

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"But you are fellow citizens with the saints."

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That's what I want to deal with today.

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"And members of the household of God

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built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

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Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone

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in whom the whole structure being joined together

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grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

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In Him, you also are being built together

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into a dwelling place for God

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by the Spirit."

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Now I am convinced of this:

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I am convinced that if James and I

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and any other men who

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God makes an overseer of this church;

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I'm convinced that if we're going to

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pastor the flock of God that is among us,

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a good deal of our labor,

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a good deal of words

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that we communicate to God's people

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are going to consist of this thing:

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reminding people who they are.

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I get my cue for this from the Apostle Paul.

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Why? Because I consider him to be pastoral.

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An apostle? Yes.

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Pastoral to the maximum.

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I mean, this man was gifted.

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And you know what he did?

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He spent enormous amounts of his epistles

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just simply doing that one thing.

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Looking Christians in the eyeballs

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and saying, "here's who you are."

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And maybe we don't think that way pastorally,

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but that is a huge part of a pastoral labor:

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simply to remind people who they are.

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Just listen.

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Just some samplings from Paul.

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Romans 6:14

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"You are not under the law, but under grace."

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It just states it.

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That's a reality about you, Christian.

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1 Corinthians 3:9

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"You are God's field; God's building."

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1 Corinthians 3:16

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"You are God's temple.

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God's Spirit dwells in you."

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Or 1 Corinthians 3:23

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"You are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

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1 Corinthians 6:19-20

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"You are not your own,

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for you were bought with a price..."

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Or 1 Corinthians 12:27,

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"You are the body of Christ

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and individually members of it."

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Galatians 3:26,

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"In Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith."

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Galatians 4:7,

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"You are no longer a slave..."

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You get the idea.

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He specifically looks at Christians

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and although it's not always

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just that pronoun and that verb:

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"you are..."

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but over and over and over again,

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what Paul does is exactly what he's been doing

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in the first two chapters of Ephesians.

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Think about the first two chapters of Ephesians.

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If you've been here since the beginning

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and you try to run through your mind,

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where are there imperatives?

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Where are there any commandments given?

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Where are duties prescribed?

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What Paul has been doing is telling us,

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if you Ephesians are Christians,

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this is what is the reality about you.

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He's just been doing nothing but stating

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what is true about these people,

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these Ephesians, now that they're Christians,

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which is precisely what we have before us.

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Precisely.

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In v. 18-22, no commandment.

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No commandment whatsoever.

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It's simply this strange apostolic habit

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of saying to Christians:

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this is true of you.

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This is what's true about you.

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This is what you are.

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Now, I know right off,

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this simply does not suit some people.

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There are those who want commandments.

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They sit down to preaching.

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Preacher, tell me what to do.

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Give me the list of do's and don't's.

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Give me the how-to's.

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Tell me how to live my life.

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Don't just tell me a bunch of stuff about me.

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But you see, if we do that -

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look, Paul gave commandments.

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He gave imperatives. There's no question.

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And we're going to get to those in this letter.

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But you know what?

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Even as much as sometimes we think

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about letters like Ephesians,

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the first three chapters,

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we get all the indicatives.

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The last three chapters, all the imperatives.

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It's not really like that.

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It's the first three chapters - yes.

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There's no commandments there.

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But then when you get to the last three chapters,

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it's not like it's all commandments.

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Even there it's filled

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with enormous amounts of indicative verbs.

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What's that? That's a mood that indicates.

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Indicative - indicate.

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It indicates what is true.

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That's what we have.

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Some people think preaching isn't practical

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unless you just get the rules.

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Listen, the Apostle Paul -

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who are you going to find that's more practical than him?

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But what he recognized is this:

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He wants us to know.

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He wants us to be in tune.

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You know what's absolutely essential

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to biblical Christianity is that we think right.

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I often go back to Paul in Romans 6

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saying Christians, you need to reckon yourselves

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dead to sin and alive to God.

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You need to consider yourselves

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dead to sin.

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And then he says don't let sin reign in your mortal bodies.

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But before he gives them a commandment

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not to let sin reign, he says you need to think

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about who you are.

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You are dead to sin.

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And brethren, I am absolutely convinced

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that Scripture - the Apostle Paul

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takes so much time,

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so many words to tell us who we are

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because it's when those truths grip us;

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the eyes of our hearts enlightened

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that you might know.

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You remember that's how Paul began this section

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where he talks about praying for them

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and the things that are true.

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When he's praying for them,

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you know what he's praying?

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I'm praying that you would know

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what is the hope of your calling;

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what are the riches of this glorious inheritance,

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the immeasurable greatness of this power

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that is at work in you.

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You see, he wants us to know these realities.

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This is the same kind of thing that we have before us.

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The truth is, Christians need to be reminded

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over and over and over again as to who they are.

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Why? Because we need to think.

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We need to have something going on inside of our minds.

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Brethren, I'll tell you what this is all about.

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Faith is not blind.

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Faith is meant to work off of truth.

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Truth that your mind grabs.

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We don't believe in a mindless faith;

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a mindless Christianity.

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It's a matter of having these truths

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break in upon us.

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Why? Brethren, when you know something;

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when you're gripped by something;

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when you're gripped by the truth of something,

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you live in light of that.

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It matters. It impacts us.

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Just listen right here in Ephesians.

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He says when we get over there in Ephesians 5,

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at one time you were darkness,

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now you're light in the Lord.

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There's the fact.

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Walk as children of light.

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You see the flow.

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Here's what's true,

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therefore live in light of that reality.

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That's who you are.

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So be what you are.

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And you know what the problem is?

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We forget what we are.

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That's just true.

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Temptation comes.

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You know what?

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One of the reasons we forget who we are

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is because we are in a world

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where there is a devil and he slanders.

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And he's full of error.

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And we're among false religious systems

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that speak error.

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And so all the time, we are

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in a world that means to cloud the truth.

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And all of the time, it's telling us;

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the world tells us,

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and even our own flesh

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will tell us things that just aren't true.

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Things come up.

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The devil is always right there to say

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"yea, hath God said?"

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When the reality is He has said.

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So we need to be reminded

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over and over and over,

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we need to reminded

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over and over and over.

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Why? Trials come.

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We feel like God doesn't care.

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God doesn't love us.

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And Scripture says, no, you should be rejoicing.

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This is just momentary light affliction.

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If you really knew what the eternal weight of glory was.

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You see, we need to be brought back to that.

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We get in the affliction and it seems like

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this is an eternal great affliction.

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And Scripture says, no, no, it's not that.

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Why do we need to be told that it's not that?

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Because our perception is that our trial

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is huge; it's enormous,

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and it's never going to stop.

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And yet Scripture comes along and says,

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no, put it in proper persepective.

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It's not that enormous.

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It's momentary. It's light.

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And it's just going to give way to this other thing.

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We need to be woken up to that.

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Sometimes we need to be awakened

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to the fact: you're children of light.

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Therefore walk as children of light.

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You can start to be thinking:

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Oh, wretched man that I am.

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And I feel like I'm a constant failure.

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And Paul comes along and says

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no, you better remember who you are.

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You see that kind of thing comes at us

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again and again in Scripture.

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Because what happens?

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Well, we feel the weight of the flesh.

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The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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And we feel the weakness of the flesh

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and therefore we start to feel like

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constant failures.

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And Scripture comes along and says,

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oh no, no, you're dead to sin.

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Oh, I feel like I'm such a prisoner to the devil.

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No, no, He that is with you is greater

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than he that's in the world.

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You see, we're confronted by these truths all the time.

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We get face-to-face with it -

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with the truth -

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and it impacts us.

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00:11:33,402 --> 00:11:35,540
And we say, yeah, I can make it.

270
00:11:35,540 --> 00:11:37,282
Yes. I can live righteous.

271
00:11:37,282 --> 00:11:39,013
Yes, I can walk.

272
00:11:39,013 --> 00:11:42,604
Why? We live in light of the realities of these truths.

273
00:11:42,604 --> 00:11:44,119
Because you know what happens?

274
00:11:44,119 --> 00:11:45,731
When we see these truths

275
00:11:45,731 --> 00:11:46,866
and feel these truths,

276
00:11:46,866 --> 00:11:48,819
we look beyond these to the Christ

277
00:11:48,819 --> 00:11:50,322
who has given us these truths

278
00:11:50,322 --> 00:11:52,308
and we recognize that behind these things

279
00:11:52,308 --> 00:11:56,083
is the reality of Christ Himself,

280
00:11:56,083 --> 00:11:58,103
of our Triune God who is there

281
00:11:58,103 --> 00:12:02,885
to make these things a reality in our lives.

282
00:12:02,885 --> 00:12:04,970
Brethren, you know what we have before us?

283
00:12:04,970 --> 00:12:05,725
Look at it.

284
00:12:05,725 --> 00:12:08,678
V. 19, "You're no longer strangers and aliens,

285
00:12:08,678 --> 00:12:11,632
but you are (notice this)

286
00:12:11,632 --> 00:12:16,054
fellow citizens with the saints."

287
00:12:16,054 --> 00:12:17,197
Notice this next:

288
00:12:17,197 --> 00:12:19,369
"Members of the household of God."

289
00:12:19,369 --> 00:12:20,826
You see how he shifts there?

290
00:12:20,826 --> 00:12:25,899
Citizens - that makes us think of a country.

291
00:12:25,899 --> 00:12:31,494
Members of a household.

292
00:12:31,494 --> 00:12:33,480
Now James took that household term

293
00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,235
and he didn't actually take it all the way to children,

294
00:12:36,235 --> 00:12:38,817
but it can include the children.

295
00:12:38,817 --> 00:12:41,723
And in our case, it certainly does.

296
00:12:41,723 --> 00:12:46,103
But you know the next thing he does?

297
00:12:46,103 --> 00:12:49,986
He goes from country/citizenship,

298
00:12:49,986 --> 00:12:52,740
family, and then he goes to a building,

299
00:12:52,740 --> 00:12:58,466
to a structure.

300
00:12:58,466 --> 00:13:00,589
I'm really looking forward to that one.

301
00:13:00,589 --> 00:13:03,325
The structure.

302
00:13:03,325 --> 00:13:06,754
Basically what you have is three distinct illustrations here.

303
00:13:06,754 --> 00:13:08,297
And I don't know - illustration?

304
00:13:08,297 --> 00:13:10,471
Is that a right word to use?

305
00:13:10,471 --> 00:13:12,280
I'll let you figure that out.

306
00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,738
It could be three pictures,

307
00:13:14,738 --> 00:13:17,313
figures, metaphors, analogies.

308
00:13:17,313 --> 00:13:19,566
Whatever term you feel most comfortable with.

309
00:13:19,566 --> 00:13:21,434
It's clear that Paul sees the Christian

310
00:13:21,434 --> 00:13:22,721
as a citizen of a country,

311
00:13:22,721 --> 00:13:23,729
a member of a family,

312
00:13:23,729 --> 00:13:27,172
and pieces and parts of a structure

313
00:13:27,172 --> 00:13:28,743
that are being joined together.

314
00:13:28,743 --> 00:13:31,388
We're talking about the very temple of God.

315
00:13:31,388 --> 00:13:33,517
When you get to the end of Revelation,

316
00:13:33,517 --> 00:13:35,248
and we're moving out into eternity,

317
00:13:35,248 --> 00:13:36,889
there's no more temple.

318
00:13:36,889 --> 00:13:39,131
Why? Because there is a temple -

319
00:13:39,131 --> 00:13:42,992
just not the kind we're used to.

320
00:13:42,992 --> 00:13:45,386
So, why three different illustrations?

321
00:13:45,386 --> 00:13:48,233
Let's ask that question.

322
00:13:48,233 --> 00:13:49,812
Why three?

323
00:13:49,812 --> 00:13:52,216
Why not just one?

324
00:13:52,216 --> 00:13:53,792
Well, the reason's obvious.

325
00:13:53,792 --> 00:13:58,610
No single illustration captures all the realities, right?

326
00:13:58,610 --> 00:14:02,519
Jesus is called many things.

327
00:14:02,519 --> 00:14:03,657
But if you just think,

328
00:14:03,657 --> 00:14:09,720
He's called the Door. The Door.

329
00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,522
He's called a lamb - the Lamb of God.

330
00:14:12,522 --> 00:14:15,350
He's called the Light - the Light of the world.

331
00:14:15,350 --> 00:14:18,165
Now you know, that almost seems contradictory

332
00:14:18,165 --> 00:14:23,236
because a lamb, a light, a door -

333
00:14:23,236 --> 00:14:25,771
those are really different things.

334
00:14:25,771 --> 00:14:27,527
To say that the same person

335
00:14:27,527 --> 00:14:30,065
is every one of those things at first glance

336
00:14:30,065 --> 00:14:32,279
that sounds like an absolute contradiction.

