“CITIZENS OF HEAVEN”
New Life Bible Church
July 13, 2008
Allen S. McLauchlin, Pastor
For our
citizenship
is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Philippians 3:20.
We are therefore Christ's
ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us.
for which I am an
ambassador
in chains.
2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians. 6:19,20,
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with
God's people and members of God's household.
Ephesians 2:19
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign
country; he lived in tents, ...For he was looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of
the living God
Hebrews 11:9,10; 12:22
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN
HEAVENITE ?
1.
It means that I have
THE
right
to call on the name of Jesus.
As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing
there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen.
I appeal to Caesar!"
Acts 22:25;25:11b
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, You may ask me for anything in my
name, and I will do it.
John 14:13,14
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you
do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3
Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but
whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Acts 3:6; Acts 4:10
WARNING:
One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but
who are you?" Then the man who had
the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a
beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Acts 19:15,15
2.
It means, that I should have a high level of
respect
from non-Christians .
When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "This
man is a Roman citizen..
Acts 22:26
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good
deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the
people.
Acts 5:13
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to
work with your hands, so that you
may win the
respect
of outsiders and that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thessalonians 4:11,12
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
other prisoners were listening to them;
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul
and Silas. He then brought them out
and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Acts 16:25,29,30
3. It
means that my
relationship
with Christ is secured for all eternity and one day He’s coming to take me home
.
Then the commander said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship."
"But I was born a citizen," Paul replied.
Acts 22:28
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God--
children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision , but born of God.
John 1:12,13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a
deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's
possession.
Ephesians 1:13,14
4.
It means that Satan recognizes the
hedge
that protests me from His power.
Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself
was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
Acts 22:29
Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You
have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread
throughout the land.
Job 1:10
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Psalm 34:11