337
00:14:32,279 --> 00:14:33,614
They're all very different.

338
00:14:33,614 --> 00:14:37,889
How can one and the same person be all three?

339
00:14:37,889 --> 00:14:40,177
Well, of course, it has to do with the truth

340
00:14:40,177 --> 00:14:42,485
that no one picture is enough.

341
00:14:42,485 --> 00:14:46,657
Each specific image captures and conveys

342
00:14:46,657 --> 00:14:48,731
something to us about Christ

343
00:14:48,731 --> 00:14:51,629
that the other images don't convey, right?

344
00:14:51,629 --> 00:14:54,274
I mean, it's true that being a citizen of a country

345
00:14:54,274 --> 00:14:55,733
conveys something to us

346
00:14:55,733 --> 00:14:57,406
that being a building doesn't.

347
00:14:57,406 --> 00:14:59,037
But being a dwelling place of God

348
00:14:59,037 --> 00:15:00,424
communicates something to us

349
00:15:00,424 --> 00:15:02,598
that being a member of a household

350
00:15:02,598 --> 00:15:04,043
doesn't exactly communicate.

351
00:15:04,043 --> 00:15:06,120
That's why we get these different pictures.

352
00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,835
It's the same with the church.

353
00:15:08,835 --> 00:15:14,523
So, illustrations.

354
00:15:14,523 --> 00:15:16,085
And these aren't the only three

355
00:15:16,085 --> 00:15:17,541
that Paul uses in this letter.

356
00:15:17,541 --> 00:15:19,448
You know, back at the end of chapter 1,

357
00:15:19,448 --> 00:15:21,466
he said that we are the body of Christ.

358
00:15:21,466 --> 00:15:22,740
When we go over to 5,

359
00:15:22,740 --> 00:15:24,344
you know that famous section

360
00:15:24,344 --> 00:15:26,460
about husbands love your wives?

361
00:15:26,460 --> 00:15:28,771
Well, the reality is that Christ and the church

362
00:15:28,771 --> 00:15:30,431
are shown to be in a relationship.

363
00:15:30,431 --> 00:15:32,429
There the church is the bride of Christ.

364
00:15:32,429 --> 00:15:34,557
The church is the bride of Christ.

365
00:15:34,557 --> 00:15:36,831
The church is the body of Christ.

366
00:15:36,831 --> 00:15:38,312
The church is like a country.

367
00:15:38,312 --> 00:15:39,677
The church is like a family.

368
00:15:39,677 --> 00:15:41,840
The church is like a temple.

369
00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:43,032
These are the realities.

370
00:15:43,032 --> 00:15:44,707
We get all these different pictures

371
00:15:44,707 --> 00:15:46,910
that come at us.

372
00:15:46,910 --> 00:15:51,652
Now, the question that we must ask is this.

373
00:15:51,652 --> 00:15:54,271
Now, I'm only going to deal with the first one today.

374
00:15:54,271 --> 00:15:56,715
Only the first one: citizens.

375
00:15:56,715 --> 00:15:59,130
Fellow citizens with the saints.

376
00:15:59,130 --> 00:16:00,733
That's what I want to look at.

377
00:16:00,733 --> 00:16:03,623
The other two, later on.

378
00:16:03,623 --> 00:16:05,529
So the question that we want to ask is

379
00:16:05,529 --> 00:16:10,075
what does this picture tell us about Christians?

380
00:16:10,075 --> 00:16:13,796
About what it means to be a Christian?

381
00:16:13,796 --> 00:16:18,743
You are fellow citizens with the saints.

382
00:16:18,743 --> 00:16:20,715
What does that mean?

383
00:16:20,715 --> 00:16:22,257
You might have some ideas.

384
00:16:22,257 --> 00:16:24,842
Ok, well, I know what that means.

385
00:16:24,842 --> 00:16:26,605
Here's what I really want to know

386
00:16:26,605 --> 00:16:28,488
is what's the significance.

387
00:16:28,488 --> 00:16:31,204
I mean this: We have mothers.

388
00:16:31,204 --> 00:16:34,097
You're going to go try and raise your children tomorrow.

389
00:16:34,097 --> 00:16:36,199
You're going to try to home school tomorrow.

390
00:16:36,199 --> 00:16:38,512
Some of you young ladies might go off to work.

391
00:16:38,523 --> 00:16:40,157
Some of you guys and girls

392
00:16:40,157 --> 00:16:42,796
are going to go off to class tomorrow.

393
00:16:42,796 --> 00:16:45,140
Guys, you're going to go off to work.

394
00:16:45,140 --> 00:16:48,195
We have people that have lives to live,

395
00:16:48,195 --> 00:16:51,162
and what I'm wondering is,

396
00:16:51,162 --> 00:16:52,687
to have God say,

397
00:16:52,687 --> 00:16:54,548
"You're a citizen;"

398
00:16:54,548 --> 00:16:56,352
a fellow citizen with the saints,

399
00:16:56,352 --> 00:16:57,910
how does that impact your life?

400
00:16:57,910 --> 00:16:59,683
How does that change tomorrow?

401
00:16:59,683 --> 00:17:01,088
How does that help you?

402
00:17:01,088 --> 00:17:01,994
What does it do?

403
00:17:01,994 --> 00:17:03,663
And you know what? We can basically

404
00:17:03,663 --> 00:17:05,303
conclude one of two things.

405
00:17:05,303 --> 00:17:07,781
Either me knowing this

406
00:17:07,781 --> 00:17:10,443
will make absolutely no difference

407
00:17:10,443 --> 00:17:13,813
and Paul is simply wasting my time.

408
00:17:13,813 --> 00:17:17,911
Or, Paul tells us this with very calculated precision

409
00:17:17,911 --> 00:17:22,124
because it's a truth that if we lay hold of it,

410
00:17:22,124 --> 00:17:25,762
it's going to change the way we live.

411
00:17:25,762 --> 00:17:27,629
Well, I tend to prefer the second.

412
00:17:27,629 --> 00:17:30,003
Because I believe that Paul is under inspiration,

413
00:17:30,003 --> 00:17:32,320
and I don't believe God's wasting our time here.

414
00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:33,645
(incomplete thought)

415
00:17:33,645 --> 00:17:38,277
You know how he says reckon yourselves dead to sin?

416
00:17:38,277 --> 00:17:41,348
Or, consider, back in Romans 6?

417
00:17:41,348 --> 00:17:43,857
Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God.

418
00:17:43,857 --> 00:17:45,500
There's many things like that,

419
00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:47,067
and I think this is one of them.

420
00:17:47,067 --> 00:17:51,989
Consider yourselves citizens

421
00:17:51,989 --> 00:17:55,830
of another world as we live our life here.

422
00:17:55,830 --> 00:17:58,105
So that's what I want us to think about.

423
00:17:58,105 --> 00:18:00,002
Ok, look at the text.

424
00:18:00,002 --> 00:18:04,813
V. 19, "You are no longer strangers and aliens,

425
00:18:04,813 --> 00:18:13,218
but you are fellow citizens with the saints."

426
00:18:13,218 --> 00:18:19,261
Now let's just take the word "citizen."

427
00:18:19,261 --> 00:18:20,888
What does it mean?

428
00:18:20,888 --> 00:18:24,079
I'm a legal member of -

429
00:18:24,079 --> 00:18:30,199
let me just use this - a sovereign state.

430
00:18:30,199 --> 00:18:32,918
Sometimes when we talk about citizenship,

431
00:18:32,918 --> 00:18:38,955
it could be a country;

432
00:18:38,955 --> 00:18:44,449
it could be a state - sovereign state of some sort;

433
00:18:44,449 --> 00:18:48,368
it could be a kingdom.

434
00:18:48,368 --> 00:18:52,521
It could even be a city.

435
00:18:52,521 --> 00:18:54,754
Citizenship.

436
00:18:54,754 --> 00:18:57,577
A city-state maybe.

437
00:18:57,577 --> 00:18:59,538
A nation.

438
00:18:59,538 --> 00:19:02,536
Now, what does it mean?

439
00:19:02,536 --> 00:19:04,198
Some of you that are in this room

440
00:19:04,198 --> 00:19:07,685
are not citizens of the United States of America.

441
00:19:07,685 --> 00:19:10,472
Some of us are.

442
00:19:10,472 --> 00:19:12,416
What's the difference?

443
00:19:12,416 --> 00:19:13,996
Well, the difference is this:

444
00:19:13,996 --> 00:19:15,755
There's legal realities.

445
00:19:15,755 --> 00:19:19,168
But here's basically what it comes down to,

446
00:19:19,168 --> 00:19:24,962
that I have the right and the rights

447
00:19:24,962 --> 00:19:28,327
and the privilege and the responsibility

448
00:19:28,327 --> 00:19:32,215
upon me - myself - my person,

449
00:19:32,215 --> 00:19:33,962
that are attached to being a citizen

450
00:19:33,962 --> 00:19:36,069
of the United States of America.

451
00:19:36,069 --> 00:19:38,945
That's the idea here.

452
00:19:38,945 --> 00:19:41,715
It doesn't necessarily involve me being in this country.

453
00:19:41,715 --> 00:19:44,303
I'm still a citizen of the United States of America

454
00:19:44,303 --> 00:19:47,191
even when I was recently traveling in Europe.

455
00:19:47,191 --> 00:19:48,933
And you see, the reality is

456
00:19:48,933 --> 00:19:50,680
that just because I was over there,

457
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,199
I still enjoyed the rights.

458
00:19:54,199 --> 00:19:56,493
I still had a right to vote.

459
00:19:56,493 --> 00:19:58,241
You know, Americans who are

460
00:19:58,241 --> 00:20:01,397
outside the country can vote during elections.

461
00:20:01,397 --> 00:20:02,430
(Mail-in).

462
00:20:02,430 --> 00:20:03,626
And you know what?

463
00:20:03,626 --> 00:20:05,175
Privilege. I have the privilege

464
00:20:05,175 --> 00:20:06,947
no matter where I am in the world

465
00:20:06,947 --> 00:20:08,583
to be able to travel back here.

466
00:20:08,583 --> 00:20:10,762
Why? It's my country.

467
00:20:10,762 --> 00:20:12,361
I'm a citizen here.

468
00:20:12,361 --> 00:20:14,376
But then the duties and responsibilities

469
00:20:14,376 --> 00:20:16,021
also come with it, because even if

470
00:20:16,021 --> 00:20:17,640
I'm off in Africa, guess what?

471
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:19,642
This government expects that I'm going to

472
00:20:19,642 --> 00:20:20,961
pay my taxes.

473
00:20:20,961 --> 00:20:22,964
Just because I'm over there doesn't mean -

474
00:20:22,964 --> 00:20:25,634
oh, April 15th's coming!

475
00:20:25,634 --> 00:20:28,539
Let's run to Nepal and visit John,

476
00:20:28,539 --> 00:20:30,455
because if I'm not here on April 15th,

477
00:20:30,455 --> 00:20:32,214
I don't have to pay my taxes.

478
00:20:32,214 --> 00:20:34,457
Nobody thinks that way.

479
00:20:34,457 --> 00:20:36,059
Because we understand citizenship

480
00:20:36,059 --> 00:20:39,236
better than that.

481
00:20:39,236 --> 00:20:44,952
So, here's a question that I want to ask.

482
00:20:44,952 --> 00:20:47,157
Where is this citizenship?

483
00:20:47,157 --> 00:20:49,423
You know what's interesting about v. 19?

484
00:20:49,423 --> 00:20:53,421
Paul doesn't tell us where it is.

485
00:20:53,421 --> 00:20:57,941
He just tells us who we are citizens with,

486
00:20:57,941 --> 00:21:01,058
but not where our citizenship is.

487
00:21:01,058 --> 00:21:02,833
It just says that we're citizens.

488
00:21:02,833 --> 00:21:04,846
But you know what, in the context here,

489
00:21:04,846 --> 00:21:07,239
I think there's something very interesting

490
00:21:07,239 --> 00:21:09,134
to look at.

491
00:21:09,134 --> 00:21:12,863
Look back at v. 12.

492
00:21:12,863 --> 00:21:16,183
Notice this.

493
00:21:16,183 --> 00:21:22,397
Ephesian Gentiles, remember how it was

494
00:21:22,397 --> 00:21:26,670
when you did not know the Lord.

495
00:21:26,670 --> 00:21:30,085
Remember what it was like when you were lost?

496
00:21:30,085 --> 00:21:33,007
See, that's what he's saying to them in v. 12.

497
00:21:33,007 --> 00:21:36,040
"Remember that you were at that time..."

498
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:37,234
What time?

499
00:21:37,234 --> 00:21:40,063
The lost days.

500
00:21:40,063 --> 00:21:42,404
Ok, Paul, what were we?

501
00:21:42,404 --> 00:21:44,875
We were separated from Christ.

502
00:21:44,875 --> 00:21:47,156
No matter how religious,

503
00:21:47,156 --> 00:21:49,310
we were separated from Christ.

504
00:21:49,310 --> 00:21:51,964
Alienated from the commonwealth.

505
00:21:51,964 --> 00:21:54,357
Oh, that word commonwealth is interesting

506
00:21:54,357 --> 00:21:56,859
because you know that that word

507
00:21:56,859 --> 00:22:00,799
can also be translated "citizen"

508
00:22:00,799 --> 00:22:03,485
or "citizenship."

509
00:22:03,485 --> 00:22:06,787
Basically it's the same word that we're dealing with

510
00:22:06,787 --> 00:22:09,475
down in v. 19.

511
00:22:09,475 --> 00:22:10,817
Commonwealth.

512
00:22:10,817 --> 00:22:12,926
Citizenship.

513
00:22:12,926 --> 00:22:14,465
"You were alienated from

514
00:22:14,465 --> 00:22:16,965
the commonwealth of Israel,

515
00:22:16,965 --> 00:22:20,048
and strangers to the covenants of promise,

516
00:22:20,048 --> 00:22:25,324
having no hope and without God in the world."

517
00:22:25,324 --> 00:22:26,793
So here's the thing,

518
00:22:26,793 --> 00:22:29,094
when Paul says in v. 19,

519
00:22:29,094 --> 00:22:32,880
"you're no longer an alien,"

520
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,421
who were we aliens towards?

521
00:22:37,421 --> 00:22:41,225
Commonwealth of Israel.

522
00:22:41,225 --> 00:22:43,416
You're no longer an alien,

523
00:22:43,416 --> 00:22:45,141
but you're a fellow citizen.

524
00:22:45,141 --> 00:22:47,133
What citizenship does it seem like

525
00:22:47,133 --> 00:22:49,856
he has in mind?

526
00:22:49,856 --> 00:22:51,534
I mean, think with me.

527
00:22:51,534 --> 00:22:52,692
Think with me.

528
00:22:52,692 --> 00:22:56,716
All that used to be true of me in v. 12

529
00:22:56,716 --> 00:22:58,420
is no longer true, right?

530
00:22:58,420 --> 00:23:00,601
We were separated from Christ.

531
00:23:00,601 --> 00:23:03,694
The reality is are we separated anymore?

532
00:23:03,694 --> 00:23:06,061
Or am I actually one with Christ?

533
00:23:06,061 --> 00:23:08,206
You see what the next verse says?

534
00:23:08,206 --> 00:23:10,607
It says I've been brought near.

535
00:23:10,607 --> 00:23:13,385
I'm no longer separated; I'm brought near,

536
00:23:13,385 --> 00:23:15,438
by the blood of Christ.

537
00:23:15,438 --> 00:23:20,105
That's what it says.

538
00:23:20,105 --> 00:23:22,407
When we were lost, we were strangers

539
00:23:22,407 --> 00:23:23,813
to the covenants of promise.

540
00:23:23,813 --> 00:23:24,884
Let me ask you this:

541
00:23:24,884 --> 00:23:29,035
Are we still strangers to the covenants of promise?

542
00:23:29,035 --> 00:23:33,413
Just glance over at 3:6 of Ephesians.

543
00:23:33,413 --> 00:23:37,191
"This is mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs,

544
00:23:37,191 --> 00:23:38,789
members of the same body..."

545
00:23:38,789 --> 00:23:40,022
and notice this,

546
00:23:40,022 --> 00:23:43,067
"partakers of the promise

547
00:23:43,067 --> 00:23:45,265
in Christ Jesus through the Gospel."

548
00:23:45,265 --> 00:23:48,127
I know the term covenant doesn't show up there,

549
00:23:48,127 --> 00:23:52,056
but certainly the promises -

550
00:23:52,056 --> 00:23:54,352
the promise.

551
00:23:54,352 --> 00:23:56,351
The promise of all promises.

552
00:23:56,351 --> 00:23:59,574
Really, what all those covenants are looking towards.

553
00:23:59,574 --> 00:24:02,424
What a relationship with God!

554
00:24:02,424 --> 00:24:04,186
We've been brought near.

555
00:24:04,186 --> 00:24:05,523
The barriers are down.

556
00:24:05,523 --> 00:24:07,557
We had no hope, but what about now?

557
00:24:07,557 --> 00:24:10,072
Well, go to Ephesians 4:4.

558
00:24:10,072 --> 00:24:13,783
There's one body, one Spirit, just as you were called...

559
00:24:13,783 --> 00:24:15,493
What does it mean to be called?

560
00:24:15,493 --> 00:24:17,477
We've been called to hope.

561
00:24:17,477 --> 00:24:19,756
To the one hope that belongs to our call.

562
00:24:19,756 --> 00:24:20,777
Let me ask you this.

563
00:24:20,777 --> 00:24:24,353
We were without God. Are we still without God?

564
00:24:24,353 --> 00:24:27,391
Well, no. We saw this in the last couple weeks.

565
00:24:27,391 --> 00:24:29,847
We saw right there in 2:18.

566
00:24:29,847 --> 00:24:31,520
What does it say?

567
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:33,545
"Through Christ, we both have access

568
00:24:33,545 --> 00:24:35,566
in one Spirit to the Father."

569
00:24:35,566 --> 00:24:37,232
Are we separated from the Father?

570
00:24:37,232 --> 00:24:39,211
Are we without the Father? No, we're not.

571
00:24:39,211 --> 00:24:40,474
We've been brought near.

572
00:24:40,474 --> 00:24:42,235
We've been given access.

573
00:24:42,235 --> 00:24:44,695
The question I ask is this:

574
00:24:44,695 --> 00:24:47,054
Are all those other things undone

575
00:24:47,054 --> 00:24:50,126
and totally reversed by Jesus' blood,

576
00:24:50,126 --> 00:24:52,242
by Him tearing down the obstacles,

577
00:24:52,242 --> 00:24:55,391
and by Him reconciling us in one body

578
00:24:55,391 --> 00:24:58,108
through the cross to His Father.

579
00:24:58,108 --> 00:25:01,013
Is everything reversed except

580
00:25:01,013 --> 00:25:05,121
our alienation to the commonwealth of Israel?

581
00:25:05,121 --> 00:25:09,626
Or would we say, no,

582
00:25:09,626 --> 00:25:11,365
Paul's telling us what we were,

583
00:25:11,365 --> 00:25:14,802
but it's not true anymore.

584
00:25:14,802 --> 00:25:17,839
We're not alienated from the commonwealth of Israel.

585
00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:19,506
Certainly, that's what he's saying.

586
00:25:19,506 --> 00:25:21,314
We're no longer an alien.

587
00:25:21,314 --> 00:25:22,622
We're fellow citizens.

588
00:25:22,622 --> 00:25:24,067
Fellow citizens with what?

589
00:25:24,067 --> 00:25:26,993
Well, basically, Christ is undoing this reality

590
00:25:26,993 --> 00:25:29,765
that we were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel

591
00:25:29,765 --> 00:25:32,762
and we're no longer alienated

592
00:25:32,762 --> 00:25:34,421
from the commonwealth of Israel.

593
00:25:34,421 --> 00:25:36,619
And we're fellow citizens with the saints.

594
00:25:36,619 --> 00:25:37,752
Of what country?

595
00:25:37,752 --> 00:25:39,732
The commonwealth of Israel.

596
00:25:39,732 --> 00:25:41,757
Now listen to me.

597
00:25:41,757 --> 00:25:43,403
It's obvious he's talking about

598
00:25:43,403 --> 00:25:47,942
the spiritual realities of the commonwealth of Israel.

599
00:25:47,942 --> 00:25:49,668
Why? Because it's with the saints.

600
00:25:49,668 --> 00:25:52,359
It's a fellow citizenship with the saints,

601
00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:56,186
not with unbelieving Jews, that's for certain.

602
00:25:56,186 --> 00:25:59,280
But the reality is, brethren, listen to me.

603
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,354
Don't fall for this nonsense that God has

604
00:26:01,354 --> 00:26:03,499
two different people.

605
00:26:03,499 --> 00:26:07,809
Israel over there, and the church.

606
00:26:07,809 --> 00:26:09,512
Because it's just not true.

607
00:26:09,512 --> 00:26:13,698
What we find here is this alienation

608
00:26:13,698 --> 00:26:16,218
from the commonwealth of Israel is gone.

609
00:26:16,218 --> 00:26:18,258
And it's not just that the church is now

610
00:26:18,258 --> 00:26:21,215
friendly towards Israel.

611
00:26:21,215 --> 00:26:25,220
It's that we're no longer strangers and aliens

612
00:26:25,220 --> 00:26:26,798
to the commonwealth of Israel.

613
00:26:26,798 --> 00:26:28,849
We're fellow citizens which means

614
00:26:28,849 --> 00:26:31,983
we're right in there, the same as they are.

615
00:26:31,983 --> 00:26:34,722
We are citizens of the same Israel

616
00:26:34,722 --> 00:26:38,647
that all the rest of those who are Jewish saints

617
00:26:38,647 --> 00:26:39,754
are citizens of.

618
00:26:39,754 --> 00:26:42,342
By saying that we're fellow citizens with the saints,

619
00:26:42,342 --> 00:26:44,048
Paul is very clearly spelling out

620
00:26:44,048 --> 00:26:46,470
exactly what Israel he has in mind.

621
00:26:46,470 --> 00:26:48,260
Look, you know he said this.

622
00:26:48,260 --> 00:26:50,956
Not all Israel is Israel.

623
00:26:50,956 --> 00:26:53,830
He's not saying that now

624
00:26:53,830 --> 00:26:58,333
we have some part in physical,

625
00:26:58,333 --> 00:27:04,010
national Israel over in the land of Canaan.

626
00:27:04,010 --> 00:27:06,387
That's not what he's saying.

627
00:27:06,387 --> 00:27:10,260
He's talking about the fact

628
00:27:10,260 --> 00:27:12,109
that we were outsiders -

629
00:27:12,109 --> 00:27:13,512
yes, even to the country,

630
00:27:13,512 --> 00:27:14,924
even to the physical entity,

631
00:27:14,924 --> 00:27:16,065
we were outsiders.

632
00:27:16,065 --> 00:27:18,422
But the big reality of being the outsiders

633
00:27:18,422 --> 00:27:20,699
is not being outside in a physical sense.

634
00:27:20,699 --> 00:27:22,326
It's been outside in the fact that

635
00:27:22,326 --> 00:27:26,356
we don't have a part with the people of God

636
00:27:26,356 --> 00:27:33,888
and Israel - Israel - that's the God-wrestler.

637
00:27:33,888 --> 00:27:35,564
And we're brought in; we're made

638
00:27:35,564 --> 00:27:36,997
children of Abraham.

639
00:27:36,997 --> 00:27:38,686
Have you ever read in Scripture

640
00:27:38,686 --> 00:27:41,484
we are the true circumcision?

641
00:27:41,484 --> 00:27:43,486
James, you ever read that?

642
00:27:43,486 --> 00:27:45,367
Where'd that come from?

643
00:27:45,367 --> 00:27:47,483
Philippians 3:3.

644
00:27:47,483 --> 00:27:49,473
We are the true circumcision.

645
00:27:49,473 --> 00:27:50,880
Who?

646
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,469
Remember, those Philippians there,

647
00:27:53,469 --> 00:27:55,239
that was a colony of Rome.

648
00:27:55,239 --> 00:27:56,536
We're talking Gentiles.

649
00:27:56,536 --> 00:27:58,007
We're not talking Jews.

650
00:27:58,007 --> 00:28:00,121
Ah, there might have been some Jews there

651
00:28:00,121 --> 00:28:01,936
just like there were in many places,

652
00:28:01,936 --> 00:28:04,601
where there was money to be made, typically they went.

653
00:28:04,601 --> 00:28:07,522
But basically you had a colony of Rome.

654
00:28:07,522 --> 00:28:10,061
They were Gentiles, and yet Paul calls them

655
00:28:10,061 --> 00:28:11,915
the true circumcision. Why?

656
00:28:11,915 --> 00:28:13,635
What makes you true circumcision?

657
00:28:13,635 --> 00:28:16,402
Well, it has to do with your relationship

658
00:28:16,402 --> 00:28:17,786
with true worship;

659
00:28:17,786 --> 00:28:20,220
your relationship with the Spirit of God;

660
00:28:20,220 --> 00:28:23,319
your relationship with Jesus Christ.

661
00:28:23,319 --> 00:28:26,007
That's the reality.

662
00:28:26,007 --> 00:28:31,089
Brethren, we're fellow citizens.

663
00:28:31,089 --> 00:28:33,691
Full rights.

664
00:28:33,691 --> 00:28:35,078
We're no longer outsiders.

665
00:28:35,078 --> 00:28:38,700
Full rights.

666
00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:39,529
The saints.

667
00:28:39,529 --> 00:28:41,659
Let's think about the saints for a second.

668
00:28:41,659 --> 00:28:43,430
Now, James hit on that term

669
00:28:43,430 --> 00:28:44,875
in the first hour too.

670
00:28:44,875 --> 00:28:46,630
The next question that we should ask

671
00:28:46,630 --> 00:28:48,801
is this: who are the saints?

672
00:28:48,801 --> 00:28:50,596
You might say, well, that would mean

673
00:28:50,596 --> 00:28:53,298
any and every Christian, wouldn't it?

674
00:28:53,298 --> 00:28:57,525
Well, yes, in a general sense.

675
00:28:57,525 --> 00:28:59,296
You say, what do you mean?

676
00:28:59,296 --> 00:29:02,270
Well, think with me about what Paul's doing

677
00:29:02,270 --> 00:29:05,765
here in this chapter.

678
00:29:05,765 --> 00:29:08,781
He's basically stressing

679
00:29:08,781 --> 00:29:14,099
that the Gentile has been brought into

680
00:29:14,099 --> 00:29:18,174
equality with the believing Jew.

681
00:29:18,174 --> 00:29:20,169
(incomplete thought)

682
00:29:20,169 --> 00:29:22,821
See, we were once - who?

683
00:29:22,821 --> 00:29:26,628
The Gentiles - separated,

684
00:29:26,628 --> 00:29:29,068
alienated,

685
00:29:29,068 --> 00:29:30,544
without,

686
00:29:30,544 --> 00:29:32,691
no hope.

687
00:29:32,691 --> 00:29:37,210
We were the outsiders,

688
00:29:37,210 --> 00:29:38,722
and we have been brought near

689
00:29:38,722 --> 00:29:39,847
by the blood of Christ.

690
00:29:39,847 --> 00:29:41,714
You have to get the feel for this.

691
00:29:41,714 --> 00:29:45,620
Yes, it's true that Jews have to come too,

692
00:29:45,620 --> 00:29:48,243
but remember what's said in v. 17.

693
00:29:48,243 --> 00:29:51,462
The Jews all the time were considered near.

694
00:29:51,462 --> 00:29:53,478
They needed to be nearer.

695
00:29:53,478 --> 00:29:54,769
That's true.

696
00:29:54,769 --> 00:29:56,560
Christ came and preached peace

697
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:58,528
to those who were far off - that's us.

698
00:29:58,528 --> 00:30:00,269
And to those who were near.

699
00:30:00,269 --> 00:30:02,730
You see, the Jews were already near, in a sense

700
00:30:02,730 --> 00:30:06,121
as far as the light that they had.

701
00:30:06,121 --> 00:30:08,443
The mystery is this:

702
00:30:08,443 --> 00:30:11,484
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs.

703
00:30:11,484 --> 00:30:14,397
We just read that in chapter 3.

704
00:30:14,397 --> 00:30:17,423
Brethren, when it says,

705
00:30:17,423 --> 00:30:21,908
so then you are no longer -

706
00:30:21,908 --> 00:30:24,316
you Gentiles are no longer

707
00:30:24,316 --> 00:30:25,710
strangers and aliens,

708
00:30:25,710 --> 00:30:29,567
but you are fellow citizens with the saints.

709
00:30:29,567 --> 00:30:31,377
Do you see who he has in mind

710
00:30:31,377 --> 00:30:33,420
when he uses "saints" there?

711
00:30:33,420 --> 00:30:35,829
Oh yes, we're saints too, and we're added in,

712
00:30:35,829 --> 00:30:38,222
but the reality is is he's looking at us

713
00:30:38,222 --> 00:30:40,444
coming as these Gentile outsiders

714
00:30:40,444 --> 00:30:42,469
and being made fellow citizens

715
00:30:42,469 --> 00:30:47,969
with the saints - the Jewish saints.

716
00:30:47,969 --> 00:30:49,484
And think with me.

717
00:30:49,484 --> 00:30:51,574
We're talking about right at the beginning

718
00:30:51,574 --> 00:30:53,301
of the church era.

719
00:30:53,301 --> 00:30:54,604
You remember what he said

720
00:30:54,604 --> 00:30:56,481
back in chapter 1:10

721
00:30:56,481 --> 00:30:58,811
about Christ uniting the things on earth

722
00:30:58,811 --> 00:31:00,178
and the things in heaven?

723
00:31:00,178 --> 00:31:02,297
Again, I think you have this picture

724
00:31:02,297 --> 00:31:04,481
of the Gentiles largely are the ones

725
00:31:04,481 --> 00:31:05,839
who were still alive,

726
00:31:05,839 --> 00:31:09,161
they were still on the earth,

727
00:31:09,161 --> 00:31:11,765
being united with these saints

728
00:31:11,765 --> 00:31:13,276
who are in glory.

729
00:31:13,276 --> 00:31:15,734
And I think the picture he has here

730
00:31:15,734 --> 00:31:19,114
is largely the Old Testament saints -

731
00:31:19,114 --> 00:31:21,922
the Jewish saints, that we are now

732
00:31:21,922 --> 00:31:26,455
fellow citizens with them.

733
00:31:26,455 --> 00:31:30,223
It's like Jesus Christ spoke about.

734
00:31:30,223 --> 00:31:35,848
You remember that Jesus looked and said

735
00:31:35,848 --> 00:31:37,490
many of the sons of the kingdom

736
00:31:37,490 --> 00:31:39,648
are going to be cast into outer darkness.

737
00:31:39,648 --> 00:31:41,893
He said, but we're going to have multitudes

738
00:31:41,893 --> 00:31:45,212
that come from the east and the west

739
00:31:45,212 --> 00:31:46,759
and the north and the south.

740
00:31:46,759 --> 00:31:48,734
And do you know what they're going to do?

741
00:31:48,734 --> 00:31:51,629
They're going to sit down

742
00:31:51,629 --> 00:31:54,438
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob

743
00:31:54,438 --> 00:31:56,477
and the prophets.

744
00:31:56,477 --> 00:31:58,775
You see, we've been made one with them.

745
00:31:58,775 --> 00:32:01,385
We're on equal standing with them.

746
00:32:01,385 --> 00:32:05,288
We're the same. We're fellow citizens

747
00:32:05,288 --> 00:32:07,779
with those to whom the covenants -

748
00:32:07,779 --> 00:32:09,576
think about the covenants of promise.

749
00:32:09,576 --> 00:32:11,742
You see, that's one of the things in there.

750
00:32:11,742 --> 00:32:14,244
It used to be that we were strangers

751
00:32:14,244 --> 00:32:15,788
to the covenants of promise.

752
00:32:15,788 --> 00:32:18,122
Well, who were the covenants of promise given to?

753
00:32:18,122 --> 00:32:19,852
You go through and you think about

754
00:32:19,852 --> 00:32:21,724
those promises given to Abraham

755
00:32:21,724 --> 00:32:23,530
and Isaac and Jacob.

756
00:32:23,530 --> 00:32:26,941
There were promises given to Moses.

757
00:32:26,941 --> 00:32:28,735
There were promises given to David.

758
00:32:28,735 --> 00:32:30,875
And the reality is brethren,

759
00:32:30,875 --> 00:32:35,351
that now, we belong to them.

760
00:32:35,351 --> 00:32:36,440
We're in with them.

761
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:37,817
We have common citizenship,

762
00:32:37,817 --> 00:32:38,784
common interests,

763
00:32:38,784 --> 00:32:40,074
common allegiance.

764
00:32:40,074 --> 00:32:42,093
We shall see them.

765
00:32:42,093 --> 00:32:43,737
You know that?

766
00:32:43,737 --> 00:32:47,077
Christian, we're fellow citizens.

767
00:32:47,077 --> 00:32:49,219
We are going to meet Abraham.

768
00:32:49,219 --> 00:32:51,478
And we are going to meet Isaac.

769
00:32:51,478 --> 00:32:54,954
Jesus says we're going to sit down

770
00:32:54,954 --> 00:33:01,046
with them and recline - recline!

771
00:33:01,046 --> 00:33:03,992
And Jesus is going to gird Himself and serve us!

772
00:33:03,992 --> 00:33:07,180
And we're going to recline.

773
00:33:07,180 --> 00:33:10,387
With them.

774
00:33:10,387 --> 00:33:16,352
Boy, that needs to be a big table.

775
00:33:16,352 --> 00:33:17,874
But it's going to happen because

776
00:33:17,874 --> 00:33:20,573
Jesus said it's going to happen.

777
00:33:20,573 --> 00:33:23,595
Just think with me about these saints.

778
00:33:23,595 --> 00:33:26,826
You see, you know what the author of Hebrews does?

779
00:33:26,826 --> 00:33:28,985
He shows these people -

780
00:33:28,985 --> 00:33:32,330
these Old Testament saints -

781
00:33:32,330 --> 00:33:34,720
men and women of faith.

782
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,143
And you know what they were doing?

783
00:33:37,143 --> 00:33:39,402
They felt that citizenship

784
00:33:39,402 --> 00:33:41,500
of belonging to another place

785
00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:43,851
coursing through their veins.

786
00:33:43,851 --> 00:33:46,849
And they were looking.

787
00:33:46,849 --> 00:33:48,564
Let's go there. Let's go there.

788
00:33:48,564 --> 00:33:50,605
Hebrews 11.

789
00:33:50,605 --> 00:33:51,960
Just feel this.

790
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:57,688
They felt themselves aliens and strangers here.

791
00:33:57,688 --> 00:33:59,269
No longer strangers and aliens

792
00:33:59,269 --> 00:34:02,652
to a heavenly citizenship;

793
00:34:02,652 --> 00:34:04,860
to a heavenly Israel;

794
00:34:04,860 --> 00:34:06,371
to a new Jerusalem.

795
00:34:06,371 --> 00:34:09,719
But, while they were here,

796
00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:10,800
they lived in tents.

797
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:12,611
And that's such a picture.

798
00:34:12,611 --> 00:34:14,328
They didn't settle down.

799
00:34:14,328 --> 00:34:16,207
And oh, they were desiring.

800
00:34:16,207 --> 00:34:19,097
Just feel how this is brought out.

801
00:34:19,097 --> 00:34:24,383
Brethren, we're like them.

802
00:34:24,383 --> 00:34:28,730
Hebrews 11:8

803
00:34:28,730 --> 00:34:32,419
"By faith, Abraham obeyed

804
00:34:32,419 --> 00:34:35,316
when he was called to go out

805
00:34:35,316 --> 00:34:37,357
to a place that he was to receive

806
00:34:37,357 --> 00:34:38,603
as an inheritance."

807
00:34:38,603 --> 00:34:40,297
But I want you to get this.

808
00:34:40,297 --> 00:34:43,283
No matter what was promised here

809
00:34:43,283 --> 00:34:46,930
as an inheritance -

810
00:34:46,930 --> 00:34:48,431
this is one of the places where

811
00:34:48,431 --> 00:34:50,006
the dispensationalists go wrong.

812
00:34:50,006 --> 00:34:51,803
They want to focus way too much

813
00:34:51,803 --> 00:34:55,559
on the land promises here.

814
00:34:55,559 --> 00:34:59,670
Because even then,

815
00:34:59,670 --> 00:35:04,117
Abraham did not march into the land of Canaan

816
00:35:04,117 --> 00:35:05,621
and build a house.

817
00:35:05,621 --> 00:35:08,338
And you know what the author of Hebrews tells us?

818
00:35:08,338 --> 00:35:11,386
It's because even in that promise,

819
00:35:11,386 --> 00:35:13,712
even that inheritance was not

820
00:35:13,712 --> 00:35:16,714
what his heart was set on.

821
00:35:16,714 --> 00:35:17,830
Read with me.

822
00:35:17,830 --> 00:35:19,975
I'll convince you of that.

823
00:35:19,975 --> 00:35:22,067
Yes, he was to receive an inheritance.

824
00:35:22,067 --> 00:35:25,345
His offspring were to receive that land of Canaan.

825
00:35:25,345 --> 00:35:26,421
That's true.

826
00:35:26,421 --> 00:35:28,702
"And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

827
00:35:28,702 --> 00:35:30,846
By faith, he went to live in the land of promise."

828
00:35:30,846 --> 00:35:32,296
And it was a land of promise

829
00:35:32,296 --> 00:35:33,926
and it was a place of inheritance.

830
00:35:33,926 --> 00:35:34,746
Unquestionably.

831
00:35:34,746 --> 00:35:36,157
Twelve tribes came there.

832
00:35:36,157 --> 00:35:39,173
They were each alotted an inheritance.

833
00:35:39,173 --> 00:35:40,861
We know that.

834
00:35:40,861 --> 00:35:43,208
But you just follow this.

835
00:35:43,208 --> 00:35:46,891
"...As in a foreign land."

836
00:35:46,891 --> 00:35:48,435
Did you get that?

837
00:35:48,435 --> 00:35:52,072
He went to the land of promise,

838
00:35:52,072 --> 00:35:57,312
but it was still a foreign land.

839
00:35:57,312 --> 00:35:59,183
And if that's not convincing enough,

840
00:35:59,183 --> 00:36:01,909
just keep reading.

841
00:36:01,909 --> 00:36:03,972
"...Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob,

842
00:36:03,972 --> 00:36:06,518
heirs with him of the same promise."

843
00:36:06,518 --> 00:36:08,213
Ah, here we go.

844
00:36:08,213 --> 00:36:12,953
"He was looking forward to the city

845
00:36:12,953 --> 00:36:16,289
that has foundations."

846
00:36:16,289 --> 00:36:19,882
He was looking for something outside this world.

847
00:36:19,882 --> 00:36:22,084
His heart was set on it.

848
00:36:22,084 --> 00:36:23,637
Brethren, you just remember,

849
00:36:23,637 --> 00:36:26,382
he may already be there.

850
00:36:26,382 --> 00:36:28,127
We're not there yet.

851
00:36:28,127 --> 00:36:31,669
We are in the same place he was

852
00:36:31,669 --> 00:36:33,680
while he was here.

853
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,711
We're looking for something else.

854
00:36:35,711 --> 00:36:37,352
You don't plant your roots.

855
00:36:37,352 --> 00:36:40,881
You live in tents.

856
00:36:40,881 --> 00:36:41,694
You know what?

857
00:36:41,694 --> 00:36:44,703
Even if you don't live in a canvas tent,

858
00:36:44,703 --> 00:36:46,913
the house you live in should be just the same.

859
00:36:46,913 --> 00:36:48,940
It's a tent. We're just passing through.

860
00:36:48,940 --> 00:36:51,415
We're foreigners here. Don't plant yourself too deep.

861
00:36:51,415 --> 00:36:53,192
Don't get hooked in here.

862
00:36:53,192 --> 00:36:54,341
Because you know what?

863
00:36:54,341 --> 00:36:56,644
When your citizenship isn't here -

864
00:36:56,644 --> 00:36:59,366
kind of like traveling over to Europe just recently,

865
00:36:59,366 --> 00:37:01,278
I didn't go to that bed and breakfast

866
00:37:01,278 --> 00:37:03,519
and start buying a bunch of things

867
00:37:03,519 --> 00:37:05,628
and start to fill the place up

868
00:37:05,628 --> 00:37:07,889
and starting to decorate. Why?

869
00:37:07,889 --> 00:37:10,708
Because we're just passing through here.

870
00:37:10,708 --> 00:37:16,226
This is the picture folks.

871
00:37:16,226 --> 00:37:18,059
A city that has foundations.

872
00:37:18,059 --> 00:37:21,172
You know what that implies?

873
00:37:21,172 --> 00:37:23,617
Nothing here has foundations.

874
00:37:23,617 --> 00:37:25,154
Not permanent ones.

875
00:37:25,154 --> 00:37:26,572
Oh, it's got foundations,

876
00:37:26,572 --> 00:37:28,463
but all these foundations give way.

877
00:37:28,463 --> 00:37:30,395
Because even if they build your house -

878
00:37:30,395 --> 00:37:32,167
you know what? My house got built

879
00:37:32,167 --> 00:37:34,842
on a solid foundation.

880
00:37:34,842 --> 00:37:37,797
I've gone through drought and rain cycles,

881
00:37:37,797 --> 00:37:40,852
back and forth, back and forth,

882
00:37:40,852 --> 00:37:42,796
and you know what?

883
00:37:42,796 --> 00:37:45,520
My house has basically been built

884
00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:47,320
on a pile of rock,

885
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:52,249
and I saw it there, because it's the old projects.

886
00:37:52,249 --> 00:37:55,578
And so they hauled in all this rock for base.

887
00:37:55,578 --> 00:37:58,386
And after 11 or 12 years,

888
00:37:58,386 --> 00:38:00,819
you can barely see any cracks

889
00:38:00,819 --> 00:38:04,419
in the sheetrock. Barely.

890
00:38:04,419 --> 00:38:06,752
But there are about two in my bedroom

891
00:38:06,752 --> 00:38:07,675
about that long.

892
00:38:07,675 --> 00:38:09,098
You know what that tells me?

893
00:38:09,098 --> 00:38:11,114
That no matter how solid it is,

894
00:38:11,114 --> 00:38:14,365
that foundation's giving way.

895
00:38:14,365 --> 00:38:16,074
And you know what?

896
00:38:16,074 --> 00:38:18,530
In the course of time, the whole thing.

897
00:38:18,530 --> 00:38:20,019
Because there's fire coming.

898
00:38:20,019 --> 00:38:22,177
And this whole world's going to be burned up.

899
00:38:22,177 --> 00:38:23,841
I don't care what kind of foundations are out here

900
00:38:23,841 --> 00:38:25,859
underneath this building - it's gone.

901
00:38:25,859 --> 00:38:27,214
It's only a matter of time.

902
00:38:27,214 --> 00:38:28,180
We all know it.

903
00:38:28,180 --> 00:38:30,470
And even if Christ delays His coming

904
00:38:30,470 --> 00:38:33,213
for millenia, this building's not here

905
00:38:33,213 --> 00:38:35,403
300 years from now.

906
00:38:35,403 --> 00:38:36,511
It's going to crumble.

907
00:38:36,511 --> 00:38:37,879
It's going to disintegrate.

908
00:38:37,879 --> 00:38:39,886
Everything does.

909
00:38:39,886 --> 00:38:41,418
Over there in London,

910
00:38:41,418 --> 00:38:43,790
there's a place called London Wall,

911
00:38:43,790 --> 00:38:48,374
and you've got that old Roman wall.

912
00:38:48,374 --> 00:38:50,829
But you know what? It crumbles.

913
00:38:50,829 --> 00:38:52,038
You can go look at it,

914
00:38:52,038 --> 00:38:53,490
and it's been repaired.

915
00:38:53,490 --> 00:38:54,912
Over and over and over again.

916
00:38:54,912 --> 00:38:56,632
Why? Because the thing's crumbling.

917
00:38:56,632 --> 00:38:58,092
It gives way. The elements.

918
00:38:58,092 --> 00:39:00,700
The rain. The wind. Bugs.

919
00:39:00,700 --> 00:39:03,712
Nothing here has foundations, brethren.

920
00:39:03,712 --> 00:39:06,635
It's only short-lived.

921
00:39:06,635 --> 00:39:09,220
But there is a city that has foundations

922
00:39:09,220 --> 00:39:12,087
whose designer and builder is God.

923
00:39:12,087 --> 00:39:16,277
And we can pass over Sarah here.

924
00:39:16,277 --> 00:39:18,449
Let's go to v. 13.

925
00:39:18,449 --> 00:39:22,423
"These all died in faith

926
00:39:22,423 --> 00:39:26,747
not having received the things promised,

927
00:39:26,747 --> 00:39:29,886
but having seen them and greeted them

928
00:39:29,886 --> 00:39:31,551
from afar and having acknowledged

929
00:39:31,551 --> 00:39:34,057
that they were strangers..." Here it is.

930
00:39:34,057 --> 00:39:36,537
"...Strangers and exiles on the earth."

931
00:39:36,537 --> 00:39:37,640
You know what?

932
00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:40,761
If you're no longer a stranger and alien

933
00:39:40,761 --> 00:39:43,408
but fellow citizens with these guys,

934
00:39:43,408 --> 00:39:45,320
then you're a stranger and alien

935
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:52,057
everywhere else except in this heavenly kingdom.

936
00:39:52,057 --> 00:39:54,908
You're a stranger and alien everywhere here.

937
00:39:54,908 --> 00:39:56,755
That's exactly what we have.

938
00:39:56,755 --> 00:39:58,186
And you know what?

939
00:39:58,186 --> 00:40:01,656
They acknowledged it.

940
00:40:01,656 --> 00:40:04,048
I would say, brethren, that's one thing.

941
00:40:04,048 --> 00:40:05,277
Acknowledge it.

942
00:40:05,277 --> 00:40:06,457
You're passing through.

943
00:40:06,457 --> 00:40:08,127
Nothing permanent.

944
00:40:08,127 --> 00:40:10,374
It's only fleeting. Handbreadth.

945
00:40:10,374 --> 00:40:13,418
A vapor and it's gone.

946
00:40:13,418 --> 00:40:15,081
Just a moment.

947
00:40:15,081 --> 00:40:18,133
"Just a few more rolling suns at most,"

948
00:40:18,133 --> 00:40:20,384
is the way we sing it.

949
00:40:20,384 --> 00:40:23,466
And then it's over. It's just gone.

950
00:40:23,466 --> 00:40:25,829
You want to hold on to things loosely here.

951
00:40:25,829 --> 00:40:27,891
Just move through.

952
00:40:27,891 --> 00:40:31,721
Don't be thinking about laying down

953
00:40:31,721 --> 00:40:33,351
all manner of foundations.

954
00:40:33,351 --> 00:40:36,012
And notice this. V. 14,

955
00:40:36,012 --> 00:40:40,071
"For people who speak thus..."

956
00:40:40,071 --> 00:40:42,020
Isn't it interesting? He backs off

957
00:40:42,020 --> 00:40:43,824
from these patriarchs,

958
00:40:43,824 --> 00:40:46,148
and now he just generalizes.

959
00:40:46,148 --> 00:40:47,668
And you know what he's saying?

960
00:40:47,668 --> 00:40:53,759
People who speak like this,

961
00:40:53,759 --> 00:40:57,178
notice, they make it clear

962
00:40:57,178 --> 00:41:02,466
that they're seeking a homeland.

963
00:41:02,466 --> 00:41:04,387
If they had been thinking of that land

964
00:41:04,387 --> 00:41:05,892
from which they had gone out,

965
00:41:05,892 --> 00:41:07,948
they would have had opportunity to return,

966
00:41:07,948 --> 00:41:11,580
but as it is, they desire a better country.

967
00:41:11,580 --> 00:41:13,046
Do you know what we sing here?

968
00:41:13,046 --> 00:41:19,825
A city, a homeland, a country.

969
00:41:19,825 --> 00:41:21,889
And he says they were looking for it.

970
00:41:21,889 --> 00:41:25,491
It says that they were seeking it.

971
00:41:25,491 --> 00:41:28,233
It says they desired it.

972
00:41:28,233 --> 00:41:29,678
They desire a better country.

973
00:41:29,678 --> 00:41:32,119
That is, a heavenly one.

974
00:41:32,119 --> 00:41:34,797
"Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God."

975
00:41:34,797 --> 00:41:38,744
For He has prepared for them a city.

976
00:41:38,744 --> 00:41:40,672
Listen, we're going there.

977
00:41:40,672 --> 00:41:42,965
Did you ever hear Jesus?

978
00:41:42,965 --> 00:41:44,916
He said, don't fret, guys.

979
00:41:44,916 --> 00:41:46,805
I know you're all going to fall away from Me.

980
00:41:46,805 --> 00:41:48,231
You're going to run away from Me.

981
00:41:48,231 --> 00:41:49,602
Peter, when you're restored,

982
00:41:49,602 --> 00:41:53,311
you strengthen your brethren.

983
00:41:53,311 --> 00:41:56,231
But He said you can't follow Me right now.

984
00:41:56,231 --> 00:41:58,009
Why can't we follow You right now?

985
00:41:58,009 --> 00:42:00,985
I'll even die - No, you won't. You won't die with Me right now.

986
00:42:00,985 --> 00:42:02,557
But later you will follow after.

987
00:42:02,557 --> 00:42:03,795
But you know what He said?

988
00:42:03,795 --> 00:42:08,792
I go to prepare a place for you.

989
00:42:08,792 --> 00:42:10,427
And that's what He's gone to do.

990
00:42:10,427 --> 00:42:11,943
He's gone to prepare a place.

991
00:42:11,943 --> 00:42:14,038
And if you think with me,

992
00:42:14,038 --> 00:42:17,146
think about the thief on the cross.

993
00:42:17,146 --> 00:42:23,056
This day you'll be with Me in paradise.

994
00:42:23,056 --> 00:42:30,155
You know, if you knew it

995
00:42:30,155 --> 00:42:33,113
just a year from now,

996
00:42:33,113 --> 00:42:36,172
I'm going to pack up and I'm going to move

997
00:42:36,172 --> 00:42:39,091
to a paradise out on a South Pacific island.

998
00:42:39,091 --> 00:42:43,411
It's mine. I get to live there forever.

999
00:42:43,411 --> 00:42:47,485
You probably aren't investing a whole lot

1000
00:42:47,485 --> 00:42:49,206
in where you live right here.

1001
00:42:49,206 --> 00:42:51,138
Why? It would be foolish.

1002
00:42:51,138 --> 00:42:52,866
There's no reason to do it.

1003
00:42:52,866 --> 00:42:54,540
Very soon, I'm headed out there.

1004
00:42:54,540 --> 00:42:56,302
That's going to be my home forever.

1005
00:42:56,302 --> 00:43:00,469
In fact, if anything, I'm putting everything in boxes

1006
00:43:00,469 --> 00:43:01,699
so I can take it with me.

1007
00:43:01,699 --> 00:43:03,252
You say, well, we can't do that

1008
00:43:03,252 --> 00:43:04,694
with the heavenly kingdom.

1009
00:43:04,694 --> 00:43:07,892
We can't? You've never read Jesus if you believe that.

1010
00:43:07,892 --> 00:43:10,724
Jesus said you can store up treasure in heaven.

1011
00:43:10,724 --> 00:43:14,400
Jesus said you can take your stuff

1012
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,825
and send it ahead.

1013
00:43:17,825 --> 00:43:19,635
But you see, if you really have

1014
00:43:19,635 --> 00:43:22,597
this citizenship mentality -

1015
00:43:22,597 --> 00:43:25,074
my citizenship is in heaven

1016
00:43:25,074 --> 00:43:27,102
from which I'm waiting for this Savior,

1017
00:43:27,102 --> 00:43:29,850
and when He comes - the Lord Jesus Christ,

1018
00:43:29,850 --> 00:43:31,255
yes, I get a new body;

1019
00:43:31,255 --> 00:43:33,812
a glorified body.

1020
00:43:33,812 --> 00:43:36,017
But He's taking us home.

1021
00:43:36,017 --> 00:43:38,093
And I'll tell you, this place -

1022
00:43:38,093 --> 00:43:40,038
this place is paradise.

1023
00:43:40,038 --> 00:43:42,051
And you know what the beauty is?

1024
00:43:42,051 --> 00:43:44,710
God created us,

1025
00:43:44,710 --> 00:43:47,757
and God designed a paradise for us.

1026
00:43:47,757 --> 00:43:51,076
And if there's anybody that knows what a paradise is -

1027
00:43:51,076 --> 00:43:53,077
"this day, you'll be with Me in paradise."

1028
00:43:53,077 --> 00:43:54,628
Do you recognize, brethren?

1029
00:43:54,628 --> 00:43:58,164
You die driving on the way home?

1030
00:43:58,164 --> 00:44:00,094
See, we're like this.

1031
00:44:00,094 --> 00:44:01,308
Right?

1032
00:44:01,308 --> 00:44:03,181
Just white-fisted. Clenching.

1033
00:44:03,181 --> 00:44:05,406
Holding on.

1034
00:44:05,406 --> 00:44:09,050
Oh, no! We would not want to die driving home!

1035
00:44:09,050 --> 00:44:12,691
Think about all the things we'd miss!

1036
00:44:12,691 --> 00:44:15,624
Seriously? This day, you'll be with Me in paradise?

1037
00:44:15,624 --> 00:44:18,711
No, I won't that! No! Not that!

1038
00:44:18,711 --> 00:44:21,807
I like it here!

1039
00:44:21,807 --> 00:44:25,696
I like it here with all these crumbling foundations.

1040
00:44:25,696 --> 00:44:28,259
After all, I just got married!

1041
00:44:28,259 --> 00:44:30,535
I have children. I'd like to see them grow up.

1042
00:44:30,535 --> 00:44:32,193
Look, brethren, I understand that.

1043
00:44:32,193 --> 00:44:33,750
Obviously, the Lord understands

1044
00:44:33,750 --> 00:44:35,305
the affections that we have.

1045
00:44:35,305 --> 00:44:36,923
But brethren, one of the things

1046
00:44:36,923 --> 00:44:39,992
that our affections need to be set off against

1047
00:44:39,992 --> 00:44:44,940
are these realities.

1048
00:44:44,940 --> 00:44:51,553
Just this glorious reality that there is

1049
00:44:51,553 --> 00:44:55,786
all this reality just behind the veil.

1050
00:44:55,786 --> 00:44:58,481
It's there. We're citizens of it.

1051
00:44:58,481 --> 00:45:00,000
With these guys.

1052
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,907
It's just like me being in Europe.

1053
00:45:01,907 --> 00:45:03,787
You don't have to be there already,

1054
00:45:03,787 --> 00:45:05,133
but you're still citizens.

1055
00:45:05,133 --> 00:45:09,370
You have full rights.

1056
00:45:09,370 --> 00:45:11,358
What does that include?

1057
00:45:11,358 --> 00:45:12,691
How about protection?

1058
00:45:12,691 --> 00:45:15,294
You know what, no matter where I travel in the world,

1059
00:45:15,294 --> 00:45:16,939
I have some idea if I got into trouble,

1060
00:45:16,939 --> 00:45:18,582
I'm going to go seek out the Embassy.

1061
00:45:18,582 --> 00:45:22,906
I think my country at home is going to help me.

1062
00:45:22,906 --> 00:45:25,858
You say, is it like that?

1063
00:45:25,858 --> 00:45:28,754
The angels are ministering spirits.

1064
00:45:28,754 --> 00:45:31,564
God Himself said not a hair on your head

1065
00:45:31,564 --> 00:45:33,928
is going to perish.

1066
00:45:33,928 --> 00:45:35,684
You think He's got His eye on you?

1067
00:45:35,684 --> 00:45:37,396
You know when Scripture speaks about

1068
00:45:37,396 --> 00:45:38,918
us being the apple of His eye?

1069
00:45:38,918 --> 00:45:40,120
You know what Jesus said?

1070
00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:43,202
As much as they do it unto one of the least of these My children,

1071
00:45:43,202 --> 00:45:44,555
they do it unto Me.

1072
00:45:44,555 --> 00:45:46,948
You think He's got interest in this thing?

1073
00:45:46,948 --> 00:45:48,494
He does. We're fellow citizens.

1074
00:45:48,494 --> 00:45:50,017
He's got His eyes on us.

1075
00:45:50,017 --> 00:45:52,223
His eyes are going to and fro

1076
00:45:52,223 --> 00:45:53,976
across this whole earth looking

1077
00:45:53,976 --> 00:45:56,072
specifically for those who are citizens

1078
00:45:56,072 --> 00:45:57,682
of this kingdom.

1079
00:45:57,682 --> 00:45:59,186
And you know what it also says?

1080
00:45:59,186 --> 00:46:00,716
Not only is His eye upon them;

1081
00:46:00,716 --> 00:46:02,471
His ear is attentive to them.

1082
00:46:02,471 --> 00:46:04,745
You see, the resources of this country

1083
00:46:04,745 --> 00:46:05,991
are at my disposal.

1084
00:46:05,991 --> 00:46:07,983
Jesus basically right before He left

1085
00:46:07,983 --> 00:46:11,769
said there it is. Use My name.

1086
00:46:11,769 --> 00:46:13,399
You have My name.

1087
00:46:13,399 --> 00:46:16,149
Ask, and it will be given to you.

1088
00:46:16,149 --> 00:46:19,314
And you seek and you will find, and you knock and it will be opened.

1089
00:46:19,314 --> 00:46:21,193
You ask anything in My name, I'll do it.

1090
00:46:21,193 --> 00:46:23,252
We basically have the resources of glory

1091
00:46:23,252 --> 00:46:25,716
at our disposal.

1092
00:46:25,716 --> 00:46:28,319
Oh, brethren, the author of Hebrews

1093
00:46:28,319 --> 00:46:30,963
is looking at those who lived and died

1094
00:46:30,963 --> 00:46:33,969
in faith - strangers and exiles here.

1095
00:46:33,969 --> 00:46:35,204
This is not their home,

1096
00:46:35,204 --> 00:46:37,085
not their country, not their homeland,

1097
00:46:37,085 --> 00:46:38,042
not their city.

1098
00:46:38,042 --> 00:46:41,776
They did not settle in.

1099
00:46:41,776 --> 00:46:44,373
It's so temporary.

1100
00:46:44,373 --> 00:46:46,240
So fleeting.

1101
00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:51,483
The author argues if Abraham had been

1102
00:46:51,483 --> 00:46:56,664
seeking some city or country here,

1103
00:46:56,664 --> 00:47:00,451
he had full opportunity to return to it.

1104
00:47:00,451 --> 00:47:01,719
But he didn't. Why not?

1105
00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:04,469
V. 16 says he desired a better country.

1106
00:47:04,469 --> 00:47:05,944
A heavenly one.

1107
00:47:05,944 --> 00:47:08,337
And we should just dwell on that for a moment.

1108
00:47:08,337 --> 00:47:12,259
He sought a country this world cannot offer.

1109
00:47:12,259 --> 00:47:16,816
There is this city that has foundations.

1110
00:47:16,816 --> 00:47:18,206
And I'll tell you this.

1111
00:47:18,206 --> 00:47:22,215
You being citizens there,

1112
00:47:22,215 --> 00:47:27,173
your obligations are to your King.

1113
00:47:27,173 --> 00:47:30,614
Do you know you're free here?

1114
00:47:30,614 --> 00:47:32,019
You say what do you mean?

1115
00:47:32,019 --> 00:47:34,124
What I mean is what Jesus meant.

1116
00:47:34,124 --> 00:47:35,523
Do you remember a day

1117
00:47:35,523 --> 00:47:36,827
some people came and said,

1118
00:47:36,827 --> 00:47:41,289
Peter, does your Teacher there,

1119
00:47:41,289 --> 00:47:44,582
your Master, does He pay His taxes?

1120
00:47:44,582 --> 00:47:47,609
And Peter says yeah He pays His taxes.

1121
00:47:47,609 --> 00:47:51,539
I wonder how confident Peter was when he actually answered that.

1122
00:47:51,539 --> 00:47:53,593
But he just says yes, He pays His taxes.

1123
00:47:53,593 --> 00:47:54,566
Maybe he knew.

1124
00:47:54,566 --> 00:47:57,086
Maybe he knew from observing Jesus

1125
00:47:57,086 --> 00:47:59,917
that Jesus always paid His taxes.

1126
00:47:59,917 --> 00:48:01,605
Maybe he wasn't certain, but he was

1127
00:48:01,605 --> 00:48:05,455
just wanting to say yes

1128
00:48:05,455 --> 00:48:07,290
and put his Master in the best light.

1129
00:48:07,290 --> 00:48:08,341
I don't know.

1130
00:48:08,341 --> 00:48:11,801
But you know what? Jesus knew it happened.

1131
00:48:11,801 --> 00:48:14,622
Peter comes home.

1132
00:48:14,622 --> 00:48:18,200
Peter, what happened?

1133
00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:19,907
What did they say to you?

1134
00:48:19,907 --> 00:48:22,612
So this whole matter of the taxes comes up.

1135
00:48:22,612 --> 00:48:25,544
And you know what Jesus says?

1136
00:48:25,544 --> 00:48:29,701
He says if you've got a king,

1137
00:48:29,701 --> 00:48:32,260
who does the king collect taxes from?

1138
00:48:32,260 --> 00:48:34,083
From his own children?

1139
00:48:34,083 --> 00:48:35,315
Or from others?

1140
00:48:35,315 --> 00:48:36,763
Peter says others.

1141
00:48:36,763 --> 00:48:38,673
And you know what Jesus said?

1142
00:48:38,673 --> 00:48:40,122
Therefore the sons are free.

1143
00:48:40,122 --> 00:48:42,070
Now, I know He's not specifically saying

1144
00:48:42,070 --> 00:48:43,634
the citizens of heaven are free.

1145
00:48:43,644 --> 00:48:45,692
He kind of goes back to that family thing.

1146
00:48:45,692 --> 00:48:46,831
But bear with me here,

1147
00:48:46,831 --> 00:48:50,515
because even though we're kind of mixing our metaphors a little bit,

1148
00:48:50,515 --> 00:48:52,325
the reality is this:

1149
00:48:52,325 --> 00:48:54,359
when it comes to paying taxes here,

1150
00:48:54,359 --> 00:48:55,587
you know what Jesus said?

1151
00:48:55,587 --> 00:48:57,262
You're free.

1152
00:48:57,262 --> 00:49:01,471
Nevertheless, not to offend them.

1153
00:49:01,471 --> 00:49:02,896
He went fishing.

1154
00:49:02,896 --> 00:49:04,839
He got enough to pay for both of them.

1155
00:49:04,839 --> 00:49:07,699
What's being said there?

1156
00:49:07,699 --> 00:49:11,759
I'll tell you what's being said.

1157
00:49:11,759 --> 00:49:18,383
Brethren, we're free here

1158
00:49:18,383 --> 00:49:24,570
to do nothing else than simply please the Lord.

1159
00:49:24,570 --> 00:49:26,707
And if we recognize that the Lord is pleased

1160
00:49:26,707 --> 00:49:28,543
if we pay our taxes, we pay our taxes.

1161
00:49:28,543 --> 00:49:30,464
You know why? Because He's pleased;

1162
00:49:30,464 --> 00:49:32,271
not because the government's pleased.

1163
00:49:32,271 --> 00:49:34,141
And when the government's pleased with something,

1164
00:49:34,141 --> 00:49:35,510
but our Lord isn't pleased with it,

1165
00:49:35,510 --> 00:49:37,152
guess what - we have the freedom to say

1166
00:49:37,152 --> 00:49:38,533
who are we going to obey?

1167
00:49:38,533 --> 00:49:40,224
God or man?

1168
00:49:40,224 --> 00:49:42,222
And we're free to obey God.

1169
00:49:42,222 --> 00:49:44,113
Did you know that?

1170
00:49:44,113 --> 00:49:46,251
You are absolutely free to obey God

1171
00:49:46,251 --> 00:49:48,612
in every single situation

1172
00:49:48,612 --> 00:49:50,843
that you're confronted with in this world.

1173
00:49:50,843 --> 00:49:52,577
There's not a single scenario

1174
00:49:52,577 --> 00:49:54,574
where you're not free to do that;

1175
00:49:54,574 --> 00:49:57,210
where you're not free to practice righteousness,

1176
00:49:57,210 --> 00:49:59,476
and free to please the Lord.

1177
00:49:59,476 --> 00:50:02,022
Because you know what?

1178
00:50:02,022 --> 00:50:04,111
They can never take anything away from you.

1179
00:50:04,111 --> 00:50:06,706
Not a hair on your head is going to perish.

1180
00:50:06,706 --> 00:50:09,090
You say, wait, we hear about martyrs

1181
00:50:09,090 --> 00:50:11,414
and their hair was burned off their heads

1182
00:50:11,414 --> 00:50:14,307
as their whole body was burned at the stake.

1183
00:50:14,307 --> 00:50:16,177
What does that mean they won't perish?

1184
00:50:16,177 --> 00:50:17,994
I think what you need to do is look

1185
00:50:17,994 --> 00:50:19,266
at the word "perish."

1186
00:50:19,266 --> 00:50:21,847
Perish has the idea of damnation.

1187
00:50:21,847 --> 00:50:24,884
The idea is: you're safe; you're secure.

1188
00:50:24,884 --> 00:50:26,228
You can do what's right.

1189
00:50:26,228 --> 00:50:27,754
You are free to do what's right.

1190
00:50:27,754 --> 00:50:29,683
You know what they can't take from you?

1191
00:50:29,683 --> 00:50:32,304
They cannot take your hope. They cannot take your peace.

1192
00:50:32,304 --> 00:50:33,643
They cannot take your faith.

1193
00:50:33,643 --> 00:50:35,403
They cannot take your eternal life.

1194
00:50:35,403 --> 00:50:38,160
They can't take your sin being pardoned.

1195
00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:40,801
They can't take the reality that you are

1196
00:50:40,801 --> 00:50:43,278
a citizenship of this heavenly kingdom.

1197
00:50:43,278 --> 00:50:44,983
They can take none of that away.

1198
00:50:44,983 --> 00:50:47,945
They cannot take your love for Christ away.

1199
00:50:47,945 --> 00:50:48,817
They can't.

1200
00:50:48,817 --> 00:50:51,152
It doesn't matter what situation they put you in.

1201
00:50:51,152 --> 00:50:52,805
Can they demolish your house? Yes.

1202
00:50:52,805 --> 00:50:54,334
Could they put you on the rack?

1203
00:50:54,334 --> 00:50:56,105
Could they put you at the stake? Yes.

1204
00:50:56,105 --> 00:50:58,566
But they can't take away anything that matters.

1205
00:50:58,566 --> 00:51:02,051
Can they take away your life? Jesus said they would take away your life.

1206
00:51:02,051 --> 00:51:03,751
Of course they can do that.

1207
00:51:03,751 --> 00:51:05,780
Can they take away some of your comforts in this world?

1208
00:51:05,780 --> 00:51:07,187
Certainly, they can take away your comforts.

1209
00:51:07,187 --> 00:51:09,380
Can they take away some of your freedoms in this world?

1210
00:51:09,380 --> 00:51:11,642
Freedom as far as being able to walk

1211
00:51:11,642 --> 00:51:14,104
up and down these streets as you feel free.

1212
00:51:14,104 --> 00:51:16,025
Could they put you in a jail cell? Yes.

1213
00:51:16,025 --> 00:51:17,414
But you know what?

1214
00:51:17,414 --> 00:51:20,247
Jesus said if the Son sets you free,

1215
00:51:20,247 --> 00:51:22,407
you are free indeed.

1216
00:51:22,407 --> 00:51:24,898
And He's made His people free.

1217
00:51:24,898 --> 00:51:26,608
We walk through this world free.

1218
00:51:26,608 --> 00:51:28,369
Brethren, our freedom isn't based on

1219
00:51:28,369 --> 00:51:31,310
whether our government allows us to have guns or not.

1220
00:51:31,310 --> 00:51:32,653
Our freedom is not based on

1221
00:51:32,653 --> 00:51:35,166
whether our government approves of abortion or not.

1222
00:51:35,166 --> 00:51:36,566
That's not the issue.

1223
00:51:36,566 --> 00:51:39,843
We are citizens of another kingdom.

1224
00:51:39,843 --> 00:51:41,315
We have a King.

1225
00:51:41,315 --> 00:51:43,452
And brethren, one of the greatest privileges

1226
00:51:43,452 --> 00:51:46,713
of all of it is that we have the King!

1227
00:51:46,713 --> 00:51:48,343
He's ours!

1228
00:51:48,343 --> 00:51:50,842
And the reality is that unlike being a citizen

1229
00:51:50,842 --> 00:51:52,459
of the United States of America,

1230
00:51:52,459 --> 00:51:54,671
I don't have access to President Trump.

1231
00:51:54,671 --> 00:51:56,335
And it doesn't matter what I do,

1232
00:51:56,335 --> 00:51:59,740
it is not likely I would ever get a hearing with him.

1233
00:51:59,740 --> 00:52:04,632
And yet, I am bid.

1234
00:52:04,632 --> 00:52:08,113
I am told that He is not going to leave me or forsake me,

1235
00:52:08,113 --> 00:52:10,961
and I am bid to come to the throne.

1236
00:52:10,961 --> 00:52:13,180
I have access to the innermost place.

1237
00:52:13,180 --> 00:52:15,337
And you know what? Not only do I have access

1238
00:52:15,337 --> 00:52:16,596
to the innermost place,

1239
00:52:16,596 --> 00:52:17,979
have you ever read that Jesus

1240
00:52:17,979 --> 00:52:21,533
actually said we're going to sit on His throne with Him?

1241
00:52:21,533 --> 00:52:23,694
And you start thinking about that.

1242
00:52:23,694 --> 00:52:25,024
Well, what does that mean?

1243
00:52:25,024 --> 00:52:27,986
You've got a multitude that nobody can number,

1244
00:52:27,986 --> 00:52:29,885
and we're going to sit on the throne?

1245
00:52:29,885 --> 00:52:32,384
It says we're going to judge the world

1246
00:52:32,384 --> 00:52:35,978
and we're going to judge angels?

1247
00:52:35,978 --> 00:52:37,808
That's what it means to be a citizen.

1248
00:52:37,808 --> 00:52:39,654
How are we all judges?

1249
00:52:39,654 --> 00:52:41,501
How are we all enthroned?

1250
00:52:41,501 --> 00:52:44,860
Well, I think the throne has to do

1251
00:52:44,860 --> 00:52:47,620
with governing, with leadership.

1252
00:52:47,620 --> 00:52:51,216
Who are we governing?

1253
00:52:51,216 --> 00:52:52,580
I don't know. Man was made

1254
00:52:52,580 --> 00:52:55,702
to oversee the creation.

1255
00:52:55,702 --> 00:52:59,008
There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth.

1256
00:52:59,008 --> 00:53:01,998
I know there's angels.

1257
00:53:01,998 --> 00:53:03,926
And for a season, we've been made

1258
00:53:03,926 --> 00:53:05,547
a little lower than the angels

1259
00:53:05,547 --> 00:53:07,334
along with Jesus Himself.

1260
00:53:07,334 --> 00:53:09,529
We're going to be exalted obviously

1261
00:53:09,529 --> 00:53:12,119
to a place of high exaltation.

1262
00:53:12,119 --> 00:53:14,164
What does it all look like? I don't know.

1263
00:53:14,164 --> 00:53:15,907
Are there going to be other worlds?

1264
00:53:15,907 --> 00:53:17,190
Are there going to be other beings?

1265
00:53:17,190 --> 00:53:17,980
I don't know.

1266
00:53:17,980 --> 00:53:19,824
I don't know what all that looks like,

1267
00:53:19,824 --> 00:53:22,228
but to have Jesus Christ tell us

1268
00:53:22,228 --> 00:53:25,845
that we're going to sit on His throne with Him,

1269
00:53:25,845 --> 00:53:29,879
and the whole thing is paradise,

1270
00:53:29,879 --> 00:53:34,230
and there's foundations here that never shake.

1271
00:53:34,230 --> 00:53:36,951
It's never passing away.

1272
00:53:36,951 --> 00:53:44,002
It's like you come and it starts and that's it.

1273
00:53:44,002 --> 00:53:46,567
It's forever. It's for good.

1274
00:53:46,567 --> 00:53:52,167
Now, brethren, I want to leave you with this.

1275
00:53:52,167 --> 00:53:54,784
You are citizens.

1276
00:53:54,784 --> 00:53:58,054
Fellow citizens with the saints.

1277
00:53:58,054 --> 00:54:01,831
You are citizens of heaven.

1278
00:54:01,831 --> 00:54:03,421
Citizens of the true Israel.

1279
00:54:03,421 --> 00:54:06,394
Citizens of this country, this homeland.

1280
00:54:06,394 --> 00:54:10,903
Citizens of this city.

1281
00:54:10,903 --> 00:54:12,997
What does it mean?

1282
00:54:12,997 --> 00:54:16,488
Well, I'll tell you this, while you're here,

1283
00:54:16,488 --> 00:54:22,151
you represent your country.

1284
00:54:22,151 --> 00:54:23,881
Just like we do when we travel

1285
00:54:23,881 --> 00:54:27,170
to other parts of the world.

1286
00:54:27,170 --> 00:54:32,551
You represent your King and your country.

1287
00:54:32,551 --> 00:54:34,095
And you know what happens?

1288
00:54:34,095 --> 00:54:38,058
When you say, "I'm a Christian;"

1289
00:54:38,058 --> 00:54:43,799
"Yes, my citizenship is in heaven."

1290
00:54:43,799 --> 00:54:46,666
Do you know what happens?

1291
00:54:46,666 --> 00:54:49,365
The world is going to judge

1292
00:54:49,365 --> 00:54:56,504
your homeland and your King by you.

1293
00:54:56,504 --> 00:54:58,996
Do you know that happens?

1294
00:54:58,996 --> 00:55:04,389
They're going to judge Him by you.

1295
00:55:04,389 --> 00:55:05,946
Because you're an ambassador

1296
00:55:05,946 --> 00:55:08,402
and you're representative of this kingdom.

1297
00:55:08,402 --> 00:55:09,962
And you know what?

1298
00:55:09,962 --> 00:55:13,774
Jesus said that if we love one another,

1299
00:55:13,774 --> 00:55:15,496
the world's going to know

1300
00:55:15,496 --> 00:55:19,361
that we belong to Him.

1301
00:55:19,361 --> 00:55:21,616
Do you know what that tells me?

1302
00:55:21,616 --> 00:55:25,984
They're watching.

1303
00:55:25,984 --> 00:55:27,578
The world's watching.

1304
00:55:27,578 --> 00:55:28,989
Any of you ever notice that?

1305
00:55:28,989 --> 00:55:30,542
When you say you're a Christian,

1306
00:55:30,542 --> 00:55:33,770
they watch you ever so closely.

1307
00:55:33,770 --> 00:55:35,805
Many of us remember Bob Jennings' story

1308
00:55:35,805 --> 00:55:37,960
when he talked about after he was converted,

1309
00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:39,666
he met up with a buddy

1310
00:55:39,666 --> 00:55:42,494
and the guy tried to get him to drink a beer,

1311
00:55:42,494 --> 00:55:45,363
and he said no, and he said no, and he said no,

1312
00:55:45,363 --> 00:55:46,857
and finally he said yes,

1313
00:55:46,857 --> 00:55:48,231
and he put it to his lips

1314
00:55:48,231 --> 00:55:50,044
and the man was like there it is!

1315
00:55:50,044 --> 00:55:51,521
I knew it!

1316
00:55:51,521 --> 00:55:52,863
You see, they're watching.

1317
00:55:52,863 --> 00:55:56,884
They're watching for us to stumble.

1318
00:55:56,884 --> 00:56:03,136
Brethren, if you're not living a holy life,

1319
00:56:03,136 --> 00:56:05,981
hear me, you're representing Christ.

1320
00:56:05,981 --> 00:56:14,150
You don't live a holy life, you're a traitor.

1321
00:56:14,150 --> 00:56:16,247
Do you know what the world's going to do?

1322
00:56:16,247 --> 00:56:18,304
When they laugh at you

1323
00:56:18,304 --> 00:56:20,153
and when they mock at you

1324
00:56:20,153 --> 00:56:23,597
because you are not showing yourself

1325
00:56:23,597 --> 00:56:26,460
to be worthy.

1326
00:56:26,460 --> 00:56:28,195
Don't we get that kind of language?

1327
00:56:28,195 --> 00:56:32,590
Walk worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

1328
00:56:32,590 --> 00:56:34,020
What does that mean?

1329
00:56:34,020 --> 00:56:36,722
Walk worthy, brethren, of being one

1330
00:56:36,722 --> 00:56:39,137
who identifies with the Gospel

1331
00:56:39,137 --> 00:56:41,486
in this book and the Christ of this Gospel.

1332
00:56:41,486 --> 00:56:42,938
And you go out in this world

1333
00:56:42,938 --> 00:56:45,435
and if you don't, and when they mock at you

1334
00:56:45,435 --> 00:56:46,586
and they laugh at you,

1335
00:56:46,586 --> 00:56:48,028
they're laughing at all of us

1336
00:56:48,028 --> 00:56:49,696
and at your King.

1337
00:56:49,696 --> 00:56:51,665
It's all a mockery.

1338
00:56:51,665 --> 00:56:53,034
I knew it!

1339
00:56:53,034 --> 00:56:54,674
There's no reality in it.

1340
00:56:54,674 --> 00:56:56,536
See, you put that beer to your lips.

1341
00:56:56,536 --> 00:56:59,033
I knew it!

1342
00:56:59,033 --> 00:57:01,173
Now sometimes in their conscience,

1343
00:57:01,173 --> 00:57:03,385
it's just words, because they know.

1344
00:57:03,385 --> 00:57:06,107
They know, yeah, Bob Jennings,

1345
00:57:06,107 --> 00:57:08,208
I know he's different.

1346
00:57:08,208 --> 00:57:09,878
But I just want to find something.

1347
00:57:09,878 --> 00:57:11,818
And they're looking and they're watching

1348
00:57:11,818 --> 00:57:12,947
and you know they are.

1349
00:57:12,947 --> 00:57:17,276
Brethren, you have no right to live your life

1350
00:57:17,276 --> 00:57:19,884
the way you want to live it.

1351
00:57:19,884 --> 00:57:23,561
You're representatives.

1352
00:57:23,561 --> 00:57:26,153
You're representatives in the midst of a world

1353
00:57:26,153 --> 00:57:27,418
that is watching,

1354
00:57:27,418 --> 00:57:29,104
and they're eyeballs are upon you.

1355
00:57:29,104 --> 00:57:31,997
You can't say it doesn't matter to anybody else what I do.

1356
00:57:31,997 --> 00:57:34,483
Look, if you fall -

1357
00:57:34,483 --> 00:57:37,481
it's kind of like representing this church.

1358
00:57:37,481 --> 00:57:39,670
You go out and you live a certain way

1359
00:57:39,670 --> 00:57:40,860
in front of your family,

1360
00:57:40,860 --> 00:57:42,160
and you know what they say?

1361
00:57:42,160 --> 00:57:44,076
They don't just say something about you.

1362
00:57:44,076 --> 00:57:46,837
In fact, very often, they look over your shoulder

1363
00:57:46,837 --> 00:57:50,969
and it's "that church."

1364
00:57:50,969 --> 00:57:53,237
"That pastor."

1365
00:57:53,237 --> 00:57:54,759
That's how they talk.

1366
00:57:54,759 --> 00:57:56,761
It should be pastors plural, I recognize,

1367
00:57:56,761 --> 00:58:00,000
but you know how they talk.

1368
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:03,658
And ultimately it's their King.

1369
00:58:03,658 --> 00:58:05,263
I knew it.

1370
00:58:05,263 --> 00:58:06,949
It's all a sham.

1371
00:58:06,949 --> 00:58:08,412
Brethren, it's not a sham.

1372
00:58:08,412 --> 00:58:10,951
And to be a citizen of this country,

1373
00:58:10,951 --> 00:58:12,601
if you are children of light,

1374
00:58:12,601 --> 00:58:14,148
walk as children of light.

1375
00:58:14,148 --> 00:58:16,414
If you're citizens of the heavenly kingdom,

1376
00:58:16,414 --> 00:58:19,012
then walk worthy of such a kingdom.

1377
00:58:19,012 --> 00:58:21,468
If you've identified with Christ,

1378
00:58:21,468 --> 00:58:23,678
then brethren, let His image shine forth.

1379
00:58:23,678 --> 00:58:25,041
Because I'll tell you this,

1380
00:58:25,041 --> 00:58:26,603
when the world laughs at you,

1381
00:58:26,603 --> 00:58:28,325
they laugh at all of us.

1382
00:58:28,325 --> 00:58:30,536
And they mock all of us.

1383
00:58:30,536 --> 00:58:32,859
Above all, Christ gets ridiculed.

1384
00:58:32,859 --> 00:58:35,102
You hear Peter's words:

1385
00:58:35,102 --> 00:58:38,089
"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners

1386
00:58:38,089 --> 00:58:42,072
and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh

1387
00:58:42,072 --> 00:58:44,688
which wage war against your soul.

1388
00:58:44,688 --> 00:58:51,253
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable."

1389
00:58:51,253 --> 00:58:55,522
Yeah, brethren, there's imperatives.

1390
00:58:55,522 --> 00:58:57,342
If you're fellow citizens,

1391
00:58:57,342 --> 00:59:02,096
it should mark your life.

1392
00:59:02,096 --> 00:59:05,788
If you're a fellow citizen with the saints,

1393
00:59:05,788 --> 00:59:08,171
then there should be something saintly

1394
00:59:08,171 --> 00:59:09,726
about your life.

1395
00:59:09,726 --> 00:59:11,920
If you're fellow citizens of the saints

1396
00:59:11,920 --> 00:59:14,688
of this heavenly Jerusalem,

1397
00:59:14,688 --> 00:59:18,155
this city that has foundations,

1398
00:59:18,155 --> 00:59:21,121
this paradise of God.

1399
00:59:21,121 --> 00:59:25,031
Think. They're all there.

1400
00:59:25,031 --> 00:59:28,298
The saints.

1401
00:59:28,298 --> 00:59:31,311
You remember what it says there in Hebrews 12?

1402
00:59:31,311 --> 00:59:37,019
You've got the spirits of these just men

1403
00:59:37,019 --> 00:59:40,554
and they've been made perfect.

1404
00:59:40,554 --> 00:59:42,230
They're there.

1405
00:59:42,230 --> 00:59:44,188
No sin.

1406
00:59:44,188 --> 00:59:45,950
No more sin.

1407
00:59:45,950 --> 00:59:47,431
And you know how it says -

1408
00:59:47,431 --> 00:59:50,752
kind of like in 1 John 3,

1409
00:59:50,752 --> 00:59:55,287
that those who have this hope,

1410
00:59:55,287 --> 00:59:56,918
this hope that when we see Christ,

1411
00:59:56,918 --> 00:59:58,504
we're going to be made like Him -

1412
00:59:58,504 --> 00:59:59,682
those who have hope,

1413
00:59:59,682 --> 01:00:03,149
they seek to purify themselves here.

1414
01:00:03,149 --> 01:00:05,673
Brethren, is your hope to dwell

1415
01:00:05,673 --> 01:00:10,847
among perfect men and women

1416
01:00:10,847 --> 01:00:14,293
in the very face of a perfect Christ?

1417
01:00:14,293 --> 01:00:16,417
Well, if that's your hope, then you would be

1418
01:00:16,417 --> 01:00:19,047
seeking to purify yourself here

1419
01:00:19,047 --> 01:00:22,108
and to be a representative of this.

1420
01:00:22,108 --> 01:00:24,219
We are citizens.

1421
01:00:24,219 --> 01:00:28,780
You are free men and free women.

1422
01:00:28,780 --> 01:00:30,373
Walk in your freedom.

1423
01:00:30,373 --> 01:00:33,749
You are free to do righteously.

1424
01:00:33,749 --> 01:00:34,912
You are free.

1425
01:00:34,912 --> 01:00:38,008
They call this country the land of the free

1426
01:00:38,008 --> 01:00:39,268
and the home of the brave.

1427
01:00:39,268 --> 01:00:41,153
Don't believe that.

1428
01:00:41,153 --> 01:00:43,409
America's not free.

1429
01:00:43,409 --> 01:00:46,051
Not at all.

1430
01:00:46,051 --> 01:00:47,827
Jesus said if you serve sin,

1431
01:00:47,827 --> 01:00:49,160
you're a slave to sin.

1432
01:00:49,160 --> 01:00:50,962
We live in the midst of a country

1433
01:00:50,962 --> 01:00:52,335
that is serving sin.

1434
01:00:52,335 --> 01:00:54,162
They are slaves.

1435
01:00:54,162 --> 01:00:56,009
We are the only free people.

1436
01:00:56,009 --> 01:00:57,401
It doesn't matter if we're in

1437
01:00:57,401 --> 01:00:58,802
the United States of America

1438
01:00:58,802 --> 01:01:00,638
or in North Korea.

1439
01:01:00,638 --> 01:01:03,199
Christians are freemen.

1440
01:01:03,199 --> 01:01:04,759
Oh, they may take our head off.

1441
01:01:04,759 --> 01:01:05,763
They may torture us.

1442
01:01:05,763 --> 01:01:07,135
But we're still free.

1443
01:01:07,135 --> 01:01:09,119
Because there's all manner of things

1444
01:01:09,119 --> 01:01:11,833
they can't take from us.

1445
01:01:11,833 --> 01:01:14,376
They have no power.

1446
01:01:14,376 --> 01:01:16,440
And you just remember this:

1447
01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:19,833
There in Daniel, it talks about a King.

1448
01:01:19,833 --> 01:01:22,445
And all these other kingdoms are going to give place.

1449
01:01:22,445 --> 01:01:23,845
And the kingdoms of this world

1450
01:01:23,845 --> 01:01:25,512
are going to become the kingdoms of our God

1451
01:01:25,512 --> 01:01:26,437
and of His Christ.

1452
01:01:26,437 --> 01:01:29,189
He's coming with the sword, brethren.

1453
01:01:29,189 --> 01:01:30,678
And it's all going to be over,

1454
01:01:30,678 --> 01:01:32,875
and every knee is going to bow.

1455
01:01:32,875 --> 01:01:35,175
But it's not yet.

1456
01:01:35,175 --> 01:01:38,438
But right now, you are nevertheless a citizen.

1457
01:01:38,438 --> 01:01:40,882
Brethren, when you walk out,

1458
01:01:40,882 --> 01:01:44,745
walk worthy of your citizenship.

1459
01:01:44,745 --> 01:01:47,788
Walk worthy of your King.

1460
01:01:47,788 --> 01:01:50,551
The world's watching.

1461
01:01:50,551 --> 01:01:53,083
Father, we pray for grace

1462
01:01:53,083 --> 01:01:54,773
to do this and live this.

1463
01:01:54,773 --> 01:01:58,314
We ask for it in the name

1464
01:01:58,314 --> 01:02:02,864
of He that is King of kings.

1465
01:02:02,864 --> 01:02:03,796
Amen.

1466
01:02:03,796 --> 01:02:05,041
You're dismissed.